Paolo's
1 Pennsylvania Ave.
Phone: 410-321-7000
Price: $12-$25
Location: Towson, about two blocks from Towson Town Center
Hours: Mon.-Thur.: 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Fri.: 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.
Sat.: 12 p.m.-11 p.m.
Sun.: 3 p.m.-10 p.m.
Web site: http://www.paolosristorante.com
Finding a classy Italian restaurant is easy in the Baltimore area. After all, Little Italy has dozens of them crammed into a few small blocks. But the abundance of choices in Little Italy can be a bit overwhelming, and aside from the restaurants, there isn't much else to do in that immediate area.
So if you're planning an evening that involves more just than sheer gluttony, try catching dinner and a movie in Towson. Conveniently located right next to the Towson Commons movie theater, you'll find Paolo's Ristorante, an upscale restaurant that promises Italian cuisine with a Californian touch. Paolo's offers many of the same culinary creations and traditional Italian offerings as Little Italy's restaurants; unfortunately, Paolo's also manages to nearly match Little Italy's high prices.
The menu at Paolo's has a fair selection of entrees, ranging from simple-sounding dishes like Fresh Rigatoni to the more unusual entrees like Volcano of Sea Scallops. Paolo's offers a number of typical meat dishes, such as veal parmesan and char-grilled Filet Mignon.
The meat dishes are prepared perfectly and taste wonderful, but Paolo's seafood-based offerings are a bit more interesting. The Shell Bowl, for example, offers a flavorful mix of mussels, shrimp, scallops, sausage and pasta. Most of the entrees cost around $15 to $20, but some of the specialties will run as high as $30.
Luckily, Paolo's also offers delicious pizza at much more affordable prices; this will be a sure winner with broke Hopkins students. Paolo's wood-burning oven is prominently displayed at the center of the restaurant, constantly emitting savory aromas.
The restaurant offers six kinds of pizza with a variety of toppings. The white pizza is especially fantastic, with just the right amount of garlic and feta cheese.
For a lengthier dinner experience, start your order off with one of Paolo's appetizers or salads. There are about a half-dozen appetizers; they're all relatively inexpensive, but the portions are disappointingly small. The Steamed Mussels were as zesty as advertised, but two hungry diners will easily devour all of them in only a minute or two. The salad choices are a bit more impressive than the appetizers; some may serve well as a full light meal, such as the Mediterranean Chicken Salad, the Seafood Salad, or the Espresso-Rubbed Steak Salad.
Although the food at Paolo's is excellent, the restaurant is not without its shortcomings. The atmosphere, although classy, has a somewhat touristy feel; it utterly lacks the mood of a true Italian restaurant. The service was rather slow, and most of the waiting staff seemed to be students from nearby colleges. The bread seemed questionable; it came in the form of bread sticks and a clumpy-yet-tasty dip, which is a far cry from the traditional bread and oil.
Another nearby Paolo's Ristorante, located in the Inner Harbor, is known to have better service than the one in Towson. But this may simply be a result of the plethora of other high-quality dining establishments in the Harbor; the Towson location always seems busy, while the Harbor one is not. Paolo's is actually a small chain, with two additional locations in Washington, D.C. and Reston, Va.
If you're looking for a completely authentic Italian restaurant, skip Paolo's and head to Little Italy instead. But if you're looking for quality Italian eats in a classy venue, without having to worry about Little Italy's nightmarish parking and lack of non-edible entertainment, give Paolo's a try.
