The Steakhouse

As much as I like a delicious steak I very rarely find myself in the mood to hit up a steakhouse. In my opinion, the steakhouses that are affordable are only average in the food department and restaurants that are most likely amazing are out of my every day price range. What is a steak loving boy to do? Thanks to the best deal I've ever received through Groupon, I know the answer is drive to The Steakhouse.

Because of this blog I've been eating at a wide variety of restaurants lately and obviously trying out a ton of new places. The Steakhouse sticks out in my mind as one of the best for a variety of reasons. First, and maybe most important to a lot of us is the price. Deana and I were able to eat 2 steak dinners with 2 enormous sides AND two beers for less than $40. By the time we factored in our Groupon we probably only paid $8. Diesel!

Another reason The Steakhouse sticks out in my mind is the quality of the food. The steaks are hand cut by their in house butcher and cooked very simply in a wood fired grill. As far as other steakhouses in their price range, there is absolutely no comparison as far as quality is concerned.

Deana and I decided on the center cut prime sirloin. The only difference between the two steaks was the fact that I ordered mine medium rare and she medium. The steaks were THICK , juicy, and tender. Surprisingly, I think I preferred her medium cooked steak to my medium rare. They are seasoned simply but have a great addictive char taste. The crunchy charred outside juxtaposed against the tender inside is where it's at!

The picture above makes it look like they serve this tiny little steak with an even tinier side dish. Don't let the picture mislead you. The plate was huge and was meant to house two side dishes. I just happened to order French Onion soup as one of my sides (at no additional charge) and was served the soup prior to my dinner being brought out. In regards to the asparagus you see in the picture, it was fantastic. A lot of times I avoid ordering asparagus in restaurants despite the fact that it's probably my favorite vegetable. I always end up getting served some super limp green thing that is just foul. The Steakhouse does asparagus right. When I bit in and found it was al dente I almost considered getting up and doing a dance. Asparagus cooked properly in a resteraunt is near miracle status.

The French Onion soup that I had to start off my meal was phenomenal. The broth had such a deep beef flavor that I couldn't get enough of. Salty broth mixed with sweet caramelized onions and gooey cheese combine to make some of the best French Onion soup you're going to find anywhere. The fact that you can add it to your meal at no extra cost is a super deal.

If you're looking for a great meal at one of the most fair prices in all of Baltimore you have to find your way to The Steakhouse. Groupon got me to walk through their doors for the first time, but their food will have me walking back through for years to come.

Price: Beyond Reasonable
Recommendation: Get their this weekend.
What to order: Any steak with French Onion Soup and Asparagus.

Tilted Kilt

When I tell people that they should visit Tilted Kilt for dinner I always feel like one of those guys who say they have a subscription to Playboy to read the articles. For anyone that hasn't been there Tilted Kilt can be described as a Hooters with class and food that's worth eating. Yes, the waitresses look nice but the food truly is good. And beyond that, their beer selection is top notch when compared to other chain restaurants. Any place that semi-regularly carries Boddingtons Pub Ale on tap gets my full support regardless of the attire the waitresses are wearing.
Deana and I often find ourselves there before we visit the movie theater across the street. The service is quick and even on the busiest of nights they have so much seating that you rarely have to wait. You'll really love the decor inside. The walls are full of cool British knickknacks and there are HD TVs everywhere. And on summer nights there is a pretty significant outdoor section for those that like to people watch.

My go to meal when I visit the Kilt is always the wings with tilted sauce. The wings are always meaty and the sauce is a thicker sauce rather than the thin red hot soup you find at a lot of places. To be honest, I wouldn't go out of my way just for their wings but if you're already in the neighborhood they are more than worthy of your hard earned cash. Deana is big fan of their Sloppy Jane (essentially a Rachael sandwich) and I've had their Irish Dip in the past and it was rather tasty. Word to the wise, though, I'd probably stay away from their pasta dishes.

