I found the Ellicott Mills Brewing Co. on pub crawler, loaded it into the GPS, and away I went.
Ellicott Mills Brewing Company 8308 Main Street Ellicott City, MD 21043 410-313-8141
http://www.ellicottmillsbrewing.com/
Like so many towns in the Mid-Atlantic Ellicot city was very developed near the highway, but also had an older established downtown which was quite picturesque with old stone buildings etc. I bellied up to the Bar @ Ellicott City Brewing Co. - The tap list was a bit disappointing; No pale ale of any kind. I ordered the Marzen, which was.. a Marzen. They didn't even offer a menu and I was shoe horned between the patrons to my left and right so I paid for the one beer and off I went.
I ended up @:
Rumor Mill Restaurant
http://www.therumormillrestaurant.com/ 8069 Tiber Alley Ellicott City, MD 21043-4640
(410) 461-0041
I was immediately and graciously greeted by one of the server's (That was nice for a change for my time in Maryland thus far) and had a seat at the bar. The bartender was also very friendly with just the right level of attentiveness.
I started with the Beet Salad (which I almost always order if its on a menu). The beets were all red beets (golden is always a nice touch). Overall the salad was good except for a dollop of what seemed to be commercial blue cheese or Gorgonzola cheese dressing plopped right in the middle of the plate. The salad already had just the right amount of Gorgonzola cheese sprinkled over the top.
I then went (In strict violation of my recently pondered seafood geography rule) with the salmon tartar with guacamole. It was presented well with seemingly too many chips (which turned out to be just the right amount. Maybe a small plate with the formed dip and a separate bowl of chips would present better. It was delicious and fresh.
The scene in there was quite dead except for two obnoxious bar hopper types to my right so I headed down the street to:
Judge's Bench
judgesbenchpub.com8385 Main St
Ellicott City, MD 21043
(410) 465-3497
Get directions
Awesome!
I wish I had eaten here! Open Mic night was going on and the place was just crowded enough. They had about 15 taps including two from Southern Tier and a number of other interesting choices along with a few macros. They also had an extensive bottled selection. The bartender was friendly and I ordered a Southern Tier Big Red. I'd had it before but never on tap. I followed that up with a He'brew Lenny's R I.P.A which I'd also never had on tap.
Great Place - Highly Recomend.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Baltimore - 7/6/2009
I had earlier discovered Max's Taproom purely by accident and needed to eat prior to sampling one or more of their 80 Taps. Miss Irene's patio was jammin (good sign) but the interior bar space was empty. Cool! I want in and against my better judgement went with the seafood risotto (after vowing the previous week never to order seafood outside the northeast after a fish tacos incident in NJ).
Miss Irenes
http://www.missirenes.com/
1738 Thames St
Baltimore, MD 21231
(410) 558-0033
The risotto was not that great. Picture a bowl of yellow goya rice LOADED with flavorless cheese accompanied by four nigiri sushi sized pieces of flavorless atlantic salmon, four mussels, and four cocktail sized shrimp. I expected more for $24 bowl of rice. I ate all the meat like my mom taught me, but that was the extent of my enjoyment of the meal.
Not a total loss however as I was introduced to Clipper City Brewing's Loose Cannon Hop Cubed Ale, part of their Heavy Seas Line. It was a big IPA, particularly by East Coast standards with the heavy body and mouth feel of its bigger West Coast counterparts but with a nice citrusy hop character that wasn't too singular.
I headed over to the Cat's Eye Pub, a few doors down.
Cat's Eye Pub
1730 Thames Street Fells Point/Baltimore, MD 21231 Phone: (410) 276-9085
They had some live blues going on which was great. It was a well established place (I think the bartender said to someone else it had been there for 35 years).
Had a quick pint of Dogfish 60 Minute ($6!) and headed to Max's.
Max's on Broadway
737 South Broadway Fells Point/Baltimore, MD 21231 Phone: (410) 675-6297
I was bordeline overwhelmed by the tap list which included numerous European lines I'd never heard of (with 3+ beers from each in some cases) along with more esoteric brews from houses I was familiar with such as De Ranke. American beers were also well represented; They had 5 different Dogfish on tap!
I had a Rogue XS ($4 for a pint - that're more like it!) Which was served quickly by a friendly bar tender.
That was the end of that night in Baltimore, but I had Max's in my sights for later that week for sure.
Miss Irenes
http://www.missirenes.com/
1738 Thames St
Baltimore, MD 21231
(410) 558-0033
The risotto was not that great. Picture a bowl of yellow goya rice LOADED with flavorless cheese accompanied by four nigiri sushi sized pieces of flavorless atlantic salmon, four mussels, and four cocktail sized shrimp. I expected more for $24 bowl of rice. I ate all the meat like my mom taught me, but that was the extent of my enjoyment of the meal.
Not a total loss however as I was introduced to Clipper City Brewing's Loose Cannon Hop Cubed Ale, part of their Heavy Seas Line. It was a big IPA, particularly by East Coast standards with the heavy body and mouth feel of its bigger West Coast counterparts but with a nice citrusy hop character that wasn't too singular.
I headed over to the Cat's Eye Pub, a few doors down.
Cat's Eye Pub
1730 Thames Street Fells Point/Baltimore, MD 21231 Phone: (410) 276-9085
They had some live blues going on which was great. It was a well established place (I think the bartender said to someone else it had been there for 35 years).
Had a quick pint of Dogfish 60 Minute ($6!) and headed to Max's.
Max's on Broadway
737 South Broadway Fells Point/Baltimore, MD 21231 Phone: (410) 675-6297
I was bordeline overwhelmed by the tap list which included numerous European lines I'd never heard of (with 3+ beers from each in some cases) along with more esoteric brews from houses I was familiar with such as De Ranke. American beers were also well represented; They had 5 different Dogfish on tap!
I had a Rogue XS ($4 for a pint - that're more like it!) Which was served quickly by a friendly bar tender.
That was the end of that night in Baltimore, but I had Max's in my sights for later that week for sure.
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