Michael Mina Opens Wit & Wisdom And Lamill Coffee At The Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore

The Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, located in the city's Harbor East neighborhood, opens WIT & WISDOM and LAMILL COFFEE, two new culinary concepts from celebrated Chef and Restaurateur Michael Mina.

Michael Mina, who marks 20 years in the industry in 2011, has received such accolades as Food Arts Silver Spoon award in 2011, Bon App�tit Chef of the Year 2005, the recent Esquire Restaurant of the Year 2011 nod for his eponymous restaurant, MICHAEL MINA, and a Michelin star at MICHAEL MINA in the 2012 guidebook.

This project marks the second collaboration between Mina and Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, having opened BOURBON STEAK at the Four Seasons Hotel Georgetown in Washington D.C. in 2008 to great acclaim. The Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore represents the first East Coast opening for Four Seasons Hotels in nearly a decade, and has been a highly anticipated development for the Harbor East neighborhood, steadily maximizing the area's historical culture, traditions, and economic health. Both Michael Mina and the hotel group are happy to be included in the city's growth and positive development.


WIT & WISDOM

One of three dining concepts at the hotel is WIT & WISDOM, an American tavern. The signature restaurant offers American cuisine inspired by the Mid-Atlantic region and focused on the Eastern seaboard's culinary heritage. Paying homage to the area's history, WIT & WISDOM will tap locally sourced ingredients, prepared using classic wood fire grilling and hearth cooking techniques. To lead the kitchen, Mina has chosen Executive Chef Benjamin Lambert. Lambert has created a reputation built upon his commitment to local and sustainable cooking, first as Chef de Cuisine at Restaurant Nora, considered a pioneer of the locavore movement in the D.C. area, then most recently at Bread & Tulips in Manhattan.

From the centrally located display kitchen, diners may observe the chefs as they prepare featured dishes on the live-fire grill and rotisserie. The dinner menu offers a variety of starter items including an extensive locally sourced raw bar, and regionally influenced dishes like the Baltimore 'Coddie' Fritter with warm pickled peppers and parsley and Strozzapreti Pasta with Border Springs Farm lamb ragu, preserved tomato and Everona Dairy Stoney Man cheese. Entrees are divided into four sections based on cooking method, presenting items Griddled in Cast Iron Skillets; From the Rotisserie; Slow Cooked & Braised and Oak-Fire Grilled. In keeping with Mina's love of trios, each section offers diners a choice between three main dishes, like the Butter Basted Amish Organic Chicken, country bread, roasting juices, wilted greens; Gunpowder Bison Tenderloin, caramelized sweet potato puree, Brussels sprouts and green apples and Crispy Chesapeake Rockfish, Path Valley cauliflower, caper, almond beurre noisette.

Desserts at WIT & WISDOM are overseen by Pastry Chef Chris Ford, who joins the team from Rogue 24 in Washington, D.C. The menu features a selection of house made items like the Wood Oven Apple Crisp with oat streusel and red hot cinnamon ice cream as well as a Maple Custard with orange toffee, almonds and bourbon.

The beverage program offers an array of hand crafted classic American cocktails as well as original creations utilizing hand squeezed juices and seasonal products. The wine list showcases American winemakers with a strong selection from East Coast wineries.

Designed by Frost-Tsuji Designs, the interior references traditional East Coast d�cor, with subtle touches of modernity. The signature display cooking area showcases a live fire grill and rotisserie that can be seen throughout the dining room. The restaurant, which seats roughly 150 features beautifully crafted wooden plank floors and richly textured fabrics li