Baltimore - A Lot More Than I Thought

When I was young, we traveled to Baltimore during the summer months for my mother’s work.  I remember going to the Inner Harbor, eating in Little Italy and being hot.  It was fun but was not exactly my ideal vacation as a teenager. 

As an adult, the Baltimore I’ve read about is one where Cal Ripken’s mother gets kidnapped and people get murdered in record high numbers.  Needless to say, I was less than thrilled when I saw that this year’s American Association of Justice conference was going to be in Baltimore.

Well, it just goes to show that when you have very low expectations you can sometimes be pleasantly surprised. 

Baltimore was a lot cleaner than most large cities and who doesn’t love being near the water.  That being said, you really need to do your research in advance to know which neighborhoods and streets to stay on and more importantly, which ones to avoid. 

Where We Stayed

Camden Yards from Hilton

Since we were in town for a convention, we stayed at the Hilton Baltimore.   As far as these types of places go, it wasn’t too bad.  It’s across the street from Camden Yards so you can get some pretty cool views of the game when the Orioles are in town if you have a room on that side.  If not, see if you can get access to the Concierge level on the 18^th floor as it looks directly out over the ballpark.

Like any other big city, parking is expense at the Hilton so if you rent a car or drive be prepared to shell out big bucks each night (about $40 per night).  Uber has a large presence in Baltimore and we never had to wait more than five minutes for a car so I would recommend that route (especially so you can enjoy some cocktails in this fine city!). 

The Hilton is a ten-minute walk to the Inner Harbor down Pratt Street and fairly safe since it is a tourist attraction.  Across the street are several sports bars/pubs geared towards the Orioles and the convention center adjoins the hotel via covered walkways.  Because it is a convention hotel, it’s probably a good idea to check the event calendar and see what conventions are in town (like whether you want to be part of the Bronycon 2014 crowd for example….Google it.)

Where We Ate

We were there for six nights and I was very surprised at the quality and variety of restaurants in this city. 

Woodberry Kitchen – One of the coolest restaurants I’ve ever been to.  It’s located about 10-15 minutes away from downtown in an old steel mill and is definitely worth the trip.  It has a great outdoor fire pit and dining area as well as a very fun bar and indoors dining room.  Everything is farm to table but they take it more seriously than most because if it doesn’t grow within the region they typically don’t serve it.  I wish I would have realized that included lemons and limes BEFORE I ordered my vodka soda…. oh well.  I managed to drink it anyway!  The crab cakes were the best I’ve ever had.  I still can’t figure out what held the crabmeat together because there literally was no breading or stuffing. 

Phillip’s Seafood – Thankfully, this is the only restaurant I ate at in the Inner Harbor.  They have a large outdoor area called the Crab Deck, which is a great place to sit if the weather is nice.  The only downside is that the awning is red so by the end of your lunch you are only seeing things in hues of red.  It’s a typical seafood restaurant but better than most of what I call the “tourist trap” ones. 

Miss Shirley’s - I never go to the same restaurant twice in the same city during the same trip.  Never.  Ever.  Until I ate at Miss Shirley’s.  This place was off the hook good.  The menu had so many creative combinations of local and southern delicacies that it was hard to decide. 

Spicy Shirley

On my first trip I had the Southern Slammer Sandwich, which is two pieces of sourdough bread filled with fried green tomatoes, bacon, avocado, cheese and a fried egg.  On the side?  Stone ground grits with diced bacon.  Now, to make sure I was being somewhat health conscious I also ordered the Spicy Shirley which was garnished with green tomato, okra, peppers, olives, lemons and limes (maybe they use them all and that’s why Woodberry Kitchen doesn’t have any???).   The second trip was Chesapeake Po’ Boy which was crab cake, Tabasco Bacon Onion Jam, lettuce and tomato.  OMG….I might have to go back to Baltimore just to go eat at Miss Shirley’s!

One the weekends, the wait to get in can be long.  They have a very strict seating policy and won’t seat you unless your entire party is there.  This includes having five out of the six of you present while the other is visible running down the street towards you.  They have a sign (a.k.a. “the fine print”) posted on the check in podium that advises of this.  No matter how much one of your party (not my husband) yells at the hostess, tells them that nobody looks at signs and says it the stupidest thing they have ever heard, they do not bend.   Ironically, the humor of this situation was lost on the group of lawyers I was with.   Oh well, even if they spit in our food it was still tasty!

