Factors Row

Exactly what Annapolis needs! The food was highly complex and sexy.  Chef Long knows how to do it right when it comes to taking traditional ideas and putting modern twists on them!

I will be coming by on a very regular basis to try out their newest food concoctions!

It's new, it's loud, it's decent, and I like it!  Annapolis' first foodie-ish restaurant on the harbor.  Thank goodness.

Things I like:
-Location- overlooks the dock; great for people-watching, walkable from anywhere in the historic center.  Prime real estate.  Nailed it.
-Draft beer- they have about five microbrews on tap; not sure if they rotate, because they aren't on the menu.  The ones there looked pretty good to me though.  
-Menu- our lunch meals were pretty great: the naan is a must, and a deal at $3 (!).  Burger was cooked to a perfect medium, tasted fresh and juicy.  My vegetarian partner was pleased with her brunch hodgepodge.  Fries were ideal, neither too mushy nor crispy, with just a touch of salt and pepper.  
-Prices- our damage for two (including drinks) rang up at $30 total, pretty damn reasonable if you ask me.  Despite what other reviews may claim, it is NOT expensive- if anything, on par with any of the cheaper places nearby (but much better quality) and significantly less expensive than ANY of the fancy-schmancy French or steak places that are in the neighborhood.  Seriously, the only comparable place in town is Metropolitan, and it's pretty far down West Street.  Unless you want food poisoning from any of the gazillion crab places nearby, want to eat junk food at one of the billion brewpubs that proudly haven't been cleaned since George Washington visited, care to drop a Benjamin on a white-tablecloth wine-only dress-up place, or want to eat overpriced tourist crap, this is really your only option in the area, and thankfully it's pretty good AND reasonably priced.

Needs improvement:
-Noise level- I'm not sure what they can do to fix this, but it was only about 50% filled and the noise level was borderline insane.  It's the brick walls and hardwood floors, obviously, but they have to do something about it.  Don't even bother going in if it's full.
-Service- young kids seem to staff this place, apathetic, unfamiliar with the menu, poor attitudes and not a smile to be seen.  Since it just opened, I anticipate an improvement with age and popularity.

Kind of hit or miss.

The pluses:
* the menu offers more interesting dishes than its neighbors, the usual Annapolis suspects.
* the chef does know how to cook -- most components of the dishes come out pretty well.
* the ambience is convivial and comfortable
The minuses:
* somehow, the dishes never come out quite the way I thought they would, based on the menu description. The presentations of the dishes somehow leaves something to be desired. For example, once, I ordered the beet salad with goat cheese, which turned out to be just a bunch of slices of beets and a hunk of goat cheese; the plate shares more with a cutting board with raw ingredients on it than a composed dish.
* although the individual components of the dishes are reasonably executed, their combinations often don't work. For example, in their seared mahi mahi dish, the fish is ok (I'd prefer it to be less cooked but it wasn't overcooked at least), the brussel sprouts were actually nicely cooked, but the balsamic vinegar based reduction (which, again, on its own is ok) does not tie the dish together. The flavors just sit jarringly next to each other.
* When the place is somewhat crowded, the ambient noise can be deafening.

Maybe they are just still working out some of the opening rough spots.