Business Trip to Baltimore

[Nittanyplayer#12]

I'll be in Baltimore for 3-4 weeks in April. I'm already planning on going to Camden Yards, Inner Harbor and D.C. but would like some suggestions on night life and pubs. I'm a beer snob and love craft beers almost as an addiction. Any thoughts please inform me. I plan on going to Heavy Seas and Du Claw breweries and the Wharf Rat as well.

 

[rtrainer]

Max's on Broadway in Fell's Point\

Mamma's on the Half Shell in Canton
Claddaugh's in Canton

Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia
The Ale House in Columbia
Frisco Taphouse in Columbia
This post was edited on 3/7 9:42 AM by rtrainer

 

[sluggo72]

Fells point is a must, Cats Eye for the real flavor, I dont know about

craft beers or not there. The seamed shrimp at John Stevens is to die for, right down the street. I always liked Jerry's Belvedere up near York road. French fries and beef gravy is a must!!!

 

[palehorse]

Not in Baltimore, but if you find yourself near the Georgetown waterfront at any point, check out Orange Anchor.

 

[siff]

I would suggest making a trip down to Annapolis for the day. Take a walking tour of the Naval Academy and Historic downtown Annapolis. You can then hit Ramshead up on West Street for some of their own microbrews or if the weather is nice hit Pussers and get a table right on the water and enjoy the views!

 

[BBrown]

Originally posted by Nittanyplayer#12:
I'll be in Baltimore for 3-4 weeks in April. I'm already planning on going to Camden Yards, Inner Harbor and D.C. but would like some suggestions on night life and pubs. I'm a beer snob and love craft beers almost as an addiction. Any thoughts please inform me. I plan on going to Heavy Seas and Du Claw breweries and the Wharf Rat as well.

Thats a good time to be here, not to hot and humid but should be pleasant weather wise.
There are a ton of good places to eat and drink. Fells Point is a MECCA for the 25+ tons of bars.
Max's has more beers on tap than any place I've been and they aren't your standard beers.
Not sure where you will be staying but Du Claw is not in the city there are a few of them located around the area, Bel Air, Arundel Mills, and BWI.
My recommendation is Brewers Art in Mount Vernon.
I think you'll like it
see the link.

I'd also recommend Little Italy for some really good food.
There are ton of places and all of them good.
I would suggest Chipparellis for dinner and Vaccaros for desert.
This post was edited on 3/7 11:12 AM by BBrown

my suggestion

 

[psu1969a]

Must See Places
Fells Point, plenty of bars and restaurants
Federal Hill, same
Little Italy, great Italian restaurants, favorite is Sabatino's
Little Italy, Vaccario's Bakery & Ice Cream Shop
Inner Harbor, plenty of places to eat, boat tours very informative

Fort McHenry
Annapolis, Naval Academy, State House, Downtown pubs & restaurants
Camden Yards Tours

 

[Atpete07]

Don't bother with the inner harbor unless you are going during the day. There are some cool street performers and such during the day but at night its absolutely dead, with really no bars directly at the harbor. As many mentioned here if you're a beer snob then Max's in Fells Point is the spot to go but if you really want to experience Baltimore you've gotta go to The Horse You Came in On. Live music every night, cheap beerand excellent bourbon selection. Someone also mentioned brewers art which is a nice spot but really everything you need from an entertainment standpoint you'll find in Fells Point/Harbour East/Little Italy.

My recomendation is skip DC unless you've never been. Traffic is a nightmare and everything is completely spread out, Baltimore has a MUCH better downtown than DC IMO.

Depending what scene you're into you may want to consider Howl at the Moon in Powerplant Live. It's a Dueling Piano's bar and it's powerplant (for those in the know more expensive drinks but a nice selection of bars and there might be a good show playing at Rams Head.

 

[rudedude]

Pratt St Alehouse; Heavy Seas Alehouse; Alewife all good places. Flying Dog is in Frederick, Md. DuClaw is in Bel Air or Arundel Mills outside of the city.

