Fellow Food Fiends

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Mamas on the Half Shell

Mamas on the Half Shell  -  Canton Square   Ghost Rating  92/100

Most likely one of the premiere restaurant locations in all of Baltimore County, right on the corner in Canton Square with lots of windows and natural light. Mamas has one of the best happy hours in town if you can get a seat, if not stand, drink and hope to snag a spot when somebody bails. Happy hour starts at 4pm and it's usually packed by then so plan ahead. They have affordable draft beer and a pretty laid back atmosphere and crowd. It can get way cramped in there at times, especially if you don't have a seat. I usually walk around the side of the building to get to the bathroom in the back, it's way quicker than wading through the sea of people by the bar. The service has always been great at the bar and outside and they are known for great Orange Crushes.

My friends and I usually go to Mamas for Oysters & Mussels during happy hour and put a hurting on 'em.  The Oysters here are all cold water artisan oysters with great brine and sweetness. $1 each during happy hour , even at full price, they are worth every penny. The oysters are properly shucked, nice and clean, loaded with "liqueur"and served with homemade sauces if you need them. Spot on every time. The Steamed Mussels with Cajun Butter are super simple, and yet perfect at the same time. They are always fresh, loaded with spices and a heaping 1.5 pound portion for like $7 during happy hour. Mamas has a great Lump Crab Cake, hardly any filler...if we have friends in town that want the "quintessential" Maryland Crab Cake in B-more, we bring them to Mamas. The Daily Specials Menu is always fun and the Brunch Menu is full of Maryland classics done right!

I would go as far as saying that Mamas has the freshest and widest seafood selection for the price in all of Baltimore and the menu is pretty creative! I highly recommend this place to anyone passing through town or any local craving really fresh seafood!

Food  -  93   /   Service  -  92   /   Atmosphere  -  92   /   Value  - 90
Overall Ghost Rating  92/100

Pho Dat Thanh - Vietnamese

Pho Dat Thanh  -  Towson    Ghost Rating  90/100

This is one of my favorite establishments in all of Baltimore, I have been dozens times without a bad experience! They undoubtedly, hands down, serve up the best Hot Pho (Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup) in all of Baltimore County.  The service (once they notice you are there) is rapid and seamless. The menu is extremely affordable with a ton of choices and the portions are huge! This is a great place to bring friends and kick back. The Decor is almost nonexistent and the music is hilarious, you will here G n' R & the Eagles guaranteed.

We started with their Vietnamese Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce which are super tasty, light & refreshing. They Have a fair amount of shrimp & pork and are priced under $4. We also had The Roasted Quail with Salt & Lime which is a really nice surprise,  the quail is cooked perfectly with crispy skin and is nowhere near dry. I usually order one of three different Pho dishes on the menu. The one I ordered today and almost very other time is the D1, House Special Pho, with: Brisket, Flank, Rib-Eye, Tripe, Soft Tendon,Veggies, Hot Peppers, Fresh Herbs & Beef Broth...Unreal! This bowl of soup almost rivals the Pho on the West Coast which is the best in America. The Broth is super savory and not too salty, the meat is always fresh and they load you up with a garnish plate 7 inches high (Bean Sprouts, Cilantro, Thai Basil, Jalapeno). My girlfriend had the C4 which is an egg noodle chicken broth soup with veggies & chicken. It's a nice spicy dish loaded with veggies, a great healthy option. She usually gets this as well, when you crave Pho, you know what you are ordering hours before arrival! If ordering any dishes with vegetables make sure and ask for No mushrooms, they use canned mushrooms which is my only complaint about the food here. I eat here about every 2 weeks and I cant wait to go back!

Food  -  94   /   Service  -  92   /   Atmosphere  -  80   /   Value  -  95
Overall Ghost Rating   90/100

UPDATE: My girlfriend got Food Poisoning here the other day from chicken, I am so sad because I love this place so much and now we will never return. I have eaten here dozens of times with no problems what so ever, but it only takes one food poisoning to ruin a place.

