A tourist in Baltimore, part three

A parental visit last weekend provided me with the excuse for another tourist day. And so it was on to another free art museum in Baltimore. Who knew they had so many? The Baltimore art museum had a little bit of everything. Since I tend to prefer the boring old classics, I spent most of my time in the European paintings of the last 500 years. But they also had collections of quilts and African art for my mother, furniture for my father, and modern art for my husband. Here's a shot of Andrew and I puzzling out the pieces in the Andy Warhol room. 

We finished off the day with dinner with mezze, the Lebanese version of tapas. (Or maybe tapas are the Spanish version of mezze; I'm not sure.) Half of the plates were adequate and half were outstanding. The best were fluffy spinach fritters that tasted like onion rings, cool yogurt dips (tzatziki), and a dish of only two ingredients: portobello mushrooms topped with haloumi cheese. It's always a joy to taste a few simple ingredients, put together perfectly.

As a cook, I really appreciate going out for a meal composed of small plates. I make tapas at home, and I enjoy the food, but often I'm so worn out after composing all the different recipes that I don't even want to eat. I just want a big glass of wine and a nap. So I enjoy having the opportunity to simply teat.