Baltimore – Where to eat

[bergerka]

One more clarification - we'll be auditioning at a place on Cathedral Street, if that helps at all.

OMG, Morela - the whippet is to die for. CUTE!

K

[ludja]

Is the historical Cross St Market (Federal District) open on Sunday's?

It's nice to stop there at the seafood bar in back (Nick's?) for oysters on the half shell at great prices... If they're open on Sunday; they'll be open at 4:00.

[misscindy]

One more clarification - we'll be auditioning at a place on Cathedral Street, if that helps at all.

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You will be close to Abacrombie and Dukem.

And, another poster mentioned Nick's in the Cross Street Market in Federal Hill. It is open on Sundays and it would be a fun, very casual option.

[bugsy]

one other idea... if you want to stop at a place on the way back about 30-40

minutes from baltimore in Havre de Grace it's called Aquatica 931 Pulaski Hwy

(rt 40) 410-939-7686 ...it's only been open a few months,but getting good reviews

from people i know.

[Baltfoodie]

Lars here, with Baltimore Foodies. If you're on Cathedral, Minato's is just around the corner for Sushi and Japanese. Also, there is a new French Bistro, up by Biddle and N. Charles that is suppose to be opening around the 15th of Feb. You can aklso go to Mick O'Shea's just down on Charles Street for gret Irish bar food, or across the street at Copra. I used to work in the area and know many places.

~LARS~

[Varmint]

Lexington Market is less than 2 miles away, I think. You can get nearly anything you'd want there, including some awesome crabcakes at Faidley's.

[misscindy]

Lexington Market is less than 2 miles away, I think.  You can get nearly anything you'd want there, including some awesome crabcakes at Faidley's.

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Any other day of the week, I would agree. Lexington Market is closed on Sundays.

[DTBarton]

Matthew's pizza on Eastern Avenue is pretty good for a non-pizza town. BYOB

http://www.citypaper.com/bob/story.asp?id=1193

Amicci's in Little Italy is fun.

http://www.amiccis.com/

[bergerka]

Thank you all so much for the suggestions!

Because it was just a short walk from our audition site, we made our way to O'Shea's and were delighted (good bangers especially, and those fried won ton things stuffed with potato et al were completely addictive).

I'm now home & exhausted & ready to hit the sack.

K

[edsel]

Lexington Market is less than 2 miles away, I think.  You can get nearly anything you'd want there, including some awesome crabcakes at Faidley's.

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I'll second the recommendation of Faidley's, though I believe misscindy is correct about their not being open on Sunday. Also I seem to recall the begerka mentioned that there was a less than unanimous enthusiasm for crab cakes. I was recently in Baltimore and managed to talk a colleague into going to Faidley's - he's a crab cake fiend, but was surprisingly skeptical about eating at a fish market. Needless to say, he's a convert now.

Begerka, glad that O'Shea's worked out for you and your traveling companions.

[Andrew Fenton]

I'll be in Baltimore next weekend: just one day and one night, so this is going to be a targeted, in and out, commando-style eating mission. Having pored over the relevant threads, I've come up with a short list; any recommendations would be ever so appreciated.

Lunch is easy: to Lexington Market, to Faidley's. Though it occurs to me: crabs are out of season. Do they freeze the crab cakes? If so, are they still worth it? If not, any other good spots in Lexington Market?

Dinner is the real issue. I've got a list from old threads:

The Brewer's Art

Henniger's Tavern

Peter's Inn

Saffron

Most of the recommendations I've gotten seem to be more bar-food type places (the exception being Saffron); I'm most definitely up for that, but if there's anything un-missable that I've missed, I'd love to hear it.

[DLang]

None of the places you listed have what I would call bar food, though three of them have "bars" prominently featured. They're all good choices. But Brewer's Art would be my pick.

Alternatively, if you want more of a fine dining thing, you would have to include Corks, Charleston, Soigne, Abacrombie (though I've yet to eat there) in the list. If you want more a hip scene with good food, I would suggest Pazo, Vespa, or Red Maple.

[monavano]

Charleston gets good to great reviews

[Susan in FL]

But Brewer's Art would be my pick.

Ditto!

[Rich Pawlak]

I'll be in Baltimore next weekend: just one day and one night, so this is going to be a targeted, in and out, commando-style eating mission.  Having pored over the relevant threads, I've come up with a short list; any recommendations would be ever so appreciated.

Lunch is easy: to Lexington Market, to Faidley's.  Though it occurs to me: crabs are out of season.  Do they freeze the crab cakes?  If so, are they still worth it?  If not, any other good spots in Lexington Market?