Annabel Lee Tavern

Annabel Lee Tavern  -  Canton / Highland Town    Ghost Rating  -  89/100

Reuniting with some friends, I figured let's check out Annabel Lee since I've heard great things.
We booked a table for four and were sat immediately upon arrival. Annabel Lee Tavern is a Poe Inspired Gastro Pub with a great menu and a relaxing atmosphere that puts you back in Poe's living room ages ago. We ordered drinks & wine and we were on our way. The service at Annabel Lee is awesome, very down to earth and personable. Our server was well informed of the menu and all of the daily specials, he was very passionate about the food which is every chef's dream employee.

 I started with the Duck Fat French Fries with fresh herbs & garlic, hand cut. They were awesome and disappeared quickly. We moved onto the Roasted Duck Quesadilla with Wild Rice. The tortilla was cooked perfectly and the flavors were great. However, the ingredients inside were pretty skimpy for a $14.00 queasdilla. The Bruschetta was standard, the crostini should have been a little crispier and the portion size was a little small, decent flavors though. We moved onto the Orange Roughy Fish Tacos. The fish was cooked nicely but fell rather flat. The Sysco flour tortillas were not all that hot (or even warm) and the fresh pico de gallo was delicious. The side of rice was okay, pretty bland overall. One of the daily specials was a Roasted Orange Roughy with a Beurre Blanc Sauce, Rice and Veg for $18.00, it was very similar to the tacos, as it was cooked nicely, just kind of flat again. The rice was the same rice that the tacos had and it came with some sauteed vegetables. All in all a pretty week dish for how creative this menu is. Then we tried the Veal Chop Special for $26. The Veal was super tender, cooked perfectly and seasoned well. The Mushroom Sauce was nice and earthy. They did this veal chop just right!

I definitely recommend Annabel Lee Tavern, the menu is inspired and puts a twist on all the classics.
I am excited to return and try more food and the service here is awesome!

Food  -  88   /   Service  -  93   /   Atmosphere  -  90   /    Value  -  87
Overall Ghost Rating  89/100



Thursday, April 26, 2012

Canton Dockside

Canton Dockside   Ghost Rating  57/100

Every once in awhile, many of us have a serious, relentless jones for Steamed Jumbo Crabs.
A few days ago, I called about a half dozen places in town inquiring on sizes and availability.  Canton Dockside is the only place that could even answer our telephone inquiries and they had JUMBOS. We ventured that way for what ended up being a late lunch. There was two of us and we ordered easy and quick. A pitcher of Yuengling, a dozen Oysters, a dozen Jumbo Crabs and a side of French Fries.

Boom, instant happiness! The Beer was ice cold, the Oysters.... were just so/so (dirty, still connected to shell and one was bad, a second was pretty dicey) the Jumbos were perfect, best crabs all year hands down. Big clean jumbo lumps & claw meat, perfect mustard content, they had plenty of seasoning and not a one was overcooked! We could not have been happier with the crabs, I destroyed 8 of them and wished I had more. The French Fries were nothing memorable, regular Sysco thick cut. Overall the food experience was better than we expected for a place that feels like a Joe's Crab Shack molested a Red Lobster.

The service however, I'm speechless. If you have been there, you probably know what I mean. Service at this place is the worst I've encountered in a long time. Our server was so inherently rude, she acted like everything was a major pain in her %$$ and gave us an underlying attitude every chance she had. I asked for wet naps three times and she never brought them once. I asked for some lemon wedges, she about lost it. When it came to paying the bill, it took 20 minutes to cash out, even though we were one of three tables in the place. We look at the check, 15% auto gratuity added for a two top. We laughed because we usually leave a 25%-35% tip, she lost about 15-20 dollars auto-gratting a deuce.

I highly doubt we will ever return even though the crabs were seriously amazing!

Food  -  72   /   Service  -  22   /   Atmosphere  -  45   /   Value  -  89
Overall Ghost Rating  -  57/100

Ryleigh's Oyster Bar - Fed Hill

Ryleigh's Oyster Bar  -  Federal Hill     Ghost Rating  87/100

Ryleigh's has an optimum location and a well designed layout. Service is always great and the food is usually quite good. Ryleigh's has a nice sized, well written menu with an awesome seafood selection and a fair amount of creativity. Cocktails are swift and delicious but nowhere near affordable.
($8 Crushes)

Five of us went there for Oyster Happy Hour recently: one dollar oysters and drink specials, you really cant go wrong....one would think.

