Pho Dat Thanh

Ever since I became an Anthony Bourdain fanboy a few years back I've been wanting to slurp down a giant bowl of Pho. Of all the cuisines he's tried over the years he always seemed to get most excited about Pho and that's saying something. I knew I had a few options in the area, but I wasn't sure what was considered the best so I decided to try my luck and walk into Pho Dat Thanh on one of my weekly Towson trips.

Not knowing that we are about to embark on the biggest bowl of soup of our lives in a few minutes, Deana and I decided to start out dinner with Goi Coun. Don't quote me on this one as I'm not super familiar with Vietnamese food, but Goi Coun was basically a spring roll with a chewier noodle like vessle that houses shrimp, vermicelli, and some veggies instead of the fried rice paper you find more commonly . They were delicious and the dipping sauce on the side was very good. It tasted like a mixture of peanut and chili sauce. The spicy/sweet flavor went very well with the fresh Goi Coun.

Next up was the greatly anticipated bowl of Pho. Specifically, we ordered the Tai Nam Pho which I assume means Eye of Round  and Flank Steak. That bowl you're looking at above is probably my favorite bowl of soup in Baltimore. It's hot, tasty, and huge. Underneath the tender meat are approximately 48 lbs of ramen soaking up the best broth I've ever known. The flavor was clean, salty, and perfect. There is some sort of taste in there that I couldn't identify, but I'm assuming it's fish sauce or something similar that I don't normally come across daily.

You could be perfectly happy to eat the bowl of Pho as is, but they don't leave well enough alone and give you a plate full of goodies to, dare I go old school Emeril and say, kick it up a few more notches. What you're looking at are cilantro, Thai basil, jalapenos, lime, and sprouts. I went pretty heavy on all of them as these are some of favorite flavors in the world. I love the licorice flavor that Thai basil gives out, the heat of the jalapenos, the crunch of the sprouts, the freshness of cilantro, and the way lime makes all of the big flavors just that much bigger.

So, Mr. Bourdain, should you stumble upon my amateurish blog let me thank you for waxing prophetic about the great bowl of Pho for so long. For without you, I may have missed out on this noodley bowl of brothy love juice. And to my readers, I can't recommend Pho and Pho Dat Thanh enough. If you have eyebrows this type of food was made just for you. Excellence like this is universal, even if it's origin is in Southeast Asia.

Price: Super Cheap
Recommendation: Must visit
What to Order: Pho....pho.....and pho.

 

Taco Love Grill

I was invited to Taco Love Grill by owner Mena earlier this week. Yesterday, we took her up on the invitation and left the restaurant full and happy. The food was great and the staff was extremely welcoming and attentive. Had we not been invited we may never have found this hidden gem as it's very much hidden and off the beaten path. Let this be your invitation to seek out this restaurant as soon as possible. The extra miles in the car are well worth it.

We started off our meal with a basket of chips and salsa. The chips were freshly fried and the salsa verde and roja they served on the side were both delicious. The verde was the more mild of the two and offered a fresh citrus flavor. The roja had a nice smokey flavor and brought some nice heat to the party. I shouldn't forget to mention our beverages. I had Tamarindo and Deana had a Hibiscus tea. Normally, I wouldn't mention my drink choice when it's not a cocktail or beer but these stood out. I was having a heck of a time coming up with a descriptive way to explain these drinks yesterday and I'm still at a bit of a loss today. All I can say is that these drinks are a much better choice than the everyday soda or bottled beverage.

For dinner I ordered the shrimpotle burrito which came recommended by Mena and Deana ordered the verde Enchiladas. Both meals were filling and full of flavor. In fact, I can say with confidence that I haven't had a better burrito in the area. It comes stuffed full of shrimp with a cheesy rice mixture and bits of cilantro and guacamole. It didn't need help, but I still had fun putting on the salsas I mentioned previously and also another corn salsa they offered.

Deana's enchiladas were also a hit. The chicken was tender and I don't know who wouldn't be happy with anything found underneath their out of this world verde. As we were driving home Deana happily proclaimed these were the best enchiladas she has had. It was hard for me to disagree.

