mgarland's Profile
Week Between Xmas and New Years
One thing to keep in mind- don't try to reserve at Brigsten's for New Year's eve. They keep their tables reserved that night for regulars, which is understandable. However- they never called me back to let me know if there were any spots left!
I'm going to recommend Feast, which just opened. I went there 2 weeks ago, and it was fantastic- both food and service. My friend who went with me is British, and she said that the bubble and squeak was very authentic and just like her grandmother's. Their fried pork rinds were phenomenal, and the fish soup was the best I've ever had.
What fish will be missing from the menu
I was wondering the same thing- has there been a move away from serving seafood from the restaurants in Nola?
What? No talk about the oil spill? [moved from New Orleans]
thanks for the update! I think I would have cried if you'd told me to steer clear of a shrimp po boy.
What? No talk about the oil spill? [moved from New Orleans]
are there any updates about this situation (especially since a large portion of the Gulf was just declared off limits for fishing etc)? I'm going to New Orleans in a month and am wondering if I should steer clear of seafood.
Announcement: New Board Breakdown for Chowhound
you are not alone- I agree, they need to be split. Most people don't specify in their post titles what city they are referring to so you don't know until you've actually opened the post. People in Baltimore don't really drive to DC for dinner (and vice versa), except as a special occasion thing. The traffic is to horrendous, even though they are geographically close.
Announcement: New Board Breakdown for Chowhound
I really wish you'd break apart DC and Baltimore. I get tired of how people don't specify which city they are referring to in post titles, and I don't want to read about DC when I'm looking for a Baltimore restaurant, etc. Each city is big enough to warrant its own board.
Problems with Whole Foods in Harbor East
I'm going to second the Mt Washington recommendation. I've never had anything but pleasant experiences there. Their employees are great.
JFX Farmer's Market 2009
thx for the update! my main issue is that I don't need the stuff that I am already growing, so I don't want to drive all the way to the city if there is only stuff I already have. good to know there is a lot of fruit, though!
JFX Farmer's Market 2009
Can anyone give me a rundown of what they were selling at the farmer's market last week? I want to know if it's worth the trip or if it's really too early.
Brigstens was Heaven - Bayona was a Bust!
I think Bayona has gone downhill as well. It's sad because we had my wedding dinner there, and I've always loved the place. The last time I went there it was just OK.
New Orleans May 14-May 20
Do you like them better than Domilise's? It's funny that no one has mentioned them.
New Year's Eve Dinner?
In the event that I'm not able to get a reservation at Brigsten's (they are waiting till all of their regulars have reserved for New Year's before taking reservations for everyone else) where else would everyone suggest for dinner on New Year's eve?
I've looked online, but no restaurants have posted New Year's eve menus.
family friendly in B'more?
I wouldn't take a kid to Peter's (and I am a big fan). Thinking about it, there really aren't any great places in Fells Point to eat with a kid (hint to restauranteurs out there) except BOP (brick oven pizza) and there are lots of families with young kids who live there! If I were taking my son downtown I'd try to find someplace in Little Italy to eat (Amicci's comes to mind immediately) and follow up with gelato in Fells Point (Pitango Gelato is right on the square and is a favorite of my kid's). Little Italy is within walking distance of Fells Point- it's kind of inbetween the Inner Harbor and Fells
Jager Haus
we saw this place on our last trip to Nola, but haven't tried it yet.
my advice to them: Offer a weiner schnitzel po-boy.
Cajun in MD?
Ethel and Ramone's in Mt Washington (in Baltimore) has what they bill as Creole food- red beans and rice, jambalaya, etc:
http://www.ethelandramones.com/
GREAT BBQ FOR CATERING
Yes, Andy Nelson's. I've used them three times for catered dinners for around 20 people and they are consistently great. Their prices are also really reasonable.
To Bayona, or not to Bayona: that is the question
I was there last week. I've been to Bayona countless times (even had my wedding reception there!) so I'm hoping that last week was just a fluke. My husband's pork chop was way overcooked. To the restaurant's credit they removed it from our bill (he didn't want to reorder it) and even gave us a free dessert.
The rest of our dishes were just unremarkable, which is a first for me at Bayona. It's normally wonderful, so I have no idea if it was just an off night or if something worse is going on.
Best Oyster Poboy?
I second Domilise's. I tried a few around the city when I was just there, and this was the best po boy I had.
Chef Chris leaving Delachaise??