We were immediately informed they did NOT have any happy hour oysters today! They have a dozen or more different varieties and an oyster club, but they cant provide the product as advertised, lamer than lame. So we ordered 3 dozen anyway, at 24$-$28 a dozen, this is NOT Manhattan, seriously.
so ditch the Manhattan prices.  Next we had the Tuna Tartare, it is delicious, but lacks acidity and crunch. However, it is presented nicely. The Crab & Lobster Mac and Cheese was executed perfectly, creamy, meaty and the noodles were aldente. Winner for sure! Then my girlfriend and I noticed a Lobster Roll, I am a sucker for a proper lobster roll....or maybe just a sucker. I paid $16 for the skimpiest version of a Lobster Roll I have ever seen. It was on a small hot dog bun, not a toasted true "sideless" roll they should come on, it was maybe 4 inches long with about 2 ounces of lobster on it. The Lobster meat was bland, overcooked and under seasoned, major let down for the price. This tiny roll came on a giant plate with a couple of fries rolling around. The expediter must have been on brake or off texting in the server station. My Buddy had the Grilled Salmon, he ordered it medium and it came out just over med-well... pretty dry and under seasoned, not to mention it was farm raised salmon which is unacceptable at a high end restaurant in this global economy. If it's not salmon season, serve Scottish salmon or no salmon at all. That's that!
The Crab Pretzel was Very Tasty! Tender and loaded.
I will surely be back to this place....but it most likely won't be my Idea.

Food  -  86   /   Service  -  90   /   Atmosphere  -  90   /   Value  -  83
Overall Ghost Rating  -  87/100

GrrChee Gourmet Grilled Cheese

GrrChee - Gourmet Grilled Cheese -  Food Truck   Ghost Rating 54/100

I was so excited when I heard that their was a Grilled Cheese Truck in B-more. There is something to be said about a gooey, buttery, heart stopping grilled cheese that brings many of us back to childhood with just one bite. Unfortunately this time, this truck, not so much the case! The menu looked mouthwatering and man anticipation was high. How could someone @#$% up a grilled cheese right?

So I waited 15 minutes in line (totally acceptable for good street food ) to get to the window and place my order. I was greeted with a blank stare, no emotion and a slight attitude. The guy just looked at me, he didn't say a word through the whole transaction...very strange. Anyway, I order two grilled cheeses and paid just under 30$ for the 2 sandwiches. I stood in line again for another 20 minutes to receive my food. (Still completely acceptable for good street food)

I ordered the Lobster Mac Grilled Cheese and the Jalapeno, Bacon & Pepper Jack Grilled Cheese, both sounded stellar!  The Lobster was the sub-standard frozen product, the macaroni noodles were way overcooked and soggy and the cheese sauce was non-existent. That's just the beginning, the kicker, the cheese slices were not even remotely melted at all and the bread was bone dry. This sandwich was $16 and one of the worst things I've ever eaten. Four of us tried this sandwich and it was unanimous  - Garbaggio!

Next was the Jalapeno Grilled Cheese: Sounded great, once again the cheese was nowhere near melted and the bread was desert storm dry. The flavors on this one were nice, just a horrific execution. I even paid an extra dollar for the "Parmesan Crust", it was two bites worth of parm in the center, no crust in sight....No French Fries available either, only low grade plain chips, at least use UTZ chips people, wtf.

I'm sure this truck has it's good days, it must, but I will avoid at all costs!

Food - 52   /   Service  -  45   /   Atmosphere  -  N/A   /   Value  -  65
Overall Ghost Rating  -  54/100

Nacho Mamas

Nacho Mamas  -  Canton Square   Ghost Rating  -  89/100

 I have been to Nacho Mamas 5 times now, each experience had a very consistent theme: Great service, one of a kind atmosphere, decent food and awesome drinks. The Menu is gigantic and ever expansive which is always a red flag, it's like the cheesecake factory of Mexican joints. Except this is a Natty-Boh Elvis Hangout Mexican Joint - the only one of those on earth....which will keep me coming back!

