BMore/Philly/NYC blow up your spots!
joeblow
118 Posts
heyo Strutters. Holler at a travelin man, cause it's a "what's good in your hood" post. As of tomorrow AM i'm headin to the east coast to bounce around and catch up with friends. First Baltimore, then to Philly and ending up in NYC (weekends in BMore and NYC). What's good in ya area? Who's playing out and where? Veggie eats?Here's what's sort of on my radar, though I've done near zero research and plan making...Philly: Mutter Museum (!!!), find a veggie cheese steakNYC: Good Records, possibly a followup visit to Bird Land
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http://theluckycat.com/directions.php
Gianna's - 6th & south st
in Brawltimore, head over to my buddys bar Dego Dames on eastern ave in little italy.
---Liquid Earth: amazing all-veggie lunch, juice and coffee spot on Aliceanna in Fells point. Not open on Sundays and closes at 7pm other days. Freshest sandwiches, best juices and smoothies in town IMO.
---One World Cafe: all-veggie (except for 1-2 tuna dishes) spot near Hopkins University on University Blvd. Solid. The faux meatball sub and boring-sounding but amazingly tasty "tofu club" are highly recommended, as are their daily soups. Good veggie brunch Sat and Sun and good breakfast options weekdays. Limited menu Sunday night. Has a bar w/ some organic beers.
---Yabba Pot: all vegan Jamaican/Afrocentric spot on St. Paul just south of 25th street. Used to be my favorite spot in town by far. Lately has become very erratic as far as dish availability, food quality, service. But on a good day this is a fantastic meal.
---Mr. Chan's Szechuan. Long drive, depending on where you're staying, but this place just inside the city on Reisterstown Road has the best fake-meat Chinese menu I've ever tasted (and I've been to many more-famous spots). Their yuba with red curry, tempeh with orange sauce, healmay w/ shiitake, and nasu-ten maki are some of my favorite dishes in the world. Top notch, world-class!!!
---Thai Restaurant: veggie-friendly spot on Greenmount just north of 33rd will make any dish w/ tofu. Their masaman tofu is one of Bmore's best veggie dishes.
---Dukem: veggie-friendly Ethiopian spot at 1100 Maryland where Maryland Ave turns into Cathedral. Friendly place, good atmosphere, sometimes rocks the Ethiopiques.
---Red Emma's: leftist coffee shop/bookstore with organic fair-trade coffee and teas, wraps, vegan desserts, etc. 800 St. Paul St.
---Zodiac: veggie and vegan-friendly (all vegan and veggie dishes clearly marked as such) restaurant across from the Charles Theatre on 1700 block of N. Charles. Not terribly expensive, but price ($10-20 entrees) sometimes exceeds food quality.
---Dogwood Deli: small Hampden spot w/ all ingrediants coming from local farms and mostly organic. Some veggie options. on 36th Street ("the Avenue") where there are a few record spots.
---Golden West: another spot on 36th Sreet (near records) w/ veggie options. This is one of the most popular places in Bmore to eat, more for the hippie/hipster staff than for the mostly deep-fried food. Nice quiet place to have a beer from say 10pm-midnight, altho bar closes early (midnight or 1 depending on how busy they are).
---Zen Cafe: veggie-friendly Chinese place near Senator Theatre in Belvedere Square (off of York just south of Northern Parkway). Zen curry w/ tofu and Gow Bah platter w/ tofu are highly recommended, but some other dishes miss the mark.
---Also scattered through the city are a series of Egyptian-owned pizzarias that seem to change name every few months, but go by names like Egyptian Pizza, Nile Cafe, and even Al Pacino Cafe. Good veggie-friendly place, can finally get the falafel and hummus-topped pizzas you've been craving, have soy-cheese available at most locations.
---Paper Moon Cafe: I am not a fan of this greasy, "funky" place, but it's really the only 24-hour spot in Bmore with vegetarian options, so if you're hungry at 3am you'll probably end up here. On 29th Street one block west of Howard.
RECORDS:
True Vine on 36th St (Dogwood Deli and Golden West are very close to this)
Normal's Books and Records (31st and Greenmount)
El Suprimo (1709 Aliceanna in Fells Point; Liquid Earth is nearby)
Sturgis Antiques (3500 block of Roland off 36th St. near True Vine -- small record selection but worth a look if you're in the neighborhood)
A few summers ago some friends took me to a place called Sabrina's (In Center City I think, I don't know Philly too well) and their veggie cheesesteak was amazing.
I miss that place.
I used to work at Soo's Kimchi house on Park i think, great veggie fare, but I heard it closed down. it was really good.
did Joe's record paradise close too?
I have a piece in the Vinylmore show at atomic pop which might still be up, vinyl as in toys not records.
Hah, i used to work at Atomic Books, owned by same people as Atomic Pop
-- and for the traveller if you go to True Vine records, add Atomic Books (across the street) to your list of cool indie businesses to check out. Also on 36th St in Hampden between Roland and Falls. Atomic Pop is on Falls just north of 36th St.
