Living The Best Of Baltimore
I have been living in Baltimore for about a month, and I really enjoy the scene. Teresa and I have been so busy getting the house together, but we have spent the rest of our time trying to enjoy our new city. There are places that we know from her time in college and my time with friends and family. These have lead to new experiences. This is great, but we have made an effort to discover some new places.
This past week, we have been out and about to eat and drink. What I have seemed to notice is that we choose "Best Of Baltimore" establishments on a regular basis. Either the City Paper hands these out like candy, or we're quite lucky. Thursday night, we checkout Kiku Sushi down on Light Street. It's only a ten minute walk from the house. It is a small place, we're the Sushi chef meets you at the door. They only have a few tables, and decorate the walls with pictures. I'm glad we made a reservation. This place was recommended by a few friends, and is a Best Of Baltimore winner. We tried something new, a hand roll. These are not your normal rolls, but almost like burrito's with a seaweed wrap and sushi contents. The spicy eel was amazing. We now have a sushi joint to frequent.
On Saturday, we had a whirlwind Best Of Baltimore tour. For the second weekend in a row, we stopped by Sam's Bagels & More on Light Street. They won Best Of Baltimore back in 2004. The sunflower bagel with veggie cream cheese is so damn good. I think their coffee is better than Port City Java.
Later in the day, we found ourselves in Fell's Point. I've been over here numerous times, and so has Teresa. Any afternoon trip is not complete without a stop by BOP for lunch. Whether you've had BOP drunk at 2am or sober at 2pm, its slamming pizza. BOP was BOB in 2005 as well. Of course, we also walked down Sound Garden. This is one of the best music stores I have seen. There definitaly is not a better one in Baltimore. Granted, there might be a better EDM specific store, but this place is the best overall. It has also won Best Of Baltimore. The staff will always help you find new or used CDs, and they know so much about many genres of music. Plus, the prices are cheap. I picked up four new discs (some used) for under $30.
The day was topped off by take out back in Federal Hill, but we didn't end the Best Of Baltimore streak. Only a few blocks from my house is Porter's Tavern on Riverside. It's a corner joint outside the heart of Federal Hill. The menu looked sweet so, we ordered, and I rode my bike down to pick up the food. On the way, I help a few brits find the tavern. They have been living and working in the Port of Baltimore for a few years. It was nice to chat up some traveling while waiting for my order to come up. The Black and Tan also helped. As did the Radiohead and Coldplay playing over the sound system. The inside of Porter's is mostly hardwood with tall tables at the bar, and a dining room in the back. It looks like the perfect place to relax, or get ready for a crazier night down near East Cross Street. I believe it's a Best Of Baltimore winner too, but I can't find evidence. Maybe my brain just imagined it. No matter, our food was superb. I need to go back for a good drinking session.
We have been making the rounds, and it's only getting better. Good thing, I don't have many chores to accomplish. House's are fun to live in but, a pain to setup and maintain. I found out I have to keep a large portion of the sidewalk clean since we live on the end. I'll take the bad with the good, because the good seems plentiful. We should be able to find numerous cool places to spend our free time for coming months. People need to start visiting!
