THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Cynthia's

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Cynthia's Restaurant Review:

THIS ESTABLISHMENT IS CLOSED A Severna Park, Maryland ex-Bagelry location is not where you would expect to find a chef-owner couple with culinary credentials, including Patina in Los Angeles and Gramercy Tavern in New York. Brian and Cynthia Bennington share the ownership and he controls the main line while she rules over the sweet side. Both are getting the job done with fresh ingredients, and skilled culinary techniques with a bright flair for whimsy. Though the service is friendly, polite and knowledgeable, here it's all about the food. Start with the ahi pot-stickers atop a creamy coconut-peanut sauce that surprises with its complexity of flavor. Then a seared smoked salmon forms a teepee over a mound of frisée, warm bacon dressing, toasted pine nuts and oven-dried tomatoes, resulting in finishing bites of sweet, smoke, crunch and comfort. Dinner entrées like the grilled New York strip served with the “high calorie” baked potato, creamed spinach, buttered mushrooms and onion rings make you forget about the power steakhouses, where all the sides are extra chi-chings. Looking to step back to a heartier classical time, the open-face beef Wellington with its pastry crust, mushroom duxelles, candied carrots and whipped Yukon potatoes doesn’t disappoint. Surely save room for Cynthia’s dessert menu, and go no further than the ‘Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut” for a dreamy chocolate cake layered with milk chocolate cream and topped by a coconut sorbet.