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Eat Feature

H is for Happy Hour

The Brewer's Art · Mick O'Shea's · Brass Elephant · Speakeasy Saloon · Calvert House · Nick's Inner Harbor Seafood Co.

Sam Holden

Eat Special Issue 1999

Alphabet Soup We know where we like to go for a good burger--and we'll bet you do too. Or a good omelet. Or a good...

A is for Appetizers The Helmand · Café Madrid · Henninger's Tavern · Café Zen · Grand Palace · Morgan Millard · Al Pacino Café · Sarah's Café · Iola Café

B is for Breakfast Jimmy's · Blue Moon Café · Golden West Café · Morning Edition Café · Helen's Garden Café · Hull Street Blues Café · Loco Hombre · Weber's on Boston · Suburban House

C is for Carry-out DiPasquale's · Cosmos · Rotisseria · Chow Mein Charlie's · Chokchai · Thairish · Caribbean Kitchen · Viccino's · Michaelangelo's · The Roost

D is for Dessert Vaccaro's · Cheesecake Factory · Adrian's Book Café · Moxley's · Louie's Bookstore Café · Coney Island

E is for Expensive Charleston · The Black Olive · Milton Inn · Polo Grill · Chart House · Oregon Grille

F is for Frugal Pete's Grill · Trolley Stop · Fazzini's Italian Kitchen · jr. · Rallo's · Mamie's Café · Caribbean Food Carry Out · Silk Road Café · Frisco Burritos · Winterling's · Valley View Inn · Fresh

G is for Guilty Pleasures Anne's Dari-Creme · Howard's Delly · Maria D's · Johnny Rockets · Thrasher's · Steak Out Express · New System Bakery · Krispy Kreme

H is for Happy Hour The Brewer's Art · Mick O'Shea's · Brass Elephant · Speakeasy Saloon · Calvert House · Nick's Inner Harbor Seafood Co.

I is for Incendiary Sushi Café · Ko Hyang · Joung Kak · Thai Landing · Sisson's · Café Tattoo · Austin Grill

J is for Java Needful Things · The Hidden Bean · City Café · Donna's · Empire Café · Xando · The Daily Grind

K is for Kids Friendly Farm · Hacienda Mexican Restaurant · Fuddruckers · Overlea Diner · Funk's Democratic Coffee House and Bistro · Mount Vernon Stable and Saloon

L is for Lunch Women's Industrial Exchange · Sascha's Daily · Mughal Garden · Akbar · Bombay Grill · Nate's and Leon's · Snyder's Cafe and Deli

M is for Meat Prime Rib · Shula's Steakhouse · Ruth's Chris Steak House · Alonso's · The Crease · Bill Bateman's · Lenny's · Attman's · Boomerang Pub

N is for New School Joy America Café · Spike and Charlie's · Sotta Sopra · La Tavola · Opa! · Viccino Bistro · Café Pangea

O is for Old School Haussner's · Tio Pepe's · Ikaros · Acropolis · Bo Brooks · Forest Diner · Angelina's · Kawasaki · Thai Restaurant · Perring Place Restaurant · Sanders Corner · Sabatino's · Matthew's Pizzaria 

P is for Pub Grub Peter's Inn · Simon's Pub · Duda's · Sobo Café · Koco's Pub · Kisling's · McCabe's · Dougherty's Pub · Charles Village Pub

Q is for Quirks Holy Frijoles · Ye Olde Malt Shoppe/Earl's Beauty Inn · Tamber's Nifty Fifties Dining · Captain James Landing

R is for Romantic Corks · Pierpoint · Banjara · Ambassador Dining Room · Tersiguel's

S is for Seafood Gunning's Crab House · Gunning's Seafood Restaurant · Faidley's Seafood · Legal Sea Foods · John Steven Ltd. · Anne Arundel Seafood · G&M Restaurant · Mo's Fisherman's Exchange · Bill's Terrace Inn · Bay Caf

T is for Tourists Waterfront · Hollywood Diner · Café Hon · Obrycki's · Bertha's · Lista's · McCormick and Schmick's · Wharf Rat · Gallery Sandwich Shoppe · Hard Rock Café · Planet Hollywood · ESPN Zone

