2008 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008

You feast first with your eyes at this big-hearted newcomer to Baltimore's Clipper Mill complex. Carved from a 19th century foundry, the restaurant is now home to one of the greenest dining rooms, and one of the hottest reservations, in Charm City. In what looks like a farmhouse as imagined by Architectural Digest, there are sky-high stacks of wood to fuel a visible oven, vintage farm implements dressing up the walls and Johnny Cash doing what he did best in the background. The menu, which roams from deviled eggs to seafood stew to beef short ribs, embraces a little of everything while acknowledging the efforts of local farmers and fishermen with as much ink as the entree descriptions get. I relish the idea of beginning a meal with oysters from the Chesapeake area or buttery popcorn from the Lancaster County, Pa., one of several snacks served here, then moving on to juicy roast chicken served with a homey gravy or a billowy flatbread. My pick: spicy lamb sausage teamed with fennel, thyme and tangy organic tomato sauce. Bliss is occasionally interrupted by an underseasoned fish cake here or a tame pork bun there. When the kitchen errs, it's usually on the side of austerity. But the house-baked bread is a treat, as is the chance to eat pie for dessert. Woodberry Kitchen delivers its mission statement with a delicious dose of fun.