Happy Hour

08
Aug
2017

BlueBird Cocktail Room

As a former bartender, craft cocktails are something I can appreciate. So you can imagine my excitement was on another level when I heard about The BlueBird Cocktail Room, a new bar opening in Hampden. I’ve wanted to explore more restaurants and bars in Hamden, Baltimore because I have a few friends that live in that neighborhood and I’m always in the area. Last Friday, I attended a blogger Happy Hour/Meet-Up and finally got a chance to check it out.

Happy Hour is definitely the time to do a little menu sampling. The appetizer bites are 1/2 priced Monday-Friday from 5-7pm and because we were with a large group I got a chance to sample a few items. The Happy Hour cocktails are $5 house wines, $5 Pimm’s cups, and $2 Natty Bohs. My favorites on the food menu were the lamb meatballs and squash blossoms. They gave me five meatballs which were so filling, I almost didn’t’ have room for anything else. The “Tropic of Quebec” cocktail is an Orange Creamsicle in a glass, so sweet and reminiscent of childhood on a hot summer day.

The décor is somewhat romantic… think chandeliers, dark floors, dark blue walls, blue sofas with bright yellow accents. They have a long high-top table in the middle of the space and quiet, intimate sofas and corner tables along the perimeter. You have to order your food/drinks at the bar and the server gives you a number to take back to your seat. The food and drinks arrived at the table pretty fast, which was a good thing because the space was filled with customers on a Friday evening.

This would be a perfect place to impress a first date! Send me a message or reply, tell me what you think. Also, I need suggestions for your favorite bars and restaurants in Hampden.

And always follow my foodie and cocktail adventures on social media …

05
Sep
2016

Happy Hour at Fleming’s Steakhouse

categories: Happy Hour

Hail to Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar– one of my favorite restaurants in Harbor East, Baltimore. The title of this post mentions “Happy Hour,” but the photo above is the delicious dinner I shared with two friends after we ate the following happy hour items (don’t judge us).

Can I just fawn over this Calamari for a minute? Fleming’s Steakhouse hands down has the best calamari I’ve ever had! It’s served with a sweet chili sauce and it’s lightly breaded on the outside, tender on the inside with a spicy pepper kick. I wanted to eat the entire plate myself, but unfortunately I had to share.

flemings3 — The Prime Rib Dip with Homemade Potato Chips

I especially enjoy the cocktails at Fleming’s Steakhouse, they are always delicious and they offer a variety of options with various liquors. You can’t go wrong with calamari and cocktails at Fleming’s Steakhouse happy hour, I’d go there everyday of the week just for that!

And always follow my foodie and cocktail adventures on social media …

23
May
2016

Happy Hour at Brio Tuscan Grille

categories: Happy Hour

I’ve been in love with indoor décor and atmosphere at Brio Tuscan Grille from the first moment it opened in Downtown Baltimore. I’ve been there for dinner a few times, but I go there more for Happy Hour. It’s definitely one of my go-to happy hour locations of choice. A few days ago a friend and I decided to meet there for Happy Hour, while I sat at the bar waiting for her to arrive I realized I written about my first visit, but never written a post about their happy hour.

Let me start off by saying I enjoy the cocktail selection that Brio offers because they have a variety to choose from: Wine, Sangria, Martini, Mules, Mojitos and more for only $4-$6 each. They also a variety of sharable food options for happy hour.

Crispy Tuscan Tots and Black Pepper Shrimp over Eggplant

My friend and I ordered the Pepperoni and Sausage Pizza, Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Crispy Tots and the Black Pepper Shrimp over Eggplant. The really liked the Crispy Tots because they were served with a cheese dipping sauce and it was a pleasant surprise to the otherwise basic tater tot. I also liked the Black Pepper Shrimp over Eggplant. The eggplant was soft on the inside and flaky on the outside and the shrimp were not too peppery but made with just the right amount of spice. The pepperoni and sausage pizza I couldn’t fully enjoy because it was served warm at room temperature. I would have liked it more if it was served hot like the other items I ordered.