Dinner is the real issue.  I've got a list from old threads:

The Brewer's Art

Henniger's Tavern

Peter's Inn

Saffron

Most of the recommendations I've gotten seem to be more bar-food type places (the exception being Saffron); I'm most definitely up for that, but if there's anything un-missable that I've missed, I'd love to hear it.

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I would definitely hit Charleston on Friday night, and Brewers Art the next day for a delightful lunch. Fueled by some samples of their superb Belgian-style ales (like Ozzy and Resurection), you should sleep like a baby on the train ride back to Philly. Well, unless y6u're driving. I would then not recommend the beer part.

[DTBarton]

I like are Blue Agave in Federal Hill, hip spot with great Margaritas and interesting Mexican style stuff.

http://www.blueagaverestaurant.com/

Since you seem open to both upscale and down, Aldo's in Little Italy has served me several excellent Italian meals, but they're pricy (as is Charleston).

http://www.aldositaly.com/home.html

[simdelish]

I would definitely hit Charleston on Friday night, and Brewers Art the next day for a delightful lunch. 

Exactly what I would do. If you are looking for something great, something different, and something you could probably not get similar at home, then that plan would definitely fit the bill.

btw, if you want little Italy, then my vote would be Della Notte. It's a little over the top in decor, but the food is excellent. They have gotten a new chef there, imported from great DC restaurants, with a great new menu ( just avoid the usual red sauce meatball type things that still hang on, that's for ordinary folks. I heard the chef would love to be rid of them, but some regulars are putting up a fuss!) A little known secret is that Della Notte's bread/pastry shop provides said items for many of the other restaurants in Little Italy.

[Andrew Fenton]

Charleston looks good, but more than I want to spend: one of our group has specifically said she doesn't want to spend more than $50-60 on dinner, and I don't think we could do that there and have a good time.

Italian is right out: I'm trying to go light on Italian over the next few months (since it's all I'll be eating for a year or so). It sounds like Brewer's Art is the way to go, then... Cool: I'll make the missus drive...

[Andrew Fenton]

Well, it was a short trip to B'more, but a highly successful one. The lump crab cake at Faidley's was the best I've had, no doubt about it. Onion rings were also good, and the Maryland crab soup was interesting. Basically a vegetable soup (frozen mixed vegetables) with a crab stock. Even better than the 'cake was the store itself: it has the sort of encrusted, palimpsestic quality you only get from a business of long standing with a long, proud tradition behind it. Plus, in addition to seafood, I noted they were selling:

a) raccoon,

b) muskrat, and

c) "swamp rabbit." (What's that? Nutria? Or just a rabbit that lives in a swamp, like the one that attacked Jimmy Carter?)

I'm always impressed by that commitment to old-school, hard-core tradition.

Anyway, at the Lexington Market, I also had a sour cream donut from Harbor City Bakery (?) And a fine donut it was; I had to fight my way to the counter to get it, and as always, anticipation heightened the flavor.

Dinner last night was at the Brewer's Art. Boy was I wrong when I thought it would be a bar-type restaurant. What a great place! First, it's an absolutely beautiful space. I loved the upstairs, with its faded mansion decor, the couches in the front and dining room in the back (funky artwork, faux marble, brewing materials lurking in the darkness behind the glass). And the catacomb-like bar downstairs is terrific. If I lived in Baltimore, I'd be there all the time.

The beer was great, too. I had two glasses of their La Petroleuse: malty, a little tart, and strong! (6.8% alcohol: not bad) Probably should have tried different kinds, and if our waiter had been a little quicker-moving, I would have hard a third glass, of something else. In fact, the service was the weakest aspect of dinner: our waiter was a friendly, and fairly knowledgeable, but also pretty slow. I had to wait almost half an hour between ordering my second beer and getting it. That's too long for a thirsty man.

The dinner menu is well-chosen and solid. I had the ribeye: 22 oz, which is way too much meat (the rest is sitting in my refrigerator as I write this, awaiting dinner tomorrow, or maybe tonight's midnight snack). But it was awfully good, even for someone like me, who's generally pretty neutral towards steak. It came with an excellent slice of potato galette: something like pommes Anna, rich, slightly crunchy above and below, and a custom-built machine for absorbing steak juices.

Less successful was my Caesar salad. It was beautiful: a cylinder of salad topped with a Parmesan cake, and marked by the X of two anchovy filets. But it had too much cheese, and was a little gloppy and salty. The other appetizers were also a little disappointing: a squash-apple soup was too thick and too heavy on apple, and a baked Camembert was okay, but nothing special.