As good as our meals were, though, the highlight of the night for me was the Mexican Corn on the Cob. I love corn on the cob, but this variation might have spoiled me for life. I'm not sure I ever want a plain piece of corn again. I woke up today thinking about the flavors on this little masterpiece. The corn is topped with mayonnaise (don't be afraid), cheese, and something spicy like cayenne, and I suspect some lime was squirted on it. The flavor was out of this world. The corn was sweet, the mayo and cheese were creamy, there was spice there, and the citrus made everything pop. If you end up at Taco Love Grill and find yourself confused about what you want to order be sure you don't pass this up. As far as I know, nobody else in the area is serving anything like this.

As if that wasn't enough food we were also treated to a delicious dessert. We had a plate of sweet tortilla chips that were sprinkled in cinnamon and sugar. The taste was reminiscent of a crunchier churro and they were served with a raspberry dipping sauce. They were very good, but if you save room for dessert the chocoflan is the way to go.  Until last night I had never tried flan, but that definitely won't be the last time. I never really knew what flan was but if I knew it was basically a light and airy custard like concoction I wouldn't have waited so long to seek some out. The flan sat on top of a super moist piece of chocolate cake and all of it was topped in a thin caramel sauce. This is a dessert worth breaking a diet for.

If you've made it this far into my post, please do yourself a favor and seek Taco Love Grill out. This restaurant has great food and it deserves to be talked about and frequented by people from all over the area. Best of all, the staff is great and they go out of their way to make sure that you're happy with your dinner experience.

Price: Cheap
Recommendation: Visit them today and tomorrow!
What to Order: Don't pass on the Mexican Corn on the Cob and Chocoflan.

Delia Foley's Pub and Eatery

Irish Pubs are one of my favorite types of restaurants to visit. Not only is the food and beer right up my alley, but the best of them always find a way to make you feel like you are at a home away from my home. The decor is cozy, the waitstaff is friendly, and the food is good without being too precious. Delia Foley's lives up to those expectations.

One of the first things Deana and  I noticed upon perusing their menu was their massive offering in regards to Wing flavor varieties. I did a quick count and came up with 32 different flavors including some of the wall stuff like PB & J. On the night of our visit we passed on the wings but in the future I'd love to get back there to try some. Instead, we decided to try out some traditional Irish Pub standbys as Deana went with the Fish and Chips and I ordered the Bangers and Mash.

I don't do fish under any circumstance so I had to look to Deana to decide if they lived up to expectation and as far as the fish was concerned she gave Delia Foley's a passing grade. It didn't rock her world, but she was more than happy with the crunchy fish they put in her. However, when it came to the chips we both agreed that they weren't our favorite. The chips were cut in a non-traditional fashion and had way too much seasoning on them. They didn't taste bad, per say  but they weren't what one would expect when it comes to a prototypical fish and chips dinner. 

The Bangers and Mash on the other hand were very good. The sausages were seared nicely and had excellent flavor. Thankfully, the "mash" in the Bangers and Mash were actually mashed as opposed to whipped potatoes. They were smooth but retained a bit of chunky potato character and they paired really well with the savory gravy. Come winter time this is a dinner that could help anyone warm up and relax.

For drinks we went with their House Irish Red and it was pretty good. I should have asked while I was there, but I can't seem to find anything online noting whether or not this is a beer they actually brew themselves or if it's a beer they call their house beer and it's really a regular commercial beer they are simply calling the house beer. Either way, it tasted good and went down well with our meals.

With me trying to visit enough restaurants to keep this blog interesting and ever changing I haven't found time for a second visit to Delia Foley's. But, rest assured I will find my way back there to take in the cool bar ambiance, good beer selection, and definitely to try some of their never ending wing variations.

Price: Average
Recommendation: It's an Irish Pub with a pretty good beer selection....so yeah, visit.
What to Order: Bangers and Mash

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2013

A few weeks ago I wrote about Beer Balance. In that post, I mentioned that I do my best to hop from beer style to beer style. One style that I have neglected over the years has been Barleywine. It's not that I had anything against them. For whatever reason, they just never found their way at the top of my to drink list. I decided to put an end to that and drink a few recently. I had 21st Amendment Lower Da Boom a few weeks ago, but today I'm going to be reviewing Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot 2013.

Style: Barleywine

ABV: 9.6%

IBU: 90

Appearance: I really liked the way this bad boy poured. You know what they say about Bigfoot....when you pour it into a glass you get a big fluffy head. Amber brown in color, Bigfoot was looking much more attractive than I expected. The picture above isn't my own, but it might as well be and as you can tell Bigfoot is rather attractive. You have to wonder why he's been avoiding the limelight all these years.

