A taste of the good life at the Charleston

Just when you think life couldn't get any better, the Charleston delights you with its impeccable service and mouth-watering cuisine. Located in the Inner Harbor East, the Charleston's menu offers American fare with a hint of classic French and Southern influences. Executive Chef Cindy Wolf updates the menu daily as she adds new ingredients and dishes to the ever-evolving list of selections.

With a selection of seven courses, arrive hungry! The "Grand Seven Course Tasting Menu," at $70 per person features the chef's selection of some of the most enticing selections of the evening. My party included four starving college students, and we opted to create our own tasting menu from the numerous selections.

For the first course, we ordered lobster bisque finished with brandy and tarragon. It was creamy and sweet, tasting better with each spoonful. Other tempting first course selections included rabbit risotto finished with applewood smoked bacon on a chiffonade of baby spinach and pan-seared foie gras with caramelized granny smith apples and apple cider reduction sauce. However, we couldn't get caught up on the first course with so many more dishes to try.

Our second course selections included ducktrap river smoked salmon with sour cream, capers, red onion and toast and crispy cornmeal crusted oysters with a lemon-cayenne mayonnaise. My dinner companions expressed their delight and approval of these beautifully prepared dishes as I sipped on wine and waited for my main course of grilled veal tenderloin with saut of Yukon gold potatoes, Portobello and shiitake mushrooms with whole grain mustard sauce. The veal was the most deliciously tender piece I have experienced, and the mustard sauce over the Portobello mushrooms was simply to die for. Our other main course selections included grilled, jugtown-bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin with mashed Yukon gold potatoes, asparagus and sauce bordelaise and roasted Creole spice-rubbed Florida grouper with shiitake mushrooms, green onions and tomato rice.

Wine and cheese aficionados will fall in love with the Charleston. It has the distinction of being the only restaurant in Maryland that offers a cheese course, a tableside presentation of over thirty artisanal cheeses. Selections of Sir Laurier, Pouligny St. Pierre and Pont l'Eveque are delectable rare finds. To complement the many flavors of food at the Charleston, Co-owner and Wine Director Tony Foreman has acquired over 500 vintages from vineyards around the world. Our selection was a light 1997 red burgundy from the South of France, recommended by our server. Seeking wait staff recommendations is a good idea, considering the selections of food and wine are vast.

The staff is well-versed in all of the menu choices down to the special ingredients that Chef Cindy Wolf uses, and the service is impeccable. You'll never have to ask for anything; it will already be taken care of by the six or seven waiters who will monitor the progress of your meal.

Whatever you choose to order, be sure to leave room for dessert. The vanilla cr?me brulee and banana-pecan cake with caramelized ice cream were our selections. The vanilla cr?me brulee was sinfully rich, and it took three of us to finish it off.

With free valet parking, a main dining room that makes you feel as if you're seated in a Southern garden, and food that will make you want to enroll at the Culinary Institute of America, you will feel like a million dollars dining at the Charleston. Your bill will reflect the luxuriousness of this experience: Ours was close to $260. But every once in while, it's good to treat yourself - especially when your parents are in town.