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!

Please spread the word about Ry's YOG Blog in order to help others experience Baltimore for all its charm. Become a follower!

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! :-)

Please spread the word about Ry's YOG Blog in order to help others experience Baltimore for all its charm. Become a follower!

 

 

Place #1: Van Gough Cafe

Van Gough Cafe: 300 South Ann Street

Van Gough Cafe is a charming cafe on the corner of Gough (strangely pronounced "goff", NOT "go," I learned..?) and S Ann street in Upper Fells Point. Its menu is short, but oh so sweet. They offer simple bagels and paninis, and very simple sandwiches - PB&J, veggie burger, and a tuna sandwich. But they have knishes; which I had not ever tried before. It's like a pastry/dough/phyllo thing. They have a few different choices in the type of knish you can get - I tried the pizza knish with vegan cheese!
Yes, by the way, I am a vegan. Which will make this whole "experiencing Baltimore thang" even more interesting and challenging. But it doesn't mean I can't successfully review hot spots in the area! I will just have to recruit meat eaters to help me review the meat options on the menus for your sake (disclaimer: I am not in any way promoting eating meat; in fact, I would prefer that you don't! but that's another topic, for another blog!).

Anywho - Van Gough also offers lasagnas, falafel, and mac & cheese. The cafe is Kosher - literally, not metaphorically. They also have several coffee/tea/espresso options (hot and cold) and some sweet treats, like "candy bar explosion cake." It looked like some concoction of oreos, meets reeses peanut butter cups, meets rocky road ice cream, who then said 'hello' to baby ruth. They had about 5 choices of sweet, rich cakes available, which they said were provided by a private baker. Although they do not offer vegan desserts, they do offer soy substitutes for their iced or hot drinks, and also provide agave as a natural sweetener alternative. They also have snacks on the go, such as organic granola bars and bottled juices. It is a very veggie/vegan friendly place.

It is small in size, with about 5 tables in the front area, and then a couch seated area in the back. It's extremely cutesy. When I was there, there was a young family sitting on the couch, and what appeared to be a young professional reading a newspaper at a table. It is very quiet and quaint with a relaxing ambiance. Great place for studying on a Saturday morning; which brings me to the only downside of this place - it's NOT open on Saturdays :-( I would highly recommend that they remain open on Saturdays, but I'm kind of scared to demand this seeming how the restriction in hours is due to religious reasons. The owner family is Jewish. So let's not be hasty, and let's give God's followers Saturdays off. Agreed? I can settle for Sunday mornings. And all the rest of the weekday mornings too!


So for rating purposes, I have decided on a system in terms of an overall recommendation for you. 

I really respect Yoda. Who doesn't? It's not so much his powers, but his speech is impeccable; and extremely entertaining. 

 

So I have decided that for a definite "yes" place, my recommendation will be "Go, you will. Try, you must." 
For a definite "no" place, my recommendation will be "Not if anything to say about it, I have."
And for a maybe place, my recommendation will be "Do, or do not. There is no try."
For my first rating of a new place in Baltimore, I am rating Van Gough cafe as a definite "Go, you will. Try, you must" place! I recommend you stop by the friendly neighborhood joint to say 'hello' and to share its existence among others!

Check out their site for further info:

http://www.vangoughcafe.com

And just for fun - the REAL Van GOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Please spread the word about Ry's YOG Blog in order to help others experience Baltimore for all its charm. Become a follower!

YOG Blog Intro

Welcome to Ry's YOG blog! YOG blog is "your own guide" to experiencing all that the city of Baltimore has to offer. I am your hostess, Ry Perkins, and I will be writing descriptive and informative reviews on places in the Baltimore area - this will include restaurants, bars, music venues, shops, festivals, etc. 

Although I have lived in Baltimore for 3 years, I think that the city MUST have more to offer than what I have personally experienced so far. I have been skeptical about this city during my stay here, and have also heard others report a bad review of Baltimore. Along this journey, I will attempt to disprove this bad rep for myself and for others. Despite negative thoughts about this city, I have heard of unique gems existing in the area, and I'd like to try and find them, then talk about them with you so that more people can have an adventurous experience in Charm City. 

My goal is to experience 2 new places a week and to provide you with my personal thoughts on the ambiance and atmosphere, idiosyncrasies, and overall successes of the places I visit. I am in the Baltimore area for the short-term only, and want to make the best of my remaining time here. Although I have already experienced some places in Baltimore, I will attempt to approach all places as if it is my first time and will do my best to remove my biases as much as possible. I will try to provide pictures when appropriate, as photography has become one of my hobbies on the side too :-)

I hope this blog will be helpful to people who currently live in Baltimore, want to live in Baltimore, or who are just passing through for a visit! Please feel free to contribute to my thoughts in order to further help people conceptualize the places under review.


The journey begins tonight! 


-Ry