A fixture in downtown Havre de Grace for the last 20 or so years, The Ritz is primarily known for providing a decent lunch to proper ladies who are not in much of a hurry. Now that Color Images is located on the same block, I had the opportunity to try out The Ritz for the first time, getting a take out order to eat while my color processed.
Read MoreThe sign outside is just a large yellow banner that says Korean Restaurant in bold black letters. The first thing you hear when you walk in is an aggressively irritated Korean woman announcing how long you will have to wait for your food. It's noon and she is out of kimbap and nothing more will get done until there is more. On the right of the entrance is a hostess station that looks long out of use. You need to walk the length of the restaurant past a dozen or so unadorned tables to the counter in the back. There is a polite young woman behind the counter taking orders and payments as the older woman barks prices at her. The older woman is made up like a bad Hollywood stereotype - powdered white face, bright red lips, heavy black eyes. She looks at me and says like it's a challenge, "30-minute wait. You wait 30 minutes?"
Read MoreOver the last few years, Harbor East has gone through a remarkable redevelopment. And even though I can still remember when it was just vancant lots littered with broken bottles and used syringes, it has now become a neighborhood known for its ever increasing dining options. When The Hyatt Place moved in last year, it brought with it several fairly decent chain restaurants, including Jimmy Johns, Cava, Nado's Peri Peri, and most recently Sweet Green, an upscale salad joint that specializes in locally sourced vegetables.
Read MoreOnce upon a time, there was delicious Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken in Baltimore - chicken so delicious it drew the masses from all walks of life. Racial tensions and other petty rivalries eased as the city's denizens crowded into the tiny entryway of La Rotisseria for magically seasoned and always cooked to perfection chicken with beans, rice, and the best green sauce ever made. And, every once in a while, a small selection of hand-made papusas that always sold out almost immediately. That little storefront carry-out place was my first taste of papusas, and of Peruvian style chicken. And to date it has been the best.
Read MoreA while back, the In-n-Out/Five Guys clone Grab-n-Go was sued by In-n-Out for being, well, an almost exact clone, right down to the decor and menu. It was so much like In-n-Out that I was constantly forgetting that it actually wasn't and just referred to it as Fake In-n-Out. Well, they closed to little fanfare, and in their place is Georgia's Carry Out. And even though Georgia's still has the copycat decor (red and white tiled walls) and burgers (the Wild burger and the Asian burger are still on the menu, although their descriptions have been slightly altered), they seem to be doing OK.
Read MoreTiki's on Broadway is a pinhole in the wall of Baltimore, a small take-out place that looks the way you would expect it to, only smaller. The Formica counter in the front seats five and provides you with a full-on view of the cigarette rack that carries two brands - Mavericks and Newports. The menu is posted above this in a series of typed pages tacked to the wall. Further in are a couple of rows of small, well-worn booths and a couple of wall-mounted screens showing a horserace video and Keno. You can buy tickets at the front, along with every lottery known to the Baltimore area.
Read MoreFolks who have lived in Baltimore know that it's a patchwork with the good and the bad nestled right up against each other in a crazy quilt of urban living that means you spend a good bit of time walking along the edges. Fells Point is such an area. It starts out pretty nice in the touristy area down by the water. But as you move further inland, an almost unconscious wariness sets in. I can never actually feel the transformation taking place in myself - the change in my stride and posture, the set to my jaw, the way my body language changes to encourage others to keep their distance - until I begin to move back into that tourist zone around the harbor and I feel that slight tension leave. This is where Sticky Rice is located.
Read MoreI love food. I really do. I love trying new things and experiencing new flavors and textures. I love finding the limits of my palate and visiting that edge regularly. The first time I try a new food is like a little adventure that I embrace with eyes (and mouth) wide open, both feet forward, ready for whatever it brings. This is how I found myself on Friday night starting down a piece of sea urchin sushi.
