Place #6: Bertha's

The reputation of this seafood restaurant and bar technically comes from its muscles... I mean, mussels. Eh-hem. Apparently, since I don't eat them, I clearly don't know how to spell the word. Bottom line is - Bertha's is known for their muscular mussels :-/


This hole in the wall spot is located in the heart of fells next to Brick Oven Pizza (B.O.P.) - a local pizza place that stays open after the bars close; Holler (BOP review pending). Bertha's is right off of the square in Fells; a prime location to lure people in by keeping the bar door open and having live music blare into the street!


Bertha's was founded in the 1970s by a classical guitarist, Tony Norris, and his wife, who was also a musician. It was originally named "The Lone Star." The Norris' passion for music during a difficult time in the Fells point area was the inspiration to the beginning of this live music bar. Bertha's, along with The Whistling Oyster and The Horse You Came In On, was one of the first entertainment bars to move into the waterfront area during a transitional period in Baltimore City. It quickly became popular, and contributed to the young and hip culture that the modern Fells point neighborhood offers.

Although dark and small on the inside, the live jazz and blues music you'll hear when you walk in, or walk by, brightens the ambiance of the place. To give you a taste of the flavor of jams you'll hear at Bertha's, check out these short video clips:

I apologize that they may not be the best of quality, but hopefully you can get a taste of the flavor of musicians that Bertha's welcomes.


There is live music every weekend, and on most nights during the week. Bertha's mostly brings in talented jazz and blues trios or quartets, usually featuring a lead guitarist and/or vocalist. Even though I have never been there, I imagine this is what New Orleans feels like!

The bar offers a decent selection on tap - Local Baltimore taps include: Bertha's Best Bitter, Oliver's Cream Ale, Oliver's IPA, and Oliver's Darkness. They also have your Stella, Guinness, Bass, Sierra Nevada, and Hoegarden. As with most of these types of places, the hard liquor selection is limited, but that's to be expected.

On their food menu, Bertha's offers an array of seafood options - soups, salads, appetizers, and shellfish, fish, and oyster entrees. And of course, MUSCLES! There is a plethora of mussel options - you can order your mussels with tomato, anchovy, basil, garlic butter, sour cream, or with dumb-bells (nah - just kidding. But did you get it?).


They do have a few veggie options I noticed, although I cannot comment on the taste, as I didn't eat here! But they have a veggie ravioli, veggie platter, veggie burger, and sauteed mushroom dish. They also offer some typical bar food options - burgers, etc.

Bertha's is definitely a "Go you will. Try you must!" place on our list! It's fun, hip, and you feel like a total bad ass hangin' out at the bar while bobbin your head to some New Orleans blues; I did anyway. This is a definite gem, and although I want you to check it out, I'm hoping it doesn't become too trendy. Because we know what happens to trendy places - they lose their flare!


For more information on Bertha's, check out their website:
http://www.berthas.com/home.html


And don't forget to purchase your "EAT BERTHA'S MUSSELS" bumper sticker or tee-shirt! 

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Place #5: M&T Bank Stadium - Baltimore Ravens Game!

M&T Stadium - Downtown, Baltimore

Ravens vs Redskins - Preseason Game 8/25/2011

So, I'm going to say "Go, you will. Try you must" right off the bat. 

If you are lucky enough to have the opportunity, you should definitely check out a Raven's game at the M&T Stadium! But - I highly recommend scoring free tickets to the 4th row behind the 40yd line OR closer if you can! I also recommend that you make a new friend - one that has club level seats with his/her company at the stadium :-) That's how I rolled at the pre-season game against the Redskins. And I don't even really like football!!! This blog is really helping me score some pretty ligit free things ;-) 

The resale for our tickets to this game were $125/piece (which I think is ludicrous, but for football fanatics, I guess that's reasonable...? I really have no idea). However, if you're unable to land sick seats, I've heard the experience even from the higher seats can still be fun! It's more about going with your peeps and routing for your team!

The game experience is entertaining - the people watching aspect was definitely my favorite. You get to see the best of Baltimore at these games... and I do mean the worst. I was surprised that our sweet seats still resulted in a close circumference of Balti-morons. I'm pretty sure 93% of people at this game were Nascar fans too... (sorry if you're into Nascar - no hard feelings).

