We are discovering lots of wonderful little restaurants here in Baltimore. Several weeks ago, we walked over to Fells Point, which is a fun neighborhood. The Thames Street Oyster House is a place where you can get great food and some good wines.

Ernie and I had stopped into the restaurant just for a snack back in October, so we thought it would be fun to have a complete dinner. We started with raw oysters - after all, it does have OYSTER in its name! They have a super selection of oysters. We tend to like oysters that are not terribly salty and that are somewhat sweet. So we decided on Battle Creek oysters from Virginia, Delaware Bay oysters from New Jersey, and Gemme oysters from California. We also ordered fried Long Island Sound oysters with a remoulade sauce.

An assortment of raw oysters and the fried oysters along with a Muscadet.

To go with this, I ordered the wine that, way back in France's history, one of the King Louie's had ordered up to go with raw oysters - a Muscadet from the western end of the Loire Valley. We ordered a 2013 Domaine de la Quilla Muscadet to go with our meal. Like all Muscadets, this one was very fresh, lightly acidic, and a slightly citrusy flavor. King Louie had it right - it is the perfect accompaniment to raw oysters - and, in fact, all types of fish.

After indulging in the oysters, we moved on to the main courses. I ordered Arctic Char pan seared and served over gnocchi with apple-smoked bacon, butternut squash, and mushrooms in a light creamy butter sauce. Ernie ordered grilled swordfish served with cheese ravioli (very delicate) and a butter sauce with chives. Both dishes were fabulous - and the Muscadet went extremely well with both. Fantastic!

The Arctic Char with gnocchi, butternut squash, and mushrooms.

The grilled swordfish with raviolis and the buttery chive sauce.

And because we were having such a good time, we decided to order Florence Miller's Cinnamon Cake with ice cream for dessert, along with a glass of Tawny Port for me and a glass of Ruby Port for Ernie. As always, it is fun to have two different versions of the same type of wine side-by-side. The Tawny Port was much richer, a bit lighter orange in color, and that lovely burnt orangy taste, whereas the Ruby Port was darker red and a bit more harsh in its flavor since it had not had the aging of the Tawny. Both went well with the dessert. All in all, a wonderful evening - we'll definitely have to get back to the Oyster House!

The Ruby Port on the left and the Tawny Port on the right.