8 replies to this topic

[StephanieL]

I have a 3-day conference in Baltimore next month and I'll be staying in the Inner Harbor with a bunch of colleagues who are not necessarily the most food-oriented people there are. Are there any halfway decent places in the immediate vicinity, or even a good crab house a short taxi ride away?

I'm hoping to catch an O's game at least one of the evenings, so if that pans out I'll be eating at the ballpark that night.

[Rail Paul]

Here's a thread on the subject from 2010.

I don't know where you're staying, but I'd suggest taking a cab if you go to Obrycki's or up to the Lexington Market (both of which I recommend). Although some of Baltimore is quite safe, neighborhoods can change block by block.

Bawl'mer

[StephanieL]

Unfortunately, the Obrycki's in Fells Point closed in November, per their Website.

[Rail Paul]

Unfortunately, the Obrycki's in Fells Point closed in November, per their Website.

That's sad.

Thanks for the link.

[Rail Paul]

Barron's magazine has several Baltimore area suggestions in the current edition.

They like Black Olive, a coastal Greek cuisine restaurant and upscale inn in the Fells Point neighborhood.

Upon arrival, the waiter guides you to a chilled glass counter for you to pick your dinner from the day’s catch—grilled dorade or sautéed barbouni (a small-boned fish that the ancient Greeks deemed the only fish an acceptable offering to the gods.)

814 S. Bond Street, Baltimore, MD 21231
Telephone:410.276.7141

-----------------------

and Pazo, a fiery Spanish restaurant nearby. This grand house is known for casual, creative cuisine:

Explore the classic tables of Sicily, Catalonia, Sardinia, & Campania hedonistic cuisine by exploring our tapas offerings to our grand plates and main menu items. Neopolitan pizza, regional cheeses, house-made breads, grilled seafood, spit-roasted game and aged ribeyes complete the menu.

1425 Aliceanna Street
Baltimore, MD 21231
410-534-7296

Pazo appears to be about five blocks east of the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott hotel.

-----------------------

In another neighborhood, Hampden, the spirit of John Waters is alive and well. Grano Emperio is located there.

The dinner menu leans toward rustic Italian foods from several regions.

Fresella
Neopolitan brushetta with chopped tomatoes, celery, and anchovies

Antipasto Misto
Prosciutto, mozzarella, grilled vegetables, and goat cheese — dressed with our Balsamic Vinaigrette
Primi Piatti
Pasta & Risotto

Risotto of the Day (GF Gluten Free)
Risotto with seasonal vegetables of the day

Risotto Con Porcini e Zafferano (GF)
Risotto with porcini mushrooms and saffron

Linguine Santa Lucia
Our all-time classic — Shrimp and pasta. A recipe of the Neopolitan waterfront

Linguine Marechiaro
Miniature Virginia clams, olive oil, garlic, spinach and toasted aromatic crumbs

Menu


Grano Emporio
3547 Chestnut Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21211

(443) 438-7521

Grano Emporio

[Steve R.]

We'll be in Baltimore next month Sept. 7-9. We have tkts to Yankee-Orioles games on both the eve of Fri 9/7 (with friends who live in Balt.) and the afternoon of Sun 9/9 (Stony Brook has an alumni event/section). I have no doubt that, including our driving costs (we're staying with friends), these Yankee games will wind up costing less than if we just bought tkts to home games at Yankee Stadium. In between, we'll get to Saturday's "Hampdenfest 2012" (a couple of our friends live in the neighborhood & are part of this). http://hampdenfest.blogspot.com All we have to do now is figure out which crab house to eat at on Sunday after the game. Recommendations?

[Rail Paul]

The NY Times visits Baltimore on an arts oriented visit. They found some food, though. This place is just off Key Highway (exit 55 on I-95, first exit south of the McHenry Tunnel)

Call it the great democratizer: it’s hard to find a Baltimorean who doesn’t enjoy wielding the mallet. L. P. Steamers (1100 East Fort Avenue; 410-576-9294; lpsteamers.com) is a purist’s crab house. There, waiters dump buckets of fresh-caught Old Bay-coated steamed crab onto brown paper for diners to whack, smash, pry, shuck and suck out the tender white meat. For two people, a dozen mediums ($50) and a pitcher of Baltimore’s signature swill, National Bohemian a k a Natty Boh ($9) should do the trick. Snag a table on the restaurant’s upper deck and watch the sun set over one of Baltimore’s best views.

Ramshackle elegance is a nice phrase, it would seem to describe many parts of Baltimore

Several arts districts have popped up in Baltimore in the past decade. The most successful has been Station North (www.stationnorth.org), the downtown area inhabited by artists, actors and students (and dropouts) from the nearby Maryland Institute College of Art and University of Baltimore. Over the past year, a project called Open Walls (openwallsbaltimore.com) has commissioned works from more than 20 street artists, whose murals animate the neighborhood’s ramshackle elegance. You can see an art show, hear local sounds or catch a screening at the Metro Gallery (1700 North Charles Street; 410-244-0899; themetrogallery.net) or the Windup Space (12 West North Avenue; 410-244-8855; thewindupspace.com). Yet when it comes to night life, what Baltimore does best is the dive bar. There may be none better than Club Charles (1724 North Charles Street; 410-727-8815), a grimy, kitschy little joint with a masterful jukebox and regulars like the electro-pop ringleader Dan Deacon

NYT

[StephanieL]

Great. This will be very useful as I may have to make the same conference trip (at the same hotel even) next April.

[joethefoodie]

If you can, Faidley's crab cakes are fairly delicious.