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 … (more…)