Chameleon Cafe – MD Food with MD 'tude
After my Interview with Thomas from Zeke’s, he suggested that I talk to Jeff Smith, the owner and head chef of Lauraville’s Chameleon Cafe. There isn’t really a recent article about the cafe, but they have been reviewed several times so I read through a few of them to get an idea of what Smith does at his restaurant.
Smith is a Maryland native that grew up in Parkville, and went to Baltimore International College to study culinary arts. When he opened Chameleon in 2001, he really wanted to try to represent Maryland cuisine with local meats, seafood, vegetables, fruit and recipes. The article in Baltimore Style Magaine starts out by talking about how Smith has a garden behind the restaurant in which he grows fresh herbs to use in his cooking. It is actually a really interesting article and was a good intro for me as I didn’t really know anything about Smith or Chameleon before this week. I just wish the article didn’t have a bunch of bogus random links. There are just random words highlighted throughout the article linking to unrelated advertisements; so annoying.
Anyway, it seems like Smith has quite unique ideas for dishes and really does provide his patrons with a truly Maryland dining experience. I am going to be talking to him later today and will have some more details in next week’s interview post.
