dcopeland's Profile
Rosina Gourmet -- no prices?
Nothing on the wall menu, nothing on the takeout menu...nada. Seems weird that as some places start putting more info on the menu (calories, size, etc.) this place is going the other direction.
Rosina Gourmet -- no prices?
I went to Rosina Gourmet downtown last week and they had a new menu up. Pretty much the same sandwiches, but without any prices displayed. It's not that all the items cost the same--there are about 20 choices, and they all have different prices. I asked the staff and they said it was the owner's idea so that they could change the prices if ingredients changed cost.
I find this very disconcerting. It seems like a pretty transparent attempt to raise prices without alerting the consumers. (After all, if prices are really fluctuating, just have chalkboard prices or something.) I felt very uneasy placing my order and then finding out how much is costs. Prices are one of the inputs I use when deciding what to order. I'm being cheated if I don't have all the information.
I adore the food at Rosina, and Vino Rosina also. Some of the best stuff in Baltimore. But I don't know if I can support such an anti-customer mentality.
Thoughts?
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Rosina Gourmet
2819 Odonnell St, Baltimore, MD
Rosina Gourmet
300 E Lombard St Lbby 103, Baltimore, MD 21202
Bridal Shower location ideas in Baltimore?
Check out Teavolve in Harbor East. Trendy but low-key cafe near Pazo...prices are very reasonable. They specialize in tea and girly cocktails and small bites. Not byob, but a perfect girls' day out. AND they have plenty of room for a private party.
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Teavolve
1705 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21231
are there any non touristy places convenient to Camden Yards?
You are right to avoid the IH as it is a food wasteland but there are some highlights just a tad off the beaten track.
For higher end, B&O Brasserie is located in the Hotel Monaco not far from the ballpark. Good eclectic American (dareisay "DC-style") cuisine. Also Sullivan's steakhouse is very close, which is a chain steakhouse in the grain of Morton's et al but a little more fun and less stuffy.
Down in Federal Hill you could check out Abbey Burger Bistro or Ryleigh's Oysters that are maybe 1/2 mile walk to the ballpark (or even shorter cabs).
However, you might just want to eat in the ballpark. Attman's (jewish style deli) just opened up an outpost under the warehouse and it is just as good as the original on Corned Beef Row. It has easily the best food in the ballpark now, and a pretty good deal. (About $10 for an overstuffed sandwich that would normally cost about $7 outside the park.)
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Attman's Authentic Ny Deli
1019 E Lombard St, Baltimore, MD 21202
Ryleighs Brew Pub
36 E Cross Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
Abbey Burger Bistro
1041 Marshall St, Baltimore, MD 21230
B&O American Brasserie - Hotel Monaco
2 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Sullivan's Steakhouse - Baltimore
1 East Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD 21202
Baltimore breakfast sweets
2. Blue Moon makes awesome (and enormous!) cinnamon rolls. I'm pretty sure they just take their biscuit batter, roll it, and add cinnamon and sugar and icings, but whatever it is, they are doing it right. When the line is too long, just skip to the cash register and grab a roll to go.
3. Atwater multigrain scones. Often sold at local farmer's markets as well as the Belvedere square location.
Help Help Help Parents Weekend, but we love food !Where to go in Baltimore?
Piedigrotta is awesome, but
1) Vaccaros has better cannolis.
2) Piedigrotta closes at 6 and Vaccaros is open until much later (especially on Friday/Sat)
It sounds like Cianghiale is the perfect choice here. Fantastic wine/food, special occasion atmosphere, fun new neighborhood. If you want to travel for dessert, I'd walk to Vaccaros for cannoli or Pitango for gelato.
Gia's liquor license?
It's been in the news lately that Gia's in Little Italy, Baltimore will be getting it's liquor license soon. But no article mentions whether this spells the end for BYOB there! Does anyone know? I fear that Baltimore's short byob list is about to get shorter.
I did a search but still need Baltimore rec's
Miss Shirley's is awesome. Highly recommended for breakfast or lunch or brunch. Don't miss it!
Fells Point is a special part of town and it's well worth a visit. And you can parlay Bertha's (or the delicious, costlier Black Olive) with some Pitango Gelato. Don't be afraid to just wing it on dinner either....lots of restaurants in just a few blocks near the square in Fells Point.
