Luckie's Fabulous Tavern

Oh Luckie's...

Located just a few blocks from our house under the giant Power Plant Live sign, Luckie's features an expansive bar, huge area of outdoor seating and no toilet paper.

Seriously. The first thing I did was hit the restroom when we got here. Ladies, you know how when you walk into a restroom and you first check to make sure that there isn't anything disgusting looming in the bowl, then you check to make sure the door will shut, then you check to make sure it's not covered in pee...etc?...well, I walked down four or five stalls before finding one that didn't have human soup but still had interesting reading material on the walls (it's a bar, you can't expect much) and then to my dismay found no toilet paper. Running down several more stalls finally locating some, I washed my hands thoroughly and then laughed and the silverware setting sitting on a chair by the paper towels.

Dave had already ordered our Cokes, and we looked over the menu. We were just minutes into the dinner menu and were relieved to find out we could use our Groupon. We made up about half of their business at 5 p.m. yesterday. TV's blared the Navy v. Terps game and we set about ordering a chicken sandwich with cheddar cheese, side salads with ranch and Dave took the plunge on the hot turkey platter.

The waiter walked away with our menus and we looked forlornly at our empty glasses.

Our busy waiter set about fetching beverage for all the other patrons in the bar and as the minutes went by the annoyed tweets mounted. Had this guy not been so nice, I probably would have snapped. However, every time we interacted with him he was just so nice. By this point I was fully expecting burnt/or undercooked food, sucking ice to stay hydrated, and possibly contracting an infection from whatever was gluing my flip flops to the floor.

Here's where restaurant reviewing gets tricky. We can't rate this place the same way we would rate a place like La Tavola, or Prime. We have to rate this place on the level of other pub/bar type places. We expect simple pub style menus, we expect casual service, and we expect a certain amount of "eeeew, what is that on the floor?" It's a bar.

For being a bar, this place was pretty clean. It was sparsely staffed and likewise sparsely populated. Apparently not a lot of people eat at 5 p.m. when there's a big game going on in town. Meh.

So, finally after several tweets two full glasses of Coke show up and I was like "Yay! Thank you!" and he said "I read your mind" and then I muttered "you're apparently on mountain time" and then I wasn't mad anymore.

When the food arrived, the waiter brought over two more full glasses so he totally redeemed himself.

The food arrived. The salads looked wonderful. They were fresh, crisp and very very good. My sandwich was wonderful. Juicy chicken, fresh toppings, crisp fries. I would have been willing to eat my hat if I were the type of person to wear hats. Then the greatest shocker. . .

The hot turkey platter was delicious.

Seriously. It was Michigan good. Chunks of turkey breast, plain jane slices of bread, soaked in gravy, mounds of mashed potatoes. Stunning.

For the turkey platter alone, Luckie's you get 4 noms.

Bill Bateman's Bistro

We were intrigued by the claim that Bill Bateman's Bistro had the "best wings in town". Dave and I both love some really good wings. It reminds us of Trivia Night in Florida when we'd hang out with his friends and eat pile after pile of various flavored wings while playing a ridiculous trivia game.

We tried out the White Marsh location (Gold Ring). We were greeted warmly and seated quickly. We ordered our beverages (I started off with a Cherry Bomb type thing, it was cherry bacardi, pineapple and cranberry juices and man oh man was it delicious), then started deciding on our meals.

We started off with an order of mozzarella sticks. It's definitely a passion of both of ours. I've loved mozzarella sticks ever since one almost killed me as a child. I swallowed a piece and started to choke on the giant string of cheese, frantically attempting to pull it out of my throat but the cheese just kept stretching. My mom, naturally, flipped out and I was banned from mozz sticks until adulthood.

So we ordered the mozz sticks and nearly a half an hour later they showed up. Room temp, cold enough that the cheese wasn't dangerously stretchy. In fact, it was like eating a cheese stick wrapped in breading. The sauce was piping hot, so you could make a case that it evened out.

A little while later our entrees showed up. Dave opted to try these famous wings of theirs so he ordered one plate of 20 wings teriyaki flavor and one plate of 10 wings bourbon flavored. Here, they don't let you mix flavors and they offer their wings in plates of ten. So you can't get a plate of 20 and split the flavors. If you order 20, you need to order them all the same. Which we both hated. When you're a "wing place" you need some flexibility.

Now, I've eaten my fair share of wings. I was really optimistic by the friendly comfortable atmosphere, the claim of "best wings in town" the delicious sounding flavors listed, and the personal message from Bill Bateman on the back of his menu telling us that they use only the best, freshest produce and meat around.

Dave's wings did not reflect any of those claims. It was all crispy tough skin and bland seasoning. There was hardly any meat on them at all. They were tiny and chewy.

