Visiting Baltimore next weekend - Need some good restaurant ideas (Essex: crime, hotel)

[post67]

Hi all, I'll be visiting Baltimore next weekend June 25-27 for a mini-trip. I'll driving there from NYC, I like to get some ideas from locals of where to eat, especially crabcakes and lobsters, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I heard there's also lobster or crab buffet as well?

Also, I'll be staying in a hotel in Inner Harbour, so not sure how's the street parking there since I'll be driving. My hotel charge $30 bucks a night for valet parking, so if the street parking is bad, any cheap parking lot?

Thanks all~

[nurider2002]

Parking is not cheap anywhere downtown, you are better off in the hotel lot. Favorite restaurants of mine include Jack's Bistro on Elliott Street in Canton, Saute in Canton, Ale Mary's in Fells Point for comfort food, Sotto Sopro in Mt. Vernon for high end Italian, Nacho Mamas in Canton for good time mexican and margharitas. Best crabcakes in Baltimore are usually found in Baltimore County in the Essex neighborhood, rather than higher end establishments downtown, e.g, Crab Quarters on Eastern Blvd. Same goes for steamed crabs. Duda's bar in Fells Point does a decent crab cake though.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

LP Steamers for crabs is a good bet.

Annabelle Lee is one of my favorite places to take out of town guests.

[KLynch10]

Top 10 Crab Houses according to the Sun

Dining@Large: Top Ten Crab Houses - Baltimore restaurants: The dish on the restaurant scene, memorable meals, dining trends and more - baltimoresun.com

If you want Seafood and Crabs, I would recommend Nick's Fish House, if you just want Seafood I would definitely recommend Mamma's on the Half Shell.

[post67]

Thanks for everyone's recommendations, are there any crab / seafood buffet place around?

[KLynch10]

Originally Posted by post67

Thanks for everyone's recommendations, are there any crab / seafood buffet place around?

I think Phillips in the Inner Harbor has a buffet spot, but there food is just okay compared to some other places around town.

[KennyP]

I'll second Jack's Bistro. Be warned though, the wait can be a bit, and they don't take reservations for small parties. Totally worth the wait. Chocolate Mac and Cheese? Yes please.

ALE Mary's for comfort food is also awesome. How can you not love an entire portion of the menu devoted to tater tot toppings!

Saute, to me, is overrated. I've tried them several times (living across the street and all) and never once got anything that found worth the price. The pizza is soggy, the service was spotty, and I frequently got something that wasn't even close to what I ordered.

Same with Nacho Mama's, but growing up was Texas, so my expectations of Mexican is pretty high. There are better Mexican places in Greektown (odd, eh?)

Fell's is packed with good places as well. I'd suggest Meli. Always have good experiences there. Great food, even better service. They also have live music pretty frequently.

[Greendale]

I was in Baltimore a few weeks ago & had lunch at the Abbey Burger Bistro. I loved it

[james777]

Due to the crime and parking tickets, don't even think of parking anywhere but the hotel lot/garage. You might want to consider Amtrak, boltbus, or megabus, all of which could be less expensive and more efficient.

[J-CityRelo]

Mamas on the Half Shell is the best crab cake I've ever had. If you're going for buffet style then you're choosing quantity over quality IMO. I choose quality every time. You're not going to find the best crab cake in Baltimore at a buffet.