Baltimore Seafood Restaurants
Pan seared scallops over creamed spinach and potato pancake appetizer at Mama's on the Half Shell
Baltimore Seafood Restaurants
I think Baltimore is definitely a seafood town. I used to live in Chicago, and the fish there was terrible...always unreliable unless at a very expensive restaurant. Baltimore, in addition to having great local treats like crabs and oysters, has at least in easy access to the major east coast fish markets which makes the fish affordable and very reliable.
Whenever I have people come to visit me, we often go out for seafood and they think of this as a seafood town because of all the great stuff we've eaten. Among the highlights:
Mama's on the Half Shell - oysters, scallops, everything
Bertha's - mussels
Nick's, L.P. Steamers, Riptide - crabs and shrimp
Faidley's and Duda's - crabcakes
Blue Moon and Miss Shirley's - crabmeat and seafood infused breakfast
Helen's - fin fish
Baltimore Seafood Restaurants
Oceanaire is a terrific restaurant. Is it particular to Baltimore? No. Do they have a dozen someodd locations elsewhere? Yes.
But it's also a beautiful, upscale destination with delicious fish that is very fresh and occasionally local. To throw it in with tourists traps like the Rusty Scupper is disingenuous. If I were visiting from a city that did not have an Oceanaire in it, I would go there in a heartbeat.
baltimore restaurant week deals
Todd Conner's in Fells is just half off all entrees for restaurant week. Last year I combined this with half-price wine on Thursdays and it was a terrific bargain.
2009 Best of Baltimore Poll Results
One could quibble with Oceanaire and Ruth's Chris, but both of those places have excellent food, if not unique to the area.
But Panera?!?!?! Blech! How about the worst bagels in the city. My faith in the readers of Baltimore magazine is seriously shaken.
Philadelphia dining for one night
Thanks everyone!
We went to Kanella for dinner. Terrific meal. My dad loved his greek salad and pork chops, and the rest of us loved our lamb tongue, mousaka, grilled calamari, and whole dorado.
Beforehand, my brother and I hit up Amada for a cocktail. He had a great sangria and I had an amazing bourbon ginger smash....we look forward to eating there on our next visit.
Capogiro had the best gelato I've ever had...even better than Pitango in Baltimore.
For breakfast we wanted something close by, so we went to the Reading Terminal Market (i had gone the day before for lunch at DiNic's and loved it) and ate at Down Home Diner. I'm surprised no one mentioned it....it's right across the street from the hotel!
Overall, it was a wonderful and delicious short trip to Philly. One complaint: you could use a serious upgrade on the wine stores. We walked all over the city and only saw the one at 13th and Chestnut, which though big, was filled with uninspired selections and ignorant staff members. For such a byob city, this was disappointing.
Philadelphia dining for one night
My (recent college grad) younger brother and my parents and I are meeting in Philadelphia this Saturday night. We are staying at the Loews Hotel at 12th and Market. We would love to walk as much as possible. Three of us love exotic cuisine and my dad tolerates us. Since it is just one night, we don't mind spending some money, but nothing excessively upscale or more than $30 entrees is necessary.
Here are our plans:
Arrival: Check into Loews Hotel
Saturday night dinner: ???
Sunday morning breakfast/brunch: ???
Sunday afternoon: Phillies game
Departure
Can you help fill in the blanks?
Steaming crabs
Thank you to everyone for your help!
I stupidly did not reserve the crabs the night before, and when I called DiPaula they told me the crabs wouldn't be in until after 10. I called again after 10 and they said they would not have any that day. Weird, but I Conrad's had them so I was good to go.
I went with cardboard on the bottom of the cooler and 4 frozen water bottles, two on the bottom, two on top, whole thing covered with some newspaper. I drive a coupe, so the air conditioning gets into the trunk too. Worked perfectly! No (premature) fatalities.
All in all, by far the hardest part was the stressing over whether they would survive. The actual transport/cooking was very easy. Everyone loved the crabs. Even my niece, who's palate has not advanced to the point of putting ketchup on her hot dog, tried a little and liked it. (She loved the smashing.)
Fells Point/Inner Harbor
Aldo's is beautiful but the food is debatable. I loved my visit there, but others I'm sure will disagree. It is very upscale Italian - definitely not a red sauce joint. Della Notte is would not be worth it for any price. Personally I prefer La Scala. They have their own indoor bocce court!
Kali's Court is a good idea. Black Olive has terrific fish. Oceanaire has several locations across the country but if you've never been, it is terrific upscale seafood. There are two very lively, loud, and crowded tapas restaurant/lounges that are great, though somewhat atypical of Baltimore cuisine, if there is such a thing--Talara (South American) and Pazo (Spanish).
