Hudson Street Stackhouse Is Awesome

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Brandon Leave a comment

 

Hudson Street Stackhouse Taps

After a disappointing season that began with championship expectations, the Washington Capitals finally clinched a playoff berth last Thursday.  As the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, the Capitals begin their quest for the Stanley Cup on the road in Boston with games on Thursday April 12th and Saturday April 14th. If you’re a Baltimore resident looking for a great atmosphere to watch some playoff hockey, look no further than Hudson Street Stackhouse.  Located on Hudson Street in Canton, just beyond the Safeway parking lot, it should be at the top of your list. Don’t just take my word for it…Hudson Street Stackhouse has been featured in the Washington Post and Baltimore Magazine as being a great destination in Baltimore to watch the Capitals.

Great beer awaits you just beyond the Safeway parking lot

What’s that? You’re a hockey fan who lives in Baltimore but cheer for someone other than the Capitals? While I may personally resent you, Hudson Street Stackhouse welcomes all hockey fans with open arms. If you show up wearing an NHL team logo, you can enjoy 32 oz Iron Man, Dark Horse or Blonde drafts from Oliver brewing company for just $5 during all NHL playoff games (Sun-Thurs anyway). Keep an eye on their blog or follow them on Facebook or Twitter for similar specials, new draft announcements and more.

Hockey may be my favorite sport, but I accept the fact that there are plenty of people who have yet to be converted into full blown puck heads. Fortunatey, Hudson Street Stackhouse is more than a great bar to watch hockey. With 36 rotating drafts on tap , and…uh…more bottled beers than I feel like counting, this is also one of the best overall beer bars in Baltimore. Add in plenty of seating, an easy going atmosphere, and you have a prime destination for a laid back evening of quality beer consumption.

Whether you’re looking to cheer your favorite hockey team on to victory, or just want to drink some damn good beer from around the world, Hudson Street Stackhouse is one of the safest bets in Baltimore.

Bubble Hockey: The best way to kill time between periods (originally published in the Washington Post March 28, 2011)

Warning: DO NOT PARK IN THE SAFEWAY PARKING LOT AFTER BUSINESS HOURS, unless you wish to test the mercy of heartless tow truck drivers. 

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RoBERT McCLINTOCK Is Awesome

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Elisa Leave a comment

In honor of Lenten sacrifice, we’re going to save you from reading another awesome review about the delicious food in our fair city and focus on art…but we’ll still mention food at the end. Sorry, we just can’t escape it.

Robert McClintock's "Hyatt View"

Robert McClintock's "Hyatt View"

If you haven’t yet heard of Robert McClintock artwork, shame on you!  That means you also probably haven’t been to a street festival, like Artscape or the Fells Point Fun Festival where he often sells his works…but we’ll let it slide.  If you have heard of Robert McClintock, you’re also probably aware of his unique style of artwork and portrayal of iconic Baltimore scenes – covering everything from neighborhoods like Little Italy and Federal Hill to capturing hard-to-miss institutions like Johns Hopkins and Domino Sugar.

Robert McClintock's "Hopkins Through the Trees"

Robert McClintock's "Hopkins Through the Trees"

His current style was born from experience in Poloroid photography that graduated to digital photography upon its arrival into the photography world. According to his website, he has shot with Nikon cameras over the years – from the Coolpix 990, 995, the D100, D70, and currently the Nikon D200.  In all honesty, I have no idea what those codes mean – but I know that I like the result of his work.  Shooting over 40,000 digital pictures (I’m right there with him with my iPhone camera pictures…no big deal) McClintock has created over 500 “Photo-Digital Illustrations” – which means, “he paints and colors directly onto his photographs in Adobe Photoshop on a Macintosh using a Wacom Tablet.”

Robert is adamant that his work is not computer generated and NO stock Photoshop filters are used!

– From the RoBERT McCLINTOCK website (Ok, ok, we believe you!)

