Baltimore Restaurant Notes

Baltimore Restaurant Notes

N: Not ~~~ M: Middling ~~~ Y: Yummy

Chinese:

Orient Express on Saint Paul

Website

• Large menu of authentic Szechuan food. Some American-style Chinese food also
• Very spicy.
• We had a hard time placing an order via the app.

Yum's Asian Bistro:

N: Way too much sugar in Thai dish. Not a big fan on the Chinese dishes either.

Asian Taste in Hampden:

N: eggplant was odd/weird. Thai food had way too much sugar.

Sunny's Carry Out:

M: crispy beef is good. mala chicken was great. Tso tofu was too sweet. Honestly, the whole experience had a lot of too much sugar. Mai fun not impressive. Hot & Sour Soup boring, bland, and uninspired.

Chinese Express on 33rd:

M／Y: closed during pandemic, opened, but possibly not as good? used to have great vegetarian menus and fake meat. wonderful, spicy Hot & Sour soup. Lo Mein only decent.

Asian Court in Ellicott City

Website Offers dim sum experience on weekends!

Thai:

Mayuree Thai Tavern in Patterson area:

Y/M: we enjoyed it! Had 3 flavor chicken, Larb Gai, Pad Krapow, drunken noodles, Panang Curry Bowl. K liked Tom yum and Tom gha. Panang chicken 8/31/22 was not great, way too much peanut flavor, no complexity.

larb yum. Papaya salad yum. Chicken special 3 flavor okay, Mark likes. Krakow disappointed. So far nothing super spicy, but OK. Drunken noodles nice tingle, spicy and yum. Unexpected red rice yum.

MoMo Thai & catering:

Y: yummy vendor! found at farmers markets. maybe do catering sometime?

Khun Nine Thai:

M: not the best experience.

Rod Dee Thai:

M: decent, tasty, bit too small portions. sauces small amount too sweet--we asked for 2 and 3 out of 0-5 spicy. it wasnt death hot, and we could have gone a tiny bit hotter for more flavor. the crispy chicken wasnt able to maintain crisp in thin basil sauce.

Thai Elephant on Eutaw:

N: sir fries were burnt, not enough flavor, nothing was spicy.

Thai Restaurant:

Y: simple and good! drunken noodles yum. [looking for new building] (CLOSED)

Be More Thai:

N: expensive, small portions, but tasty. Has crying tiger! Mark says everything too much sugar. Not impressed.

Thai Street:

M: KT liked, though not huge portions. Mark was okay with it, but not blown away.

Indian & Middle Eastern & Mediterranean:

Kohinoor:

Y: quite delicious. good naan and pasanda.

Everest Spice Bar:

Y: very nice. go in person to try cocktails! great naan. bryani is delicious. lamb not stand out. chicken tikka is good.

Helmand:

Y: Very good! also awesome people.

Kandahar:

Y: Delicious! Also awesome people.

Kebap Kuizine:

Y: Delicious--the bread was obsessive levels of good! Rice and main dishes all very delicious as well, though M was not as impressed with the hummus, eggplant dip, and spinach dip as he wanted to be.

Mediterranean Wrap:

Y: very delicious, not huge menu.

Kumari:

Y: delicious!

Nepal House:

Y: Great! [in 2023 KT had a middling experience =\ ]

Kabul Fresh Grill:

Y: Delicious!

Zaatar:

Y!: everything is delicious, lamb kebabs especially good. grilled veg ask for extra. mixed grill, fries, ali baba bread all amazing.

Maiwand Grill

Y!: everything is delicious, bread especially good! chickpeas are spicy. good pricing. cheaper falafel side is exactly the same as less cheap side. lamb kebab not as amazing as other places, all chicken seem really good.

Spring Cafe:

Y: small sizes, but delicious Afghan food! bread also yummy.

Pizza

Y: Viccino's: ask for well done. basic, but good and NY adjacent! good crust, nice sauce. close by! when i put garlic on the form, unclear what happened if anything. mozzarella sticks are good !

Y: Birroteca: great space, music, pizza--crust is firm and thick and strong enough to hold up a lot of toppings. good beers. (duck fig pizza is in fact too much richness for us)

Y: Paulie Gees Hampden: very good. not much cheese, NY style, high quality. quite thin crust. droopy crust, maybe wont hold toppings well. no delivery. (hidden) back room bar. cute industrial building, warm and nice.

M: Ribaldi: only okay. too crispy crust; mostly acceptable. sauce isn't outstanding, but not offensive. respectable garlic knots. tiramisu was frozen, and not great.

M: Kechy: Mid, no socks were blown off.

N: Zella's: tried thin crust, but boring, not actually thin, and cheese and sauce also unimpressive.

N: Homeslyce: got worse. way too oily. sandwiches are said to be good!

Y: Noonas: A Winner! good sauce, crust (excellent crust!), toppings. the mushrooms are fantastic. (sadly this is no longer the case after new owners) (CLOSED)

M: Baltoz Bakery: we were not as impressed as we'd hoped to be.

M: Angelis: not bad, but not spectacular.

Y: Doppio: sicilian. crust sometimes good and sometimes not. golden milk delicious!

Japanese:

Aloha Sushi:

M: good. perhaps better not as delivery, but in person.

Minato Sushi bar:

Y: good! want to try in person as well--has good happy hour specials!

Toki Underground Ramen:

Y: try again in future, promising, but KT not blown away in their first week. (M really liked it!)

Kajiken Ramen:

Y: fun and yummy.