Read MoreI used to live in the city. I used to live on East Baltimore Street by the western edge of Patterson Park in Butchers Hill back when re-gentrification was first taking hold, and rats and addicts and undercover cops still wandered the alleyways. Shortly after I moved there, the city decided to help support the efforts of the well-intended yuppies homesteading in the neighborhood and engaged in some beautification. This included repaving the sidewalks and adding some very attractive brick inlay work. It also included placing giant potted plants on the corners. They lasted until sometime around bar time of the first night. At the time, my friends and I laughed at this with jaded cynicism. It was, however, the beginning of a significant change. I left the neighborhood before this change was complete, and am now amazed when I drive through it on my way out to my current home in the suburbs.
Read MoreThere are so many restaurants these days who are making the minimal effort at creating a space for people to dine and providing them with a decent meal. As we increasingly abdicate our responsibility to provide food for our families to these charlatans, the bar for what is worth paying for gets lower and lower. So often we are served up foot that resembles frozen dinners, both in flavor and craftsmanship, as if we should be willing to pay to have someone else do the cleaning up and count ourselves satisfied.
Read MoreSometimes the worst situations reveal the best in a restaurant. Today may have been such a day for Mai Thai in Baltimore. I placed a take out order and arrived to find the beginnings of the lunch rush with a single employee staffing the front of the house - host, bartender, wait staff, and busser. Oh, and the phone. He never missed a call. He remained pleasant and energetic, sometimes sprinting from the front dining area back to the kitchen, never breaking a sweat or losing his smile.
Read MoreUs working stiffs in Harbor East have noticed that the Harbor East Deli has been closed for quite some time for a number of renovations, including the addition of a breakfast menu. As there is only so much of the Whole Foods breakfast bar a person can take, I wandered down the block this morning to check it out.
Read MoreBagby's Ten Ten Bistro is rolling out some new items for their spring menu. One of the items they announced via their Facebook page is an Asian inspired Bahn Mi sandwich . Made up of Asian pork meatballs, slices of country-style pork pate, cole slaw, spicy aioli, and their own house-made pickles on a crusty roll, it sounded too interesting to not try.
Read MoreThis has been a long, hard work week for me. When Friday lunch rolled around, I wanted something that would put a smile on my face. And what better food choice than shwarma. Shwarma is a happy word. Just saying it make me smile.
Read MoreFood is an essential part of our lives. It is nourishment to fuel us through our day. It is social as we often seek out friends to dine with. We build our lives around it, from grand traditions to daily routines. And some meals are so enjoyable that we shape our week around them, going out of our way for the unique satisfaction of a well-crafted dish. And then something changes, and that much loved meal is out of reach.
Read MoreThough it was a four-day work week, by the time I woke up this morning, I felt as if I had already worked a full week. When lunch time rolled around, I knew in my heart that the only way I would make it through to the end was with a Bistro Burger from Bagby's TenTen and an IcedGems cupcake. It was a lunch reminiscent of former bad dietary habits and unfortunate weight fluctuations. But dammit I earned it.
Read MoreWhen my mom comes to visit, we try to show her a good time. We let her relax. We feed her well. And we take her someplace local for an experience she can't get at home. This year, we took her to The Honey Pig in Ellicott City.
The Honey Pig is a 24-hour Korean barbecue restaurant located on Route 40. It has a sparse, warehouse look inside with corrugated steel siding and posters for other Korean businesses. It is such a cultural experience that walking through their front door feels a bit like leaving the U.S. As near as I can tell, they are always busy. And why wouldn't they be?
Read MoreThere are few things I enjoy more for lunch than a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup. The grilled cheese is indeed a classic lunch, and one that is so popular that the Whole Foods down in my part of the city has started grilling them up to order during the Tuesday lunch rush. So I was baffled and disappointed when the GrrChe truck made a special trip to Harbor East and never drew a crowd. At least, not when I was looking. Which is truly disappointing because these guys offer something unique albeit off the beaten path.
Read MoreIt's been some time since I've seen a food truck in my work neighborhood. The Curbside Cafe was sold off so its owners could embrace a new opportunity. The Silver Platter, who dominated the area last summer, revamped their menu, relocated to the county, and has since run out of steam. The GrrChe truck made an isolated appearance back in the spring. Even IcedGems, a regular Friday lunchtime fixture, has been scarce.
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