Once upon a time, yours
truly spent weekends in Baltimore soaked
to the gills with that watered-down swill
known as Natty Boh (National Bohemian
if we're being formal). Politely described
in most beer guides as being "good
beer at a reasonable price," a case
of Boh can be scored with your pocket
change just before payday. Light enough
to toss back 18 or so, the Boh usually
left me with a serious headache and gas
problems for the next 48 hours. If memory
serves me correctly, WKDU's weekly Boh
runs kept Springfield Beer Distributor
in the black from 1987 to 1989.
But the times, they are
a changin'. And with new times come new
tastes, new ideas, and new partners in
crime. The Kakster and rolled into the
Inner Harbor for a little r&r, figuring
that we'd sample the local nightlife and
report back on the lessons Philly could
learn from the Baltimore Tourist Bureau.
 Unfortunately,
our first night in town led to a tragic
discovery...The Baltimore Brewing Co.,
a German beer hall-style bar/restaurant
bordering on the area between the Inner
Harbor and Little Italy. We walked in
the door on that Friday afternoon to a
scary selection of amenities: thick cigar
smoke from the crew of regulars congregating
at the bar, cheap eats, and beer freshly
brewed on the premises.
We settled in and created
a thoroughly satisfying meal of appetizers
that included: a Chicken Corn Chowder
that was thick, chunky, and just spicy
enough; Nürnberger, a plate of grilled
pork sausages smothered in onions and
peppers that could make me forget my weeknight
eating regimen; and an artery-clogging
slab of Fried Camembert that was deep
fried to a crispy brown and served hot
and gooey with crackers and a cranberry
sauce. Mmmm, gooey...
We'd never waste food this
good on soda or java, so we sampled from
the well-stocked selection of fresh beers
served in pitchers heavy and thick enough
to flatten the skull of your worst enemy.
Having arrived at what must have been
"Happy Hour," we paid insanely
cheap prices for 60 fluid ounce pitchers
of roasted, malty dark beer and a seasonal
Altbier that was being released that day.
Whilst I downed the dark in memory of
my beloved Yuengling Porter, Kaki steered
clear -- she does have more delicate sensibilities
-- and went for the clean, fresh taste
of the Altbier.
Day Two in the hometown
of the John
Waters resulted in a hearty lunch
at Babusci's, a cozy place in the
heart of Little Italy. We thought it a
tad slow for a Saturday afternoon, but
the neighborhood's Italian festival was
occurring a few blocks away, and who can
turn down a good greased pole race? (Why
do I still remember that from an episode
of Laverne & Shirley?) That
simply meant really attentive service
for us, and portions big enough to choke
hungry tourists. Hey!
A day of walking through
the city's high-priced tourist traps made
us thirsty for...more beer, perhaps?!
Suckers for a good thing, we tromped the
few blocks back to Baltimore Brewing and
downed a coupla more pitchers of dark
along with heapin' helpings of Chicken
Corn Chowder and Nürnberger. (I know
what you're thinking. "Were those
the only things on the menu?" The
answer is no, but we weren't feeling very
experimental, and I do order the same
thing every time I set foot in a Taco
Bell.)
[This article originally
appeared in ER
#43]
Return
to Main Reviews Page
|