Close up of the Ravens boyz

This Redskin's fan above actually won a bet with a Raven's fan. He bet $1 that his Redskins would get another touchdown. And when they did - he blessed us with his tacky and ridiculous dance skillz. Thanks a hoot dude. You are so cool, not to mention an awesome role model for our young ones, and country. Everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame at a Ravens game apparently.

The Baltimore Ravens' Raven was cool. But I didn't like that his wings were clipped so that he couldn't fly away :-( Nice bird though.

A miniature Balti-moron/purple haired brat

The children of die-hard Ravens fans are also interesting characters. Loud and obnoxious. I get the purple-hair thing.... Or wait - actually I don't... Cuz it's dumb.

Black and Purple, Black and Purple!

The crowd

Club Seat Level View!

Club Seats!

If you get the awesome experience of experiencing club level seating, there is often catered food - which at this particular game, it was catered by Ruth Chris' steak house (apparently this is a pretty posh caterer in the Baltimore area). There is obviously a bar in the club where you can get beers and mixed drinks as well. If you don't get the opportunity to have the club seat experience, there are always food vendors and bars within the stadium of course. Nachos, dogs, french fries, and beer a plenty...

We also lucked out to experience an incredibly climactic game. We beat the Redskins in the remaining minutes of the last quarter. That added to the excitement of the whole experience... The final score was Redskins 31, Ravens 34!

GO RAVENS!

(Disclaimer: I really don't care who wins)

Yay - we won :-)
(Now accepting free tickets to any other games!)


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Place #4: Rocket to Venus

Rocket to Venus is a hipster bar and restaurant located in the emo hood of Hamden. Hamden is about 7 minutes north of downtown Baltimore via 83 for those of you who don't know/haven't ventured into the neighborhood.

Rocket has a chill, hippy atmosphere and makes for a great place to grab a bite on a weekday night. It's not loud - in fact, if I remember correctly, there was no music playing, but there IS a jukebox. So, you can actually hear yourself talking with your party, and can also make some indie rock selections from the box.

The interesting piece of history about this place is that the idea for its theme was inspired by a real man from Baltimore who wanted to build a rocket ship to take to Venus. Apparently, in 1928, a family member of the owner, who was a scientist, had a dream to get to Venus. He attempted to build a rocket, which sadly backfired and subsequently did NOT make it to Venus.... Well duh.

Thankfully, the only injury sustained was to his ego.
He soon left Baltimore after the humiliation and gave up his dream of reaching Venus :-(
But his damaged ego lived on in spirit through the creation of the restaurant! I'm sure he's thrilled about this....

In terms of food selection, I was disappointed. The menu is skinny. But not in a diet sort of way. In fact, the best things on the menu, are the things that are the worst for your waist line.

I ordered fried pickles as an appetizer, which were pretty gross actually. This was my first time trying fried pickles, so I am in no way a fried pickle connoisseur, but they just weren't good. I still ate them. But... I was hungry! Then I ordered a salad, which was a mistake. It was literally a pile of lettuce with a few chunks of tofu. Without any dressing. When I asked for dressing, it was a pretty bland raspberry vinaigrette. Meh.

My lovely friend Laura ordered something quite interesting that I've never seen before - waffles with chicken on top....? I guess to you meat eaters, this might be appetizing, but to me, that looked gross too. Comes with maple syrup and gravy. Mmmmmm (sarcasm).

However, I WILL give Rocket mad points for offering a fantastic dessert....

A fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich! WHAAAAAT?! Yup... it's true. This unique and fun dessert made up for the disgusting dinner food.

Other things on the menu include spring rolls, falafel, a couple sandwich choices, a burger, a noodle dish - not a wide range of choices. My question is - what do any of these food items have to do with the planet Venus?! For such a cool idea, couldn't the owner have thought of creative dishes that would only be served on Venus? Like I don't know - some type of alien food? Just saying...

Overall, I have to say that Rocket to Venus is a "Do or do not. There is no try" type of place. I think if you are going to check it out, it would be best to go for a drink and/or a fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich with someone you feel like catching up with. Actually - a night full of alcohol and fried pb&js could be a pretty fun night out!... I'm obviously pretty easy to please; and a pretty cheap date :-)

Check out their website for additional information and to see their drink menu:
http://www.rockettovenus.com/

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Place #3: Boordy Vineyards!

