Tavern 101

Tavern 101
101 President Street

Baltimore, MD 21202
P: 410-837-9900
F: 410-837-9901
BEST WINGS: Inner Harbor.
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Tavern 101 stuck in our mind from when Dave's mom visited us in February and she stayed at the Fairfield hotel attached to it. We had such great service and the people working there were so friendly that when we decided to start this blog, that this place would definitely be on the list. It's never busy in there so we're guessing a lot of people are unaware of how awesome it is. We're trying to fix that.

Every day they do happy hours from 3:30 - 7:30 p.m. where you can get great deals on beer and liquor. There's always a sports game on their many flat screen TVs, and the waitstaff is always friendly.

One thing we discovered here are their house specialty Honey and Old Bay wings. They used to have an amazing deal on wings on Thursday for happy hour but it has since been discontinued (go ahead, complain about it, maybe it will be reinstated if enough people speak up). Their wings aren't the wussy little meatless variety either, they are big, juicy meaty delicious pieces served with plenty of dipping sauce (ranch or bleu cheese) and celery sticks.

There are two other flavors, mild (which isn't all that mild, offers a slight kick) and hot (which I'm guess are fire-in-the-hole-crap-your-pants hot, but I'm unable to try them so I'm only guessing). But really, the Honey & Old Bay is where it's at. It's a tangy-sweet-makes-you-want-to-suck-the-bone kinda flavor.

Another fabulous specialty of theirs that we tried out for the first time last night is the Loaded Fries. These bad boys are covered in cheese, ranch dressing, bacon (real bacon too not that fake shakin' bacon stuff) and baked to perfection. The flavor is smoky-salty rich and before you realize what's happening, you'll eat half the platter. I promise you.

Dave also ordered the Shredded Pork sliders which came with 2 mini sandwiches which were topped with purple cabbage coleslaw (I've always resisted calling it "red cabbage as it is not red), and a side of kettle chips. I can attest the chips were delicious but the slaw was kind of vinegary.

I ordered a good ole American Cheeseburger topped with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard and mayo with a side of onion rings. The burger was big and juicy, the cheese plentiful, the toppings crisp and fresh and the onion rings were absolutely perfect. No mushy spots (man I hate mushy spots) and BIG.

We went home with enough leftovers for dinner again tonight, and using a Restaurant.com gift certificate meant our bill was way cheap. It was a win-win.

Since this place caters to the beer and munchies kind of crowd, you won't find any upscale fare here, and you also won't really find anything catering to the vegan/and or special dietary needs people. It's your classic pub style menu, burgers, sandwiches, fries, pizza. The food is plentiful and inexpensive (you can eat for around $10 per person if you skip the drinks).

The service was phenomenal. Our waiter Mike brought over a few extra glasses of soda for us because of all the food we ordered he figured we'd be "extra thirsty" and I know Dave and one thing he hates is an empty soda glass when he's eating. The only very tiny tiny complaint that I have is that Dave's stuff came out first, and mine didn't come out until almost 10 minutes later. Which was actually fine because it gave me plenty of time to eat most of those loaded fries.

5 NOMS!!

Dave's 2 cents:

Like Jenn said, my mom came to visit us from Florida in February and stayed in the hotel this pub resides in. From the moment I saw it I was in love, and haven't stopped thinking about the place since.

I love the look of this place: steel, wood, brick. Flat screens in EVERY direction, booths, benches, stools and tables fill this area nicely along with these retro fans that are belt powered, spinning above you.

It's also a tragedy how empty we always see this place every time we visit. Not saying its dead all the time, but we have just had the luck of being there when it was.

This pub has an awesome location, on the boarder of Little Italy and the Inner Harbor, you can walk to this place from any harbor hotel, or a short cab ride from across the water in Federal Hill.

The service has never been bad, and they do everything in their power to make you comfortable. The presentation of the food is awesome as well. Rather than food slopped on a plate like in normal pubs, they take some time plating the food, as you can see in all these pictures.

My favorite wings in this place are Old bay & Honey. These are so good, I can honestly say that on ANY OTHER FOOD... I HATE OLD BAY, but on these it's the exact opposite. When I eat these, I go into a little frenzy, snorting a little and trying to BREATHE the chicken into me. OM NOM NOM.

Jenn and I have decided that since we know or no other wings places in Baltimore that are this good, we are deeming Tavern 101, BEST WINGS: Inner Harbor.

If you want great service with a smile, ask for Mike, tell him Charm City Noms sent you!