This was a joint venture between myself and Erik Brown, the bartender at the Oregon Grille. Once I learned that it was possible to create a bacon-infused vodka, I immediately thought, “That would make a bitchin’ Bloody Mary.” I finally got around to making the vodka a couple of weeks ago, and the drink had its debut today. It was a big hit. Once you make your bacon-infused vodka (refer to previous link!), the hard part is over. All you have left to do is make your mix. For his Bloody Mary mix, Erik works outside the realm of standard measurements. He adds enough of each ingredient until it tastes just right (I’ve found it’s better to make the mix to your personal taste anyway.)

You’re essentially going to combine tomato juice, prepared horseradish, Worcestershire Sauce, cracked black pepper, celery salt, Tabasco, and a little lime juice. Do feel free to go Avant Garde on the ingredients though, because you can easily balance out your mistakes. However, the mix will make or break this drink. If you don’t love the mix then start over.

To top this all off is a coated rim. It’s a combination of celery seed, Old Bay, and black pepper. To make it adhere to the glass, wipe the rim with a wedge of lime.

It’s finished off with a celery stalk and a few olives; 3 to be exact.

Cheers!

This is truly and without question one of those days that the namesake of this website couldn’t be more appropriate.

The Sun reports this morning that the giant, controversial (what?), pink flamingo adorning Cafe Hon in Hampden has been removed as a result of the owner refusing to pay a fee of $800 for the ‘privilege’ of intruding upon public space. Other examples include outdoor seating, chalkboard advertisements (what an invasion of my space!) and statues, apparently. Really, none of the legalities or arguments as to whether or not this big dumb bird belongs on the restaurant’s fire escape interest me terribly. But let me tell you what does: reading the comments left on the article. MAN. High level entertainment. From the mess, here’s what I’ve kind of learned about this whole thing:

• Hampdenites tend to think very, very little of Cafe Hon, Honfest and the owner of Cafe Hon in general.
• Everyone else thinks the flamingo is an icon.
• The owner is “controversial” to the point that I overheard a reporter asking about her at another Hampden restaurant, which will undoubtedly result in an article about her specifically and therefore give her (and her restaurant) more publicity.
• Regardless of the situation’s outcome, Cafe Hon is going to benefit due to said publicity.
• Teenagers are still being shot and dying elsewhere in the city.

Again, I couldn’t care less about the flamingo or what people think about it, so I’d like to use this situation as an opportunity to make one simple point about living in and operating a business in Baltimore City: Sooner or later they will find a new way to try to get your money, one way or another. Always and forever.

And I’m not seemingly suggesting that a business shouldn’t pay for intruding on the use of common space – if it’s an actual intrusion or god forbid a legitimate safety hazard. Outdoor seating or some sort of ornamental fountain, these things get in the way of me trying to walk the full width of a particular sidewalk and a business should pay for such things, especially if they stand to profit due to their presence. But a statue of Elvis, chalkboard with specials on it, or a giant flamingo hovering ten feet above the ground at its lowest point? Not getting in the way, and not hurting anyone.

But the city hungers. It is entitled. It finds a way to walk right up to a business or home and knock on the door and say “Excuse me, but you owe us $800 for this.”

And where, exactly, did that figure come from? $800? Would it have been less if the flamingo were smaller, or if it were instead a flat tapestry hanging off of the fire escape instead of a sculpture protruding 1.5 feet outward? Would anyone have cared if it were a big American flag? In my mind the answer to the figure’s origin is pretty simple; it’s arbitrary. And I guarantee that if paid, the fee would go up in time and a new excuse would be made for why it has become necessary to pay $1000 to put a chalkboard on a sidewalk.

When infrequent author wgatsum asked the question “What’s the point of the Department of General Services?” last November, we all kind of shrugged and wrote it off as another waste of time and energy by the city government to perpetuate its own existence. Now it would seem that one of its main functions is pretty clear; to write parking tickets for buildings.

In what seems now like a total no-brainer, it occurred to me the other day that having a fully featured map companion to the relatively new Mealtime! section is probably in order. And so, without further ado I present to you dear readers – the Mealtime! Google Map:

(Direct Link)

View Mealtime! in a larger map

This map will also be added to the Google Earth Projects section, which is in the process of being revamped. Stay hungry people!

It recently occurred to me that South Baltimore is becoming a helluva decent place to go for crabs. And it rules. LP Steamers in Locust Point has some of the finest mumbo jimmies around at decent prices, they’ve been an institution for quite a while. Steamers is about as old school Baltimore as you can get and I love it. Meanwhile, over in the bustling Cross St. corridor Ryleigh’s Oyster has been running a “Shore Night” every Tuesday in season featuring $2 mediums and corn on the cob slathered in a feta/old bay/mayo spread that defies your mouth’s logic – it really is insanely tasty (and horrible for you).