Nose: I didn't find this beer to be incredibly complex in the aroma department. Try as I might, I could only sniff out a few different notes. The majority of what came through was caramel and a really heavy malty presence. I was expecting the hop notes to be quite a bit bigger given that this is an American Barleywine but there was just a little bit of grassy hops making their way through.

Taste: Bigfoot is full of sweet malt up front, but be careful not to take too big of a swig. The alcohol in this one will hit you. At 9.6% it's pretty high in alcohol, but not so high that the alcohol should be burning quite the way it was. The end of the sip was where I finally got some of the hops I was expecting as it finished slightly spicy and dry.

Final Verdict: I like the heavy malt of Bigfoot. It's a little too late to be drinking something as heavy as this in my neck of the woods, but given a cold night I know I'd love to have a beer like this sitting next to me as I read up on all the interesting news of the day. In my opinion, some Barleywines get a little too hoppy and end up feeling more like DIPA's than Barleywine. I have to give them props in not going overboard here. As I mentioned before, I could definitely see myself sitting down with one of these in the future, but this isn't a beer I could ever see myself drinking more than one of at a time. The alcohol burn is just too much to stick with for longer than one beer.

On a side note,  I read that  that Bigfoot apparently ages well in the cellar. If I see a 6 pack of them sitting around in the future, I think I'd like to age a few of them and see how that works out for me. Does anybody have any experience with aged Bigfoot's?

The Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit 2013: Bagby Pizza Company

The rules of The Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit are simple.  Each category is worth 2 points (allowing for half points). The only pizza I'm considering is the basic slice of cheese. At the end of the year, the highest score wins the coveted Baltimore Bistros and Beer's Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit title. This week's entry is Bagby Pizza Company. Click here to see how the last entrant fared.

Droop Factor - I was impressed with the strength of the crust on Bagby's pizza. The crust is paper thin and topped with A LOT of cheese. I had my doubts about it standing up to the awesome force known as gravity, but stand it did and came through with an impressive droop score.

Score - 2

Greaseification -  Just by looking at the picture above you can see the shimmery grease atop the pie. Thanks to a pizza topped with plenty of cheese there was plenty of grease but it never got out of hand. Could it have done with a little less? Sure, and that's why it only comes through with an average score here.

Score - 1

Aroma - The aroma of this pizza was a little different than what I usually get. Normally, I'm catching whiffs of sauce, herbs, or garlic. Bagby Pizza is unique in that the bready smell of the crust is what I noticed the most.

Score - 1.5

Cheese - Bagby Pizza Company tops their pizza with a lot of cheese. On the positive side, the cheese tastes really good. On the negative side, it's a little out of proportion with the rest of the pie. The crust is super thin and it's sauced very lightly. At times, the cheese gets to be a bit much.

Score - 1

Sauce - As I mentioned above this pizza is sauced very lightly. Sometimes that's not a bad thing, but with so much cheese I would have liked a little more sauce to balance things out. I'm guessing they go light on the sauce because the thin crust couldn't stand much more on top without completely falling apart. With that said, the sauce has delicious bright tomato flavors that can stand up with any pizza in the area.

Score - 1

Crust - For me, the crust was the best part of Bagby Pizza. There is a very audible crack when you bite in. No other pizza can match the cracker like crunch they bring to the party (at least those I've tried so far). I loved the crunch and I also loved the charred flavor they impart into the crust. Bagby gets a perfect score on the crust, and if I could give them higher than a 2 here I definitely would.

Score - 2

Overall Score - 8.5 out of 12

Bagby Pizza has the makings of one of the top pizzas (if not the top) in Baltimore. The sauce is delicious, the cheese is flavorful, and the crust is great. I'd like to see the cheese to sauce ratio adjusted a little bit, but even if they never changed a thing it's really hard to find a pizza as good as this.

DuClaw Naked Fish

If you've followed my blog at all you probably remember me referring to Sam Adams as the King of the Well Balanced Beer (or something along those lines). Seemingly every beer you try of theirs puts together the perfect flavor profile no matter the style. Well, if Sam Adams is King then DuClaw is next in line to the throne. Lately, I've been trying more and more of what DuClaw has to offer and nearly every beer leaves me impressed. They're all so full of flavor, and yet, they aren't overpowering at all. It's very impressive. Today, the beer we'll be discussing is their Naked Fish.