I just got back from new Orleans where we ate at the Delachaise *twice* because we loved it so much. On the second visit (June 30th) I asked our waiter if Chef Chris was in the back. He told me that he'd just quit. I was there with three other people, and we'd come specifically to eat (although we did a good bit of drinking too) and we all about fell off our chairs. However, the food was still excellent so I can vouch for it (although we *were* eating Chef Chris's specials).
We ate at Nola, Bayona, Domilise's, Luizza's, Central Grocery, Dante's Kitchen, Jaques-Imo's, and Coop's place while we were there, but my husband and I both agreed that the Delachaise was the best of all of our meals, so this is very sad news for the restaurant.
Interestingly- when I asked our waiter what had happened to Chef Chris he told me that he'd left to work on writing a cookbook- does anyone know if that's true?
I can't wait to find out where he lands- I'll be there the next time I'm in new Orleans.
Local, Organic restaurants in the Baltimore area?
I was basing the statement more on the fact that these are great local coffees - ie from Baltimore itself.
That being said, I've had the coffee at Woodberry, it was really good if I recall. The food was merely OK, while I do agree with their philosophy of using local ingredients I felt that they could have been more adventurous with the food. Also, I ordered some roasted oyster and they were served on a HUGE pile of rock salt- I thought that was pretty wasteful- don't know if they just threw out all of that salt- I'm sure they did!
Both the owners of Zeke's and Bluebird were roasters for Key Coffee before they were bought out and their roastery taken out of the state. Also- The Daily Grind is now a national franchise. I laugh when I hear people talking about how "local" Key Coffee/Daily Grind are. Sure, it was 10 years ago. Not now.
St Charles Streetcar Bar Hopping?
Just saw this, so I can add the Maple Leaf back in! we won't be there till *next* Sun.
St Charles Streetcar Bar Hopping?
Thank you all for the suggestions!
Looks like we may have to walk to the Maple Leaf of leave it off since it's way past the bend.
I've added the Delachaise because we've decided we'll eat dinner there. Does anyone know if the Chef is working on Sundays? (Chris Debarr)
Are any of these places obvious "college bars"? we're a bit older (30's) so don't want to be anywhere with people puking on the floor (if I remember my college days correctly- ha!) I know we'll be right around Loyola and Tulane so it might be hard to avoid! I've been to the Circle Bar before and we really liked it. No one puked on me and the bartenders /people hanging out were cool.
so:
1. Circle Bar
2. Lucky's
3. Igor's
4. Delachaise (opens at 6pm on Sundays so we may have to skip it and hit it on the way back)
5. The Columns
6. Mayfair Lounge (end of streetcar line)
5. ? Maple Leaf Bar (possibly- must walk)
Am I leaving off anything we MUST see? We have a car, so maybe we'll go back out to check out the late night places.
Local, Organic restaurants in the Baltimore area?
There are TWO great local roasters right here in Baltimore- if they aren't getting their coffee from one of them, they should be ashamed!
Zeke's (some organic stuff): http://www.zekescoffee.com/
Bluebird (all organic and sustainable): http://bluebirdcoffee.com/bluebird.swf
St Charles Streetcar Bar Hopping?
I'm trying to plan a St Charles street car eating/bar hopping excursion for myself and some friends on an upcoming Sunday afternoon. We have a couple of stops in mind but need more suggestions! What we want to do is hop on and off the St Charles Streetcar to eat/drink. We used to hop off and head over to Uglesich's to eat, but I know it's closed now so I have no idea of a casual place to eat on a Sunday (Commander's Palace would be too fancy- I don't want to wear a dress while doing this!).
So here's what I have so far (and it's not an impressive list). Any help is appreciated!:
1. Circle Bar
2. The Columns
3. Maple Leaf Bar (at the end of the line)
Foodie from LA in Baltimore
you are 100% right about the scallops. Peter's is one of my favorites in Baltimore too. Just went there a couple of weeks ago and had--- the scallops! my husband calls the bread that they serve w/ their salad "The God Bread".
Foodie from LA in Baltimore
I'm going to third this suggestion- if you eat in only one place in Baltimore, this is the best! And it's not expensive. If you are going on a weekend night be sure to make a reservation.
Great Food, Casual Clothes
Thanks for the info- we'll be there in a couple of months and definitely intend to check out the Sunday dinners. I just signed up for their email newsletter.
New Orleans Trip Report- Day 1
I had an excellent mint julip there once. I'll never forget it- the bartender had freshly picked mint and really knew what he was doing with the muddling, etc. No wonder- it turned out that he had opened a bar called The Spotted Cat on Frenchmen, which has turned into a favorite hangout of mine when we visit nola.
