While perusing the depths of the internet the other day, I stumbled upon a pretty awesome contest that has been going on this month at Ryleigh’s Oyster (36 E. Cross St., Federal Hill). Seems they have decided to capitalize on their Midnight Sun “Best Bar to Write On” award and have slated (haha coz the bar is made of slate lol) a contest to give out prizes to the best chalk-based doodles and drawings posted to the contest’s Facebook page. The winners will be announced on September 9th, so start postin’ your doodles, folks!

When it comes to The Baltimore Eclectic, our city isn’t exactly lacking. It seems like every neighborhood has at least a few establishments which embrace that part of what makes Charm City, well, Charm City: the independent, quirky bar/restaurant with a truly at-home atmosphere and good home cooking. SoBo Cafe, in the heart of Federal Hill, is essentially one of the only such establishments in the neighborhood (with the exception of Dangerously Delicious) that follows this way of doing things, and they’d like some of your business if you don’t mind!

Anthony Durante, a SoBo Cafe superfan, posted an event on Facebook the other day that details the cafe’s predicament; an all-too familiar case of slowing business in a horrible economy. But unlike other “please help our business immediately!” clarion calls akin to the recently city-acquired Senator Theater, this is simply a request for you, the American comfort food-loving individual, to come on by SoBo Cafe sometime and enjoy their Meat Muffins or Mac n’ Cheese. Specifically, come on by this coming Thursday evening and join dozens of other neighborhood folks, ready to support one of their favorite local haunts.

With any luck and a bit of support (and some Chicken Pot Pie), SoBo Cafe will be around for another ten years at least – so if you’re in the area and you’re looking for a hugely-portioned meal in the $15 range, give them a try.

If you’re in Baltimore this week, head on over to some of our great city’s gigantic American flags – notably Federal Hill Park or Fort McHenry, and salute that mother out. Or, head on over to the Star Spangled Banner Flag House (844 East Pratt Street, Downtown) and see how Baltimore’s Mary Pickersgill created the Most Awesome Flag in Existence (unofficially), inspiring Francis Scott Key to write a poem that would become our national anthem. Show some love for the Stars and Bars, and everything they represent*!!

The Star Spangled Banner – The Diamond Four, 1898

SALUTE THIS MOTHER OUT

*the good stuff, at least

In case you were not paying attention to the Baltimore area internet in the past few days, it was initially reported on Monday by Sun reporter Justin Fenton that during a pub crawl along Fort Avenue on Saturday (an overlapping pub crawl not associated with the one I plugged a few days prior), an altercation broke out which eventually resulted in one man being stabbed in the back by another, the details of which unfolded during the day in the form of edits on the original post. The nature of the report and the individuals involved – for whatever reason – sparked what essentially amounts to a race war in the comments section within a few hours; truly some of the most vitriolic commentary I’ve seen in relation to Baltimore neighborhoods and their opinions of one another in a very long time (this line of commentary continues on Sam Sessa’s Midnight Sun blog here). I recommend reading these as a case study on how truly screwed up we are as a community, especially given the fact that someone’s life was nearly lost in the incident.

(continue reading…)

While I normally wouldn’t be caught dead in Stalking Horse (26 E Cross St., Federal Hill) on a weekend evening, I have to admit they’ve got some pretty good bar food. Weeknights at Stalking Horse are quiet and usually feature CHEAAAAP specials, so I’d recommend it. At any rate, this is about nachos so let’s talk about nachos. The nachos at Stalking Horse are $6.99 and featured tri-colored chips, cheddar, salsa, guac, sour cream, jalapenos and black olives. For $2.99 more you can add chicken or beef, and for $3.99 more you can add steak or jumbo lump crab meat.

I guess if I had to use a term for the nachos at Stalking Horse it would be “totally adequate.” They have all of the toppings people want and/or like, at a very very reasonable price. They satisfy all of the requirements for a decent pile and deliver plenty of flavor and a generous helping, even for two people. This particular serving had just a little too much salsa and not enough cheese, but not so much out of the ordinary as to cause me to hate them uncontrollably.

But one thing sets these nachos apart in my mind that has nothing to do with NachoQuest simply due to the Nacho Manifesto’s first law; you can substitute waffle fries for nachos at no additional cost. I’m going to go right ahead and guess that in the event you order waffle fries instead you won’t be getting nearly as much, but considering this is an option you see almost nowhere else in the city, I thought it was pretty awesome. If anyone out there has tried them, let me know how they were!

Bottom line: The nachos at Stalking Horse are really good.

Four Golden Nachos out of Five
(view the NachoQuest map so far here)