Boordy's Winery is a quaint vineyard outside of the heart of Baltimore. Although on a beaten path in Hydes, MD, it is worth the scenic drive through windy roads to get there; especially on a beautiful summer eve. 

The vineyard has been up and running for 66 years now. The current owners are the second family to own the winery - they acquired it from a family friend in the 1980s, so it has that family-run feel to it right when you walk in the entrance. It is essentially a piece of green property in a field that has a few rustic stone barns on it, an outside stage and stone dance area, and a wine bar off to the side. I believe the owners live in the brown farm house in the background in this pic...

You feel like you are hanging out in a farmer's backyard. With lots of strangers.

The vineyard offers several different types of events. On Saturday nights in the summer from June - Sept, they offer a $17 wine tasting starting at 6PM. At this tasting, you are encouraged to bring your lawn chairs, blankets, picnic baskets filled with home-cooked meals or take-out, and of course your favorite people to get buzzed off wine with. I brought one of mine...Shout out to Whit! Holler.

Get it girl!
(My wonderful roommate Whitney modeling with our Riesling under the stars)

There is live music that goes along with this tasting; mostly rock cover type bands, country, swing bands, reggae, or British pop cover bands it seems, but in the open summer night air and with some wine on board, most people aren't that picky re their musical taste. And surprisingly, the Brit pop cover band (that played TONS of Beatles tunes) was quite talented. I was also surprised by the crowd - there were probably 2000 people there, which Tom, our server, said is the usual for summer Saturdays.

The $17 covers your wine tasting desires through the night, and admission to enter through the fence and pick an open spot on the field, or on the dance floor; wherever your heart desires. If it's raining, however, you need to pay an extra $3 to enter in the barn for coverage...? Which is kinda lame. I say, just keep dancin in the rain.

Overall, it was an interesting crowd; families, young folks, kids, old folks, and just plain drunk folks. But the diverse crew made it a fun place to people watch...

There is also a tent that sells grilled food items by an outside caterer. We didn't try any of these options, as we brought our own baked veggies, tabouleh, and guacamole (sorry - just had to brag about our home-made items for a second since we worked on them ALL afternoon :-P).  

Also in the summer, Boordy's hosts "Good Life Thursdays," which is a free farmer's market from 4-8PM. Obviously if you wanna buy something, you need to pay. Duh. Although I did not attend the market, it boasts sales of flowers, organic meats and cheeses, organic dairy products, organic seasonal fruits/veggies, and of course Boordy's wine.

As it gets into the Fall, Boordy's offers wine tastings during the daytime on Sundays, beginning in October, from 1-5PM. Similarly, there is live music, grilled food, and wagon rides! Come November, the vineyard opens their wine cellar to welcome guests for a Sunday afternoon "Soup in the Cellar" get together from 1-4PM (I definitely want to return for this). 

And that's not all - in December, nearing the holidays, on the weekends from 1-5PM, Boordy's hosts an additional wine tasting experience, where they offer some vin chaud (warm wine). This would make for an excellent date day. I also want to return for THIS too! So many cool ideas. I will need to go once a month to try each of these exciting events!

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with Boordy's overall wine selection at the tasting. They have a few different series of wine: Landmark - 2006-2010s (a Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc), Icons of Maryland (Petite Cabernet, Shiraz, Boordy Blush, Vidal Blanc, Riesling) and Just for Fun - fruity flavored wines (Apple, Peach, Jazzberry, Sangria, Wassail). But overall - not that many, and not that great!

It's an extra $1 to sample the dessert wines as they take longer to ferment

I have an enlarged sweet tooth - one that has been drilled many times by the dentist. And this enlarged tooth loves the sweetest wines. If it wasn't for nasty hangovers, I would drink dessert wines at breakfast. Ok, maybe not at breakfast. But definitely starting at 4PM. So my preference out of all these wines was the Riesling - and I don't usually like whites! I also recommend the Tango Peach, and Boordy Blush (this one's sweet, but not overly sweet). In general, Boordy's wines are sweet, with not much flavor. I am no wine connoisseur, but I have tried enough wines to know what I like and what I don't like. We did end up sharing a bottle of the Riesling's, which was reasonably priced at $14. Most of the wines were less than $25/bottle.