 

Robert McClintock's "Snaggle Pug"

Robert McClintock's "Snaggle Pug"

McClintock’s collections include Dogs That I Know, Cats Are Cool, Firefighters, as well as images from the cities of New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Cape Cod, and Virigina’s Eastern Shore, plus much more. His latest released collection is L’Italia Vista, which includes scenes from Italian cities of Bologna, Ravenna, Venice, and Florence. In this latest collection, McClintock  uses a technique of cross processed and layered photo “burns.”

From Robert McClintock's L'Italia Vista Collection

From Robert McClintock's L'Italia Vista Collection

You can see his works at his current shop in the heart of Fells Point, located on the waterfront on the corner of Thames and Ann. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to meet his friendly pup who often spends time in the back!

To celebrate the L’Italia Vista, or Italy Seen, collection, stop by La Scala Ristorante Italiano in Little Italy for a Happy Hour Reception:

Thursday, February 23, 2012
4:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

Enjoy a complimentary glass of Prosecco and $6 appetizers (and there is the inevitable food reference). A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital.

 

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Miss Shirley’s Cafe Is Awesome

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Brandon Leave a comment

Miss Shirleys Cafe

I’m mildly embarrassed to admit this, but after living in Baltimore for over 7 years, I only recently experienced my first meal at Miss Shirley’s Café. It has long been a place I have intended to try, and I am happy to admit that Miss Shirley’s lived up to its sterling reputation as one of the best brunch options in Baltimore.

While we originally wished to have our first Miss Shirley’s experience at the original location in Roland Park, for convenience sake, Elisa and I dined at their downtown location, located on Pratt Street, right by the Inner Harbor.

One of the first things you’ll notice upon walking inside the Pratt Street location is a framed photo by the hostess stand, honoring the late Miss Shirley McDowell, for whom the restaurant is named. Flat Screen TVs proudly display Miss Shirley’s many accolades as well as upcoming special events or announcements. The walls are adorned with many framed magazine articles, various “Best Of” awards, and appearances on prominent national websites, such as The Food Network website.

Miss Shirley's Cafe Pumpkin Creme Cheese Stuffed French Toast

Ain't No French Toast Like A Pumpkin Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast

After being quickly seated, Elisa and I excitedly began to scour the menu, and as is our custom, began negotiating the terms of the meal (i.e. which two meals we would order and split 50/50). We settling on ordering the Benne Seed Chicken and Waffles, and Pumpkin Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast. On second thought, such simple descriptions of the meals we ordered do not do them justice. We ordered benne seed fried boneless chicken breast pieces were served with a honey mustard aioli drizzle on white cheddar green onion waffles with peppadew-jalapeno butter. The stuffed French toast contained a pumpkin cream cheese with whipped cream and graham cracker crumbs, dipped in an almond scented egg and dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Just thinking about them makes me hungry all over again.

Like I said above, our first meal at Miss Shirley’s Cafe certainly did not disappoint. With plenty of delicious options for breakfast and lunch, Elisa and I are already planning a return visit. If you work in Baltimore City, you might also want to keep an eye on their Food Truck schedule  or follow Miss Shirley’s on Twitter because they may be bringing their awesome food somewhere near you!

Miss Shirley's Chicken And Waffles

Elisa's photo of the stuffed french toast turned out a lot better than my photo of the Chicken and Waffles, but they tasted so good, I felt guilty not including this photo in the post.

Miss Shirley’s Café is open:
Monday-Friday 7AM-3PM
Saturday, Sunday and Holidays 7:30am-3:30 pm.