I went for the seafood platter that had a lobster cake, fried shrimp, fried fish, coleslaw and fries. This being a seafood area of the country, I'm always curious to taste a new place's take on seafood. When my plate arrived the first thing I noticed was the golf-ball sized burnt lobster cake. The whole top was torched black. I started sampling everything. The fries were lukewarm and rubbery, the lobster cake was burnt and salty, the fish was cold and rubbery, the shrimp was actually pretty good, but not fresh (it was definitely frozen at some point) and the cocktail sauce to go with it was mostly horseradish so I had to "ketchup" it down a bit, and then the coleslaw was warm. Five bites in and I was done.

Our waitress came to check on us and asked if I needed a box. I declined and she asked if it was good and I said no. She asked what wasn't good and I said "Everything". She immediately jumped to help. She offered a conversation with a manager which at first I refused then changed my mind. I read an article recently encouraging people to complain when something is terribly wrong at a restaurant. Most people don't, and then business drops off because most people would just rather not come back than complain about something. So I decided to inform the manager that there was a problem and what the problem was.

She listened with intent, and then offered us some compensation which was wonderful. We didn't mentioned Dave's chicken, just focusing on my dinner. The waitress was incredibly sweet and kept apologizing.

My recommendation is if you decide to patron this establishment, stick to alcohol. Their alcoholic drinks are marvelous. Skip the food.

1 nom.

Dave's 2 Cents:

I almost called Groupon and demanded my money back. How dare they promote themselves as the "best wings in town", what town? where? Baltimore?! hell F%#$ no!

I would have had a better experience if i dipped my leather wallet in BBQ sauce and tried to eat that.

I can't wrap my mind around the fact that they force you to only take 1 flavor per order, wither its 10-20 or 50. 1 sauce only. If you want 20, with 2 sauces, you have to order 2x 10 pieces, which rings up another $4-5.

Bill, If you advertise yourself as the best, #1 your food better live up to the name, and #2 offer some customer service and give us wiggle room.

Unless however your meat comes off a truck in frozen bags that includes the toss sauce, hmmm.

Folks, do not go here for wings. Your better off buying a frozen bag @ Sam's club and microwaving it for 30 mins.

Mt. Washington Tavern

The Mt. Washington Tavern

5700 Newbury Street

Baltimore, Maryland 21209

410.367.6903

We'd heard good things about this place so we decided to hit it up over the weekend. It's located in a really cute part of the city. Since we were eating pretty late at night (it was around 9:30 when we went) I'd really like to try to get back there during the daytime.

When we arrived, we walked in through the front which is the bar area. Music was playing really loud and we were a little nervous. We asked for a "quiet" table and the hostess gave us this little smirk then led us through a hallway and opened a door to a gorgeous cabana themed restaurant that was softly lit by candles and white string lights wrapped around fake palm trees. It was really lovely.

We were greeted really quickly and given our drinks. We ordered an appetizer, crab wantons, jumbo lump crab meat, cream cheese and scallions served with a Ponzu dipping sauce. When the app came we put in the order for our entrees, Dave choosing the Parmesan Crusted Rockfish and me choosing the Shelburne Chicken. It took a little longer than we expected for the food to come out. Dave's fish was a "Wild caught Parmesan rockfish filet topped with Jumbo Lump and beurre blanc and sauteed green beans". They must have been out of green beans because he got a vegetable medley instead. His fish was amazing. Perfectly cooked, and the beurre blanc sauce was unbelievably creamy and delicious. I was jealous.

My Shelburne Chicken was "chicken breast wrapped around country ham and brie cheese with wholegrain mustard, pan-gravy and wild mushroom risotto". I was hopeful and excited because it sounded so delicious. It tasted like a pile of garbage. The mustard was entirely too strong, the risotto was more of a "wild mushroom pilaf". I got through one piece of this dish and had to push it away. I will say that the ham, chicken and brie combination was quite good. The mustard totally killed it though.

Thankfully the staff there was so wonderful as to let me choose another dish to try and delivered it on the quick. I exchanged my chicken for the Prime Rib, Queen's cut. It was "slow roasted boneless rib of Hereford Beef with crispy onions, Horseradish Creme, and Wild Mushroom risotto". I asked for no horseradish as it's one of those foods I can't eat.

The steak was fabulous. It was cooked perfectly, just fatty enough and soooo juicy. It was truly delicious. I did not eat much of the onions but they did add a good bit of flavor to the meat. They were crispy and salty and really good. I poked at the "risotto" and took a bite. I'm pretty sure it had been sitting out and was microwaved as it was oddly hot in certain spots and had that rubbery texture.