U is for United Nations Restaurant · Silk Road · Braznell's Caribbean Kitchen · Orchard Market and Café · Ze Mean Bean Café · Saigon · House of Kabob · Desert Café · Restaurante San Luis · Little Havana · Café

V is for Vegetarian Golden Temple · Liquid Earth · One World Café · Wild Mushroom · Puffins · Sin Carne · Village Market

W is for Worth the Drive Captain Billy's · Captain John's · Cantler's Riverside Inn · Gabler's · Baugher's Family Restaurant · Rudy's 2900 · Olney Ale House

X is for XXL New No Da Ji · The Yellow Bowl · Micah's Cafeteria · Cactus Willie's

Y is for Yeast Baltimore Brewing Company · Big Sky Bread Co. · Stone Mill Bakery · Ellicott Mills Brewing Company · Capitol City Brewing Co.

Z is for ZZZ Sip & Bite · Double T Diner · Valentino's · Star Light Diner · Bel-Loc Diner · Gampy's · Nam Kang

Posted 2/24/1999

Forget Valium and Prozac: The surest route to instant smiles we know of is the Resurrection Ale at the Brewer's Art (1106 N. Charles St., [410] 547-6925). A dose of the sweet, malty, "dubble"-style Belgian ale is always good for what ails us--although we've also been known to find solace in a tall glass of this Mount Vernon brewpub's hoppy pale ale and a big plate of garlic-rosemary fries. In extreme cases, we find the rich, creamy pumpkin ravioli works wonders, whether consumed in the funky basement bar or the gorgeous upstairs dining room.

Maybe it's the sprightly interplay of fiddle and guitar. Maybe it's the lyrics about things like losin' yer love or yearnin' for old Dublin or getting crushed by the goddamn English, words that make your life not seem so bad. Whatever it is, Irish music--as played in raucous pubs, anyway--sure makes us feel better. Mick O'Shea's (328 N. Charles St., [410] 539-7504) offers up copious doses of the stuff, from stalwart locals like Donegal Xpress and O'Malley's March or the occasional national act (erstwhile MTV faves Black 47 show up now and again), along with one of the smoothest pints o' Guinness in town.

Before they became legends, Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, and their gang liked to gather in the high-class restaurant of the Algonquin Hotel, pool their money, and split a couple of orders of eggs. They needed to save the rest of their money for the accompanying libations, which they wanted to enjoy in a classy place. In Baltimore, the Algonquinites would have come to the Brass Elephant (924 N. Charles St., [410] 547-8480). Best known for its pricey and pretentious food, this Mount Vernon institution also has a wonderful upstairs bar where the less-than-loaded can toss back a few in the presence of dark, polished wood and hushed conversation.

The faux nostalgia of the Speakeasy Saloon (2840 O'Donnell St., [410] 276-2977) might inspire you to dress like a flapper, but the drink prices will whip you back to this decade. Whoa, daddy-o! Still, we've had a couple of near-perfect martinis at this Canton joint, and those are priceless. Keep the Speakeasy in reserve for those special-occasion happy hours--you'll likely find yourself dining there as well, feasting on daring pasta combinations and eclectic interpretations of meat and seafood.

The theater crowd likes to dine at the Calvert House (347 N. Calvert St., [410] 539-3627), two blocks south of Center Stage; the rest of us crowd into the bar, where we can sit at the counter and watch the corner television, or squeeze into a booth for more privacy. During happy hour, most drinks are full price, but they always have a dollar draft and the popcorn's free and unlimited.

Nick's Inner Harbor Seafood Co. (Cross Street Market, [410] 685-2020] is an anomaly. How and why the young-professional set came to embrace a beery raw bar within a workaday city market as a happy-hour hot spot is a mystery. But embrace it they have. And Nick's has hugged the flush white-collar mob right back. Over the years the venerable fishmonger has reduced its display of iced fish and increased its display of iced beer. Nick's even added a wine bar, for chrissakes. Of course, you can still slurp down plump fresh-shucked raw oysters and clams. And it's still a long way from genteel: The cement floor's puddles of dirty water haven't gone anywhere. Wear appropriate shoes and plunge in.

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