This August marks my third anniversary of living in Baltimore. After five years in New York, the streets of Mount Vernon seemed positively pastoral. In place of modernist skyscrapers and mobile phone ads plastered to ever-present scaffolding, there were green parks, fountains and the muted melody of a flute being played by an open window. Instead of elbowing through crowds, I started strolling, looking at gorgeous antique houses that anybody, even me, could afford. I would even say I found my Happy Place, although not using the Happy Detector the tourism department concocted.
If we made a Happy Map of our neighborhood for eating and drinking purposes, it could consist of:
1. Howard’s of Mount Vernon offers inexpensive, thoughtfully prepared salads, sandwiches and a few dynamite dinner plates like fish n’ chips. Even the salad dressings are made from scratch and served up with a friendly smile from people who know us by name (naturally, they live nearby and visit the same dog parks). We could eat here every day, and for a while, until we got a/c, we basically did. We sat with a bottle of white wine (BYOB until their liquor license comes through) with the blind Fox and ate grilled ham and cheese and the Howard’s Salad–strawberries, feta, walnuts and local veggies–for less than $15.
2. The scene last Thursday night at Dougherty’s Pub on West Chase: three Irish musicians on accordion and mandolin, a plaid-clad guitar player, and a pot-bellied retired cop bellied up to the bar. This is not a joke. The cop was bound for a security gig nearby and to avert boredom he swigged a few Michelob Ultras. While we ate spicy Maryland clam chowder, the officer and Brian yucked it up about the O’s miserable existence, the man’s 15 siblings and his wife’s new book on God and family. He’s hoping he can hang up his security cap on the book sales, but they’ve got a bunch of kids heading to college soon.
3. Please, there is no need to add to the accolades of the Brewer’s Art. They were anointed best bar in America by Esquire a few years back, and the Times recently dubbed the beer menu as “serious” as the tastemaker crowd. Needless to say we are very grateful for the strong Belgian-style ale they brew on site, because if I weren’t sipping on it two and a half years ago, I probably wouldn’t have clumsily dropped my phone and had an excuse to talk to the cute boy nearby who was Brian.
4. If we’re talking about happy places in Baltimore, the topic of drug use is bound to come up. So yes, the Mount Royal Tavern would be considered a happy place for some. For others, it’s a place to drink cheap Natty Boh with men the cat dragged in, and a few brave MICA students. Natch, we may be moving opposite MRT to the Fitzgerald.
5. Be there or be Joe Squared? I’d pick the latter, since we are addicted to their pizza and good vibes alike. Bands play nightly and their well-curated rum selection spruces up cool mojitos (almost cool enough to forgot how hot it is sitting near their kitchen). The staff crack jokes and never seem fatigued by weekend crowds. But the real draw is their pizza, from its slightly charred, light crust to the locally sourced toppings like pesto, ricotta, margarita, Andouille sausage and herbs grown on their roof.
Hi,
I have a blog that covers the environmental topics in Baltimore (http://www.baltimoresbesttreeservice.com/wordpress) and was wondering if you would like to exchange links? Let me know if you are interested….thanks!
Kristen