Restaurants open quietly in downtown Baltimore during curfew week

While all eyes were focused on Baltimore last week in the wake of the Freddie Gray incident, businesses in downtown were stymied with curfew laws. A number of grand opening promotions were delayed or cancelled – these two restaurants opened quietly in downtown.  So let me bring you up-to-date so you can stop by these new dining establishments, grab a bite and welcome them to Baltimore.

Nando’s Peri-Peri, the South African-Portuguese restaurant that is known worldwide for its flame-grilled chicken opened their doors to a 6th location here in the greater Baltimore area next door to the new Hyatt Place hotel at the corner of Fleet and South Central Streets.  The 122-seat location is in Harbor East between Little Italy and the Inner Harbor. @NandosUSA 

Smashburger – 616 S. Broadway is the first of the fast, casual burger chain in Baltimore.  The eight year old Smashburger chain cooks your 100% Certified Angus Beef burger to order. The beef is always fresh, never frozen – smashed and cooked on a 400 degree flat grill searing in the natural juices for as Smashburger says, “a better burger” experience.

You can order from a multitude of tried and tested burger and toppings combos like the Classic Smash, Avocado Club, Buffalo & Blue Cheese, Spicy Jalapeno Baja, Truffle Mushroom Swiss or build your own from a selection of buns, sauces, toppings and cheeses. Smashburger creates a signature burger for each location, i.e. Baltimore’s will be the Chesapeake with local horseradish manufacturer Tulkoff’s Tiger Sauce, cheddar cheese, red onion, lettuce & tomato on an onion bun. If you were to go to a Philadelphia Smashburger you could order the Philly with grilled onions, Cheez Whiz & Gulden’s Spicy Mustard on a pretzel bun.

Smashburger is now open in Fells Point, at 616 S. Broadway between Fleet and Aliceanna Streets in the newly developed Marketplace at Fells Point. Smashburger Baltimore will be open 10am to 10pm daily. For more information, visit www.smashburger.com or follow Smashburger on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Guests are also encouraged to join Smashburger’s Smash Club to receive the latest news, tastiest promotions and exclusive coupons.

Free food on tax day - check out the deals

April 15^th, tax day, is a rough day for those of us who have to pay taxes. I've always gotten a kick out of the people who go to the main post office, just prior to midnight, in some act of defiance or procrastination, as not to pay their bill until the last minute and still have it is postmarked the  April, 15^th. Unless you are a high roller, what interest will you earn on the tax money that you couldn’t mail it the day before? Just sayin!

It seems tax day is a good day to market your wares in restaurants. Boston Market, Buca di Beppo, California Tortilla, Great American Cookie and Hard Rock Café have their deals in place. 

Check out the deals HERE.

Chefs making cocktails to benefit No Kid Hungry - come to the party

Its lunch time and you have nothing to eat, in fact, maybe there was no breakfast and possibly little if anything for dinner. If that is hard for you to imagine as an adult, imagine it as a child.  As reported, nearly 1 in 5 children in America is at risk of hunger. You have a chance to help in making sure that no kid in America grows up hungry and have a good time doing so at No Kid Hungry’s Baltimore Chefs Behind the Bars on Wednesday, April 22^nd being held at Wit & Wisdom from 5:30 pm to 8 pm on their harbor view patio.

In a twist from having our leading chefs behind stations serving food they have been giving the task of creating their favorite libations in a little friendly competition. The seven Baltimore-area chefs will compete to create the best cocktail of the evening. A “people’s choice” award will be presented based on tips, and a “judges’ choice” award will be based on the decision of six judges. 

Get the full details and watch the slideshow HERE.

Fire and Ice 3 course pre-fixe dinners at Bonefish Grill

Just last night the local Bonefish Grill was jamming with families, from grandpa in his walker to the women carrying a 4 month old.  I know Bonefish always does a good, thriving business, but it seemed families were together, in town, gathering for the upcoming holidays. If you are a person who holds true to only eating fish on Good Friday you definitely have a broad selection at Bonefish Grill.      