Good eating near Baltimore convention center
If you really wanted to be close by, Sullivan's (Mortons-esque upscale chain steakhouse) fits. Charleston and Cinghiale are more unique. I would add Woodbury Kitchen as another impressive restaurant (that has no locations elsewhere).
Steaming crabs
I called those guys up and they open at the right time, but they recommended against live crabs. Said I would freeze them to death if I kept them in a cooler for that long, and that I'd be better off just getting them steamed and reheating them when I get there.
1) That sounds way less fun.
2) There must be a good method. I like MakingSense's and jck's procedure and I'm tempted to try some combination, at the risk of killing my dinner. Anyone else think I'm making a huge mistake?
Kafe Leopold in Georgetown - how long is the wait?
I was there once on a Saturday or Sunday, probably around 9:30 or 10. 3 of us were seated immediately, but on the way out, there was a line at least 30 minutes long if not much longer.
Weather was not so nice then too.
Need to try in Stamford??
Cafe Silvium in Shippan is a bit off the beaten track but has fantastic southern Italian food in a modest setting. A combination of traditional dishes and the more creative (mmm....wild boar chops and chick pea puree...). Most entrees under $20 too.
Also, despite the ever-changing name, the large Indian restaurant across from Target (Dakshin? I can't keep track) has very good food but excellent palak paneer. You won't find better.
Steaming crabs
So here's my plan. I'm traveling from my home in Baltimore to my sister's place in suburban New York for Independence Day weekend.
They want to try crabs, so I figure I can pick up live crabs in the morning, drive them up, and steam them for late afternoon/early evening dinner.
Questions:
1) Where is a good place to buy live crabs that is open Friday morning and in between Fells Point and New York? I really don't want to go the wrong direction.
2) They'll survive, right? I have a cooler.
3) Any good recipe recommendations? I can always fall back on water and old bay I guess.
Gem w live music in Baltimore for the non-planners?
Joesquared is cool. Good food, somewhat dingy neighborhood near the train station, lots and lots of college/post-college hipsters. Not the finest spot to take an evening stroll in.
If you have been to Bertha's then Cat's Eye will take you back to the same neighborhood.
Peter's Inn is maybe $20 for an entree? Not terrible prices. Great food. Extraordinarily popular on weekends...it's a single-wide rowhouse, so expect to wait.
Gem w live music in Baltimore for the non-planners?
Also, I should mention Mezze, which is Mediterranean tapas (check), very vegetarian friendly (check) and probably too upscale to be called casual (no check).
But it is next door to Soundgarden which if you like music will make you miss the days when you could buy something outside of Sam Goody, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.com.
Gem w live music in Baltimore for the non-planners?
Fells Point sounds like the neighborhood to you. It is picturesque and on the water with lots of bars and restaurants but few tourists. In particular, Cat's Eye and Waterfront Hotel and Leadbetter's all have live music, of those only Waterfront has a real restaurant attached to it though it is not particularly vegetarian.
There are a mess of restaurants nearby and you could probably get away with just walking around looking at menus until you find one you like. Casual selections include but are not limited to Red Star, the sushi place on the pier, Bertha's, Meli, Todd Conners, John Stevens.
The best ethnic is probably Lebanese Taverna but being from DC I'm sure you are acquainted with those delicacies. There are about 5 sushi places (not sure how vegetarian you are), all delicious, in the area, ranging from BYOB (Asahi) to TooCoolForSchool (Ra).
Peter's Inn is also great but waiting outside for a table is maybe not how you want to spend your 1 night.
Driving to Baltimore from VA--crab houses?
Nick's is a good idea. It's a pretty spot on the water and on your way into the city. L.P. Steamers would also be good...you can get some Baltimore grit on the top deck--certainly not in a dangerous neighborhood, just some local flavor. Captain James is on the Fells point (east) side of town and is on the water. Riptide by the Bay is right in Fells Point and has acceptable crabs--not on the water, but smack in the middle of a great neighborhood.
Honestly, the most memorable part of the experience will be the smashing of freshly steamed crustaceans and as a novice, there's no reason that you can't enjoy good-but-not-great crabs in a vacation-worthy atmosphere.
Baltimore for a weekend
Really??? That's huge news. Have you tried it? Is it really pit beef? Because I've seen bbq places that claim to have pit beef and really just have bbq-ed shredded beef.
