I had a great fun packed and busy weekend in Baltimore and DC this past weekend. The Washington Nationals were in town and I wanted a chance to see them before they moved into their brand new ballpark this year.
I flew into BWI Saturday Morning and met up with the
Travelin' Man We decided to do lunch at The Seaside Restaurant in Glen Burnie MD and we were anticipating the Blue Crabs which the Sterns have praised in the most recent Roadfood book. We were dissapointed to find out that The Seaside doesn't start serving Blue Crabs until 4pm which guarantees their freshness. That meant I had to settle for the lunch sized portion of Crab Imperial. But I'll settle for that anyday. I started off with the Maryland Crab Soup which was a thick and zesty red broth chockfull of crab meat. The crab imperial was absolutely delicious laced with pimentos and a rich imperial sauce that did not detract from the flavor of the luscious crab meat. The Travelin' Man had the "Soup du Jour" which was Crab Gumbo Soup and the Skipper Joe's Seafood Pasta.
After lunch we took the Metro into DC- it was a
HOT and humid 97 degrees. We checked out the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, The World War II and Vietnam Memorials and the White House Museum. We then took the Metro to Dupont Circle and walked around there a bit. The Travelin Man said he could really use some ice cream and we came across Larry's Ice Cream. Apparently "Larry" is known as the "Scoop Nazi" his counterhelp's notoriety of brusque and rude service contributes to his reputation. The counterhelp was kind of tame and with flavors like "Fred and Ginger" who can't resist the temptation of this ice cream parlour. I had a cup of the Cinamon Cookie Dough Ice Cream. It was delish.
We took a cab over to Ben's Chili Bowl. We were meeting up with The Travelin Man's friend who was going to join us for dinner and for the DC Nationals Baseball Game too
Ben's Chili Bowl is located in a neighborhood that still hasn't quite completed a revitilization. When we first arrived there was a long line but it moved quickly, once "Nate" arrived we placed our orders at the counter. I was dissapointed to find out that they did not have Sweet Potato Pie, so I compensated by ordering two Half Smokes with the works (chili-onions-mustard) The half smokes are basically hot dogs on steroids. They're a little thicker and pack a stronger punch but were not overwhelmingly spicy. I thought the chili was going to be "sweet" but it was actually rather mild. The three of us shared an order of fries. It was nothing special.
After dinner, we took the Metro to RFK Stadium. At the game, The Travelin' Man had a corned beef Sandwich from Baltimore's own Attman's Delicatessen which has a stand at the Park. The Nationals were playing St Louis that evening and to our surprise it was no contest. To the surprise of many visiting Cardinals fans, the Nationals basically wiped the floor with the Cardinals. When we left after the middle of the 8th inning the score was an embarrassing 12-1 Nationals. Hard to believe the this team won the World Series less than 2 years ago!
The next morning we drove to Baltimore and had a light Breakfast at the Daily Grind, a coffee house in the Fells Point Section of Baltimore. After breakfast we walked around the old cobblstoned, nautical neighborhood checking out the sites and stores as well as the Fells Point Maritime Museum.
For lunch we went to Chap's Pit Beef. Baltimore's version of the Roast Beef Sandwich. Pit Beef is actually not roasted, but is marinated on the grill. It is served on a kaiser roll or rye bread and condiments include Mayo, BBQ Sauce, Onions, Horseradish or Mustard. I forgot to order mine medium rare, so the meat, albeit good, was a little tough. The Fresh Cut fries loaded with old bay and dipped in cider vinegar is some of the best around.
After lunch we drove down to Annapolis and met up with
LastStandChili at the Rams Head Tavern, a brewpub in Annapolis. After knocking down a couple of "Fruity" Summer Wheat Beers, we strolled around the Art Festival that was being held that weekend and headed towards Main Street. LastStandChili recommended Storm Brothers Ice Cream on Dock Street
www.stormbros.com After waiting in the long line which moved fairly quickly, I decided on a cup of rum raisin. Another excellent choice.
The Travelin Man and I then headed back down to Baltimore and G & M Restaurant near the Airport. There we met up with
Signman Because of the long wait for a table and the fact that The Travelin' Man and I had planes to catch, we decided to eat in the Lounge. We oogled an order of onion rings that went by and agreed unanimously that we would would share an order. Now these are onion rings- crispy-taugh n tasty.
I ordered the Crabcake Dinner. you have a choice of one crabcake or two. The Travelin Man and I ordered two each, Signman ordered one. I've heard rumors that the crabcakes have gotten smaller and/or have declined in quality-
NOT TRUE!! They are better than ever. These cakes are JUMBO LUMP CRAB with little binder and I still say they definetely blow
FAIDLEY'S away. I could only finish one. The waitress was kind enough to give us a gel-pack and a takeout container both of which managed to slip right through airport security on the way back home. The leftover crabcake tasted just as good after heating it up in the oven at home the next day per the instructions provided by G & M.
I finally arrived home at 3AM Monday Morning 3 hours later than expected. An exhausting, but fun Roadfood trip.
