Annabel Lee Tavern

Annabel Lee Tavern Restaurant Review:

Upon a midnight dreary, if you wander Canton weak and weary, seek out Annabel Lee to restore your spirits. Actually “spirits” is an apt term, as this cozy corner tavern offers alcoholic restoratives and a touch of the macabre, thanks to muse Edgar Allan Poe. A portrait of the writer and sometime Baltimorean --- his final poem gives the restaurant its name --- graces the dining room, where his words are stenciled on the walls; spooky raven silhouettes and more poetry adorn the exterior. The kitchen adds a touch of the poetic to the fare as well, upscaling and updating such pub-grub perennials as nachos (with barbecued chicken and applewood-smoked bacon), sesame-crusted tuna (with teriyaki and wasabi drizzle), and addictive duck-fat fries dusted with herbes de Provence. Entrées can be crispy mahi mahi tacos, mango-vegetable curry and Maryland crab, either in cake form or stuffed in shrimp as an Imperial. An ample beer menu includes the local Raven Ale, and cocktails bear such gothic names as Descent Into the Maelstrom and Dream Within a Dream. Poe probably would have approved. Cantonites definitely do, so secure a reservation.