Food Find

Gourmet market complements bistro-style restaurant.

As you stroll along Frederick Road, you understand why there are banners proclaiming, "Rediscover Catonsville." New restaurants and shops are bringing a new energy to the place. One, in particular, caught our eye—Catonsville Gourmet Market & Fine Foods (829 Frederick Road, 410-788-0005). The restaurant is bistro style with white-cloth-covered tables, but we were drawn to the market area. Owners Sean Dunworth and Rob Rehmert, who is also the chef, have come up with a concept that allows patrons to find the same dishes on the dining-room menu in the market's cold cases or to choose from top-of-the-line seafood and meats to take home. "We've got a neat little niche," Dunworth says. In the seafood case, you're likely to find diver scallops, wild rockfish, and Gulf shrimp. If you have a hankering for meat, consider flat-iron steaks, New York strips, or smoked duck breast. Sweets? Chocolate truffle torte, tiramisu, and Key lime pie are yours, as is our new state dessert—Smith Island cake. "It's a different dining experience," Dunworth says. "You get a little bit of everything."

Issue date: July, 2008