No, their food isn't going to change the way you view cuisine but the overall experience of visiting this place makes it one of my go to restaurants when I'm feeling lazy about picking somewhere to eat.  Ladies, are you convinced this is a place you could actually walk inside yet? There are pool tables to keep you occupied, dart boards, and I've seen them promote Wii bowling tournaments and things like that in the past as well. One event that had my interested was their beer themed dinners. The one I saw them promoting was a Sierra Nevada dinner that was 4 courses for around $40 and included 4 beers. I would have been all over it had it not been for the fact that Salmon was the main course and I don't eat fish.

If you ever find yourself in White Marsh for a movie or just strolling The Avenue don't be afraid to hop inside Tilted Kilt. It's a good time....I promise.

Price: Average
Recommendation: Nice place to visit while at The Avenue
What to order: Wings with Tilted sauce and a Boddingtons

Palmisano's Italian Deli

Warning! Don't let the brevity of this review be confused for lack of interest on my part. Palmisano's Italian Deli is awesome! The reason this post might be a bit shorter than the average review is because we came across this place completely on accident. Because of that I didn't have my "blogger" mindset and that lead to short notes to look back on and no pictures.

You might remember me mentioning the trip I made to The Thirsty Brewer a few weeks back for a Homebrewer's class. I got there a little early that night because I wanted to pick up a few things before the class started. Being that I was there early and the fact that the class was running a little behind led to a hungry Doug looking for some food. Well, I don't know how familiar you are with Baldwin, MD but there aren't all that many places to stop off for food. Our only option was to walk down the street to Palmisano's Italian Deli.

Palmisano's is part country store, part deli, and part pizza shop. Not wanting to cart a pizza around we decided to split their Super Italian Cold Cut Submarine. Emphasis on the Super. This bad boy was about 14 to 16 inches of soft roll deliciousness. It was more than enough for two, but I'll be damned if I wasn't silently wishing I had the whole thing to myself when it was all said and done. The Super Italian has Italian ham, salami, and capicola all freshly sliced. We added provolone cheese, lettuce, onion, mayo, hots, and their homemade vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was delicious and the sub as a whole was just soft, fresh, submarine nirvana.

I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy a good sub here and there and this is one you won't soon forget. By far, Palmisano's has my favorite sub in the Baltimore area as of today. It's out in the middle of nowhere (a little past Boordy Winery for those familiar) for a lot of you, but it's worth the drive.

Price: Cheap
Recommendation: Make the drive. It's a very pretty drive and the food at the end of the rainbow is great.
What to order: Super Italian Cold Cut Sub

 

Weekend Fun: Frederick Beer Week and Foodie Experience 2012

I think this weekend might be one the more exciting weekends for lovers of beer and food in the Baltimore area. On Saturday the Foodie Experience is coming to the Hippodrome Theatre. I'm going to take the easy way out and just quote their website.

What is the Foodie Experience?
Imagine tasting food from 35 of Baltimores' top restaurants. For three hours (or until you are full) sample small plates of culinary genius created by the some of the best chefs in Charm City. Unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks will be provided as well as dishes ranging from bread pudding infused with chocolate covered grasshoppers, gourmet hot dogs and obscene sweets, just to name of few of the offerings. It’s simple; three hours of tasting and drinking before you sit down to see Andrew Zimmern LIVE on stage. Best of all, no dishes to clean!

If anyone catches this in time and thinks they want to go, be sure to get on LivingSocial and purchase your ticket there. The deal should be good until tomorrow get you a ticket for $50. Unlimited alchohol and food for 3 hours....that's a prety good deal.

Also, starting this Saturday the 12th can continuing through the 19th is  Frederick Beer Week. There are going to be all kinds of cool events, from a Bike Bar Crawl sort of thing to classes with Beer Judges to teach you what to look for in certain beers. For fans of local Maryland beers, this will be the place to be.

Sadly, I will not be attending either of the events this weekend, but I'm sure they'll be a blast for anyone lucky enough to make them. If you make it, be sure to let us know how it was. As for me, maybe next year!

Dogwatch Tavern

Once again Groupon has helped introduce me to another great restaurant/bar in the Dogwatch Tavern. I'm not sure if they are a new bar (couldn't find anything on their website), but when I originally looked them up on Urbanspoon they were nowhere to be found. If anyone from Dogwatch reads this, you can thank yours truly for getting you added to the site with a free beer. Just kidding......but not really!

