Actually Wine Market is a great suggestion. I organized a large birthday party there once, prix fixe menu was reasonable and delicious.

I would call Salt or Fork & Wrench. I imagine they can make that happen for you. Those would be my two choices.

How far are you willing to walk/cab/drive from inner harbor proper? Pretty much all chain stuff in the immediate area.

If you are after a gyro the best I've had in America (no joke) is the authentic version at Greektown Grill. I spent some time in a Greece about 5 years ago and this is in my top 3 (again, no joke). They actually use raw pork on the spit, none of that goofy gyro "meat," that cooks progressively as the day goes on and the meat is shaved off.

Despite what most people seem to think, a gyro in Greece is made with pork or occasionally chicken, not lamb.

It's hard to beat Cantler's for outdoor crabs, but that's in Annapolis.

Is the Olive Room still open? The hotel that housed it was recently in foreclosure.

You can make it quite easily yourself. Don't know if you're up for that.

Maybe 10 miles as the crow flies. Google Maps says it's 16 miles each way. You're talking probably 45 minutes of just driving from 95 to Pioneer and back. OP asked for convenience to 95, Chap's is the only option.

Chap's is like 1 minute off 895.

Not to nitpick - but what do you find interesting about the food at WK? It's just simple farm to table, classic fare. I've never had a prep there where I said "Wow, I'd never have thought to serve this dish in such a way." Of course they source the finest local ingredients and you will pay a premium for that, but I've never found it interesting or inventive honestly. In the past I thought their execution was spot on and the results delicious, but they've been wildly inconsistent for some time now, and that's inexcusable at their level.

You know, I was trying to think of what place I was forgetting - and it was Pabu. I've enjoyed everything I've had there. I'm willing to pay their somewhat absurd prices for what you are getting. I was in Japan back in October and all the yakitori offerings are generously priced. But again, Pabu is great and certainly worth the money. Easily the best sushi in the area as well.

When Fork & Wrench opened their menu was an incredible value and I went several times. They've adjusted their price points and it's more in line with what you'd expect for that level of cuisine. Their wine list is a bargain, and their cocktails are reasonably priced as well.

Woodberry is falling victim to their own success IMHO. Great cocktails in a fantastic setting, but their food is played out.

Woodberry is quite far from the inner harbor, probably 25+ dollar cab ride each way. Also I've been less than impressed the last 3 times I've been there. Mediocre food, less than stellar service.

I haven't been to Salt in a while, but I've always enjoyed it. Recently I have found Fork & Wrench to be among my favorite Baltimore spots.

Chazz is like going to TGI Fridays. I went once, completely underwhelmed.

I would think if you worked with the restaurant you could probably get a room at a place like Fork & Wrench, or most of the dining room at Salt. Same goes for Jack's Bistro. I planned a surprise 30th birthday celebration at the Wine Market with a prix fixe 4 course menu that I chose in advance for a very reasonable amount of money.

Tio Pepe is a good suggestion in my opinion despite the food not being very remarkable these days - a very fun place to celebrate a big event and they have semi private rooms.

Marcel's and Vidalia come to mind. I haven't been to Vidalia in about a year, but I've always really enjoyed it.

Hey thanks for that recommendation. I just called and they will in fact sell to anyone. You just have to pick it up before 9AM.

And I've been to R&R... Pretty solid.

Anyone know where I find a whole monkfish, or at least a broken down monkfish in Baltimore? I don't want anything prepared here.

I had a 30th birthday party in the private room at Central, which was lovely.

It's really not that top notch, although it is a very cool space and I've had several memorable meals there. You can find similar atmosphere and better Spanish food in Manhattan, however.

Ryleigh's is a good choice for high quality, locally sourced seafood, and it's not a very far cab ride from your hotel. Mama's is a bit of hike. If you want "classic" Baltimore you should probably walk to Lexington Market and eat some oysters and a crabcake (maybe a coddie) at Faidley's then grab a Berger cookie for dessert.

That being said, it's not glamorous and isn't exactly for the timid.

If you want to walk we're going to need some more detailed hotel information. The harbor kind of splits the city in half for walking.

Addy Bassin on MacArthur is among the best.

I second the Bombay Club. A great suggestion for price, quality, and romance.

Thanks for writing this up. My wife and I are just back from Tokyo and were considering hitting Seki in the next week or so. You've convinced me to give them some more time to work out some bugs.

I'm very high on Pabu at the Four Seasons right now. Modern Izakaya, great sake selection. Great happy hour specials as well.

That's just not true about the asphyxiation. First of all, no gas "reacts" in the lungs. Your lungs act as an area where your blood picks up oxygen or carbon dioxide. Yes there is a binding of O2 or CO2 to the heme Fe, but it's not really a reaction. Second, hemoglobin does not bind nitrogen at all so you'll breathe it in and directly out. Finally, 78% of the air is comprised of nitrogen, you couldn't drastically displace the amount of oxygen in a room with nitrogen to cause a problem.

You could cause frostbite if you're not careful, but again it's not going to happen from a brief splash.

You'd be hard pressed to buy liquid N2 anywhere "as a civilian." Even if AirGas would sell it to you, there would be an exorbitant deposit on the tank, and I'm fairly sure the smallest size you could get is 200 L. That cylinder is about 5 ft tall, 3 feet wide, and weighs approximately 300 lbs. If they would disperse a few litres (doubtful) into a synthetic grade dewar for you, you'd still have to buy the dewar. In that case you'd need at least 10 L to account for loss during pouring and transit, and the dewars are probably around 700 dollars.

If you know someone in a chemistry or biology lab - they can probably pirate you out a few litres.

It's not all that bad to be around - N2 makes up 78% of our atmosphere. When it's compressed into liquid it's just very cold. Like any and all chemicals (or anything dangerous for that matter) if you exercise caution when using it, it won't hurt you. I've splashed it onto my arms before and it just tingles a little bit. I wouldn't recommend you go dipping your fingers into it though, a few seconds of constant exposure will definitely cause frostbite - or worse.

Dr. Hotel

As a chemist, let me say that dry ice would definitely be the better choice if you want to make sorbet. You'd need a ton of liquid N2 (boiling point -200 C) since it quickly boils at room temperature. Dry ice has a standing temperature of about -78 C and a bottle of 80 proof liquor will freeze at around -30 C. You should definitely still wear some sort of working glove while handling the dry ice.

Nothing worse than a resurrected 5 year old topic!

We had ours at the Old Ebbitt Grill 5 years ago and it was lovely. They were pretty flexible with the food and booze and they have 3 different spaces to accommodate different sized groups.

Define "good." If you simply mean delicious then go to Grace Garden in Odenton.