Wit & Wisdom Review

Wit & Wisdom Overall Review

Nestled in the Four Seasons in Harbor East, Wit & Wisdom is quite the happening spot.  This restaurant/lounge has a wonderful atmosphere and a lively crowd.  The food is decent, and the desserts are the best in the Milky Way.  We were even seated next to someone famous.  As is typical with good girlfriends, we were having so much fun (and looking so very fly apparently) that we caught the attention of someone you all might recognize, Michael Baisden. Imagine our shock when we looked up and saw him standing there. Now that’s something that doesn’t happen every day. Wit & Wisdom is a great date spot, especially if you want to impress her. The plethora of romantic nooks and crannies spattered throughout the space allow for a measure of privacy if your goal is to get to know one another better rather than just see and be seen. Make no mistake about it though, if to see and be seen is your goal, this is most assuredly your spot. Angela is pretty sure that as we were leaving, some NFL eye candy was hitting the Wit & Wisdom playing field. That being said, the valet parking staff treated us regular folk like royalty as well; observing them practically running to get our car doors reminded us that chivalry is not dead. Overall we give Wit & Wisdom a solid  ♪♪♪. 

200 International Drive

Baltimore, MD 21202

410-576-5800

Gunpowder Farms Bison Tartare

The finely-minced, raw buffalo had a wonderful texture.  It was firm, rich and tender.   There was an off-putting addition to the dish for those that don't like sour flavors.  We suspect that the dish was made with capers.  If that is what the chef used, it was not listed on the menu, and quite honestly was way too tart and overpowering.  The buffalo was obscured by the lemony taste as opposed to being enhanced. 

Deviled Eggs

These devilish eggs had a heavy dose of blue crab mixed in. They were flavorful and had a little twang to them.

Crunchy Tavern Wings

These wings had a serious Asian flavor and a super-crunchy, tempura coating.  They were sweet and sour and quite yummy.

HCC Greens & Herbs

AKA salad...had mixed field greens, sugarsnax carrots (we are still not sure what that means) and yogurt topped with bread crumbs....This dish was just strange.   

Chesapeake Oysters

These raw oysters were sweet and fresh.  Angela was excited that she got to try Mignonette Sauce for the first time.  This sauce is made with cracked pepper, shallots and vinegar.  The Mignonette Sauce complimented the oysters very well. 

Viking Village Monkfish

This meaty, fleshy fish would have made the viking explorer Leif Ericson proud!  This fish had a strong backbone that we had to battle to get the meat from.  It was seasoned to perfection and Angela enjoyed it very much. We were told that monkfish resembled the texture of lobster.  Upon eating it we had to agree.  

Jumbo Lump Maryland Crab Cake

This crab cake was griddled in a cast iron skillet, one of the 4 main preparation styles available.  The crab meat was super fresh and flavorful.  It was presented in a perfect cylindrical shape.   

Sunburst Rainbow Trout

This sweet, sexy little fish was amazing!  Light, fresh and flaky, this fish swam his way into our hearts.  

Border Springs Farm Lamb Shank

Phew...that was a mouthful!  This gigantic hunk of lamb was braised to perfection.  The meat was so tender it just fell off the bone.  Unfortunately, the chef did little to bring out the natural flavor of the lamb.  Much of its natural gaminess was missing.  It was cooked well, we just wish it were a bit more creative. 

Wood-Oven Apple Crisp

This hot bowl of apple heaven was prepared in a wood oven.  The chef paired it with red-hot cinnamon ice cream and a home made apple "glass" candy.  The apple "glass" had the flavor of a dehydrated fruit roll up.  We remarked that they need to package and market that stuff.  It was truly that good, and that's just the darn apple "glass." 

Banana Cream Puff

Holy Cow, that was one crazy cream puff!  The pastry was light and fluffy, but the banana cream filling was so velvety and creamy.  It had a texture akin to Panna Cotta, only a bit heavier.  The coconut tapioca pearls were a fun touch and the hazelnut sorbet was painfully delicious!

Baltimore Chocolate Bar

This dessert was a cross between a Reese 's Peanut Butter Cup and a Snickers bar.  It was rich, crunchy and a tad salty.  This was a truly pleasurable dish. 

Angela's Review

Ok, 2soulsister’s readers, hold onto your hats for this review. This was not just any dinner for us. This was also the initial planning session for a very special event. Our Melissa is getting married to the man of her dreams and the girls have to get in gear to help in any way we can. Yay Mel! Being out with old friends (and new) is always a pleasure and it was wonderful to all be engaged (haha ;) in the process. I think I speak for Melissa as well as myself when I say, thank you Candace and Mandy for all your love, your support and your friendship over the years, and to the “other” Melissa, welcome to the fold. And to those of you who could not be there this time around, we missed you guys.

Now all I have to say about this initial meeting/planning session/Girl’s Night-Out Engagement Party, is this, “My goodness, what a place to get started.” Wit and Wisdom is the total package. Here you will find food that puts in a solid showing, glam décor and tons of local and out of town “it” crowd (granted this was Preakness Weekend, so we may need to go again on a “regular” night to be sure, but with a pretty spacious bar/lounge area that encompasses half the restaurant, I suspect this might not be a fluke.) As one member of our party put it, “I heard some serious wheeling and dealing going down out there,” upon her return from the bathroom. Walking through the doors of the Four Seasons and into Wit and Wisdom is like walking out of Baltimore and into a five star restaurant/club in Manhattan.  Love that Michael Mina! For those of you who don’t know him, he also owns Bourbon Steak, with locations in Arizona and DC, among others, and has just opened a new spot around the way in the Marriott, called PABU. 

Our waiter told us that their pastry chef won Food and Wine Magazine’s, “Best new Pastry Chef,” award this year. After tasting the Banana Cream Puff; Apple Crisp with apple glass and red-hot cinnamon ice cream and the Baltimore Bar with candied peanuts, chocolate ganache, peanut butter mousse and dehydrated chocolate pieces; I see why. They were all divine. I was even inspired to blow kisses at our waiter for suggesting, rather adamantly, that I try the Baltimore Bar.  The attention to detail evidenced by these desserts was truly awe-inspiring. Kudos!  All in all, I give Wit and Wisdom, ♪♪♪

Melissa's Review

Wit & Wisdom is a fascinating place.  The trend of half restaurant/half lounge is the new normal for Baltimore.  The atmosphere was lively, vibrant and energetic.  Both the bar and restaurant were full of an eclectic mixture of guests.  The lighting was warm and inviting and the use of wood throughout the space added a wonderful earthiness.  Huge glass windows overlooking the Inner Harbor were the perfect touch.  There were 2 random paintings on the wall that were a bit creepy and seemed out of place.  I’m not sure what the decorator was thinking when those pictures were selected.  The food was pretty good.  Everything we had was cooked to perfection.  I did feel that it lacked a bit of creativity and sophistication considering the extremely high prices.  I would describe the chef’s cooking style as eclectic American.  His use of local foods was simple yet tasty.  He had 4 main preparation styles to choose from, all you had to do was select which meat you desired.    The desserts were by far the most superior desserts I have had to date.  After some investigation we found out that they were prepared by this year’s first place winner of the “Best Pastry Chef on the East Coast” award handed out by Food & Wine Magazine.  Each dessert was so creative and delicious!  We all decided that we would definitely come back for just desserts.  Overall I give Wit & Wisdom ♪♪♪.