We were down there for the O's opening day and by the time the game was over we were quite hungry. Dogwatch came through in a big way. We knew a couple sandwiches wasn't going to be enough to fill us up so we decided to go with what we thought were Honey Mustard wings. They were delicious. I remember both Deana and I thinking at the time that they didn't taste like honey mustard, but we were thrilled with them either way. To us, all we could taste was honey and old bay seasoning. After studying their menu a little more in preperation of writing this post, I'm pretty sure they screwed up our order and gave what is clearly labeled honey/old bay wings on their site and not honey mustard afterall. Best restaurant screw up of all time! The taste was so unique that it has me and Deana dying to go back for round two. Also key to the wing experience was their homemade blue cheese dressing. I'm a fiend for blue cheese and this was as good as it gets. The salty blue cheese was awesome up against the sweet honey.

After indulging in the celestial culinary achievement known as honey/old bay wings it was time for our sandwiches. I decided to go with a cheesesteak while Deana went with a grilled chicken sandwich. Of the two, Deana came out the winner. The chicken sandwich is marinated chicken breast topped with red onion, roasted red peppers, provolone, arugula and lemon-thyme mayo served on toasted Rosemary Foccacia. To put it succinctly....juicy and delicious.

My cheesesteak was okay. It wasn't great. It wasn't terrible. It was kind of dry, but the wings and Deana's chicken sandwich gave me more than enough taste bud pleasure to convince me that I'll be visiting this place again.

Besides the food, this just seemed like a cool place to be. I noticed they were having a contest to win the right to put your name on the back of a bar stool if you could make it to the Dogwatch Tavern 30 days in a row. If you walk into the bar and someone is in your seat you are well within your right to boot them out. That's AWESOME.....and so is Dogwatch Tavern!

Price: Everyday Pub Prices
Recommendation: Next time you're in Fells, this is the place to be.
What to order: Honey/Old Bay Wings and a Chicken sandwich.

My Favorite Baltimore Bars: The Dead End Saloon

Way back when I started this blog (like 3 months ago) I wrote that I wanted to talk about restaurants, food, bars, and beer. So far, I feel like I've done a pretty good job talking about the various restaurants I've visited, but the beer and bar talk has been seriously lacking. Let me apologize by offering up the first installment of what I'm uncreatively calling "My Favorite Baltimore Bars".
I don't plan on ranking them because bars can become ones favorite for a million different reasons. It just seems silly (and a little obnoxious) to try and put together a list claiming one is better than the other, hence the word "favorite" and not "best" in this little series I've just created.

One of my favorite bars in the Baltimore area that I've come across thus far is none other than The Dead End Saloon in Fells Point. I'm not sure how well known this place is but every time I've ever been there it very much feels like a locals bar. Located on Fell Street just a hop, skip, and jump away from the main action of Fells Point, The Dead End Saloon is a real gem. You're not going to find the bar 3 rows deep with people holding money over your shoulder trying to get the bartenders attention. At The Dead End Saloon you'll find older gentleman sitting down with a beer trying to digest a few pages of whatever novel they're currently reading. If there's a heaven I hope it's something like that because I'd be remiss to name many other things more relaxing than a good drink and a good book.

Anyone who has ever been to Fells Point knows what I'm talking about when I say that the type of atmosphere I'm describing at Dead End is the complete opposite of almost every other bar in that area. Most other bars are filled with loud, drunk, crowded, youngish (absolutely nothing wrong with any of that) customers. Every once in awhile it's nice to step outside of that environment and into something else. There is always a nice crowd there but it's not so busy that the bartenders can't interact with you. I actually like when the bartender does something more than just hand me a glass of beer. If I have a question about how a certain beer tastes I don't want to feel like I'm burdening them and preventing them from moving on to the next customer.

They aren't Max's in that they they don't carry 50 (or whatever the number is) beers on tap, but they have nice dozen or so to choose from. If you want to stay true to your Baltimore roots and down a Natty Boh, you can do that. But if you're looking for something a little more upscale you have that option as well.