Style: Chocolate Raspberry Stout
ABV: 4.6%
IBU: 30

Appearance: It's not every day a Naked Fish turns you on, but that's only because you haven't seen it undressed and outside of the bottle. Pitch black with a massive khaki brown and bread like head, this beer is a real head turner. Even when I take into account the fact that all stouts look tasty to me, the head on this thing makes Naked Fish stand out as a great looking beer.

Nose: There were all kind of things going on with the aroma in Naked Fish, but nothing you wouldn't expect in a fruit stout. Roasted malt, biscuit, a little coffee, a touch of sweet fruit, and a dab of dark chocolate all come through. If that doesn't make you thirsty, then what are you doing ordering a Chocolate Raspberry Stout to begin with?

Taste: Naked fish is a smooth, easy drinker. Not an overly bitter Stout and not unnecessarily fruity either, Naked Fish is an extremely well balanced and drinkable beer. I don't always associate stouts with spring and summertime drinking, but this is one I can see being a go to stout all through the warmer months. In addition to the great flavor, I was also taken with the lighter body.

Final Verdict:  Naked Fish would make a great summer stout. If you're lucky enough to see this one sitting on any local shelves, be sure to pick yourself up a 6-pack. You won't be sorry.

Towson Tavern

At least once or twice a week I find myself in Towson after work. Usually it's to meet up with Deana before she heads back to work on one of her long days and sometimes it's just to get some exercise walking around the never ending mall. On one of those occasions we were looking for somewhere to eat when we walked up to the circle and found Towson Tavern calling our names.

The inside of Towson Tavern was very nice. It had a very modern look, and if I remember correctly the bar even had a marble bar top. Very swank when you consider most of the other casual restaurants in the vicinity.  Given the look and the prices on the menu, I think it's safe to assume they aren't looking to attract the college crowd that most everyone else in the area goes for. 

Not knowing what to expect going in and dining without the biggest appetite we had a little trouble finding something on the menu to fit our appetite and our budget. Nearly every entree was over $20. We weren't looking to spend quite that amount so I ended up with the $16 Burger and Deana decided to order the Pork Lollipop appetizer.

Happily, the lollipops were of fairly substantial size for an appetizer and it was more than enough for Deana on that day. The pork lollipops were covered in a ginger marmalade that served as a bit of a sauce. The sauce was very good, but at times the ginger could smack you in the face. The lollipops themselves were very crunchy and reminded both of us of fried chicken. I can't say that this was my favorite appetizer of all time but Deana commented more than once that she would order the lollipops again. So, I guess you can chalk these up to personal taste. If you're a fan of pork and ginger there's a pretty good chance you'll like this one. 

When it comes to my meal, I'm not sure I've ever spent as much on a burger as I did at Towson Tavern. Obviously, my expectations were pretty high. At $16 their margin for error was pretty slim. As fate would have it, this was a damn good burger. Was it $16 good? Eh, I don't know, but I didn't leave feeling like I was had. Taking that and the fact that I annihilated the burger in record time into account, I guess I can't really complain all that much. My burger was large, juicy, tender angus beef topped with tomato, homemade aioli, and arugula. I really enjoyed the arugula as opposed to traditional iceberg lettuce. Not only did it add a nice freshness to the burger, but the peppery taste was quite nice as well. Typically, they serve the burger with sweet potato fries but I passed on them for traditional fries. The fries were delicious and you get served a TON.

So, despite their prices being a little on the high side you can go in knowing that they don't skimp on the portions and the flavor is there.  Overall, Deana and I had a good dinner and we look forward to visiting them again some time in the future.

Before I go, one thing I thought I should make mention of was the fact that despite referring to themselves as a Tavern their draft list at the time of our visit was lacking. It wasn't the all-time worst or anything. In fact, in the grand scheme of things it was probably somewhere in the middle, but given their upscale menu I think it would behoove them to ditch some of the typical big beer brands and replace them with more craft options. They had a few, but I'd like to see even more in the future.

Price: Expensive
Recommendation: If you're looking for something a bit fancier in Towson, this is a good place to try.
What to Order: Burger

The Session #74: Finding Beer Balance

Recently, I stumbled upon something beer bloggers do on a monthly basis known as "The Session". Each month, one blogger hosts the session and sets out a topic for other bloggers to discuss. This is my first session and it's being hosted by This is Why I'm Drunk. The topic is Beer Balance.