Happy Hour Martini and Sangria at Brio Tuscan Grille

The one thing that Brio is consistent with is their cocktails. They train the bartenders very well. Whatever drink I order it’s always mixed with the right proportions, the flavors are balanced and I always leave with a little buzz.

If you are looking for a restaurant to have happy hour cocktails with a co-worker or an out-of-town friend, Brio Tuscan Grille is the perfect place.

Be sure to follow my foodie and cocktail adventures on social media …

10
Mar
2016

Happy Hour at Bagby’s TEN TEN

categories: Happy Hour, RESTAURANTS

It’s March, the weather is finally breaking and Spring is upon us. One of my favorite things to do is sit outside and eat. Whether it’s near the water, or on the street, It always makes me feel like I’m in another city or country. Bagby’s Ten Ten American Bistro (1010 Fleet Street) has an incredible interior design, but they also have a quaint and somewhat hidden outdoor eating area also. I recently went there during Happy Hour to enjoy the food and fine weather.

I visited with a friend and we have the same food philosophy — The More The Merrier! We like to order lots of food to share and sample. The Happy Hour menu offers six small plate options and we ordered five of the six “Bites” items. I especially like the 13 beer, wine and cocktail specials.

tthh6 — Korean Tacos with Mongolian beef, avocado, asian slaw, jalapeno and sesame

tthh5 — Chili-Glazed Wings with fried garlic, pickled daikons & carrots, cilantro and black sesame

Look at those chicken wings, they are huge!! The chili glaze flavoring I liked because it was sticky and spicy and unlike any other flavor wing I’d had before. The Korean Tacos were also delicious they were small and not shareable, so we ordered another…why not, they are only $6.00. My absolute favorite were the Herb Parmesan Fries, they were hot, crispy and seasoned well topped with fresh parmesan cheese. I think these are my new favorite fries, they are giving Gordon Biersch’s Garlic Fries a run for their money.

Be sure to follow my foodie and cocktail adventures on Instagram.com/Arlisappetite and twitter.com/ArliBaby.

03
Mar
2016

Meatballs Galore at 8 Meatball in Fells Point

categories: RESTAURANTS

As if the Fells Point restaurant scene wasn’t cool enough, the newly opened meatball restaurant just made it a little cooler. Last night I visited 8 Meatball (814 S. Broadway St) with fellow food blogger Rachel from Like The Tea Eats and we had a ball…or two (pun intended). 8 Meatball recently opened on February 21st so I didn’t know what to expect because it’s only been open for 1 1/2 weeks but I’ve heard only great reviews.

We arrived around 5:30 pm and it wasn’t crowded for a Wednesday evening, there were about five people sitting at a table and three people sitting at the bar. The restaurant has about seven tables in the main dining room and more in a rear dining area and about 10 high-top bar stools around the bar. We were greeted by a friendly hostess and seated immediately. Our waitress promptly delivered the food and drink menus and informed us about the specials. I was so excited to visit this restaurant that I totally forgot the option of Happy Hour. They do have wine and beer specials on the happy hour menu as well as food items.

The menu is simple with numbers, graphics and step-by-step instructions…this I like. 8 Meatball offers five meatballs: classic, chicken, spicy pork, veggie and the daily special. They offer six sauces: classic tomato, parmesan cream, pesto, spicy pork, mushroom gravy and the daily special sauce. You can have it three ways: bowl of balls, meatball sub or a slider and of course you can add pasta or one of the other four starches they offer. I’m a classic girl so I ordered the spicy pork meatballs with the spicy pork meat sauce in a bowl of spaghetti.

The spaghetti and meatballs serving was a generous amount, I had enough to take home for leftovers. There were five spicy meatballs in my bowl in addition to the spicy meat sauce…plenty of meat and topped with parmesan cheese. It wasn’t super spicy, but had a spicy kick.