First of all if you don't already know, Nacho's is the home of the "Hubcap Margarita", get one! It's worth ordering one for novelty sakes alone, not to mention they pack a serious punch, clear your schedule.

I have tried quite a few items on the menu and I have never been totally disappointed, just kind of curious. They start you with a basket of warm salty chips and salsa, quite good. The Nachos are some of the biggest portions of nachos I've ever seen in my life at a pretty fair price, one order could easily feed two people on a budget. They use fresh jalapenos which always excites me, but never enough cheese on these nachos, they need to layer some serious queso under all those chips! The Crab Dip was a complete flop. You can't even tell there is crab in there, all backfin crab meat and a gang of horseradish, the only thing I could taste was the horseradish. They served the runny dip with celery and cold bread...gnarly. Avoid at all costs unless you are in dire need of a horseradish fix and have a blatant disregard for quality crab. The Crab Nachos do not have crab meat, but that crab dip, that same mess they serve in a banana boat. Avoid as well! The Quesadillas are almost legendary, any of them! Completely overstuffed, nice and crispy, plenty of cheese, a little bit on the greasy side though.
I also tried the daily soup: Chipotle Tomato & Crab Bisque in a crispy tortilla bowl - Killer!
A special menu item was Mango-Jerk BBQ Chicken Wings, these were great wings! Fried hard but not dry, nice sauce glaze and a good back heat. If the chef runs these when you are there snag an order for the table! Overall I will go back to Mamas, but I wont eat much....

Food  -  83  /  Service  -  92 /  Atmosphere  -  93  /  Value  -  89
Overall Ghost Rating  -  89/100

The Point

The Point   -  Fells Point    Ghost Rating  91/100 

Six of us stumbled into The Point, right after a memorable opening day at Camden Yards. With a crazy stroke of luck we actually got a table immediately(the only one left in Fells Point) and the staff was very friendly. Our server wasn't the fastest guy in town but he was on his game for sure. All of us were starving because the stadium literally ran out of food by the 7th inning stretch, they were deep frying hot dogs on the fly to feed thousands of starving fans. (I ate one) But that's another review altogether. So we all just ordered randomly and shared the appetizers as they came out... I was very impressed with the menu selection, the prices & the use of local product as well overall product mix. Cocktail service was fast & flawless. The atmosphere is open and laid back with an Amazing view of the harbor!

I ordered the Merguez Sausage Flat Bread, it had a nice crispy crust with small blisters, the Moroccan sausage was rendered perfectly & the cheese ratio was spot on.  An overall winner! The Hand Cut Fries were Awesome, I have had so many soggy hand cut fries in my life and I cant take it anymore. It is imperative that fries are blanched at a lower temp before they are cooked a second time at a higher temp to crisp them. The Point is the only place in Baltimore I have been so far that serves 'em up right! They came with a trio of nice aiolis for dipping which is always a plus. The Fish Tacos were pretty good, nothing to write home about, the fresh salsa was pretty killer. The Grilled Atlantic Scallops had a nice char on them, they were seasoned well and were not overcooked, which most places do when they grill scallops. The salad underneath was fresh and well balanced, which rounded out the sweetness of the scallops perfectly. The PEI Mussels with Coconut Broth were very fresh but fell a little flat, they were the only item left on the table and all six of us love mussels. Not bad, just kind of meh'.

Overall I highly recommend "The Point" for Bar-hoppers & Foodies alike, The Chef and his crew clearly know what's up & I cant wait to go back and try the larger plates!  

Food - 91  /  Service  -  91  /  Atmosphere  -  94  /  Value  -  88
Overall Ghost Rating 91/100

Hello Everyone and thanks for checking out my blog! I hope you find my reviews helpful and maybe even entertaining,  the 1st postings will start tonight...Cheers!