Blue Agave

At some point we were going to have to review a Mexican restaurant. We'd been avoiding it because of my newly diagnosed stomach issues which included such orders from the doctors as "no spicy foods" and "for the love of GOD no spicy foods" and "You should probably stay away from spicy foods" and then there was "Oh yeah, and no tomato, lime, lemon or orange. Also, no spicy foods"

So it had sorta ruled out a lot of my favorite Mexican dishes like...anything Mexican. We had a Groupon for Blue Agave Restaurante and Tequileria which is next to Dangerously Delicious Pies so we thought we'd have dinner there, carefully, and then hit up DDP for dessert.

I scoured the menu to locate all of the dishes that I knew wouldn't be good for me and immediately avoided them. This narrowed my selection to pretty much any vegetarian dish, the dos Burros and the enchiladas. I opted for the enchiladas and Dave got dos Burros. We also got a sampler of salsa and some homemade tortilla chips (which the first round is free, any additional you pay for).

The enchiladas came on a platter with three, stuffed with cheese, shredded chicken and covered in the red enchilada sauce topped with cheese, a side of rice and black beans. It was fantastic. These were probably the best enchiladas I've ever had. I ate one whole one and then Dave at my last two (they were probably just a notch above the spice level I'm allowed to have so to avoid a stomach ache, I gave him my final two in exchange for the rest of his chicken burrito). The rice was perfect the beans were perfect, it was great. There was a slight hint of something sweet like cinnamon or something in the tortillas that really added an excellent flavor to the whole dish.

Dave's entree was two burritos, one steak and the other chicken, stuff with beans, rice, tomatoes. They were huge. Absolutely gigantic and unbelievably good. The meat wasn't dry or overcooked, the tortilla soft and warm. Best burrito I've ever had.

The chips and salsa was also incredible. Everything was so fresh and tasted like it was just prepared. I only wish they had told us what kinds of salsa we were eating (one was all green, one clearly regular salsa and one a dark red/brown color and almost completely liquid)

4 Noms.

This place was great. They have an excellent happy hour on Tuesdays where you get 2 apps for $20. This seems like it would be a great place to meet friends or go to after work.

Dangerously Delicious Pies

Ahh, the elusive Dangerously Delicious Pies. Dave, Heather, Sami and I had attempted to go here on July 5 only to (sadly) discovered they were closed that day. We tried again another time and Sami got stuck in VA. So, Dave and I decided to get dessert here after our dinner at Blue Agave.

This is another of those Baltimore places that's been on TV. Apparently the Food Network loves Baltimore. We gazed over the chalkboard menu and looked into the lit up glass case and finally decided on 3 kinds of pie: Baltimore Bomb, Chocolate Chess and Apple Crumb (which was a mini-pie).

We took our order to go, promising to come back and dine in for the Savory Pie experience (they make chicken pot pies, and some other delicious sounding pies that I can't wait to sink my face into).

Once at home Dave poured us a glass of milk, divvied up the pie slices and we dug in. The Baltimore Bomb was a custardy pie with chunks of Berger cookies baked into it. It gives you a little bit of that chocolately goodness that I love so much but isn't as overwhelming as some have described the Berger cookie to be (if you're unfamiliar, it's a shortbread cookie caked with a GOB of fudgey frosting that includes ingredients I don't want to mention and a calorie count that is simply sinful). The Chocolate Chess was something between an undercooked brownie, chocolate mousse and cake. It was fabulous. This one was by far my favorite. The crust was perfect, the filling gooey. It was good. The final one, the mini-pie of Apple Crumb had to be my least favorite of the three. It was a little on the bland side (I think it needed more cinnamon or apple spice or something) but the crumb topping was crunchy sweet and perfectly baked.

We'll be giving them a more complete review when we go back for their savory pies. So far they've got 3.5 noms.

The guy working the counter was super helpful and patient and offered great suggestions. It's clean and comfy on the inside and it's in a great location.

Sorso Cafe

Sorso Cafe
500 Harborview Drive
Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 682-8720

Today on a whim we decided to go out to lunch with our friend Sami who works at the restaurant next door to us. After handing him a pile of our Groupons and telling him to pick one, we arrived at the conclusion to hit up Sorso Cafe because it's located on the water. Today was another hot one and a casual lunch by the water was too appealing to pass up.

Sorso Cafe is located off Key Highway behind Federal Hill on the water. Parking was a little tricky to figure out but we managed to get a metered spot and then it was a short walk to the Cafe.

This place is pretty casual and inviting with a few outdoor tables and then a small amount of indoor seating. They serve gelato, paninis, wraps, wine and cheese platters. They have a breakfast menu as well. They also have some brownies and cookies wrapped up near the register. Kryptonite.

Sami ordered a Caprese and added prosciutto. Dave got the PLT (prosciutto lettuce and tomato) panini sans T. I ordered the Harborview wrap. The sandwiches came with either chips or an apple (I got chips, they got apples) and we each grabbed a bottle of soda and then I tacked on one of those alluring chocolate chip cookies.

Everyone was sitting outside and there wasn't an open table out there so we sat in the little dining room. As soon as the boys sandwiches arrived, we dug in. (theirs were grilled, mine was cold).

My wrap was delicious. It was grilled marinated chicken with crisp lettuce, pesto, diced tomato, and fresh mozzarella cheese. It was a really great mixture of flavors between the juicy tomato chunks, the mild flavor of the cheese and the sharp taste of the pesto. In mere minutes it was gone. I didn't even offer to share, then again, neither did my husband. The cookie was a bit of a disappointment, with a slight stale taste to it. However, the wrap made up for it.

Sami's had prosciutto, basil leaves, fresh mozzarella, tomato and pesto. The only complaint that he had was that the "prosciutto is a little too thick" which wasn't even really a complaint since it was so good. He said that when he bit into the basil leaf, it took him "to Heaven and back". Excellent.

Dave's was simple with prosciutto and lettuce with a drizzle of some sort of house sauce on it. I would have liked to try it, but when I took a break from mine his was gone. I can only assume he really enjoyed it.

We have another Groupon for this place and I do believe the next time we go back we'll be sampling their gelato.

As far as the non-food aspects go, the girls working the counter were really friendly and helpful. The food is inexpensive (sandwiches ranging between 6 and 8 dollars) and the atmosphere is really casual and fun. They had a few vegetarian options which is always nice to see, and the accommodated special orders without griping. This is a great place to duck into if you're out for a casual walk along the water.

We will definitely be going back. I give it 4 out of 5 noms.

Dave's 2 cents:

Other than having to park 2 blocks away (they have no customer parking, that we could find), pay a meter and walk, the experience was alright. The shop was extremely tight, I had to move out of the way about 8 times while I waited to order, but I am glad they had indoor seating.

The food was great, each dish comes with chips, apple or banana. Jenn got pissed that I didn't let her sample my P.L.T.

Sorry, the only thing in the world better than bacon, is thicker bacon.

I wouldn't put this in our Best of Baltimore (Sandwich Shop Category), but it got close.

The Abbey

The Abbey Burger Bistro
1041 Marshall Street

Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 453-9698
Get Map
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!






... why are you still here?