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At Joey B's, warm bartenders make lasting impression
Close your eyes and imagine the Federal Hill bar scene late on a Saturday night. If hazy images of loud, crowded bars filled with pushy, drunken patrons fill your head, then you have likely...
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Shoo-Fly Diner's bar program on right track
It's hard to fault Baltimoreans for anticipating culinary greatness from Shoo-Fly Diner. This fall, expectations were predictably high when the restaurant opened in Belvedere Square. Having the name...
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Vale Tudo turns heads in Fells Point
It is still an exciting time for Baltimore's continually progressive nightlife scene. Successful openings debut as fully realized visions from Day 1, leading to exciting additions to an already...
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Nickel Taphouse is poised to succeed
When a bar closes, we rush to assign a reason why. The easiest, or perhaps laziest, answer is to blame the location. But businesses, good and bad, close for myriad reasons all the time. And in...
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With new City Bar, City Cafe deftly changes with times
For staples in the Baltimore nightlife scene, there is a thin line between comfortable and stagnant. The good bar owners are keenly aware of this and can anticipate the right time to make changes that...
View ArticleWith Cunningham's, Towson gets the bar it needs
Since its founding in 2011, the local Bagby Restaurant Group has quickly become a name patrons can trust, both in the dining room and at the bar. Its Harbor East operations - particularly Ten Ten and...
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Two different Anastasias in Fells Point
We almost missed all of the fun. On a recent Saturday night, a friend and I sat idly at the main upstairs bar at Anastasia, the Italian restaurant by Kali's Restaurant Group that replaced Meli in...
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Warm charm emanates from Candi Marie's
Crime is a part of everyday life across Baltimore, but many residents in Southeast Baltimore - including this writer - have watched a cloud of concern grow darker over the neighborhood since the start...
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At De Kleine Duivel, Belgian beer finds a home
For years, De Kleine Duivel was a phantom. Owner Paul Kopchinski first announced his plans to open a Belgian beer bar in the spring of 2010, but over time and for various reasons, he watched his first...
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Cockey's a strong post-dive bar in Upper Fells Point
"Sit at the bar. It's more fun," greeted our bartender, slightly smirking on a recent Tuesday night in Upper Fells Point. We had just walked into Cockey's, the new neighborhood corner bar that moved...
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With Tavern Room, Fleet Street Kitchen opens more casual side
At some point after it opened in the fall of 2012, Harbor East's Fleet Street Kitchen realized its necktie was pulled a bit too tight. The stylish farm-to-table restaurant with the four-course tasting...
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The Gold Bar marks another great addition to Station North
Toward the end of a blistering set on a recent Friday night, Adam Marans, lead singer of the Baltimore sludgy punk foursome Big Christ, took a rare breather to dedicate the next song, "Boogie Nights,"...
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Torrent looks and sounds good, so what's the problem?
Just before 11 p.m., the night's first dancer entered the floor. A young woman dressed in a white top and black pants earnestly bopped her blonde hair back and forth while motioning to some nearby...
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Shotti's Point adds touch of Ocean City to Riverside
In early December, a Facebook post announced a change had come to a Riverside haunt: "Hey guys. It's no longer Paul's bar ... we are under new ownership but not much else is going to change." Shotti's...
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After years of inactivity, Silks off to a strong restart
For years, Silks was a mysterious eyesore in Canton. In 2009, Midnight Sun contributor Evan Siple painted an unusual picture of a previous visit. While Silks appeared to be a sports bar from the...
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Apropoe's an undefined hybrid
Opening a new hotel bar in Harbor East poses a challenge. Aesthetically, the neighborhood requires chicness, but there is also a desire to appeal to all comers, especially given the proximity to...
View ArticleIn a pop-up, Dylan's Oyster Cellar deserves permanence
Pop-up shops - businesses that open temporarily to present new concepts before hopefully graduating to a permanent location - make sense, especially in Baltimore. We can be a capricious group to...
View ArticleFleet Street Tavern cleans up well
Nearly two decades ago, Rob Coyle helped his friend Rich Mackey open an Irish pub in Washington. It went well - Mackey's Public House is still open on L Street - and the two friends agreed, back then,...
View ArticleForno tries to find footing across from Hippodrome
As in any major city, Baltimore and its bars benefit from a hot ticket. Whether it is the Orioles' opening day or a Justin Timberlake and Jay Z concert downtown, these events rarely fail to draw large...
View ArticleBlue Pit BBQ an attractive option off Hampden's Avenue
After a brutal winter, a still spring night means a little more. Recent memories of bitter wind chills and injury-inducing ice can make something as simple as sitting outside with a drink on the cusp...
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