I also wanted to try one of the sliders and they were on special for $2.00 each on the happy hour menu, so I ordered the Spicy Lamb special meatball slider with the Tzatziki sauce. The slider was a hearty size and delicious. The bread was soft and the combination of the lamb and tzatziki was great!

I figured I’d get a salad just to balance out the carbs so I settled on a seasonal salad that included mixed greens, green apple slices, beets, pecans, tomato and goat cheese.

Rachel ordered the Creamy Cheesy Polenta and three sliders with different sauces: Spicy Lamb with Tzatziki Sauce, Chicken Meatball with Pesto and the Classic Meatball with Mushroom Gravy sauce.

8M1 — Left to Right: Classic Meatball w/ Mushroom Gravy sauce, Chicken Meatball with Pesto and Spicy Lamb with Tzatziki Sauce

I tasted the Polenta and it was definitely creamy and cheesy. I think that was the first time I’ve eaten polenta and it was a cross between rice, mac & cheese and mashed potatoes. You have to look over on Rachel’s Blog to read what she thought about her sliders and her experience at 8 Meatball.

Have you visited 8 Meatball? What was your favorite meatball/sauce combination?

Be sure to follow my foodie and cocktail adventures on Instagram.com/Arlisappetite and twitter.com/ArliBaby.

16
Feb
2016

Come with me on a Rocket To Venus

categories: RESTAURANTS

Last week, my work friends and I decided to take a rocket to Venus.

Well not an actual rocket, but we visited the bar/restaurant Rocket To Venus (3360 Chestnut Ave) in Hampden for a few Friday night cocktails.

This was my first visit to Rocket To Venus so I didn’t know what to expect. I pulled up to a grey and black corner building with limited parking. The parking wasn’t an issue, because most of the places I visit in Hampden are in residential neighborhoods, so I was already prepared to walk. Once inside I concluded that Rocket To Venus is a neighborhood bar with a rocket-themed interior.

There are about six u-shaped large booths along the right wall and on the left side of the restaurant is open-table seating with about six tables and a bar with high-top seating. The windows in each booth are small and round resembling that of a rocket ship window. The ceiling above the open seating area has circle-shaped cones that look like the bottom of rocket or space shuttle. Some of the windows in the booths have terrariums on display and for sale.

We got there around 5:00 pm and grabbed the booth closest to the bar. I went up to the bar to ask about the happy hour specials. The bartender advised me that “call drinks” were $5.00. I ordered a whiskey cranberry with a splash of apple pucker and my two friends ordered wine.

A waiter come over to our table and gave us two menus, a food menu and a cocktail menu. The food menu had daily specials on the left side and the regular/winter menu on the right. I was a little disappointed that the rocket theme didn’t extend to the menu, there were no rocket or space themed items. I ordered the clam chowder from the specials menu. It was cold outside and I wanted something to warm me up. I was a little hesitant because everyone doesn’t know how to make good clam chowder.

I was pleasantly surprised with my clam chowder order. It was hearty and full of clam, potatoes, celery, spices and arugula. I dare to say it was one of the best I’ve ever tasted.

We also ordered two appetizers for the table, the Vegan Spring Rolls and the Pierogies.

The spring rolls were crispy and full of rice noodles, cabbage, tofu and peanuts. They were actually pretty big for an order of two. The pierogies were pan-fried and filled with sauerkraut, mushrooms, chives and topped with caramelized onions and served with a horseradish sour cream. I especially liked the pierogies because it was my first time tasting them. I thought it would be like a dumpling but it was a little different – I googled the difference.

The food at Rocket To Venus was delicious, but the service wasn’t that great.

Happy Hour

BlueBird Cocktail Room

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Meatballs Galore at 8 Meatball in Fells Point

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Come with me on a Rocket To Venus

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Happy Hour

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