The Tusk Lounge

Last night, we had dinner in the Tusk Lounge, the bar in Baltimore's long-lived Brass Elephant restaurant. The food was awful. Truly disgusting. I can't begin to convey how terrible it was. That said, the cocktails were quite quaffable, the barkeep, Cliff, was most attentive, and the ambiance, aside from the marked absence of patrons, was lovely.

The stairs leading from the main restaurant to the lounge:


Ben and the bar:


Cliff the barkeep:


The room we had all to ourselves:


Handsome fellas and gorgeous leaded glass:


What are these windows called? They look like bottle bottoms...


Moroccan lanterns:


Skylights:


We'd like the Brass Elephant and the Tusk Lounge to stick around, but something must be done about the food. Until then, we can only recommend the building and the cocktails. You could pretend that you're having a drink in your very own three-story mansion. Since you're likely to be the only patron, it shouldn't be that hard.

Brewer's Art

If you're having a day - any kind of day, really - a happy ending can be found at Baltimore's Brewer's Art. Not only do they brew their own Belgian-style beers, they also have food that will make you a happy glutton.

The restaurant was once a fabulous old mansion:



But now it'll serve the goodies to any old riff-raff. And what goodies they are. Like burgers with rosemary garlic fries:


Chipotle and caramelized onion mac and cheese:



And crispy pork belly atop short bread with port-stewed cherries. Oh sweet Jesus.


We're pigs:




But we're happy pigs:

Annapolis

This Saturday, we took a day trip to Annapolis with Our Favorite DC-ers. (What do you call yourselves?) The town is just presh, as the youngsters would say, and an excellent time was had all 'round.

We began with a delicious brunch at Cafe Normandie:



With bloodies, naturally:


Annapolis is beautiful and quaint, with weensy little houses that we would like to collect:


We spent some time enjoying the harbor:



Checked out the cleverly named boats:




The weather was fantastic, so lots of folks were out with their dogs. Little ones:


And really big ones:


We got a little history (the description of the stench is particularly fetching - click to enlarge):


And took a tour of the Naval Academy, which was actually (and surprisingly) quite interesting.


Here's a replica of an early Wright brothers' plane:


This the monument that the upperclassmen lube with 200 lbs. of lard and force the plebes to scale; we did something similar in my hometown, only it involved a telephone pole and a prize pig. You can see video of the plebes in action here.


We also saw the resting place of John Paul Jones:



We don't know who this guy is, but he's definitely giving someone the finger:


And a bit of local trivia. The last line is fantastic:

Good Eats in Charm City

French fries can be fairly run of the mill. Not so at The Annabel Lee.

Potatoes + duck fat=yum. Their sweet potato fries are also delish, though, sadly, not deep fried in animal. Almost suspiciously healthy.


Once your duck fat-induced stupor wears off, pop over to Iggy's for their flavorful pizzas. Go for the cheese-free pie with little fuzzy fishes. Or, for those of you who think duck fat is insufficient punishment for the cardiovascular system, we recommend the sausage.


Iggy's scores bonus points for letting our four-legged friends enjoy the ambiance. Dogs are people too.


In penance for your weekend indulgences, we recommend a diet of water and ex-lax. Fast and effective.

It's the farmer's market, hon!

This may seem a strange time to post about the farmer's market, but perhaps we all need a little something to remind us that winter is not eternal. Soon enough, things will be green and Sunday mornings will begin with a trip to the farmer's market.

The first thing to do at the market is stand in the Zeke's coffee line while Ben procures the weekly curry pockets:


Here's Ben, waiting for the goods:


The goods:


So good!



Of course, the farmer's market offers lots of options for those who choose not to curry pocket.

Like Magnificent Mini-Donuts:


And hot steamed Chinese buns:


Eventually, you'll finish with your breakfast and get on with the week's shopping:







This particular trip was in November (look! no coats!), just after Baltimore rocked the vote:


On our way home, we saw this flag. Look closely. Notice anything? We're stumped.


So, there you have it. Only (only!?) three (THREE!) months 'til the farmer's market is back in full swing. Sigh.