Baltimore tips, suggestions?

OK, here's the situation:

Going to visit a friend the first week of July, who lives near DC. Asked if he wanted to perhaps check out the new park... but the Nats were out of town. I knew Baltimore is just a little bit further north... and whaddaya know? Royals-Birds, at Camden Yards.

So I've got the tickets for the game (and as you can see, I did NOT plan it that way... but if you're going to see a park for the first time, why not have a rooting interest?)

Any other suggestions.. food, drink, otherwise? The plan, far as I can tell, is to leave early and get to Baltimore, and stay at least one night, maybe two.

 

Hit the Inner Harbor, dude. It's right by the park, and it's well worth the walk. You can get some good food there, and the scenery is incredible.

 

I always enjoyed Pickles and that bar right next to it. They're right behind....I think the right field exits.

 

Don't cross Omar.

 

If you have any interest in maritime/naval history, the Inner Harbor's a great place for it. There's the USS Constellation (which I've been on at least three times), the former Coast Guard cutter Taney and the USS Torsk, the last U.S. ship to sink a Japanese warship during World War II.

 

Really, I can't reiterate this enough.

 

'Cuz Omar don't scare.

 

I could have gone through Baltimore on my way to D.C. from Philadelphia last week, but skipped it favor of driving U.S. 301 through Delaware and the eastern shore of Maryland, crossing the Bay Bridge to approach Washington from the east.

The idea was that there would be less city driving and the fact that, at best, I would have only had time to drive by Baltimore's sites. Pretty much worked, it was a traffic-less shot right into D.C. at the peak of rush hour.

I do wish I could have seen Baltimore. Did I make the right choice or did I fuck up?

 

I don't think Baltimore is a place you can just give a glancing blow to on the way to some other place. Baltimore is a destination in its own right.

 

That's why I blew it off. Didn't think just passing through would be worth it and I didn't want to risk sitting in traffic because it was something like 2,000 degrees the day we drove it.

Turns out there was a big pile-up on southbound I-95 between Baltimore and Washington, so that's exactly what I would have done.

 

1. Captain Larry's on Fort Aveune in Locust Point for beers, lunch, whatever if you want a real Baltimore bar and not some phony shithole like Pickles. (No offense, Ryan.)

2. Faidleys in Lexington Market for crab cakes, oysters, beer, etc. Best crab cakes in the entire city, and probably the country. Lexington Market is also real Baltimore. They sell "Swamp Rabbit" in LexMarket, which is really muskrat, and you can see the nasty bastard skinned sitting next to the fish. That's awesome. You could also walk from here to the stadium. Some people might whine about the roughness of the neighborhood, so if that kind of shit bothers you, take a cab. If you walk, on the way back, swing by E.A. Poe's grave on Greene and Fayette.

3. Brunch at Metropolitin Cafe and Wine Bar in Federal Hill. Very good breakfast food/brunch, bloody mary's, atomosphere. Can walk to the stadium from here if you want.

4. Sound Garden Music store in Fells Point. One of my favorite places in Baltimore. Thousands of used CDs and DVDs, both movies and TV shows. Very cheap. You could pick up Season 1 and 2 of The Wire here for about $29 each.

5. Live music at The Waterfront Hotel in Fells Point. Never a cover, usually pretty good bands, cute girls. Not too crowded. They always have someone playing and they book some decent acts. Directly across the street from the old Bmore police headquarters, used in the TV show Homicide.

6. Take one stroll around the Inner Harbor. It's fine, but it's a tourist trap. Duck inside the Barnes and Noble built inside the old Power Plant, just because it's so huge, it's kind of cool. Ignore the rest.

7. Have a nice, classy dinner at "b" in Bolton Hill. b is probably the least expensive resturant in Baltimore that I would classify as excellent, and it's in the middle of a neighborhood. Food is outstanding. If you want something not quite as expensive, but better than bar food, try The Brewer's Art on Charles Street, where they brew their own beer called Resurrection.

8. Brunch or dinner at The Golden West in Hampden. Southwestern hippie fusion, if that makes sense. Everything has green chilies, so don't complain. They won't serve the food without it. The quirkiest, fun casual restaurant in town.

9. The Blue Agave for Mexican in Federal Hill. Best authentic mexican food in the city. Not cheap, but very good. Great margaritas. Check out the rest of the bar scene in Federal Hill too, like Porters, Mums, Mothers.

10. O'Donnell Square in Canton. There are about 10 restaurants/bars here of varying degrees of good. Nacho Mamma's for good Mexican with a baltimore twist (like quesadillas with crab meat in them), although Helen's Garden probably has some of the best food in the city (try the pork chops au poive).

 

Awesome. I'm jealous, the Royals might be on a 10-game winning streak by then, seeing how they're finally starting to warm up!

Seriously, I heard the Little Italy district is nice. Otherwise, I'm clueless, never been there outside the airport