My neighbor and I specifically went to Bonefish Grill to taste their new limited time Fire +Ice Pre-Fixe menu selections, their taste of spring.  The folks representing Bonefish Grill sent me a gift card for $50 – enough to take a guest. In the end, all we added was $10 for a tip.. The main course choices:

 •       Cold Water Lobster Tail — Steamed and seasoned, served with warm drawn butter, crispy smashed Yukon Gold potatoes and spring sugar Snap peas. 19.90

•       Shrimp + Scallop Firepot — Jumbo shrimps and scallops finished firepot style, served with rustic cut vegetables and Yukon gold potatoes. Finished with spring sugar snap peas. $23.50

•       Grilled Lamb Chops — Seasoned and lightly caramelized, served with crispy Yukon gold potatoes. $24.90

•       Oscar Turbot — From the land of fire and ice, Greenland Turbot is sautéed Piccata-style and topped with jumbo lump crab meat and asparagus. Served with mushroom ravioli, spring peas and roasted pepper. $27.90

Check out the full story and slideshow HERE

Much more than mussels - Robert Wiedmaier's Mussel Bar and Grille

I am enamored with Chef Robert Wiedmaier’s Mussel Bar and Grille that opened in Baltimore.  A recent lunchtime trip to Harbor East to where the short lived Townhouse Kitchen used to be housed and is now home to Wiedmaier’s salute to his youthful escapades at Belgium roadhouse dives.  Far from being a dive this locale is more modern with high ceilings, exposed heating and air conditioning ducts, dropped and recessed lighting, even at beer bottle chandelier, support pillars that double as a chalkboard menu – one might call it warehouse chic. 

The center bar at the Mussel Bar and Grille Baltimore boasts a neon mermaid, siren of the sea,  hanging high above the oyster sign and raw bar so as not to obstruct the multiple flat screens tuned in this day to March Madness basketball. There are craft beers on tap and bottles with local choices; Full Tilt, DuClaw, Evolution, Jailbreak, Stillwater Artisanal, Monument, Heavy Seas, Flying Dog, Fin City and more.  Don’t miss out on Chef Wiedmaier’s private label Antigoon Double Blond beer and as their website states, “An official Belgian beer knight (as enthroned by the Brewers Mashstaff in Brussels in 2012), crafted for him by the brewers Brouwerij de Musketiers from Ursel Belgium” and also exclusive is their Cry Baby ale.  This is not to say that oenophiles are being overlooked, a broad list of wines from California, Spain, France , New Zealand are available – a tidy selection of choices by the glass as well as bottle.    

On this day, for this lunch, I was their guest and one of the many benefits is I get to taste, and in this case, enjoy numerous dishes – even their namesake mussels. Our group indulged in Penn Cove mussels from the west coast. One can choose from multiple mussel preparations: White Wine, Kennett Square Mushroom, Mediterranean, and Provencal.  We opted for the Spicy Thai Green Curry and we all were soaking up the broth – in fact, I brought leftover broth home and used it for a soup with rice noodles. Dip your bread in the broth or for a very small fee opt up to getting the classic frites ($1) – served with 3 dipping aioli sauces; malt vinegar, curry and spicy ketchup. 

Check out the slideshow and full story HERE.

Starbucks Cold Brew launches on March 31st

Tested last year in Boston and San Francisco Starbucks is launching their "Cold Brew." Cold Brew is coffee steeped using cool water, while traditional iced coffee is made by brewing hot coffee at double-strength and pouring over ice.  Over 2,800 Starbucks in the Northeast, Mid Atlantic and Midwestern United States and select Canadian stores in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary will be introducing "Cold Brew."

I'm not sure how many people are thinking of chilled coffee in this unseasonable cool Spring. 

Baltimore's Phillips Seafood Restaurant: Lunch, Dinner, or Crab Deck

It was back in November, 2011 that Phillips Seafood Baltimore restaurant moved after 30 years from the Inner Harbor a bit east on Pratt Street to the Power Plant in a prestigious corner location which can’t be missed with its 17 foot tall Phillips sign.  The new location  has a richer feel with well-polished wood, mosaic tile floors, and a plush anteroom, piano bar, oversized models of Baltimore’s historic ships the Constellation and Pride of Baltimore II, and numerous photographs reflecting the history of the Phillips family that  adorn the walls.

Phillips Seafood in 2014 celebrated 100 years from their early start on Hoopers Island, where A. E. Phillips & Son was a processing plant for wild oysters, crabs and fish from the Chesapeake Bay and local waterways.  It was the surplus catches that were the inspiration for the first Phillips Seafood Restaurant and now Phillips has grown with numerous seafood processing plants, restaurants along with their seafood for the food service industry and retail line for grocery stores.  

It was back in February when I was invited to come in as Phillips Seafood’s guest for a meal. With a turn of events with my husband in the hospital, our lunch was delayed.  Phillips Seafood was most accommodating with the husband’s new dietary restrictions, low sodium and limited dark greens. Staffing was very communicative and adaptations were easy; a special salad with iceberg lettuce and low sodium dressing and the Simple Fish – Catch of the Day/ Swordfish with the lemon chive butter and steamed vegetables filled the husband’s tummy.

 

 Check out the full story and slideshow HERE.