A college friend of my wife’s was visiting her son in Ellicott City last weekend, and so we all planned to get together for dinner Sunday night. But where? What restaurant would have not just good food but also the right ambiance for conversation?

I knew nothing of Ellicott City, and while Yelp can help, I wanted a recommendation a little more personal—after all, I must know someone who knows someone in that area—so I threw the question out to the Twitterverse, and the Twitterverse replied—get thee to The Rumor Mill.

Based on its site, The Rumor Mill, operated by Chef Matthew Milani, offered an intriguing menu, and seemed like a good fit for folks who want to linger … plus the restaurant had just landed one of its desserts on the cover of Howard County magazine. So we were in!

The Rumor Mill is a small plates restaurant, with all dishes meant for sharing, and we started out with an assortment of olives, warmed in herbed olive oil, and sweet potato fries, tossed with cinnamon butter. I didn’t think to photograph these because, well, all olives and fries look pretty much the same, right? They ended up being excellent, but since no pic would have done them justice, missing out on the visuals doesn’t matter. The rest of the meal, however …

Roasted Brussels sprouts tossed in a dehydrated apple and fig vinaigrette and topped with toasted hazelnuts.

We scarfed down this dish as if it was M&Ms, not Brussels sprouts. When vegetables become as droolworthy as candy, you know you’re in good hands.

Brie sampler: Four miniature triple-creme bries topped with peach, fig compote, spicy bacon marmalade and arugula pesto, served with warm French bread.

I kept thinking I had a favorite topping, but my choice changed with each bite, which was surprising, as bacon always wins in wars like these, right? But no, they were all winners.

Tuna tartare: Sushi-grade tuna in lemon-soy vinaigrette with guacamole and salty tortilla chips.

Very tender fish, paired well with the guacamole. My only quibble was that the tortilla chips, while decent enough tortilla chips, were far from OMG and were still … well … tortilla chips. They didn’t seem quite up to the level of inventiveness of the rest of the meal and so felt a bit out of place. But that’s what the chef gets for setting the bar so high!

Calamari BLT: Tender calamari breaded with panko and quickly fried, tossed with arugula, diced tomatoes and pecanwood- smoked bacon with a sweet Thai chile sauce.

This dish had at least one person who didn’t normally like calamari really liking calamari. It wasn’t overcooked and/or soggy as calamari sadly so often is, and offering it as a kind of deconstructed BLT was entertaining. Larger than the sum of its parts.

Chef Matthew’s no-filler crab cake served with mustard caviar, caramel fish sauce and fried saltines.

An excellent crab cake with a playful presentation. When we saw the mention of fried saltines on the menu we were puzzled … but it worked!

Duck & cherries: Cardamom-infused sous-vide duck breast, brined cherries, pomegranate oil.

This was the dish which, when I noted it on the menu in advance, I most wanted to try. The cherry is my favorite fruit, the duck my favorite fowl. (Sorry, goose—I may love roasting things in your fat, but duck flesh wins.) All that basically means I was pre-programmed to like this dish, so you should take my judgment with a grain of salt. But I enjoyed the combination immensely.

Ribs: Slow-roasted and glazed with teriyaki BBQ sauce.

I never know what to expect from ribs, and that was particularly true this time around, since The Rumor Mill is part bar, part restaurant. But these were not your usual bar ribs. Even those who didn’t normally go for ribs went for them here. Kudos must go to Chef Milani, who here as with all the other dishes, played with expectations and tweaked the recipes enough so that everything seemed unexpected and new.

Caramel chocolate hazelnut composition: Chocolate hazelnut cake with hazelnut crunch & dulce de leche, served with toasted hazelnuts, berries & ice cream.

Irene’s one sadness was that the restaurant was out of its Apple Crisp by the time we were ready to order dessert. But it’s hard to hold a grudge when you can opt for a cake like this!

Seasonal bread pudding: Mint chocolate bread pudding with marshmallow ice cream.

Since the menu only says “seasonal bread pudding” plus “ask your server for today’s bread pudding,” I have no idea what you’ll be offered when and if you visit (and you should). But the ingredients here complemented each other perfectly. I take the leap of faith that whatever future combinations are offered will be equally pleasing.

Bottom line: I was surprised and impressed by the experience. I had no idea Ellicott City contained such a gem, and I’m a bit embarrassed by it, too, since The Rumor Mill has apparently been doing this kind of thing since 2007.

But based on the above, we know we should rectify that and get back there quickly. There’s a whole lot more menu for us to eat our way through …