Locations:

Roland Park:  513 West Cold Spring Lane Baltimore, MD 21210 (410) 889-5272

Inner Harbor: 750 East Pratt Street Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 528-5373

Annapolis:  1 Park Place Annapolis, MD 21401 (410) 268-5170

Miss Shirley’s Cafe on Facebook

 

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Awesome Items for 10/20/11

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Brandon Leave a comment

Item #1: Beer and Bacon Happy Hour at Bad Decisions

A bacon cheese burger with grilled bacon and cheese sandwiches acting as the bun?Ron Swanson would approve. Michelle Obama? Not so much

If you have high blood pressure, you may want to stop reading. Bad Decisions, on Fleet Street in Fell’s Point has scheduled the 22nd Beer and Bacon Happy Hour for next Wednesday, October 26th from 5pm-2am.  What is the highlight of the event?

Back by popular demand our famous Gutbuster sandwich will be the featured menu item. If you missed it from a couple years ago its a half pound burger with 3 slices of cheese and 4 pieces of bacon. The bun is two bacon grilled cheese sandwiches. It is one of the more ridiculous menu items ever created.

The Facebook Page for this event has details on other menu items, including Bacon Poutine, Bacon Stuffed Acorn Squash w/Fried Green Tomatoes, Bacon Caramel Apples and more

Item #2: Baltimore is (almost) America’s Luckiest City

Men’s Health recently released a list of the 100 luckiest cities in America, and Baltimore ended up at #2. What was the criteria?

The ranking was based on positive factors such as lottery wins and numbers of holes-in-one and negative factors such as people struck by lightning and injuries from random falling objects.

Random? Of course. But any time Baltimore makes a positive top 10 list, we’ll take it. Read the full story HERE

Item #3 – Maryland Pride Jerseys by Under Armour On Sale In November

I still say the shoulder patches should have been reversed to match the flag, but I like them anyway.

Baltimore based Under Armour created quite a media buzz with the state flag themed uniforms worn by the Maryland Terrapins football team in their nationally televised season opener. Now, those jerseys will be on sale, just in time for the holidays!

Check out other Maryland Terrapins Under Armour uniform combinations here

 

 

 

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Awesome Items for 10/13/11

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Brandon Leave a comment

Item #1: Baltimore Beer Week 2011

I fully intended to do a full post on this last week, but my busy schedule had other plans. Fortunately, there are still a few days left in Baltimore Beer Week 2011. You check out a daily list of events at literally dozens of bars in the Baltimore area. There are 45 events scheduled for Thursday 10/13 alone! Various local breweries are setting up tastings, offering fixed price beer and food pairings, discounts, specials and more.

Item #2: FREE Live Baltimore Workshops

Live Baltimore is a great resource for citizens who live in Baltimore, or for people looking to move into the city. They also often offer free educational workshops, and another series of these workshops is schedule in November. Topics include Baltimore City home buying incentives, ways to lower your monthly energy bill, renovation financing options for those looking to rehab a city home, and the basics of how the home mortgage process works. If any of these topics interest you, click through to the website and sign up for more information.

Item #3: Baltimore Running Festival 2011

This may come as a surprise, but the Baltimore Running Festival has walk up registration spots available, for several of the events. You can still walk up and register for the full marathon, team relay, and kids fun run. The 5K is closed, and there may be some open spots in the half marathon, pending no-show’s.

While I’ve never participated, I have sat on the sidewalks cheering on friends who were running relay, half, and full marathons. The main events are located in the parking lots between Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium. If you’re bored, and looking for something low key to do, check it out!

Item #4 Baltimore Sneaker Week

sneaker week logo

So our #3 item didn’t thrill you because you’re not a runner? Well, do you like sneakers? You still have one more day to participate in Baltimore’s Sneaker Week! Under Armour and the Baltimore Running Festival have teamed up to raise money and awareness to help “outrun breast cancer.” All proceeds benefit The Tyanna Foundation, which is one of Under Armour’s Power in Pink partners. Sign up as an individual or a company and make a tax-deductible donation of $1 to “ditch your high heels and dress shoes and wear your sneakers to work.” Visit the Sneaker Week website for more information!