I wasn't a big fan overall of the Boordy wine selection. But perhaps you all will experience a taste bud explosion; wine taste is very personal! It's like deodorant.

He clearly doesn't have a preference.

So overall, Boordy's is a "Go, you will. Try, you must" type of place. Although the wine selection is not mind-blowing, the ambiance and experience is quite unique and worth checking out. I highly recommend going with a large group of people, bringing enough lawn chairs for everyone, sitting far enough away from the band that they're not blaring in your ear, and looking up at the sky every now and then to peak at the stars that you can see so brightly (since you are far enough away from Smog-altimore). It's a refreshing get-away from the city experience, and is worth the 30 minute drive from down-town. Make a night of it with your friends, family, kids, or date. 

Here is their website:

http://www.boordy.com/


I know I have been approving all of the places I have reviewed so far, but please be reassured that there are bound to be places that I will definitely disprove or be on the fence about. I have just been lucky with the first 3! You must also know that my personality is one that tries to find fun in every place I experience. But for you - I will try to be more pessimistic :-)


Stay tuned for the next place this week! I have a busy social week ahead of me and plenty of places to talk to you about! Thanks for tuning in again!

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Place #2: Cat's Eye!

The Cat's Eye Pub, locally referred to as "Cat's," is a radiant pub that caters to all types of people. It's the type of place that you can chill on a Saturday night with a group of your friends, or a Monday night with the local crowd! You can show up alone and make life-long friends :-) You will never be out alone when you are here; the guests, bands, bar-tenders, and owners are extremely hospitable and friendly.

It offers 40+ beers on tap; a variety of ales, stouts, and lagers. Favorites include: Oliver's Irish Red, Lentz Sun Wheat, Harp Lager, Oxford Raspberry Wheat, Frank Weiser, Smithwick's, Sierra Nevada, and of course your Stella, Sam Adam's, Amstel, Bud, Blue Moon, and Newcastle (among others). There is a limited selection for mixed drinks, however, but this is expected in a place like Cat's. We will not deduct points for this.

Cat's is located at 1730 Thames St at Thames and S Ann in the heart of Fells Point along the water. It is best known for its music; bands play 365 days a week!!! Blues, rock, funk, acoustic, folk, and jam-bands are mostly the genre of music you will find here. There are some bands that play quite regularly - including Nate Meyers & The Aces, which is a super funky blues band originally from Harrisburg, PA, (Check em out when they return to Cat's Eye on Oct 28th!), Bad Neighbors, a classic rock band that successfully rocks out doing covers of your favorite elementary school tunes (their next gig at Cat's is Sept 2nd!), and The Phil Conneff New Quartet, a smooth jazz group from the Baltimore area that plays every Monday nights with horns! 

Don't let the occasional homeless guy sitting on the stoop next to the entrance deter you from checking out this original joint. I'm not sure how many homeless dudes you know, but the ones I have met have impeccable taste in music. So, if anything, let the choice of their loitering spot be a statement to the success of the musicians that frequent Cat's Eye. And although the pub is best known for its blues, funk, and rock type tunes, they also bring in bands that play Salsa, Irish, Cajun, bluegrass, country, and acoustic. Because the pub provides daily music, they have an incredible opportunity to please the Fells crowd with a well-thought out mixtape of endless musical possibilities. Although most of the Cat's shows are free, some bands require a low cover for entrance - but this cover is solely to support the band, and thus, for a good cause. We won't deduct points for this either :-P

There is something unique about Cat's that I must share...

I met a friend here once upon a time; a friend named Jake - the Cat's Eye cat! He belongs to a local who frequently visits the joint, and he hangs out in his bike basket while his owner goes inside and gets down at the pub! This cool cat will vouch for the rockin scene this place offers, as he never leaves his basket, and can give you the real perspective on what all happens on a typical night at Cat's. And no matter how late of a night his owner makes it, he relaxes, stretches, and chills to the sound of the blues.

Jake: The Cat's Eye Cat!

So between the coolest cat Jake telling you to boogie down, and Yoda making the statement of "Go, you will. Try, you must," Cat's Eye Pub is a place that cannot be missed!
 
Check out their site for more info:

http://www.catseyepub.com/index.htm

Thanks for tuning in again. Wait till you hear about next week's places, there are some exciting things in store for you! :-)

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