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| Home > Baltimore > Restaurant > XS |
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XS |
| 1307 N. Charles St. Baltimore, Maryland |
| 410-468-0002 |
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Is XS a Coffee Shop? A Noodle hut? A Lounge? Lucky For You, You Don't Have To Decide.The three-word trend continues. Center Stage recently appended to the words "Bold. Smart. Alive." to its institutional moniker. THe subject of last week's review, Blue Sea Grill, puts the words "Cool. Fresh. Raw." below its name. (Parlor game: choose three words for yourself and your friends.) And for its part, XS, the multistoried new cafe that opened a few months ago near the University of Baltimore, has chosen "Coffe. Sushi. Cocktails." The apparent incongruity of these three words is the entirely the point. XS is open from early in the morning until late into the night (2 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; midnight on other days), and it's trying mightily to be a fluidly engaging space, visited for a cup of Seattle-roasted brew on the way to Penn Station; returned to later for a light Japanese meal; and dropped in on for dessert after a symphony concert or MICA lecture.What distinguishes XS from other cafes that try to provide the same flexible experiences is how handsomely it manages its various moods and settings throughtout the day. (At least on a good day; there are still glitches and missteps.) Making everything possible is the sharp urban vertical space that's been created here. Open wooden staircases bring diners up from the first floor to three more levels (or, more precisely, two full and two half-levels), culminating in a cozy, fourth-floor lounge. We've seen students working on laptops here in the afternoon, but in the evening, when the lights are dimmed, it goes all soigne, with a big flat-screen TV, thumping music, and dusky purple lighting.The floor just below holds the main dining room, with about 12 tables and a burnished bar, where, kind of suprisingly, smokers are allowed to indulge. Up here, the side walls of exposed brick have been strung with gallopin bee lights, and the front window faces Charles Street. It's a great city space.By Richard Gorelick
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