This post was edited on 3/7 3:03 PM by rudedude

 

[jwlynn]

If you are going to be there April 11-14 that's when the Cherry Blossoms are supposed to be at their peak in DC, but the early predictions often turn out to be wrong so I'd check the forecast the last week of March.

 

[garw]

BBrown has a fine suggestion with Brewers Art. Same hood as University of B'more and a solid vibe. Birroteca in Hampden rocks and has a real bar. Barcocina in Fells Point is fun. Amazing tacos. Boog's at Camden Yards for a Pit Beef or roast turkey sandwich with the game. Family Meal at the inner harbor is Voltaggio's latest restaurant and a fine place to go with a group. Bo Brooks in Canton for steamed crabs. All fun places and not in "break the wallet" territory. We have those too and if you need some recommendations this group should be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[john4psu]

This is good info for when we play Maryland in Baltimore in October. Thanks for the info.

 

[psengr82]

Just outside in Linthicum you'll find the best crab cakes in the world...IMO. G&M and Timbuktu...two different restaurants that are both in Linthicum. Order the crab cake sandwich WITHOUT the roll. You'll only need one crab cake so don't bother with the dinner of (2) cakes unless you want to bring one back with you anyway.

G&M has been updated and is much nicer inside but the two of them have the exact same recipe and it all starts with real Maryland Blue Crab, not some tasteless creature from the South China Sea.
This post was edited on 3/7 10:19 PM by psengr82

 

[flameshockey26]

If you are up for a little bit of a road trip Frederick MD is about 45 min west on 70 where flying dog brewery is. I am not an IPA fan but I know people love the IPAs that they do have. Some of the bars in Baltimore will most likely have some of there beer on tap. Frederick has a nice downtown area to walk around with a few different bars and restaurants.

 

[rohrmd9]

I don't care for Victorias. Not much selection menu wise or beer wise imho.

 

[bkmtnittany1]

As long as Victorias has Old Milwaukee..I am good to go!

 

[pandaczar12]

Heavy seas was surprisingly good. The food and beer. The downside was that it gets extremely busy and the service is not great.

DuClaw is solid, typically chain brewery bar food... not the sort of stop you take when dinner is on the company. They have an insane number of beers on tap, but most of them are below average. They make one or two good beers.

Brewer's Art is the can't miss place. The food is fantastic, the beer is mostly Belgian style crap, but it is well done. It was recently voted as the best bar in America by some magazine (GQ?).

Dempsey's Brew Pub & Restaurant is at Camden Yards. The beer was TERRIBLE, but their bacon on a stick is worth a stop. (See pic below)

While I was sipping some Pliny the Younger on Saturday, I was chatting with a guy from Baltimore. He said that a new place, Union Craft Brewing, was really good. But I haven't been there.

 

[Elwood Blues]

Was just there this weekend...

Downtown is great for wandering about on foot. Avoid W. Baltimore and areas to the E. of Fells Point. Apparently there are some bad spots N. of Inner Harbor as well (not a local - this is anecdotal).

We took a stroll from Inner Harbor, up Light St. to Federal Hill (lots of interesting restaurants and bars - although not quite the density as Fells Point). We then took a left on Fort St. and walked about 2 miles straight down to Ft. McHenry, which is definitely worth a visit. Fort passes through residential areas. There's a free bus loop with a stop just outside the fort, and will take you back downtown. You could also wander back via the waterfront if you want to complete the loop on foot.

The water taxis are fun, routes from Inner Harbor to Fells Point, Fort McH, and other points of interest (I think they start running April 1).

Somewhat related suggestion - if you haven't seen "The Wire" on HBO, I would recommend it under any circumstances (my favorite HBO series ever), but it might be a good time to watch it, before going. Of course, it is a gritty, fictional crime series and doesn't reflect the tourist experience (hopefully), but it does sort of give you a flavor for the city (shot in Balt, lots of local references).

 

[Nittanyplayer#12]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, much appreciated.