In any part of life I think balance is important. I can remember as a young kid wondering why my peers felt like it was necessary to pick one style of music and then subsequently only listen to that genre and dress/talk the way others in that community did. I didn't just like one style of music. I liked a lot. If I had to listen to only one style of music day in and day out it wouldn't take very long before it would bore me to death. 

In politics I'm a registered independent. Do I lean in one direction more than another? Absolutely, I do. But I think pitting myself into a corner and labeling myself one thing or another is stupid (especially as an adult), and at the end of the day I believe there is a balance out there that can only be found when you drop the bullshit and realize that the world isn't black and white.  

I also love to read a lot, but my love for reading wouldn't be half of what it is if I read the same style of books over and over on repeat. I've read fantasy books for teens, memoirs, philosophy, math, science, books on homebrewing and everything else in between. I don't want to know about just one thing. I want to know a little bit about everything. It's a big world out there and I only have one life to find out as much about the world as I can.

And my predilection towards balance in those parts of my life directly reflect how I maintain balance when it comes to beer. It affects how much I drink. It affects how I often I drink. And it affects how I choose the drink I want to be drinking.

Most days I have a beer. Some days I don't have anything to drink. And others (not very often) the good vibes I'm getting from imbibing have me wanting sip after sip. I don't have a problem with any of these types of days. One day I might be craving the tastes of hops and one beer will do me. Another day, I might be fantasizing about my trip to Germany and that makes a few Erdinger's go down extremely smoothly. And some days I might just feel like laying on the couch watching TV and not feel the need to drink anything at all. It's not really a conscious decision of  "I'm having X amount of beers today". I just let my mood and the events of the day influence when and how much I drink.

Balance not only affects how much and how often I drink, but it also comes into play when I'm deciding what I want to drink. I like IPA's, DIPA's, wheat beers, fruit beers, ale's, lager's, craft beer, import beer, cider, mead, wine, homebrews, and yes even a beer or two from the evil empires. You name it, I like it, and I want to drink them all. The landscape of beer/alcohol is vast and I don't think I'd be doing myself justice by only focusing on just one facet. I don't think I've ever ordered 3 of the same types of beer in a row simply because I make a conscious decision to constantly seek out something new. 

One of the issues I have with the craft beer community (both consumers and producers) is their over obsession with IPA and their tendency to go towards more hops, more alcohol, all the time. There is nothing wrong with preferring one beer over the other, but craft beer exists as a way of offering diversity to the formulaic mass produced beers out there. If we're all drinking/producing the same beer it's not all that "craft" anymore. At that point, you're not innovating, you're just riding the coattails of someone who set the trend 20 or 30 years ago. There's more to changing the face of a beer than just adding more hops to the brew kettle. We know what can be done with a Pale Ale. Let's see what can be done with a Lager or a Cream Ale. Let's push those boundaries. I've mentioned before in my blog that I'm a subscriber to de Vinci's thought that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" The craft beer boom has been going with LOUD for quite some time now and I firmly believe that it's time to start seeing a little balance and working the subtle side of beer.

When I first set down to write about Beer Balance I didn't expect that it would take me down such a philosophical road, but as you can see I believe balance is not something to be ignored. "All things in moderation" is usually something spouted out when you're trying to convince someone not to eat too many cookies. But if we apply the rule of balance to all things in the beer world, I think we'd have even more happy beer drinkers. And afterall, isn't that the goal to begin with?

BBB Beer of the Week: Baltimore Washington Beer Works Tell Tale Hearty Ale

The second I heard the makers of The Raven were coming out with a new Edgar Allen Poe themed beer I was excited. Not only have I enjoyed hell out of The Raven in the past, but the literary dork in me was excited to partake in anything Poe. I picked up a bottle of Tell Tale Hearty Ale a few weeks ago and after reading nothing but good things, I decided I shouldn't wait any longer to taste the sweet nectar. 

Style: IPA
ABV: 7.25%
IBU: 50

Appearance: Tell Tale Hearty Ale is quite the looker. She pours a beautiful golden amber color mimicking the classic IPA appearance we've all come to know and love so much. I didn't get a massive head out of my pour, but there was at least a finger of the good stuff on top.

Nose: Grapefruit, tropical fruit, a little bit of resin and pine all make their way from the head to your nose. There is plenty of hop presence, but not in an intimidating way. A lot of times the first whiff of an IPA has me bracing for a bitter hop bomb, but with all the fruit in Tell Tale Hearty Ale, the aroma is very inviting.