So there you have it. If you ever find yourself in Fells Point looking for something a little different from the typical loud and in your face atmosphere give The Dead End Saloon a shot. It's a winner.

Weekend Fun: Max's Taphouse Rare and Obscure Event

For those of you who enjoy tasting a wide variety of beers there is a great event taking place this weekend at Max's Taphouse known as the Rare and Obscure Event.
I attended the event last year and had a really good time going through the list and tasting things almost nobody else can get their hands on. There are some beers there that will truly expand your palate. I'll never forget tasting Cantillion Rose De Gambrinus and being in shock that a beer could be so sour. In the moment I thought it was the worst beer I'd ever laid my mouth on. However, it helped stretch my palate to places that were previously unknown and opened the door to beers I previously wouldn't have considered or enjoyed. Sound weird? Well, you'll have to trust me.

But don't let that fool you. There are a lot of delicous, totally drinkable beers to be had.  If you click through to their website (linked above) you can see the list of beers they'll be serving. Right now, it's a pretty impressive total of around 40 beers.

I'll be there. Will you?

Hamilton Tavern

A few weeks ago I turned 30. When Deana asked me where I'd like to eat for my birthday it took me about 2 seconds to answer. In fact, she could have asked me 3 months before my birthday rolled around and I would have known that I wanted to eat at Hamilton Tavern.

Hamilton Tavern is one my favorite places to visit in all of Baltimore. It's a fairly small bar/restaurant but it's just so cool. There are all kinds of interesting antique decorations spread throughout, board games you can play late at night, and you'll even be entertained in the bathroom where there are random pages of literature for wallpaper.

The few times I've been there I've noticed that it pays to get there early. The place fills up quick, but if you don't mind killing some time with a drink at the bar it's not that big of a deal. Hamilton Tavern always has a small but interesting choice of beers on tap. I decided to go with a Nectar Ales Red Nectar that night. Red Nectar is a very well balanced ale with nice hop presence up front and a mild malt finish on the back end. It didn't knock my block off, but it was a quality beer nonetheless.

For an appetizer we decided to try fried cauliflower and broccoli served with a Resurrection (Brewers Art's Ale) cheddar dipping sauce. It was okay. I had high hopes for the cheddar sauce but it was kind of under the radar as far as taste is concerned. The fried veggies were also a bit underwhelming. It just wasn't crispy enough for me and the mild vegetables needed a sauce with a little bit more "oomph" to bring it all together.

The fact that appetizer wasn't spectacular should be of no concern. The reason you go to Hamilton Tavern is to experience the Crosstown Burger. I'm not exaggerating when I say this thing is otherworldly. A few months back I asked a co-worker to suggest a unique place to take my dame out for dinner. He mentioned Hamilton and was adamant that we try the burger. I took his advice and I haven't been the same ever since. This burger has become what all other burgers are measured up against from here on out. The Crosstown Burger is a gigantic burger with lettuce, onions, and horseradish cheddar cheese sauce. For the more gluttonous among us you can add bacon and a fried egg. Trust me when I say you should add both.

There is no need for ketchup, mustard, mayo or whatever other condiment you typically put on a burger. The slightly spicy and sweet horseradish cheddar cheese sauce mixed in with the egg yolk that will eventually break and spread all over your burger is what life is all about. You might have thought it was about some spiritual journey or something. You're wrong. Life is about getting in your car and finding this burger and savoring it. Sadly, the excitement of eating the food has once again led to me being a little absent minded in regards to taking a picture. I'm sorry.

If you have room for desert after indulging in the burger you have to try the maple bacon cupcake. It might sound weird, but it's worth trying anyway. How many places do you come across that work bacon into their dessert?

The picture above doesn't do the cupcake justice. Trust me, it tastes much butter than it looks. I think the bacon is candied and the sweetness against the salty bacon flavor is really nice. The maple cupcake and butter cream icing round it out and before you know it you don't know if you're eating dessert or breakfast. Really, it doesn't matter because what you're eating is simply delicious.

