Patrick's Restaurant, Cockeysville

A fire snaps fingers of flame behind the brick storefront as alarmed figures run to and fro, cradling and dragging valuable objects through the doors and into the daylight. These altruists weren't carrying gold, or silver, or fine statues, but photographs signed by Johnny Unitas. Patrick's Restaurant has recovered since this disaster, keeping intact a collection of artwork and sports memorabilia carried over from the Golden Arm, a restaurant opened by the Colts football legend. Framed photographs and Tiffany lamps hanging over the bar bear the Johnny Unitas label, and Golden Arm’s recently restored mural gazes from the wall out over chattering visitors.

The main dining room provides a foil to the bustling bar area, surrounding visitors with a calm sea of white-clothed tables, chandeliers, and glass windows etched with pairs of courting sweethearts. From the foyer, interior studio windows grant glimpses into the restaurant’s wine cellar, filled with towering racks that hold up to 2,500 bottles, exactly enough for one person to learn to juggle wine bottles. Strains of Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra warble throughout the space, launching smoky harmonies through tendrils of steam rising from varied dishes.

Head chef Carole Brosso lets an education at the Culinary Institute of America and certification from the American Chefs Association shine through in simmering pasta sauces and reductions destined to cloak plates. Carole takes diners’ palates on European tours through a menu of italian pastas, French-inspired seafood, and Spanish recipes, drawing upon local meats, and fish and shellfish brought in daily from an area fishery, and seasonal veggies still laced with notes of a scarecrow’s perfume.