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Heading to Baltimore for the first time in December for a work trip. Three nights in in the Harbor.

I've wanted to check out the city and glad to be doing it on someone else's dime.

I'm taking an Acela train from Stamford (first time taking the Acela, very excited for that) on a Friday night so it'll be by far my farthest train trip in America.

I'm free at 4 PM each day and will ideally like to check out a Baltimore area college basketball game, would be fun to see 5'2 Darnell Rogers play if UMBC is in town.

Any food and/or good stuff to do in downtown Baltimore?
 

Waquoit

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Ram's Head Live is like the College Street Station of Baltimore, right in the Inner Harbor. We went to Blue Moon Cafe for breakfast because we saw it on Triple D and it was great. Cap'n Crunch french toast. Dinner at The Brewer's Art was also pretty great but it looks like they have cut back on their scope post-COVID. No more General Tso's sweetbreads.
 
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After doing a little bit of research, I'm planning on spending most of my down time in Fells Point. Just a half-mile from my hotel and tons of food and drink options...a safer part of town too.

The Saturday night, I'm looking for local seafood for dinner. Sunday, looking for a fun spot to watch the Ravens late afternoon game. Any suggestions in Fells Point?
 

8893

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After doing a little bit of research, I'm planning on spending most of my down time in Fells Point. Just a half-mile from my hotel and tons of food and drink options...a safer part of town too.

The Saturday night, I'm looking for local seafood for dinner. Sunday, looking for a fun spot to watch the Ravens late afternoon game. Any suggestions in Fells Point?
Fells is great. We stayed at an awesome Airbnb right in the heart of the neighborhood and I loved it better than any place we’ve stayed in the four years that our daughter was in school there.

Thames Street Oyster House is excellent. Make a reservation asap because they fill up quickly. Their crab cake is one of the best but everything is great there—pretty much all seafood.

Faidley’s in Lexington Market also has an excellent crab cake (I think theirs, Thames Street and G&M are the three best and I would take any of them at any time); it’s more of an old school marketplace place whereas Thames Street is more upscale restaurant.

Choptank right in the center of Fells Point in the Broadway Market is also a very popular, fun and bustling place. I don’t think it’s as good as the other two, but it definitely has its fans.

There are a ton of other great restaurants all around town; if I had to pick one other to recommend close enough to you I’d probably say Tagliata. Great, interesting wine list; good cocktails; wonderful setting; smart staff; and their Squid Ink Campanelle (with fresh blue crab) is one of the best dishes I’ve had.

Max’s Tap House in Fells is a great bar with a very good selection of local craft beers, cider and even the local mead, which is actually pretty good. Pretty sure they have TVs there; would probably be the place I’d want to watch the game.
 

8893

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If you are a coffee drinker, Daily Grind has very good coffee, as well as decent bagels. Great spot.

Pitango Bakery makes a breakfast sandwich with their fresh sliced prosciutto di Parma that’s so good that I had it three times in four days. They also have charcuterie stuff to go that you can take back to your place.
 

8893

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We went to Blue Moon Cafe for breakfast because we saw it on Triple D and it was great. Cap'n Crunch french toast.
Blue Moon is great. My daughter got the Cap’n Crunch French toast; I got the Sweet Baby Jesus with the jumbo lump crab and it was tremendous.
 
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LP Steamers.
Would second 8893s rec on Thames St Oyster.
Bo Brooks for the value minded.
 

HuskyHawk

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I did not enjoy my one hour visit to the Baltimore airport last night. In my rush, I consumed Ledo Pizza. In the context of airport pizza, it receives a surprisingly positive review.
 
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Walk or taxi over to Federal Hill - if you like Mexican, then go to Blue Agave. Others have mentioned Fells Point (there's a sushi spot there called RA and a local hangout 'The Horse You Rode In On', oldest bar in Baltimore) - the Little Italy restaurants are also great - can't go wrong with any of them, recommend Chiapparelli's.
 

8893

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Walk or taxi over to Federal Hill - if you like Mexican, then go to Blue Agave. Others have mentioned Fells Point (there's a sushi spot there called RA and a local hangout 'The Horse You Rode In On', oldest bar in Baltimore) - the Little Italy restaurants are also great - can't go wrong with any of them, recommend Chiapparelli's.
We liked La Scala best in Little Italy. Had two great family meals there. Never got to play on the indoor bocce court though!

Wherever you eat in Little Italy, dessert from Vaccaro's is a must.
 

dvegas

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My sister lived in BALT for a while after college (late 1980's), and I can (or can't remember) getting -faced drunk real cheap at The Horse You Came In On and Ship of Fools (now closed) in Fells Point. The old Memorial Stadium was a great place to catch a baseball game (Camden Yards isn't bad either), smack-dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood. And the crab cakes. :Drool:, the crab cakes . . .

