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Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen brings authentic Tuscan Italian cuisine to the heart of Annapolis MD. Delicious food and wine, and a pet-friendly patio will make this one of your favorite restaurants.

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

This is a sponsored post. We were hosted for a complimentary visit, but the opinions are mine alone. 

Every July I go to Maryland to visit family and friends for a couple of weeks. I end up doing work almost every day, but I also take advantage of the time to relax/recharge. Because once I get back to Oklahoma, I hit the ground running to get ready for football season.

My parents and I visited Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen & Wine Bar in Annapolis while I was in town. Annapolis is one of my favorite cities in Maryland. The Historic downtown, Naval Academy, great bars and restaurants, and being so close to the water make it a great destination. I’ve spent lots of days and nights at the waterside restaurants, and have been to a couple of Navy football games. If you’ve never attended a game at one of the academies, you are missing out. The pomp and circumstance surrounding pre-game is amazing, and no other school comes close.

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen is part of the MONTE Restaurant Group. Co-owners Gennaro DiMeo and Lino DiMeo came from years of family-owned restaurants in Italy. In 1997 they opened their first fine dining restaurant, Café Mezzanotte, in Severna Park, MD. The restaurants in the Monte Restaurant Group include:

Originally, downtown Annapolis was the hub of activity in the area. Park Place was the first large development outside of downtown, and is home to Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen. As these surrounding communities began to develop, they became the hub of activity. They are more spread out, and don’t get the crush of people on game weekends and tourist season. Downtown Annapolis remains very popular during tourist season and on football gamedays.

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen is the only full-service restaurant in the Group. They also offer Carpaccio Pizzeria 2Go, a quick-service carryout next door. You can order from the Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen Menu, or choose from sandwiches, subs, and pizza.

We visited Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen on a Monday evening. It was a slow night, as Mondays tend to be, but perfect for us. Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen is a very inviting restaurant, with warm colors throughout. The space features a long bar to the right, partially open kitchen at the far end of the dining room, and the main dining room takes up the remaining space.

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen is open for lunch and dinner daily, and brunch on Sunday. There is one main menu, rather than separate menus for lunch and dinner. Some of the menu items are available in smaller sizes, and they do offer a few lunch menu items. The menu is not huge, and includes Insalate, antipasti, pizza, Italian sensations, risotti, entree selections and table sides.

Bread comes to the table first…except it’s not just bread…it’s pizza, cut into long slices!

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

I love this unique twist on the traditional, with a very simple recipe of red sauce, oregano, and parmesan. The homemade sauce bursts with flavor, and the pizza bread is at room temperature.

We began with an order of calamari

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

This calamari is fabulous. Lightly breaded, freshly fried, and cooked to a perfect tender bite. The seasoned breading, fresh herbs on top, and a final squeeze of fresh lemon create such a wonderful flavor combination. Even the last couple of bites, room temperature by that point, were delicious. The calamari comes with both red sauce and spicy chipotle aioli on the side. I’ve never had aioli as a side with calamari; it was good, with a very nice flavor, but my dad and I both preferred the red sauce.

My dad got the Penne Rafaelle

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

Wheat penne pasta sauteed with wild mushrooms, baby eggplant & roasted garlic in a pomodoro ragu, topped with crumbled goat cheese

The dish came to the table screaming hot, as all pasta dishes should. The ragu sauce is light, yet very flavorful. Wheat pasta can have a very heavy taste, but the texture of this pasta was just like regular. The generous dinner portion was more than enough for him to take home leftovers.

My mom got the halibut special, with mixed vegetables and Tuscan potatoes

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

Halibut is a firm white fish, similar to sea bass. The light lightly seasoned fish works really well with the mango salsa. I didn’t try the mix vegetables, but I love the presentation. My mom said they were really good.

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

I usually don’t do restaurant specials. It already takes me forever to decide from the regular menu, and the last thing I need is more options. However, a guest at the next table had the pork chop special, and it looked so good, so I decided to try it. The dish comes with broccolini and Tuscan potatoes

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

My server asked how I wanted my pork chops, and I requested medium to medium/well. Unfortunately, my pork chop was well done and a little dry inside. However, it did have really good flavor. The combination of lemon, garlic, butter, rosemary and other herbs creates a light, yet extremely flavorful sauce. Rosemary is a powerful herb, and a great complement for pork.

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

I rarely eat broccolini, and I don’t know why. Broccolini is similar to broccoli, and I’ve always loved broccoli. This broccolini is delicious, lightly seasoned, and cooked to a perfect tender-crisp.

When I was a kid, the food on my plate couldn’t touch. If it did, I wouldn’t eat it. I’m much better about that now, but I still portion out my food separately. I love the divided plates at Carpaccio! They are perfect for someone like me, and add a unique dimension to the dining experience.

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

I almost never order dessert, because I’m usually too full from dinner. We decided to share a dessert this time, to get the full experience of each course. The Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen dessert menu is small, with only 7 items. We chose the Toasted Almond Cake

Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade

Sponge cake, lightly soaked in amaertto syrup, layered with smooth and creamy mascarpone from Italy, and finished with a topping of crushed amaerttini cookies and roasted almonds

My goodness, this cake is fabulous. Three layers of delicious, light and airy cake, silky and very flavorful. I like that it’s a relatively small piece of cake, perfect for sharing. The cookie and almond topping adds such great crunch and texture.

We had a wonderful visit to Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen. Our server was good and the food was delicious. Carpaccio Pizza 2Go is perfect alternative for a quick meal, and I would love to sit out in the courtyard for an outdoor dining experience.
Carpaccio Tuscan Kitchen, Annapolis MD - Karyl's Kulinary Krusade
For reviews of more restaurants in Maryland, click on the photos below!

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Albert Bevia

Thursday 28th of September 2017

Annapolis sounds like a great town and your restaurant review was so interesting, the images where top-class stuff. If I ever pass through MD, I will surely try and visit this restaurant. Thanks for the great review :)

Karyl

Wednesday 4th of October 2017

Thanks Albert! Annapolis is awesome.

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