Sakura Cafe II:

M: Decent. Nothing stand out. Nothing is spicy, even if labeled as such. Un-complex sauces in things like Gen Tso. But still tasty. Relatively large sized portions. Spicy yellowtail was K fav roll of the usual suspects.

Baltimore Institutions

Abbey Burger:

Y: Great variety of burgers! Special sauce is horseradish and nice. Maybe ask less salt on fried pickles.

Papi's Tacos:

Y: not amazingly cheap, but really delicious. Has (used to be) hard to find birria tacos!

Taqueria la Patrona:

Y: very yummy. ~14.50 for 4 chicken [very good!] tacos (biria good as well, steak less impressive, burrito yummy). fried plantains also caramel-y and delicious [get at least 2 orders].

Toki Tako:

Y: fun korean fusion place in Rotunda!

Ekiben:

Y: delicious, somewhat greasy. eat quickly. broccoli is so delicious. also tofu.

Rocket to Venus in Hampden:

M: fun atmosphere, don't ask too much of the menu, and you will have a good time. 2022: KT mid on burger and fries oily/ soft/ not delicious. Fried pickles were nice.

Poblano Mexican halal grill.

Y: Fusion. Good. Spicy! Rice not impressive.

Golden West:

M: nice place, green burger is K's fav. sweet potato fries are good, but ask for no salt (bring own rosemary?). garlic fries sometimes way too oily. housemade impossible blueberry sage vegan sausage is yum.

Clavel:

Y: hard to get a table, so get there early or prepare to wait and have a drink at WC Harlans (no food), but really delicious; also loud (bring Loops?). (new set up allows you to wait in the garage area for a table, which is nice, but be aware the chips and guac they bring are quite expensive)

Annabel Lee tavern:

N: cute ambiance, K did not like the food. being sold. [closed; reopened new management??]

Peruvian

M: chicken rico harbor location now called poyoteca: yummy except sauces could be better (spicy green could have more depth and yellow mayo could be less mayo) and sweet potatoes were floppy (10 mins drive). arroz chaufa not everything KT wanted. too simple. but still yummy! (but find better sauces)

Dutch Courage:

Y: pho beef dip was not bad. would be better w cilantro vs basil. K wasnt a fan of the tea party gin drink. usually drinks here are great though!

Pink Flamingo:

Y: great fun ambiance! fire in hearth when its cold. wonderful people. fun drinks. KT was not blown away by food, but she is picky.

San Pablo Street Tacos:

Y: good tacos! could use a 2nd tortilla, especially in the veggie tacos. birria is yummy. red sauce is spicy and good. guac great, chips a bit too salty. i dont think they make their own tortillas? K not super into the chicken tacos, a bit understuffed, and nothing to write home about, but pork and chorizo were good. beans a bit salty but it worked as a whole. mexican chocolate is nice, sweet, smooth. not very complex.

Karellas:

Y: hole in wall, casual, authentic Greek food! yum!

Towson:

New Generation Hot Pot:

Y: so so good! And easy for everyone to enjoy.

El Gran Pollo Peruvian:

Y: all sauces good, green especially. yuca and plantains delicious. de-boned chicken is not as good as the whole chickens.

Ellicott City & Catonsville:

Umi Sushi:

Y: always delicious.

• Make reservations; they have a nice outdoor space

La Palapa:

Y: always delicious.

Umami Mediterranean Kitchen:

M: not K's favorite.

Cake Wala:

Y: tried the black forest cake--it was nice!

Future thoughts

• Greektown: samos (good), ikaros, estiatoro plaka (bakery and fancy rest, KT likes, gorgeous sparkling orange wine sometimes), zorba, pupuseria,
• inca chicken
• sajoma
• shoyou
• penny black
• Cafe Los Suenos
• Jong Kak
• Kong pocha
• La cuchara
• Bodhi thai [fed hill -- bodhi corner in hampden not as well reviewed?]
• be more thai
• mali thai [glen burnie]
• my thai
• banthai
• winli chinese & thai restaurant
• thai landing [fancy]
• Guildford hall brewery
• Alma cocina latina
• food market [hampden]
• bluebird cocktail room (fun! dark! weird ice charges)
• le comptoir du vin
• Union brewery
• Waverly brewery
• Nepenthe
• Samos [cash only]: good!
• Be One Korean bbq: not bad.
• Peabody Heights: rare dark beers are good! arcades best!
• Good Neighbor: heard good things, wish to go.
• Ni Hao Baltimore: wish to go one day; heard good things, prepare to spend a lot of money. (went before a restructuring. enjoyed!)
• Horus Cafe
• king of koshary
• hey daddies jamaican https://www.heydaddys.com/
• home maid brunch on key highway www.homemaidbrunch.com
• koshary corner [columbia]
• gunther & co [fancy]
• cosima [fancy]
• chachis chicken in faddensonen [from clavel] (yum, limited, hunger is the best sauce)
• silver queen (high quality diner, make reservations)
• water for chocolate [signature experience suggested]
• blacksauce kitchen [enjoyed take out before]
• sally o (elevated comfort food)
• foraged [hyperseasonal, tiny plates]
• puerto 511
• harbor tandoor
• mama rosa's [filipino]

Ellicott City:

• Korean Way area
• Bon Chon
• Honey Pig
• Lotte Plaza food courts
• Iron Age
• New hot pot and korean bbq in H Mart location.

CLOSED. ### Thai Arroy: Y： Very delicious! Has mock duck. all the dishes have their own distinct flavors. drunken noodles, v good, maybe next time ask for vegetables in (has a lot of egg). mr green is earthy and yum.