Just passing through? A guide to Baltimore eats.

by EP & X


Just passing through Baltimore and looking for something good to eat?  Or a local looking for some new places to try? We've put together this list of great Baltimore eats, some of which you may have heard of or seen on Food Network/Cooking Channel, and some of which you may have no clue about.  That's where we come in: let us be your guide to Charm City noms!

Below is a hodge-podge list of places to check out, ranging from low-brow street food to high-end local and sustainable cuisine.  The list is by no means exclusive and we should probably plan to do a Part II for all the great places we're forgetting.  But until then, check out this list, grab a fork, and get ready to dive into Baltimore's finest eats:

Great Event for a Great Cause!

If you are a regular reader you probably already know how much we love the B&O Brasserie, located in downtown Baltimore, at the fabulous Hotel Monaco. We blogged about it when it first opened, we live-Tweeted their spring menu, and we send anyone and everyone looking for a great meal or cocktail straight to B&O!

And now, we're urging all of you to attend their First Annual Crab Bash. It's summertime in Maryland, after all! This event, to celebrate the restaurant's first anniversary, will take place on Tuesday, August 3rd, at 5:30pm. Seven chefs from around the region will battle to see who has the best crab dish. Guests pay a $10 admission and get the privilege of tasting the competing dishes, enjoying a complimentary cocktail, and watching the battle! Also, guests are entered into a raffle for sweet prizes such as an overnight stay at the Hotel Monaco. The warm fuzzies you get from knowing that your $10 goes to support an awesome cause, The Great Kids Farm, are absolutely free.

More details below, including how to buy tickets. We'll be at the Bash and hope you will, too!

Chefs to Battle it Out in

B&O American Brasserie’s First Annual Crab Bash

Event to celebrate restaurant’s first anniversary,
Proceeds to benefit Great Kids Farm

(Baltimore) – It’s a fight to the death! Ok, not exactly, but it’s still going to be a good fight. In honor of their first anniversary, B&O American Brasserie will host their first annual CRAB BASH on Tuesday, August 3 from 5:30-8 p.m. benefiting the Great Kids Farm. Pitting seven chefs from the region against each other, B&O American Brasserie seeks to find the Best Crab Dish. The crab dishes will be judged by attendees and a panel of local celebrity judges including Baltimore magazine’s Suzanne Loudermilk, Mix 106.5’s Reagan Warfield, and national food blogger Dara Bunjon.

For an admissions fee of $10, all of which will benefit the Great Kids Farm, guests are invited to watch the chefs battle it out, sample the chefs’ dishes and enjoy a complimentary cocktail created for the anniversary by Head Bartender Brendan Dorr. Attendees will also be entered into a raffle for a one-night stay at the Hotel Monaco and a gift certificate for dinner for two, a $100 value, at B&O American Brasserie.

Participating chefs are: B&O American Brasserie’s E. Michael Reidt, Salt’s Jason Ambrose, Brewer’s Art’s Dave Newman, Square 1682’s Guillermo Tellez (Philadelphia), Christian deLutis, Domaso’s Paul Healey (Arlington, VA) and Bambara’s Jay Silva (Boston).

Great Kids Farm educates Baltimore city students about maintaining a healthy and energy efficient lifestyle through a farm that the students, themselves maintain. For more information on the Great Kids Farm, visitwww.greatkidsfarm.org.

What:
B&O American Brasserie’s Crab Bash 2010
When:
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
5:30-8 p.m.
Where:
2 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Admission:
$10 entrance fee
Includes food and raffle ticket
100% of which will go to the Great Kids Farm
Tickets:
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased
by visiting www.missiontix.com or the hostess stand.
Contact:
For additional information, visit
www.bandorestaurant.com or call 443-692-6172.

Birches - I Wish It Were My Neighborhood Pub

by Erin

Last week, I had an appointment to give blood for the first time. I was nervous - what if I pass out? What if they say my blood's no good? What if they don't have cookies?? In an effort to have a good first blood-giving experience, I wanted to have a hearty dinner the night before and lunch the day of. I kept telling everyone I needed to "iron-load" (like carbo-loading before a big game, I guess?), so I made plans with some friends for dinner the night before.

We met up at Birches, an unassuming restaurant in the Canton neighborhood, which until that afternoon, I had never heard of. Birches was recommended by my friend and co-worker Mat, who lives (literally) around the corner, and is a huge fan. I trust Mat's palate - after all, he and I have had multiple discussions about the wonders of cheese-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon or proscuitto.


My friend Max and I walked into Birches on a blustery night (though most of them seem blustery these days, don't they?) and were greeted by the friendly hostess. We asked if our other friends were there, and she said "Oh yeah, Mat's at the bar!" I guess they really do know him there.

We sat in the bar area (we could have sat in the dining area, but the bar was cozy and bustling) and got to perusing the extensive menu. While the menu has many upscale entrees, we were in the mood for pub grub, including their dollar sliders that night. (Sliders have iron, right?) They had two kinds: cheeseburger minis, and buffalo chicken minis. We got a whole mess of them - too many, in fact - but they were outstanding! They were served on toast, and the burger had a little aioli on it, and the chicken had some yummy bleu cheese dressing on it (though not as good as BCD Moms - obvi).






I got a wee side salad of their caesar, which was interesting because the dressing had a lot of balsamic in it, yet it still tasted like caesar. The salad also had caramelized red onion and grilled tomatoes on top, which were a nice touch. Lydia also got a salad (for her main dish), which I don't remember much about except it had spiced popcorn AND fried plantains on top - yum!



Max and Mat also got the cream of crab soup, which was delicious and creamy, with lots of Old Bay and crabmeat. Do you see crab as a theme here?



Arguably the best part of the meal, however, were the fries. They have a whole fry MENU, with 6-8 different fry toppings. We had a hard time deciding what to get but we settled on the "Crabby-Ass fries" and the "Onion fries." We had these as our appetizer, which was a good tactic -- they came out fast and fresh.

Both dishes began with a mountain of freshly cooked fries. The crabby-ass fries were then topped with a creamy crabmeat mixture (mostly crab). Essentially, this was crab dip on fries, but there was WAY more crabmeat than in a typical crab dip. Magnifique!



The onion fries were equally delicious and I appreciated their uniqueness - putting caramelized onions on top of fries isn't that wild of an idea, but I never even heard of it before! So delicious, and totally addicting.



Last, we ordered chocolate cake for dessert. But this wasn't any ol' chocolate cake - they are made to order so we had to order ours when we put in our dinner order. It came out hot and gooey, and had a great chocolate sauce on the bottom (though there was some booze in the chocolate sauce, and I personally felt it wasn't cooked out enough). The ice cream on the side didn't hurt either.



In sum, I truly loved Birches. I wish it were my neighborhood bar for the following reasons: (1) awesome food, (2) great service, (3) cozy atmosphere, (4) they have board games in the bar!, and (5) they are a Terps basketball bar! Could there be a better combo for a restaurant? I will definitely be back...perhaps for the next Terps game!



Thanks for taking us to Birches, Mat!



BFFs...waiting for fries



Lydia enjoys her frites! Sooo delicious...

Oh, and the update on the blood-giving? It went swimmingly. I didn't pass out, and there were cookies - lots of 'em!

Happy blood-giving and iron-loading,
EP