Grilled "white tuna" (that's escobar or wahoo to you, bub) was flavorful and moist, served with a saffron risotto. And the lamb stew was beautiful, what with the long, thin slices of carrot and other vegetables. It had a great flavor, as well; but the meat was pretty dry. I think they used leg of lamb; it'd work better with shoulder or one of the other tougher cuts.

I had a few bites (okay, more than a few) of the dessert special, a raspberry clafouti. A lot lighter and less pancakesque than most clafoutis I've had, it was tart, almost foamy in texture, and on the whole, pretty awesome.

In conclusion: the Brewer's Art kicks ass. You Baltimoreans are lucky to have it; thanks for the suggestion.

[misscindy]

Glad to hear you enjoyed Faidley’s and Brewer’s. Thanks for your report.

Faidley’s makes an incredible crabcake but that isn’t the only reason I love the place so much. To me, it represents a part of Baltimore culture that is slowly but surely fading away. I love standing there, eating a crabcake, drinking a draft and pondering the culinary possibilities of raccoon and muskrat. And swamp rabbit (!). Spending time at Faidley’s provides a very effective fix for anyone bored with the generic or the trendy.

And, Brewer’s is a regular stop for me, an ozzy or two after work will adjust your attitude in short order. I never grow tired of the beer or the space. Nice of you to remind us that we are lucky to have it, especially now, when I’m feeling like throwing myself a pity party over the unexpected closing of one of my favorites, Soigne, over the weekend. I may have an ozzy or two and think about it.

[bobby29]

Nice of you to remind us that we are lucky to have it, especially now, when I’m feeling like throwing myself a pity party over the unexpected closing of one of my favorites, Soigne, over the weekend.  I may have an ozzy or two and think about it.

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What? Soigne closed?? Damn, I heard really good things and never got to try it. If anyone knows the deal, let us know?

I'll be hitting Brewer's Art this Saturday eve for dinner. Thanks!

[misscindy]

Saturday night was the last night for Soigne. Boo hiss. It is truly a shame that you didn't get to try it because it was really, really good. The closing is a serious loss for Baltimore. Unfortunately, our scene just isn't deep enough to shrug it off. I heard something about the landlord buying out the lease. That theory makes sense because property values in that part of town have risen substantially since Soigne opened. An evil, evil thing to do. Word is that Chef Edward Kim is taking a position in DC - Merkado? Will be interesting to see if he can continue to turn out thoughtful, creative and delicious food in what will no doubt be a much larger, less intimate, operation.

[Andrew Fenton]

Faidley’s makes an incredible crabcake but that isn’t the only reason I love the place so much.  To me, it represents a part of Baltimore culture that is slowly but surely fading away.  I love standing there, eating a crabcake, drinking a draft and pondering the culinary possibilities of raccoon and muskrat.  And swamp rabbit (!).  Spending time at Faidley’s provides a very effective fix for anyone bored with the generic or the trendy.

I couldn't agree more. It's a real place, in a way that others can try to fake, but can't succeed at.

Question: you mentioned drinking a draft. Do they sell draft beer there? I only saw beer in cans; but if they have good draft beer there, I might just have to move in.

[misscindy]

Faidley’s makes an incredible crabcake but that isn’t the only reason I love the place so much.  To me, it represents a part of Baltimore culture that is slowly but surely fading away.  I love standing there, eating a crabcake, drinking a draft and pondering the culinary possibilities of raccoon and muskrat.  And swamp rabbit (!).  Spending time at Faidley’s provides a very effective fix for anyone bored with the generic or the trendy.

I couldn't agree more. It's a real place, in a way that others can try to fake, but can't succeed at.

Question: you mentioned drinking a draft. Do they sell draft beer there? I only saw beer in cans; but if they have good draft beer there, I might just have to move in.

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Yep, they have draft beer...but not good draft beer. I believe the choices are limited to Bud and Bud Light, both of which I dislike a great deal. It would be too strange if they had a great selection of beer.

[sockii]

Hello,

Some friends and I are going to be in the Baltimore area this weekend and we're looking for somewhere nice (but not outrageously expensive) for a group dinner Saturday night. Basically, there are about 12 of us, would like to be able to get around a 7-7:30 seating, and have some decent vegetarian options for some folks in the group. Just about any style food/cuisine would be okay. The one place we thought we'd all agreed upon can't seat us until too late, so now we're scrambling for a new choice.

Anyone have any decent recs? It would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!