Midnight Madness in Ellicott City Part Two

Friday night during the Midnight Madness festivities in Ellicott City, we had dinner at the new Portalli’s restaurant on Main Street. Since HowChow came on the local blog scene I have happily deferred restaurant reviews to Brent. He does a much better job of it. That still doesn’t preclude me from occasionally commenting on our dining exploits around the county though.

As far as Portalli’s goes I’ll just say that we were disappointed. The service was good but the food did not live up to our expectations. I did like the cocktail lounge on the second floor though. Bottom line is that we’ll give it a few months and then perhaps try them again.

After dinner we scooted across the street to check out the new banquet facility, Ellicott City Weddings and Events. They were having an open house complete with faux brides and grooms.

This former art gallery is a pretty nifty place for either a wedding or a party. On the top floor is a reception room with big windows overlooking Main Street below. Out back is nice deck that would make a great setting for cocktails in nice weather.

All in all Midnight Madness was a success this year. The owner of the Rumor Mill restaurant told me the next morning that they were within two hundred dollars of a record evening.

A big wag of the wordbones tail goes out to Kimberly Kepnes who orchestrated the festivities this year on behalf of the Ellicott City Business Association.