Arrive Magazine - May/June, 2011

Chef Spotlight

Chef Tony Foreman

Pazo is a Galician word meaning “grand house,” but your jaw will tell you that when it hits the floor. Pazo, the building, soars overhead, and co-owner Tony Foreman loves to see the faces of guests as they enter—that first gape. The space measures 65 feet from floor to ceiling, and once upon a time was a machine shop. In one era it served as a repair shop for propellers and in another it was used to cast bullets.

Today, the powers that be behind Pazo make great Western Mediterranean food, mix delicious cocktails and pour lush wines (at every price) from a list carefully chosen by Foreman—one half of the team of Foreman and Cindy Wolf, who’ve earned a reputation as builders of some of the most delightful restaurants in Baltimore. Chef de cuisine Mario Cano-Catalan works with Foreman to serve up excellence on a daily basis.

Delightful, at Pazo, starts with that stunning decor. “It’s a really amazing space to be in,” says Foreman.

Iron chandeliers suggest a seaside
Mediterranean palace, and the giant
open kitchen is a fiery exhibit of modern
alchemy. Downstairs is the “scene,”
amplified by a custom-designed music
system. You might feel as if you’re in a
movie, with your own soundtrack play-
ing perfectly in the background—full
without being loud.

If the downstairs bar is the scene at Pazo, the upstairs bar is a place to pull up a seat as a single and find yourself welcome for dinner, drinks and a bartender who will become a friend you later miss and long to visit again, as many do. And when you need them, Pazo has four dining rooms. Wherever you feel comfortable— that’s a Foreman-Wolf trademark.

Two major cooking appliances fulfill
the mission of the Mediterranean style:
the wood-fired grill and the 600-pound
la Planxa, a big, hot surface for searing
whatever needs searing, such as sea
scallops, mushrooms, dorado or cala-
mari. If it’s not cooked there, then your
dish probably will come from the wood-
fired grill, but much of the cooking is
done “a la Planxa”—hot and fast to seal
in the natural qualities of the food, just
as they do in Spain and Portugal. That
style also depends on great ingredients,
that Foreman and Wolf have built during

15 years of working with farmers and fishermen in several states.

And you may as well hear it here first: The most popular dish at Pazo is the grilled rack of lamb chops with pomegranate. In fact, the chops are so popular that the farms producing the lamb have had to continually increase production to keep up with demand.

Wine is always brilliantly conceived when Tony Foreman is involved, and here it’s all over the menu, with suggested pairings listed right along with entrees.

You’ll find wines from around the world, but Foreman has focused on the Rioja and Galicia areas of Spain.

Finish dinner with something Spanish such as crema catalana, or with Spanish cheeses you don’t always see, such as Garrotxa or Zamorano. Then get a glass of port, let the warm Mediterranean breeze blow through your hair and start scheming about how to get back to the grand house.