The Abbey

The Abbey Burger Bistro
1041 Marshall Street

Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 453-9698
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http://www.abbeyburgerbistro.com/
Photo Credits: Guest Food Photographer Brooke Borton

The Abbey is tucked away in a little alley next to Cross Street Market. It was during a series of wrong turns and me screaming at my husband that I was starving and pointing out a Subway and then looking for a place to park that we stumbled upon it. The casual bar/pub-style atmosphere and strange menu got our attention. The delicious burgers are what kept it.

Since that day, The Abbey has been a place we like to take friends and family when they visit and want something “Baltimore-ish”. We explain the “sushi-style” menu, the alcoholic milkshakes, and that Ostrich does not in fact, come in chicken breast form.

At the Abbey, you have your choice of several different meat and patty options. They offer everything from Ostrich and Beef, to Wild Boar and vegetarian options like marinated mushroom and veggie patty. The menu itself doesn’t offer substitutions so if you’re feeling compliant, then order there and you’ll get an amazing choice of fabulous flavors that you are sure to love, but if you’d rather pave your own path then build your own. If you’re going to build your own burger, you grab your little golf pencil, peruse the choices of patty, bun style, toppings, toppings, condiments and sides. You’ve also got a choice of a few salads to pick from. We went with the Wedge with bacon, tomatoes, shallots and bleu cheese dressing (one of ours was subbed out with Ranch. We’re a ranch lovin’ kind of people). These wedge salads aren’t diet food. Covered in crispy bacon, fried shallots and then smothered in dressing, it’s an overload of goodness. The tang of the dressing, the cool crispness of the lettuce and then the crispy saltiness of all that is fried just makes this one damn good precursor to a burger meal. I highly recommend you give it a shot. Now, for the burgers.

This particular trip I chose Bison, cooked medium, on a regular bun, with sprouts, nacho cheese, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon, ketchup, mayo and mustard with homemade chips on the side. Dave wanted alligator, but they were out so he opted for a Wild Boar burger, on a classic bun with swiss cheese, bacon and lettuce with tots on the side. Brooke ordered the Ostrich well done on thick toast with provolone cheese, avocado, bacon, ketchup, lettuce and tomato with sweet potato fries on the side. She wanted an alcoholic beverage and when she asked our waiter for “something fruity” he responded with “I gotcha” which is Abbey Talk for Delicious Rum Drink, which is what she got. It was punchy and boozy and a treat to sip on.

As far as the taste of everything: Amazing. We couldn’t keep our hands out of Dave’s tots. I think I ate more of them than he did, but they were fucking awesome. They were the perfect amount of crispy and soft and salty. They did not even need ketchup (which was good because I found the table supply of ketchup to be quite vinegar-y and not tasty). As for his burger, it was hearty, flavorful and cooked to perfection. My burger had a very earthy taste to it. The sprouts really give it a good punch of flavor making it taste salad-like, but with a good dose of meat. I really love a good messy burger, so the fact that my cheese was slopping out onto my chips was not an issue for me at all and gave me liberty to scoop it back up with those chips. Brooke’s burger however, was the true winner out of the three. Hers was a perfect combination of flavors, the sliced avocado complimenting it all wonderfully. The contrast between the crispy smoky bacon and the tender ostrich (which wasn’t crumbly like ground beef can be) was just awesome. The toast was a treat as well, making biting into such a big burger easier, and therefore making it taste better. Her fries were rather tasty as well. I don’t usually like sweet potatoes, but these had a nice crisp to them and then a subtle sweetness that was really good.

Probably the best part of the meal was how fresh everything tasted. Nothing had that processed freezer burned texture to it and everything was crisp and you could really tell it was prepped same day. Nothing sat under a heat lamp.

The one thing about the Abbey that gets a negative point with me is the service. We ordered two Wedge Salads and only got one, and when we finally did get the 2^nd one, it was smothered in bleu cheese which Dave wasn’t happy about as he dislikes the smell of it. This isn’t the type of place you go for a quick burger lunch. Plan on spending at least an hour here as service is rather slow and sporadic. Sometimes you’ll get silverware right away, sometimes you won’t. Sometimes you’ll get a refill quickly, other times not. I do highly recommend trying something new (you can always pick it off, wuss) and DEFINITELY get one of their milkshakes (if you’re old enough) because man, are they worth it.

Overall, I give it a 4 out of 5 noms.

Price Breakdown:
Burgers can range between $10-$15 depending on how much stuffs you pile on
Salads average around $7

Dave's 2 cents:
O my god. Om Nom Nom Nom.
I have been here many times before I actually had to review it, and all I can say is, if you are in the mood for the best Baltimore (custom) burger, THIS is the place to go. As I always play the devils advocate, I truly cannot think of 1 thing to complain about. If i reeeeaaaally need to complain about something, it would be their water. Tastes like tap. Bad Tap. But thats BGE's issue not theirs.

GO THERE... Now...

No seriously.... NOW!






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