Trip Advice to Baltimore and DC

Discussion in 'Mid-Atlantic' started by tjk135, Jul 16, 2013.

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  1. ao125

    ao125 Initiate (0) Dec 1, 2010 Virginia

    #21 ao125, Jul 31, 2013
  2. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    It's hard for me to understand why someone would hate Bilbo Baggins. I would simply tell the OP to take a look at some of the reviews of the place on BA. The reviews run the gamut in terms of popularity, but I think you get a pretty good idea what you're getting into if you go there. The only thing I would point out to the OP, if he's not already aware of this, is that BB is located in a particularly affluent and touristy part of Alexandria, and that consequently prices there are a bit on the high side. However, they're really no higher than what you'll pay at places like Pizza Paradiso and Rustico, so if the OP can handle that, he should have no problem at BB.
     
    #22 John_M, Jul 31, 2013
  3. TheFunGuy

    TheFunGuy Initiate (0) Dec 27, 2011 Virginia

    Not disagreeing on your view of Bilbo Baggins. However, the reasons people dislike it are: 1. The bar area is crowded and small, and the best place to enjoy the beer list. People tend to camp there. 2. Some of the patrons are impressed with themselves, to a greater extent than you usually see on King. 3. Service in the dining area can be hit or miss. 4. Some people find the theme and decorations to be cheesy/too much. 5. Pricey--10-20 percent more than King street, even on beers that are on King or at Rustico.

    Each of these has a core of truth, but I like the pluses more than these minuses.
     
    #23 TheFunGuy, Jul 31, 2013
  4. ao125

    ao125 Initiate (0) Dec 1, 2010 Virginia

    I threw Bilbo Baggins out there as a place close to the National Harbor, accessed by a long-walk/hike or by water-taxi, for someone that doesn't have a car. I'm by no means holding it up as the pinnacle of craft beer enjoyment for the DC area.
     
    #24 ao125, Aug 1, 2013
  5. tjk135

    tjk135 Zealot (591) Apr 23, 2013 Illinois

    Trip to Baltimore and DC was a huge success. Thanks to everyone for the info.
    Baltimore - Stayed in East Harbor and walked to Thames Street Oyster House for lunch and followed that up with a few beers at Max's. Max's beer menu was remarkable. They have a decent amount of tap beers and more bottled beer than I have ever seen. Overwhelming. For dinner we went to The Brewer's Art which was my favorite spot on the trip. Its set in an old town house, has some very good beer and excellent food. This place was super cool, my favorite part is the setting and décor. Highly recommend if you've never been. We walked back to East Harbor at night (south about 2 miles) and didn't run into any trouble. In fact, we got to see a couple different neighborhoods in Baltimore that I was kind of impressed with. In my opinion, Baltimore is a very underrated city.
    DC was more sightseeing for us than anything, but on the way to the airport we stopped at a liquor store and managed to find some Surly beers like Ferocious and Coffee Bender. Can't find Surly here in Chicago and was surprised to see it on the East Coast.
    Thanks again for all of your suggestions, wish we had more time to try some of the other recommendations.
     
    #25 tjk135, Aug 1, 2013
  6. ao125

    ao125 Initiate (0) Dec 1, 2010 Virginia

    BA's cheeseburger w/ garlic-thyme fries is easily one of my favorite meals on earth.
     
    #26 ao125, Aug 1, 2013
  7. tjk135

    tjk135 Zealot (591) Apr 23, 2013 Illinois

    Yeah, one of the things I got was the blue cheese buffalo burger and it was easily one of the best burgers I have ever had. I was also highly overserved which may have had a little to do with it. After ordering I immediately regretted not getting the duck breast but couldn't be happier with the burger.
     
    #27 tjk135, Aug 1, 2013
  8. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    "Can't find Surly here in Chicago and was surprised to see it on the East Coast."

    There are pretty much no rules when it comes to importing beer into the DC area. So if a retail store wants to carry something like Surly, 3 Floyds or Russian River, as long as he can somehow obtain it (some stores will drive to places like Surly or 3 Floyds, and some stores will have RR shipped to them), he's welcome to do so. That usually means that the DC store has to buy the beer at whatever the retail price is where he gets it, which makes the beer pretty expensive locally, after the owner applies his mark-up. Still, there appears to be enough demand for things like alpha king, pliny, dreadnaught, furioiius, etc., to make it worthwhile for some stores to do that sort of thing.
     
    #28 John_M, Aug 1, 2013
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