Taste: Everything that the aroma hints at shows up in the flavor profile. You get the all the fruit flavors with just a little bitter smack. Happily, the hops never completely take over your palate and that's something I can definitely get behind.  At a little over 7% ABV this isn't a session beer, but Tell Tale Hearty Ale's easy drinking ways makes it very easy to keep going back in for another sip.  All of these delicious flavors are rounded out with a slightly dry finish.

Final Verdict: Tell Tale Hearty Ale is a beer to behold. It's an IPA with plenty of hops, but one in which you won't find yourself looking to the sidelines for coach to call a timeout and give you a breather. I can easily see myself downing pint after pint of this fruity Ale all summer long. If you life in Maryland, get out there and find you some! Maryland, there's a new king of IPA in town.

Food Lovers' Guide to Baltimore

Last week I received a review copy of Food Lovers' Guide to Baltimore from my friends at MinxEats. I haven't had a chance to read it from front to back quite yet, but what I have read left my very impressed and I'd like to share my thoughts with you. If you're reading a food blog, chances are this book is right up your alley.

My favorite part of the Food Lovers' Guide to Baltimore is the way it's organized. Each geographic region of Baltimore and Baltimore County are broken out and within each region the restaurants are listed by Foodie Faves, Landmark Restaurants, and then a final section for Specialty shops, Markets and Producers. This clean and concise way of organizing things makes it very easy to hunt down restaurant ideas.  If you know you're going to be a near Little Italy, for example, a quick perusal of the book will give you all kinds of ideas for potential destinations.

Another thing I like about this book, and one in which I'm not sure was planned or not, is the small size of the book. If you wanted to leave a copy of the book in your center console so that you have it at the ready when you're out and about, Food Lovers' Guide to Baltimore doesn't take up much space at all.

Another few areas of interest to me is the breakdown of all the local brewpubs and breweries, list of fellow Baltimore area bloggers, and a section full of recipes from local restaurants.

If you know someone who likes searching out new and exciting places to eat throughout the area, this book is a must have. It's packed full of information that will have you discovering new favorites and revisiting old favorites throughout Baltimore.

Fiesta Mexicana

It would be very easy for me to jump right in and talk about just how good the food at Fiesta Mexican is. However, before I do that I want to make sure I hit on what I think a trip to Fiesta Mexicana is all about. When you enter this tiny little 12 seat restaurant you are immediately met with a smile by the owner. He hands out menus, talks you through the menu, tells you about the different ingredients and how he chose them, cooks your meal, serves your meal, and even rings you out at the cash register. I've never felt as valued as a customer as I have when I've visited this hidden gem located in Rosedale. The owner takes immense pride in the service he is providing and we are all better off for it as customers. Obviously, I've been to a restaurant or two in recent times and there isn't another place I've come across that makes me feel as valued as Fiesta Mexicana does.

Now on to the food! I don't think there will ever be a time that Deana and I visit Fiesta Mexicana without ordering the fresh Guacamole. And when I say fresh I mean it. The kitchen is in plain view and you can watch him select the avocado, cut it up along with some onion and cilantro, and mix it up till it reaches the right consistency. The contrast of the creamy avocado and crisp onion is awesome. And if you're looking for a touch more heat the Salsa Verde served on the side is one of my favorite condiments. It's just the right heat level for me and pairs perfectly the with creamy guacamole.

On this particular visit we decided to split a platter that included a Sope, Enchilada, Fluata, and Taco. Not only was everything on that plate delicious, but it was a ton of food and our entire dinner only totaled $16.50. Deana and I both agree that our favorite on the plate were the Enchiladas. The chicken is so tender and there is nothing I like more than the green sauce they top it off with. The flavors are straight forward (nothing like the typical Mexican restaurant tries to pass off as Mexican), but all so delicious. We also quite enjoyed the quesadilla. Prior to biting in I wasn't expecting to be wowed. After all, it's just a quesadilla, right? But, man, was I wrong. This was a fried quesadilla that left the tortilla appearing almost as if it were pastry. 

When it comes to Fiesta Mexicana I feel very confident stating that this is a place everyone within a 45 minute drive should try. The food is excellent and the service is nothing like any other restaurant I know of in the area.  Give them a try tomorrow. 

Price: Cheap

Recommendation: If you claim to be from Baltimore you have to eat here. 

What to Order: Guacamole and Enchiladas.