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Awesome Items For 9-30-11

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Elisa 1 Comment

Item #1 ONEHOPE and Pink Roll sushi at Ra Sushi

Charitable giving never tastes so goo

Fall colors are a-coming, whether we are ready or not! Enjoy the colorful leaves around town and the pink that is about to pop up everywhere! This year Ra Sushi is even showing their pink colors with their “ONEHOPE and Pink Roll” promotion to benefit the National Breast Cancer Foundation.  From October 1st until October 31st, Ra is offering a $15 wine and sushi roll combination, which includes a glass of ONEHOPE California Chardonnay and the Pink Roll of shrimp, kani kama crab mix and sriracha combined with lettuce, avocado and cucumber wrapped in pink soy paper and served with a pink ribbon of strawberry sauce.

Ra Sushi will donate 100% of the profits to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.  Plus, if you order the special and check-in to Ra Sushi in Harbor East, you will receive a free pink breast cancer awareness bracelet!

Now, head out to Ra and support the girls!  Click for more information

 

 

Item #2) The Generous Groupon: Give and Get Locally with GiveCorps

It's better to give than to receive...but sometimes you can do both

Yes, we know you are now being inundated with emails from local deal websites, such as Groupon and Living Social and other discount coupon websites. And we know those coupons are taking you places that you never would have visited or are allowing you to save money at your usual spots – which is great! You know what would be even better? Giving to our local charities WHILE saving money with local coupons! Enter GiveCorps.

Give Corps was started because there was a need to increase donations to local charities recently.  With the lower economy, donations across the country are seeing serious dips and Give Corps decided piggyback on the coupon rage to help our local Baltimore charities—self-defined as “the new way to give and get locally.”

On their website, GiveCorps describes their mission simply as:

“Through GiveCorps, you can support causes that move you, and get rewarded for your generosity with great deals from Continue reading →

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Awesome Items For 9-15-11

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Brandon 2 Comments

Baltimore Orioles Cartoon BirdItem #1) The Orioles Open At Home in 2012

There’s always next year….right? The Orioles 2012 schedule has been announced, and they’ll open their season at home on April 5, 2012 vs the Minnesota Twins. Check out the full Baltimore Orioles 2012 schedule here

Item #2) The Baltimore Charm Home Opener

Baltimore Charm Action PhotoThe Baltimore Charm open their second season in the Lingerie Football League, Friday September 16th at 10:00 p.m. versus the Orlando Fantasy. Shockingly…Tickets are still available! I’ve never actually been to one of these games, and might be setting myself up for hate mail from women’s rights activists (thank God this blog is still in its infancy) but I’ll be darned if it doesn’t look like it might be a pretty entertaining. If you can’t make this Friday’s game, the next home game is scheduled for November 18, 2011.

Item #3) Prices Take A Dive, Fridays After Five at the National Aquarium and Maryland Science Center

The Maryland Science Center has joined the National Aquarium in offering discounted admission, Friday evenings after 5 p.m. between now and late March.

The Maryland Science Center: 

Admission for Fridays After Five includes the permanent exhibit halls, planetarium, and IMAX Theater on Friday evenings beginning at 5:00pm. Fridays September 9, 2011 through March 23, 2012, the Maryland Science Center is just $8 for admission during Fridays After Five.

The National Aquarium:

From September 9 through March, all basic Aquarium admission tickets are $8 for entry at 5 p.m. or later on Fridays. Dolphin and 4-D shows can be added on for $4 each. Ticket availability is limited; advance purchase is recommended.

 

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The Baltimore Hockey Classic Is Awesome

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Brandon 21 Comments

Baltimore Hockey Classic

I’ll admit, I am writing on this topic from a highly biased perspective, but I am really excited for the Baltimore Hockey Classic. Sure, it’s just a pre-season game. And yes, there is no guarantee that many of the top players for both the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators will even suit up for the game, but I am pretty darn excited for the opportunity to watch a professional ice hockey game in Baltimore, even if it is being played in the (how do I put this nicely?) less than state of the art facility that is First Mariner Arena.  Why am I this excited about a pre-season game? Simply put, I’m a hockey nut, and a Washington Capitals fanatic. And before I get too far off topic, tickets are still available.

