baltimore
 

current restaurant suggestions for an april weekend please. cost is relatively unimportant..inner harbor area is where we will be.

There are lots of restaurants to choose from, depending on your tastes. Little Italy has several good restaurants. The immediate Inner Harbor area as the ESPN Zone, Hard Rock Cafe, Pizzeria Uno's, Cheesecake Factory, Philip's and others. More upscale restaurants also in that area include Morton's of Chicago, Roy's, Eurasian Harbor, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Babalu Grill, and McCormick and Schmick's (among others). Check the Rants and Raves on this site for more info.

If you're looking for something a bit more interesting than the aforementioned chain restaurants, you should go to Littly Italy if you like Italian or a few blocks east of their, the funky Fells Point area, which has some interesting choices.

There are also some good restaurants just south of the Inner Harbour in the Federal Hill neighborhood, like Vespa, Blue Agave, Bandaloops, etc. The area around the Cross Street Market (fun for lunch/seafood) is teeming with restaurants and bars. Nice clientele, young and upwardly mobile.

Helmand, an Afghan restuarant. <BR><BR>Really great food, dinners in the $15 range, great little neighborhood style place. I had never had Afgahn cuisine before, but it was great. Friends who had had it before said this was among the best they've tasted.<BR><BR>Lots of stews over rice, several pumpkin dishes, kind of a cross between indian and middle eastern, mostly not spicy. <BR><BR>Its about 12 blocks from inner harbor. We took a taxi, but walked back because we were stuffed. The walk is very do-able.

thanx for answers so far...more are welcome. we have many of those &quot;chains&quot; at home [phila suburbs] so i will be more interested in some of the other ideas...afghan sounds like fun...any other &quot;ethnics&quot; come to mind???

Since $ isn't a limiting factor, Brass Elephant, and Hampton's come to mind. Hampton's is in Harbor Court hotel (inner harbor). Brass Elephant is a little north on Charles St., but not too far. Both are reviewed on Fodors. Enjoy.

Oooohhhh - Second the Brass Elephant. Fabulous food, beautiful, elegant ambience in a historic city mansion, and great service. Very romantic, if you want. Also have a &quot;tapas&quot; area upstairs by the bar, if you're not super hungry. Just a block or two above the Helmand. In an interesting lively cultural neighborhood. The best table for people watching is the one in the front window!

In Little Italy, my favorite is La Tavola

Since cost is not important...have to agree with Harbor Court Hotel and Brass Elephant or Polo Grill at the Colonade or for an old time feel The Prime Rib.

-just back from 4 nites at harbor couirt hotel and &quot;test&quot; of some of the suggestions which responded to my 1/15 query. can report that the hotel is as lovely as ever..and was quite uncrowded hence even more pleasant to be a guest than if it were busier. restaurants for dinners were Brewer's Art [bistro-like, fairly good food,a &quot;hip&quot;place full of younger crowd], Charleston [world class with fine food, nice presentation and the most well-informed waitstaff i have encountered outside michelin-starred places in france], Hampton's [also world class with a quiet elegance and a pastry chef extradinoire] and Boccaccio [classy little italy spot}. all were winners..and we would gladly return to them..especially the last three. look forward to a return trip to try more places, but will always hope to repeat the Harbor Court and Hampton's experience..one nice thing about that hotel is the relatively small size [200 rooms] and the weekend package including parking, movie and $50 daily food credit..and we got that rate for the 2 weekdays also. thanks to all who made suggestions to us...dick

Chipparelli's in Little Italy section, if it is still there (haven't been to Baltimore since 1989). Loved the food.

Make sure you go to Fells Point and &quot;Eat Bertha's Mussels.&quot; You'll not regret it.

Hi dick, live in Federal Hill overlooking harbor...very cool. Some of our favorite places: The Black olive in Fells Point -Greek with the freshest fish and friendly staff in a very cozy and pretty setting., Paza Luna-in Locust Point neighborhood Not a bad cab ride. Sort of whimsy setting,but good italian. Soigne- Fort avenue. In a blue collar neighborhood like nearby Locust point Euro-asian infusion in an attractive setting. Ten -o-six on light in Federal hill -thai american and was voted best restaurant in Balt. in2000,1 and 2, If weather is good take water taxis to canton to bay cafe for lunch and sit overlooking harbor and have lunch. View and setting are very nice. Lots more good places ...Corks, Bicycle, Obreckys to name a few. There is no need to go to tourist places.

Something a bit more relaxed in Little Italy would be Amicci's on High Street.<BR>http://www.amiccis.com/<BR><BR>Maison Marconi on Saratoga Street is the classic, upscale Baltimore restaurant. Refuses to yield to modern fads and fashions--Famous for their hot chocolate sauce sundaes.<BR><BR>http://www.baltimoremd.com/food/restmarconi.html

RufusTFirefly, funny you should mention Amicci's. That's our favorite Baltimore restaurant, and very reasonably priced for the area. <BR><BR>We always get their &quot;Pane Rotundo&quot; for an appetizer. It's the best.