Reviews
< Back to reviews
The Frederick News Post - August 15, 2001
New downtown Restaurant offers Spanish cuisine
Barbara Brown
The newest addition to Frederick's downtown restaurant repertoire opened Tuesday night.
Isabella's Taverna and Tapas Bar is located at 44 N. Market St.
Tapas are like appetizers, only in slightly smaller portions.
The meal style originated in Spain more than a century ago and is intended to be a social outing.
"The idea is for a group of people, whether it's two or 10, to come in and order a bottle of wine and several tapas and share them with each other," said Beth Henry, one of the restaurant's bartenders.
Isabella's menu is divided into hot and cold tapas. Hot dishes vary with seafood, beef, seafood and lamb.
Cold tapas include tomato, potato and egg, artichoke, ham and pate emphases.
Also on the menu are three homemade soups, including gazpacho, buttermilk squash and garbanzo bean and chorizo stew.
Prices for hot tapas range from $3.50 for albondigas en salsa de ajo (tiny meatballs smothered in roast garlic onion sauce) to $8.75 for cangrejo gratinado (baked stuffed crab with olives and fresh lemon).
Cold tapas prices range from $2.95 for pan con tomate (Catalan-style grilled bread with tomato and olive oil) to $6.75 for quesos de Espana (an assortment of Spanish cheeses).
Three salads are also on the menu, including a Spanish-style Caesar, a smoked tuna and endive offering and "Ensalada Isabella," made with field greens tossed in romesco with serrano ham, eggs, olives and shaved red onions.
For diners who are looking for a more filling meal, six entrees are offered. Their prices range from $12.95 for the vegetarian dish or the pan-roasted chicken breast in chocolate sauce to $29.95 for a traditional paella.
Desserts include peach sherbet served in a peach shell, the classic Spanish flan in caramel sauce, hazelnut ice cream and a hazelnut tartufo with raspberry sauce.
A wide variety of beers, Spanish wines and sodas are available.
Isabella's, which is smoke-free, is open Sunday through Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for dinner 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. The restaurant is closed Mondays.
|