PS And Pit Beef. Do some research, it's awesome in it's finest renditions.

PPS Stay away from Natty Bo and Natty Pre. They scrape the bottom of the barrel after they scrap the bottom of the barrel to brew those two nasty beers
 

Chin Diesel

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how does this compare to Cleveland Steamers?
TIL: "Cleveland steamer"

I will never forgive you for that indelible image.
Can't say. Never had Clevelsnd Steamers but after visiting Locust Point you can make your own detetmination.

Still can't believe they didn't name the baseball team the Cleveland Steamers. Yesterday was 46th anniverary of Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking and Cleveland has a rich history in the steaming industry.

As for Baltimore, you gotta try the pit beef adn the crab cakes, right?

@HuskyHawk , can't believe you liked Ledo's. I've had it twice in Maryland. First time it was awful. So awful, a few months later when I was back in the area I ordered it again from the same location. It was still awful. Worse than grade school cafeteria pizza awful. I think there is at least a pound of sugar in the sauce on every pizza.
 

8893

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@HuskyHawk , can't believe you liked Ledo's. I've had it twice in Maryland. First time it was awful. So awful, a few months later when I was back in the area I ordered it again from the same location. It was still awful. Worse than grade school cafeteria pizza awful. I think there is at least a pound of sugar in the sauce on every pizza.
Um, he's not the one who ordered it twice.
 

HuskyHawk

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To be fair, I wasn't expecting anything good the second time.

Keeping it germane to this thread, there appears to be 4 locations in Baltimore and many more of them throughout the mid-Atlantic.


It was airport pizza. It was hot, which is rare. The crust was thin and crispy, not soggy. The cheese-sauce balance could have used more sauce, but honestly it was quite a bit better than most airport pizza I've had. Certainly vastly better than any pizza I got in the Manchester public school system (which was worse than but a similar style to Elios frozen).

I did only mention it because the sign made clear that it was something of a Baltimore institution. A pizza place staying open for over 65 years has to be doing something right.
 
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Thanks everyone! @8893, my hotel is a 1/2 mile from Thames Street and it’s the #1 restaurant I want to go to but they only take reservations up to a week away.
 

8893

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Thanks everyone! @8893, my hotel is a 1/2 mile from Thames Street and it’s the #1 restaurant I want to go to but they only take reservations up to a week away.
I haven’t been to Thames Street since Covid, but when I went I didn’t have a reservation (I called too late) and I ate at the bar, which had first come, first served seating.
 
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My trip is a week away and thanks for all the help, everyone.

I'll be going solo (first overnight solo trip since Covid, so it's been a while), so I'll just head over to Fells Point on Saturday night and see what's available. I'm at a work conference from 8-4 each day I'm there, would you guys recommend Uber or is that waterfront/Fells Point area safe enough to walk at night?

I much prefer walking, especially when I'm at a new city and I don't plan on staying out too late and/or having a ton to drink any of the nights I'm there. I noticed East Falls Ave connects to a waterfront walk that basically takes the whole route to Fells.
 
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8893

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My trip is a week away and thanks for all the help, everyone.

I'll be going solo (first overnight solo trip since Covid, so it's been a while), so I'll just head over to Fells Point on Saturday night and see what's available. I'm at a work conference from 8-4 each day I'm there, would you guys recommend Uber or is that waterfront/Fells Point area safe enough to walk at night?

I much prefer walking, especially when I'm at a new city and I don't plan on staying out too late and/or having a ton to drink any of the nights I'm there. I noticed East Falls Ave connects to a waterfront walk that basically takes the whole route to Fells.
I have walked it alone and with various combinations of my wife and daughters many times at night with no issues.
 
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@8893 and @Duncan Idaho, Thames Street Oyster House was AWESOME. After a stroll around Fells Point, I got a seat at the bar at 4:30 for a Manhattan and a half-dozen of local oysters.

I was so thankful I got there when I did: the bar filled up fast by 4:40. Once the kitchen opened at 5, I ordered their special of the day: stuffed RI crab w/ spicy fried rice.
IMG_9505.jpg


I skipped dessert and picked up a scoop from Fells Point Creamery and then spent the rest of the early evening watching the Christmas boat parade from the harbor. For anyone who is visiting Baltimore, Thames Street is a must visit. Just a casual vibe, with warm, comfortable service and excellently executed seafood.

Lovely late afternoon/early evening in Fells Point, which is one of my favorite American neighborhoods I've ever visited. It's awesome.
 
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