Little Italy – Little Italy is a neighborhood near the Inner Harbor lined with row homes and some amazing Italian food.  We love Italian food so it’s no surprise that we ate in Little Italy three times while in Baltimore.  While they were all good, I would rank them as follows:

• La Scala -  one of the best Italian restaurants I’ve ever been too.  It’s in a row house and has several floors as well as an outside balcony.  The ambiance makes you feel like you are at an Osteria in Italy.  The Caesar Salad is great (but not the thing to order for anyone interested in kissing their date at the end of the night….lots of garlic!).  The Fettuccine Verdi alla Bolognese isn’t the noodles with meat sauce you are used to.  The spinach pasta is fresh made and the sauce had a tomato cream that made it creamy but not too rich.  The menu has a wide range of non-pasta options as well. 
•  Amicci’s – this is a great casual place for Italian.  The food was better than most lower end

  

  Little Italy

  places, they had a full bar with specialty cocktails and the most expensive wine was $35.  You can wear shorts, jeans, etc.  They also have a few tables for al fresco dining.
•  Sabatinos – I’m not sure this place will ever be the same after our party of 15 stormed in there after spending several hours at the open bar (I mean, AAJ opening cocktail party).   There were several other tables in the room when we arrived but for some reason they all finished up about ten minutes after our arrival.  Go figure!  Anyway, the food was good and the staff was very patient as we carried on with our shenanigans, including a game where we all had to come up with an Italian name and if we didn’t refer to someone by their Italian name then they had to drink.   In short, if you have a loud group of drunken knuckleheads who are craving Italian then this is the place to go.  

Fleet Street Kitchen – this cute restaurant focusing on locally sourced cuisine is located near Harbor East so it was great to get away from the tourists of the Inner Harbor.  We had a large group so we sat in the Tavern room.  The menu has some pretty creative takes on ordinary items.  I had steak but would order a seafood dish next time.   

13th Floor Restaurant – We had a private event at this restaurant, which is at the top of the Belvedere Hotel.  The views across the city are pretty cool especially at sunset.  The food was not great but I realize it’s hard to do great food for 50 plus people at the same time.  However, I’d definitely go for a cocktail at sunset. 

Owl Bar

Owl Bar – Ok, so we only had drinks here after eating at the 13^th Floor Restaurant but it was very cool.  It’s located on the ground floor of the Hotel Belvedere and is beautiful inside. 

Pratt Street Ale House – located across from the Convention Center this place gets quite a bit of foot traffic but the food is surprisingly good for this type of place.  They also have a wide-ranging cocktail menu and a ton of outdoor seating, which is great for people who have been stuck in meetings all day. 

Frank and Nic’s West End Grille – we went for lunch one day and the food was fine but probably would have been much better after nine innings of beer at an Oriole’s game. 

Things to Do

Orioles!

Camden Yards - Even if you don’t make it to an Oriole’s game, this is a fun stadium to see.  Eutaw Street becomes a pedestrian walkway at the stadium and you can walk through and looks at statues, shop, etc. when there isn’t a game.  

Inner Harbor – there are several boats/ships located here as well as the Aquarium.  If you like chain restaurants then this is also the place for you because they are all here….Kona Grill, Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs, Five Guys and the list goes on. 

Annapolis

Fells Point – located on the other side of the Inner Harbor and Little Italy, this is a fun area full of restaurants and bars.  Ladies, the streets are cobblestone so leave the stilettos at home unless they help balance you out after several drinks!

Annapolis – Just a short 40-minute drive from Baltimore, Annapolis is definitely worth checking out.  It’s the state capital of Maryland so there is a lot of history but it’s right on the water too so there are tons of beautiful boats and waterfront dining options.  Also check out the Naval Academy.  They have a Visitor’s Center and museum as well as a beautiful campus right on the water.  Make sure you bring your ID though because since it’s a US Naval Base you need it to get on campus.  However, if you forget yours there are some nice benches outside.  Our friend can tell you all about them as she spent some quality time there waiting for us. 

Overall, Baltimore had a lot more going for it than I thought.  I’m not going to schedule another vacation there any time soon but if another conference takes me there, I won’t complain!