---And if you're travelling w/ a lady who likes clothes and shoes, take her to Double Dutch boutique on Falls north of 36th next to Atomic Pop. She will thank you! Small-label quality, hip clothing for 1/3-1/2 of what it goes for in most other cities, apparently.
Joe's Record PAradise did indeed close, must be about 2 yrs ago now.
Sabrina's is on smash. On Christian and 10th I think.
North 3rd or Standard Tap up in Northern Liberties is good if you want some delicious pub fare and beer.
Cosign golden west although I really can't get with their version of huevos rancheros.
I'll have to try that deli you mentioned next time I'm down.
Do you know what neighborhood/block you'll be staying on while in Bmore?
On the extreme other end of the (up)scale, check out Horizons. Pricey, but holy shit this place is good! My gf is generally suspicious of vegetarian restaurants, and she considers the meals she's had here among her best ever:
http://www.horizonsphiladelphia.com/
611 S. 7th Street
go to Gunnings.
PAUSE
it's funny too how alienated DC gets with all of this because really, we're only 25mins from Baltimore, and then all those ill seafood spots are maaaaad close so it's kinda hand-in-hand with the food, but both cities are totally different universes.
re: bmore neighborhood/block - not sure, finding out now.
in NYC i'll be staying in Brooklyn i believe. in Philly, not sure either.
10-4... just thinking i could tweak my advice based on where you're staying.
heyo Still Life, where you at?!
gianna's is ok. definitely the other end of the quality spectrum, but its good now and then.
good veggie steaks in reading terminal market at Basic4...plus reading terminal has a million other things to grab the attention of your eyes and palate.
Mutter museum is the shit!!!! i used to play hookie and go there way back when.
Capo giro is right around there...a gelateria (ice cream) that rivals the best that Rome has to offer. fresh, local, seasonal ingredients, made on premises.
REcord show on sunday should be good...you'll meet plenty strutters.
have a fun trip
mount royal tavern = drunk good time. ask for a cherry bomb.
youll be seeing alot of art school kids around those parts.
is anyone playing in Baltimore this weekend?
or NYC next weekend (i'll be in town 4/3-4/5)?
or NYC next weekend (i'll be in town 4/3-4/5)?
Yeah, when in Bolton Hill the Mt Royal Taverrn is a good stop to make -- and a much more tolerable spot IMO since the smoking ban passed. even if you're against the ban, that place was a cancer trap.
Depending on how deep you are in BH, you may be in walking distance of these veggie-friendly places I mentioned:
Dukem (Ethiopian)
Zodiac ("American")
Egyptian Pizza/Nile Cafe/Al Pacino Cafe/whatev (name-changing Egyptian pizzeria 900 Cathedral St)
Red Emma's -- leftist bookstore cafe @ 800 St. Paul St.
Oh, and forgot to mention:
The Helmand -- excellent Aghani spot at 806 N. Charles. Food quality and atmosphere make it seem like it'd be very pricey, but it's in the $10-14 veggie entre range, so a very good dinner option. vegetarian mantwo and vegetarian aushak are recommended, as is the pumpkin appetizer and the shornakod (very heavy on the cilantro!) salad. classy place, busy on the weekend.
some others nearby that are decent but unexceptional:
XS -- 1300 block of N. Charles. atmosphere here is cheesy/slick wannabe 90s Manhattan, but they have some decent veggie sushi and salad options
Indian spots galore -- there are a bunch of Indian (and one Nepalese) places a few blocks further south on N. Charles. Best is probably Akbar, but all are decent and veggie-friendly but nothing you've never had before.
But you'd probably do better to stick to the others I mentioned above -- and, assuming you have wheels (which you'll need to get the records!), check out some of the others I listed in my prior post.
You'll also be in walking distance of the independent 5-screen Charles theatre. They have a Hitchcock revival series going on Saturdays at noon, as well as a regular schedule of new stuff:
http://www.thecharles.com/
If you go to Normal's books and records (again, E. 31st right before Greenmount) -- and you should! -- if you do so Saturday or Sunday day, head around the corner to the Baltimore Free Book Thing, a huge space full of free books (but sadly they got no records). I've scored some great stuff there. It's even organized by genre (but not alphabetized, so you do have to dig).
http://www.bookthing.org/
3001 Vineyard Lane
___________________
this show is happening in Bmore Saturday the 29th:
MICROKINGDOM (Record Release Show)
NOVELIST (Buffalo, NY)
OAK
10PM / $6
http://www.talkingheadclub.com/
203 Davis St.
the only band of the 3 i know is microkingdom. they are improv jazz with a freeform noise edge. definitely not for everyone, and definitely not the right group if you're in party mode, but if you like jazz/noise/psych stuff they can make for a great listen. includes a former member of no-wave pranksters Oxes, if that means anything to ye.
Actually, if noisey psych-rock is your thing, check their Friday show, too. Some band on Holy Mountain that sounds cool. but I'm not familiar.
I got food poisoning from this place. like hospitalized I.V. food poisoning. i dont know whats worse that or the decor/atmosphere
yikes! i rescind the listing of it, then -- and only mentioned it in the spirit of "if you don't have a car, this place is in walking distance and serves food."
^ that's a fancy one ^