Remember the days when anyone who was anyone in business would meet at The Village Roost for breakfast, lunch or dinner? Well, the Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys is home to a brand new restaurant – Scoozi. After a grand $6 million hotel renovation, the new restaurant replaces Crossroads and has every intention to capture the "it" crowd.
Scoozi (the name is an abbreviated "Excuse Me") serves Italian specialties created by CIA trained, Chef Tim Robertson like pasta, pizza, salads and even Italian-inspired breakfast dishes. There is strong evidence of a local Baltimore and Buy Local Maryland push and it translates on the menu with fresh, local, and seasonal items including on the drinks side with local micro-brew standouts.
The restaurant's capacity seats 120 and features a pizza hearth. This wood stone oven anchors an open air display kitchen. The staff, I found, extremely warm and inviting, trained under the direction of General Manager, D
onna McCulloch (seen below). Dining choices have increased, as has its capacity for 120 inside AND outside on the brick patio.
There is an extensive by-the-glass and bottle wine list paired with each food item. I was treated to a special wine and food pairing class by one of the hotel ownership Principal's, William Kohl who is also on the Board of the National Restaurant Association. A self taught wine professional and hotel investor, Bill explained the nuanaces of wine and its impact when exchanged with different foods, cheeses, fish, meats and greens. "It is our intent at Scoozi to make wine fun and engaging," he explained.
Scoozi is serious about integrating food and wine and proves it with some of the newest tools and technology in town. A substantial wine list paired with each food item is noted on state-of-the-art Menuvative, technology loaded on Ipad tablets. In this use (I see many) The software helps restaurants showcase an interactive menu experience.
The way it works is you choose an item on menu, a picture, custom description, even ingredients show up. Best of all, wine pairings are offered for each and every dish. Eric Arsenault, President of Menuvative, was on hand to oversee his innovative technology. He he describes his Menuvate baby as "the world's best digital, interactive menu application offering an environmentally friendly solution to dull & costly paper menu."
No worries, there are enough Ipads to go around. Over twenty-five are on hand at a time. Cheers on that item.
All of the food served during the evening from Oysters Rockefeller (seen left) to calamari to braised short ribs, cheese and house cured meats were paired with a special wine to please the palate.
A bit of trivia According to legend, the dish was created as a substitute for baked snails, which were hard to obtain from France. It was named in honor of John D. Rockefeller who, at the time, was one of the world's richest men, because of the sauce's intense richness. (Source: Food and Wine Magazine)
The hotel is also renovating it rooms, shared Hotel General Manager, Tom Cook. Under the development guidance of the late James Rouse, the hotel continues to have oversized rooms averaging 690-900 square feet. The renovation is planned to be complete by January 2014.
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