As mentioned before, this place is GORGEOUS on the inside. It gives you a sense that you're on vacation at a resort on the beach. The Rockfish was amazing and the steak delicious. So, I recommend you go and try those dishes. We had excellent service as well, which has helped to give this place the score of 3 noms.

Luna Del Sea

Luna Del Sea Bistro
www.lunadelsea.com

300 West Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21201-6504
(410) 752-8383

BEST SEAFOOD: INNER HARBOR
Click Here for Menu

Today's post was supposed to be about Dangerously Delicious Pies, but since it was closed, we headed over to Luna Del Sea to review this little seafood bistro. Our good friend Sami, whom you may remember from our Sorso Cafe post suggested we try it out, as he knows the owner. We headed over there with him and our friend Heather in tow to help us sample a wider range of the menu.

I must say first off that this place is very cute. It's set up elegantly, comfortable seating, the ballroom has a gorgeous mural on the wall. Right away we felt at home there. We were one of two tables in the place so it was nice and quiet.

We started the meal off by ordering fried soft shell clams and mussels in a garlic butter sauce. Dave sure does love his fried clams, and he wasn't disappointed here. They were perfectly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and the dipping sauce was a phenomenal complement. I was a little biased about the mussels and so were Dave and Heather.

The last time I had mussels they were chewy and rubbery and not having a basis of comparison, thought that was how they were supposed to be. Now that I've tried these, I know otherwise. These were tender and nearly melted in your mouth. The garlic butter sauce was so good that we all used up the rolls to soak it up and polish the plate. Sami sure knows his food, he did an excellent job picking out that dish. Even Dave and Heather liked them. Luna Del Sea, you have 3 new mussel converts.

For the entrees Heather ordered the crab cake sandwich with fries, Sami got the seafood trio, broiled, Dave ordered the fried seafood platter and I ordered the shrimp salad sandwich.

Everything came out very quickly, which was probably due in part to us being 50% of their business at that time. July 5 was weird because so many people were considering it a holiday (Dave and I had off work) but it kind of wasn't so the business flow was off. We were eating lunch at 2 p.m. for example.

My sandwich came out just a little later than everyone else's because I mumbled my order and the waiter didn't catch it. We each took turns sampling everyone's food. Dave's platter came with fried fish, fried clams, fried scallops, and fried crabcake. Sami had broiled shrimp, scallops, and crabcake. Heather's was a crabcake on a bun, and mine was shrimp salad (shrimp, goodness and mayo) on a bun.

I must say, everything was incredibly delicious. Sami's seafood trio was especially good. Everything was cooked perfectly. I never thought I'd like crab cake, but this place really has it down. There wasn't a single thing that we ordered that we all weren't completely satisfied with. Sami's scallops and shrimp were buttery, tender and very very fresh. The crab cake from his platter was flaky and so good.

Dave's fried crab cake had a similar flavor but you could definitely tell the difference between fried and broiled. Dave's was a tad crispier on the outside, but soft, warm and good on the inside. Dave's scallops were also cooked perfectly, with the crispy outside a great complement to the flaky inside. Heather had the same crabcake the guys had so nothing new there, but still delicious. My sandwich while although my least favorite thing on the table was still delicious. The shrimp was very fresh, it wasn't bland whatsoever and the kaiser roll was soft. The fries were the highlight however. Whatever they are cooked/battered in is just wonderful.

I give it 5 noms.

Best seafood place in Baltimore I've been to so far. The staff is friendly and fast, service was great and it's in a good location. Parking might be a bit of a problem, since it's located on Pratt street but it's definitely worth it.


Dave's 2Cents:

I am completely amazed that I've never seen or heard of this place (I drive by it everyday coming home from work). From outside, it looks like a little place/rowhome with outside eating. What you get when you walk in is amazing. Huge sports bar, big fluffy pillow outside lounge area, massive ballroom for private events, 20 foot ceilings, famous people all over the walls... just GREAT.

Another thing that impressed me is the smell, which is what I look for when going to a seafood joint. Smelled fresh and clean! The owner came and sat with us for a few moments to check on us, he seemed like a very nice down to earth fellow, the waiter made sure all out glasses were full and our mouths were smiling, between running outside and blowing off the sidewalk (poor kid).

I honestly can't find one bad thing about this place. Its located across the street from the convention center and there are many places to park and walk. One suggestion would be parking at the Gallery Mall and walking a block over, but there's many blue "P" signs around.

I tried many new things and revised things I've never liked, and loved them all. Mussels... Crabcake... Scallops... Om Nom Nom!

Cheers!

