ISO Restaurants at Inner Harbor, MD

[springsgourmet9]

My three sisters and I are going to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD the last weekend in April. Any suggestions for restaurants in that area? I know there are lots but want recommendations. Also, is there anything we shouldn't miss while we're there? We're staying at the Pier 5 Hotel on the waterfront.

[MinEaston]

It depends on what kind of food you want, but McCormick & Schmidt (sp?) on the waterfront has excellent food that's reasonably priced. There are a couple of other neat "little" places I'd recommend that are off the beaten path.

The aquarium is worth seeing. So is the science center. There's a Visionary Art Museum that I've read great things about but haven't been, I'm embarrased to admit. The Walters Art Gallery is lovely, and the MD Historical Society has some really neat exhibits. There's plenty of shopping opportunities along the waterfront, too.

Feel free to PM me for more recommendations!

[mackandme]

I may live in texas now, but i'm baltimore born and raised. i really miss all the fabulous non-chain restaurants. a couple family favorites:

The Hellmand, an Afghan restaurant. try the baby pumpkin if they still have it! i believe it's on charles street, pretty far downtown.

The Ambassador, an Indian restaurant. farther north, but i believe near the intersection of charles st. and university, near johns hopkins university. (not near the hospital. you do NOT want to go to THAT neighborhood.)

my parents also frequent Donna's. it's a local chain, but they really like it. possibly also somewhere on charles st? sorry, my memory of baltimore city streets isn't so great.

most of the restaurants in the actual inner harbor are so-so. had REALLY bad experience at a mexican restaurant in one of the pavilions. carrots in enchiladas? yuck. oh, but i have heard good things about phillips, a seafood place in one of the pavilions. you've got to have crabs in baltimore - unless you're a vegetarian like me :-(

do check out the food pavilion. esp the folks who make fudge and sing. the r&b group dru hill got their start there (they're named after druid hill, which is near the harbor).

someone mentioned the visionary arts museum. cool place. i went to their restaurant a few years back and the food was good.

have fun! watch out for panhandlers.

edited to add: for the quintessential bawlmer restaurant, try cafe hon, in hampden.

[Angela]

The Orchid is great. It's at the corner of Pratt St. & President St. It's fusion, Asian/French and they have a sushi bar too. It's pricey but worth the money! The James Joyce is a great Irish Pub at the Marriott at the end of President St.
Anything is Little Italy is great (just on the other side of President St from the Inner Harbor, a nice walk on a nice day). I don't have a specific recommendation as everywhere I've eaten there has been great. Stop by Vicarro's for Italian pastries & gelati!! yum.

I'll second the Afghan restaurant. It is on Charles Street (great little shops in this neighborhood as well) about 5 blocks north of the Harbor.

The aquarium is great and the Walters Art Gallery on Charles St. There are the duck tours too, the amphibious vehicles you go on the water then tour downtown. Edgar Allen Poe's home, B&O railroad mueseum. There are a ton of fun things to see and do in B-more!
Have a great time!
Angela

[springsgourmet9]

Thanks guys for all the great recommendations. I'll let you know how our trip went in April.

[paula]

I have lived in Baltimore for the past five years, and I agree with all of the previous posts:

I love the Hellmand, although it really requires a taxi to get there from the inner harbor area (and the pumpkin was still an appetizer when we visited last fall.)

Some of the Little Italy restaurants are collectively found at www.littleitalymd.com and they are a reasonable walk from the inner harbor area. We like La Travola because the food is a little more modern/gourmet and not as heavy as the traditional Italian. Ciao Bella and Della Norte are excellent traditional Italian, and for a very relaxed, plastic checkered tableclothes type place, try Amici's. We usually take our 3 yr old twins there after a trip to the Aquarium. Vaccario's is a traditional pastry/gelato/icecream place, but can get very crowded, especially on weekends. Most of the restaurants take reservations, and I strongly recommend them, especially on the weekend.

The Aquarium is awesome (www.aqua.org), and just doubled their exhibition space with the opening of a new Australia exhibit in January. They also have a roof top Rain Forest exhibit. They are pricey ($25/pp?), and if you are interested, I strongly reccommend that you order tickets ahead of time. They can get very busy on weekends and tickets are sold with timed entry windows. The best time is late afternoon. Although they stop admitting people at 5 pm, those who are already inside can stay until 6:30. We frequently take the kids around 4pm, and the worst of the crowds have already left. (We have a membership...)

If the day should happen to be unusually hot... the water taxi's are a cheap way to tour the harbor and it is always several degrees cooler out on the water. There is a wonderful ice cream place (Maggie Moo) in the Fell's Point neighborhood that is within a block of the water taxi stop. Fell's Point also has a lot of cute stores and window shopping www.fellspoint.us However, it is a long walk from the inner harbor (regular or water taxi, recommended.) There are several water taxi companies including this one: www.thewatertaxi.com

HTH

Paula

[zephyr101]

Lived here on and off since 1988 do try Luigi Peties in Litttle Italy. I took a large group of CLC there all foodies and tough critics and all were more than pleased. I also like the restaraunts in Fells point better than the harbour area just not impressed by any in the harbour.

[rburganmckinley]

Everytime I'm in that area I try and make a stop at Phillips. BUT, the last couple times I've been there it's seemed expensive and the food didn't seem up to par for the price. But I do still like their flagship resteraunt where they have an all you can eat seafood buffet. I'll be out there over easter and I'm planning on checking out Lexington Market ("the world's largest, continuously running open-stall food market, has operated since 1782 at the same site it occupies today on the city’s West Side. General John Eager Howard, a hero of the American Revolution, donated the land for the market, named for the Battle of Lexington, on his return from the war. Today, with more than 100 active vendors, the Market remains a popular destination for Baltimoreans and visitors for both shopping and dining." from the baltimore.org site). I'm hoping it will be as cool as the one we came across in Toronto. :)