LP Steamers

And apparently, Nobles on Charles St. has started serving $2 crabs as well, on Saturday evenings. Next door in Cross St. Market, Nicks’ Inner Harbor Seafood serves steam to order crabs at market prices, plus giant beers during happy hour – 32 oz. tubs for $5. I’ve definitely had quite a few of those, far more than I’ve had crabs there.

Don't Know Tavern

Not be outdone, two newer establishments have begun serving crabs in season. Taps Baltimore now serves $2 crabs on Sundays, and right around the corner Don’t Know Tavern started serving $2 #1’s (and possibly jumbos in the future) just yesterday, with plans to serve them every Saturday.

One of South Baltimore’s more venerable institutions, Bill’s Lighthouse Inn, serves crabs year round and has an amazingly cheap menu with huge portions. If you’re looking for an old school Baltimore restaurant experience, Bill’s is right up there with LP Steamers, with a wider selection on the menu. And if you’re willing to make the trip (like 8 blocks) over to the Hanover St. bridge, Nick’s Fish House serves crabs with a waterfront view, and live music on the outside deck. Nick’s gets packed during the season however, so be forewarned.

And finally, here’s a Google Map of all of them! (more to be added later… as I remember them)

For the past oh, million years, Little Havana has had something of a case of creeping death. I remember back in 2004 or so when there were rumors flying around that the owners were in danger of losing their lease on the warehouse property they currently reside in, which prompted outrage on my part and a flurry of photo-taking in an effort to preserve the memory of one of my favorite bar/restaurants in the city. 2004 was also a time during which rampant house flipping and tremendous amounts of development on the waterfront were occurring, so the possibility of the owners of the establishment getting ousted in favor of condos and retail was fairly good.

Fortunately for everyone, that didn’t happen. Even more fortunately, the owners of Little Havana purchased a property about two blocks away called Egan Marine (1000 E. Key Highway) with the intent of rebuilding a new Little Havana that they actually own, without the danger of suddenly being pushed out of existence entirely when the owner of their warehouse property decides to sell to Big Man Condo. I actually went to the location once upon a time when Little Havana threw their “Bay of Pig” celebration (a pig roast) on the 4th of July, and it looked like it could make for a good space for a restaurant – even if the view of many rust bucket junkers sitting in the water wasn’t entirely appealing.

But, as far as things go, even purchasing their own space can’t seem to save them from the inevitable, it would seem.  A little thing called MIZOD (Maritime Industrial Zoning Overlay District) was put in place in 2004, a zoning legality that restricts the use of any such waterfront properties in that area for anything aside from industry. No condos, no retail, no restaurants. Little Havana placed a statement on their website explaining the situation a while ago, and the zoning district was set to expire in 2014, a time at which mixed used development (such as Silo Point, etc) could continue. But after what seems to be a lot of pressure from unions and industrial advocates, the city council took a vote this past Monday to extend MIZOD to 2024, or eventually even permanently putting it in place. And most people think it would pass pretty easily.

So essentially, this means that unless Little Havana can remove their property from the zone, they’re kind of screwed.

It’s kind of a conundrum – on one hand, I agree entirely with the aim of a MIZOD – to ablate the clear cutting of industry in Baltimore, preserving jobs and maintaining at least some of the heritage that Baltimore has as an industrial port city. On the other hand, if catastophes like Silo Point can be built, why can’t a very small restaurant on the outer most outskirts of the industrial zone be built too? There’s no real reason that the city couldn’t allow development on the land portion of the lot, while retaining the rights to use the “deep water” lining the area. Or rather I should say, the palms aren’t greased enough for it to happen.

Furthermore, and as others have noted, the industrial businesses in the maritime zone aren’t exactly expanding. Far from it. And again, I agree that buying up unused industrial zones and propping up condos isn’t a good idea – because once it’s gone, it’s gone – but on a case-by-case basis building a new Little Havana at 1000 E Key Highway would do nothing to endanger the future of the harbor’s industry, nor would it impede on any future use of the waterways surrounding the lot. It should be removed from the MIZOD.

If you care enough to make your opinion known, tell your district councilman and make the case for a new Little Havana. (I will)

UPDATE: The city council will be voting this coming Monday (the 30th) for final passage on the MIZOD extension, and will provide for the ability of property owners to apply for removal of their properties from the District. So, if the measure passes (it will), the owners may have a pretty good shot if they get some work done and try to do so. Fingers crossed!

DOUBLE UPDATE: Statement from facebook group regarding the cause. Definitely worth reading.

(click here for Part 2)