Tavern 101

Tavern 101
101 President Street

Baltimore, MD 21202
P: 410-837-9900
F: 410-837-9901
BEST WINGS: Inner Harbor.
CLICK HERE FOR COUPONS!!!

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!

Houlinan's

We met up with our friends Jeff and his wife Marsha for dinner and drinks at Houlihan's using our Groupon. The restaurant has a casual contemporary feel to it. After a round of musical chairs in an attempt to find a comfortable and large enough table, we finally settled in the bar because of the happy hour specials.

We ordered two boozy teas, pitcher size (which was really just a bigass mug) and then ordered the regular order of spinach dip for an appetizer while we waited for our friends.

The menu here is pretty decent in size. It had a metal cover and page after page of food and drink options. The last two pages were...weird. There was a list of songs they play and hilarious horoscopes.

The appetizer came pretty quickly. It was 8 triangle slices of crispy flat bread sprinkled with cheese and seasonings and then drizzled with sour cream. Beside that was a small ramekin of steaming spinach dip. This stuff was wonderful. The dip was creamy and smooth, the toppings on the flatbread was just a hint of spicy and was complemented well with the dip.

Upon the arrival of our friends we squeaked in a couple more drink orders and then settled on some food. I ordered the stuffed chicken breast, Dave got the almond crusted tilapia, Jeff ordered the wedge salad with sirloin, and Marsha got the pan seared scallops. The food arrived beautifully. It was truly a lovely presentation...except for Dave's which was just...weird.

My dish was fantastic. It was a breaded chicken breast, butterflied and stuffed with cream cheese and herbs, then baked to perfection. It came with a side of mashed potatoes and crisp green beans. The cheesy insides ooozed out when I cut into it, which is just what you want whenever something is "stuffed" with something else. Delicious. The only complaint I have is that the green beans could have been cooked for about another minute, however they were very fresh and seasoned very well so it's a tiny complaint. The potatoes were homestyle, just enough lumps to feel homemade and slightly cheesy, garlicky and buttery. It was a perfect match. My dinner was big enough to have again the next night, which was fine by me.

Jeff's prime steak and wedge salad came with a 5 oz. top sirloin, with an iceberg wedge, smoked bacon, spicy pecans, roasted golden beets, grilled asparagus, creamy gorgonzola cheese, scallions, warm polenta croutons, buttermilk bleu cheese dressing. Jeff said that while everything certainly tasted good, the steak was super tiny, the polenta croutons were small and there were only two and the tiny slice of cheese was wonderful but just simply not enough.

Marsha's dish, the seared Georges Bank scallops, came with lemon-asparagus risotto, baby greens, and basil-infused olive oil. Her dish came with 6 medium-sized scallops which she said were cooked quite well and the risotto was very tasty. Again, as with Jeff's meal, there simply wasn't enough of it.

Dave's meal is too hilarious for me to discuss and you can find his reaction in his 2 cents section below.

Now, we were sort of nervous about our waitress at first because it didn't seem she wanted to pay attention to us, however she became increasingly better as the meal went on and by the end of it, we were very pleased with the service we received.

The drinks we ordered were really great. I got the long island iced tea, and Dave got the Tennesee tea which was peachy and tasted like juice.

Overall I'd say this place is a great place to go for apps and drinks after work, but lousy for dinner. The dinners were overpriced, possibly microwaved and just not worth it for the cost. However, we were all very pleased with the apps and drinks as well as the waitstaff. Overall I give it 2.5 noms.

Dave's 2 Cents

So, I promised myself I'd never review a chain restaurant, and after this experience, I doubt I ever will again.

I ordered the, and i quote, "ALMOND CRUSTED TILAPIA, Amaretto beurre blanc, fresh berries, grilled asparagus."

What I received was this. Microwaved fish, with a scalding hot outside and cool inside, extra almond crust, and STRAWBERRIES!

I feel sorry for the pallet of the guy/gal in the back that thought this was eatable!

I asked the waitress exactly why there were strawberries on my food, and she said, "They ran out of the berry blend, they subbed this out.

First off, restaurant 101, NEVER sub ingredients until you have spoken to the customer. Dislikes, food allergies, or just plain food taste conflict.

Common chef, if you run out of sugar for a receipt do you use conventions sugar or brown sugar instead?! hell no.

Short order chef, YOU FAIL. "86" a dish if you've run out of the ingredients.

And maybe try an oven next time and not a microwave.

Readers: This place is located in the middle of Baltimore's biggest tourist trap, Inner Harbor. They run their business of 85%or more on non-repeat business. Who CARES if they piss off travelers? They wont be back. And who cares about the locals when most of the money is coming from tourists?!

Avoid of you want a nice dinner, if you want some good appetizers and booze, try it out.