The Capitals take on the Predators in the inaugural Baltimore Hockey Classic (photo via SB Nation)

Ever since I first started watching the Washington Capitals back in the late 80′s and early 90′s, I became obsessed. Dale Hunter and Dino Ciccarelli were my favorite players in my formative hockey years. As a result of emulating their feisty style of play, I spent a little too much time in the penalty box when I started playing youth hockey.

I continued to follow the Caps through high school, catching a few live games a year, and suffering through more spring playoff heartbreaks than I like to remember. In college, I would routinely round up a group of friends to grab some $10 “Eagle’s Nest” tickets, and we’d hop the metro down to a game a couple times a month.

During the 2007-2008 season, you could tell something special was happening with the Washington Capitals organization. I had caught about 20 games that season, taking advantage of as many discount ticket promotions as I could get my hands on. Expecting Capitals tickets to be pretty hard to come by for the foreseeable future, a friend (who actually introduced me and Elisa at a pre-Capitals game happy hour several years ago) and Continue reading →

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Awesome Items for 9-8-11

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Brandon Leave a comment

Item #1) National Pinball Museum Coming To Baltimore?

I first heard the story about the National Pinball Museum losing its Georgetown lease a few months ago, while listening to DC101′s Elliot In The Morning en route to a client meeting for work. While I’ve never been to the museums location in Georgetown, I remember thinking to myself that the National Pinball Museum is the kind of unique museum that would be a perfect fit among Baltimore’s many other more charming and unique attractions. According to a recent post in the Baltimore Sun, founder David Silverman is looking for a suitable location a few blocks north of the Inner Harbor. We’ll keep you posted on developments, as we learn about them, but best of luck to Mr. Silverman in his search.

Item #2) BYOB Noodle Bar And Pan-Asian Restaurant Opening In Federal Hill

Republic Noodle Pan Asian Restaurant in Baltimore

This is making me kind of hungry right now

Republic Noodle opened its doors at 1121 Light Street in Federal Hill with a soft opening on Tuesday September 6th, with regular hours beginning today. For now, its a BYOB establishment, although you have to wonder if there are plans to obtain a liquor license in the future.

Republic Noodle offers a variety of Pan-Asian “Lunch Bowls” but also has small plate options, wings, salads and dinner sized bowls and other entrees. Their full menu can be viewed here

One particular interesting point of differentiation is a focus on “Eco-Friendly Pan-Asian Cuisine.” According to their website:

Federal Hill, Baltimore’s newest B.Y.O.B. Noodle Bar and Pan-Asian Restaurant with a principled emphasis on all-natural, hormone & antibiotic free meats and poultry combined with eco-friendly, sustainable, organic, and local products.

Republic Noodle is pleased to offer the world’s most popular food item (Noodles) in a variety of Asian styles cooked with Continue reading →

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Awesome Items For 9-2-11

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Brandon Leave a comment

Item #1) Food Truck Gathering! 

A lot has already been written about Baltimore’s many food trucks. Every now and then, they schedule a “gathering” allowing you to sample items from several at the same time. There just so happens to be a gathering schedules for this evening in Fells Point, from 5-10 p.m. at 901 S. Wolfe Street. Check out http://bmorefoodtrucks.com/ for more details.

 

Item #2) Baltimore Grand Prix Week Specials

For great specials, and details on free admission to Baltimore attractions this Labor Day weekend, check out this link

Item #3) Baltimore Grand Prix virtual lap

We know the downtown traffic is a pain in the butt. Despite that, we remain excited about the Baltimore Grand Prix this weekend. If you’re still not excited, maybe this video will help!

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