Price: For Pub food it's somewhere in the middle. In the grand scheme of things it's not bad. Probably in the 10-15 range

Recommendation: Get there ASAP

What to order: Crosstown Burger

Bombay Nights

I want to apologize right off the bat for this review not being as detailed as I'd like. The day I attended Bombay Nights I went with co-workers as part of a "welcome to the team" kind of lunch. Because I was still getting to know all the new guys and girls I decided to keep my professional food blogging skills on the DL. However, I wanted to make sure I talked about it here anyway, brief though it may be.

If you work in the White Marsh/Nottingham/Perry Hall area Bombay Nights is a great place to get really good food at a really great price. During the week you can get a smorgasbord of Indian food for about $9.95. The buffet includes roughly 10 different options from curry to tandoori to tikka masala. There are also all kind of chutneys and sauces to mix and match with the variety of breads and crackers they have available.

I thought it was kind of funny that I had never had Indian food in my entire 30 years of life and then all of the sudden I was eating Nan (very tasty by the way) for the second time in a week. The fact that it was a buffet led to some of the food being a tad dry or not quite as fresh as it would be if it were being cooked to order but this was still an excellent deal. For a little less than $10 you can have a lunch that won't put you to sleep like the Subway Club you eat every day and you can do so in a restaurant full of beautiful decorations.

Price: Cheap
Recommendation: Visit for the lunch buffet ASAP
What to order: Lunch Buffet

Gino's Burgers and Chicken

Gino's Burgers and Chicken restaurants have been popping up everywhere lately. Being an out of towner I hadn't heard of them, but my girlfriend let me know that they used to be quite popular once upon a time. Naturally, my interest was peeked. When we found a Groupon offer to the Towson location we had the perfect opportunity to see what Gino's was all about.
We ended up at the Towson location on Friday night and it was PACKED. The line was nearly to the door but it moved surprisingly quick. The first thing I noticed was the giant sign of milkshake offerings. As you know from the By the Scoop review I'm a huge fan of peanut butter and I ended up with a Reese's Pieces Milkshake. My girlfriend, on the other hand, decided on a Cherry Cheescake shake.

The shakes were really big and thick. The huge straw you see in the picture came in very handy. However, on the whole they were kind of "ehh" on the scale of tastiness. They weren't bad but they weren't anything special either. My Reese's Pieces Shake tasted like a pure vanilla shake with a bunch of broken candy that eventually sunk to the bottom.  Deana's Cherry Cheesecake didn't have any cherry flavor and even worse there was no cheesecake presence to be found either. That was kind of a letdown.

For dinner I ordered a Bacon Blue Burger and Deana had the Chicken Caesar Wrap. Out of the two, the wrap was easily the winner. The chicken tasted really good and we both really liked the ceasar dressing. My burger, while okay, was a huge bummer. The bun was nearly twice as big as the burger but that was the least of my concerns. The fact that the "Bacon Blue" burger didn't have any blue cheese crumbles on it really annoyed me. Putting cheap mass produced blue cheese dressing on a burger and calling it "blue" doesn't cut the mustard with this guy. With that said, the bacon on the burger was really tasty.

The best part of the dinner were the Wild Fries we decided to split. Wild fries are french fries with cheese, ranch dressing, and bacon crumbles over the top. The fries alone were really good and crunchy. I was a little worried they were going to be soggy and covered in ranch dressing (not typically a huge fan) but it was really well balanced. Both of us agreed the fries were worth coming back for.

Because we went with a Groupon deal we had some extra money left over and were able to order chicken fingers and a cookie to go. Even though I didn't get to the chicken for a full day it was really good. The breading they use was a big hit with my tastebuds.

It seems to me that the chicken is the way to go if you end up at Gino's. Between the chicken fingers and the wrap Deana had, I think it's safe to say they know what they're doing the chicken. On the other hand, the burgers and the shakes were a big let down.

Price: Cheap
Recommendation: It was okay, but it has its strong points. Give it a shot.
What to order: Chicken Caesar Wrap and Wild Fries.