In addition to variety being  the spice of life, I would say spontaneity also helps out a bunch!  Late afternoon, I got a text from one of my colleagues at the College of Notre Dame about $1 Taco Night at Alexander’s Tavern in Fell’s Point.  I was extremely intrigued by this proposition!  Who says McDonald’s is the king of the dollar menu!  After a long day in the office, I came home, changed into some comfortable “going out” clothes and drove on over to Fell’s (I should have been more green friendly and walked there, but oh well!)

I stepped into Alexander’s Tavern and it was definitely a happenin’ kinda place.  It’s so funny because I’ve probably passed by the place dozens of times either running past it with my girlfriend or on a late night out with my buds, yet I’ve never bothered to step in and check the place out.  It was a reasonable sized establishement with  people at the bar downing $1 hardshell tacos.  It’s apparently a weekly affair where bar-goers compete to see who can down the most amount of beef tacos!  Luckily enough, I don’t eat beef, so I had to toss my hat out of the ring!  I was with several of my colleagues, chattin’t it up over a couple of margaritas, and watching Alexander’s enthusiasts compete and take the title of taco king.  Two of my colleagues ate a dozen taco each and trust me they didn’t look too good after eating them.  One of my dearest friends ate 9 and a half (not giving her the 10!) tacos and trust me she’s a tiny little thing (GO SIBYL!). 

However, 12 tacos is nothing!  My colleagues didn’t come close to the guy who took the coveted title and took home the sombrero!  The guy who consumed the most tacos was a young fireman and you’re not going to believe this, but he ate……..DRUMROLL PLEASE……29 TACOS!!!  At the end of the night, he was still standing, doing fine, and sauntered his way out of the bar with his girl in hand a winning sombrero on his head!  I got an update from one of my colleagues the next day and she said he was totally fine the next day and was running his daily 5 mi the next day…talk about a true trooper!

Yeah, I was satisfied with half price chicken quesadillas   So the lesson is….eat 29 tacos and win a sombrero….haha…jk!

Step out, branch out, and try something new…I’m sure it will be worth it!  Visit Alexander’s Tavern website to check out their full list of weekly specials:  http://www.alexanderstavern.com/

For now, this is Ankur…

Signing off…

Wow, it’s definitely been a while since we’ve put anything out there, so let’s get down to it, shall we?!

I’ve been living downtown for a couple of months and I’ve been really enjoying it!  I live in Little Italy and there are big pluses to living in that area- first and foremost, accessibility.  I have easy access to my fave neighborhoods in Baltimore.  I can easily walk to Fell’s, Harbor East, and the Inner Harbor area.  If I’m feeling super ambitious, I could definitely walk to Canton as well.  Now having access to these great neighborhoods, means of course, that I have access to great restaurants (And if you know me, you know I really like food…haha!) 

I’m really big  on having a solid, nutritious breakfast.  It’s one of those meals that I could have anytime of the day – can never go wrong with french toast, eggs, and hash browns (oooh, my mouth is watering as I write this…).  Now, I have been hearing about these great breakfast places in Baltimore, so I’ve been venturing out on the weekends and trying them all.   Below is a quick analysis of three breakfast hotspots:  Helen’s Garden, Miss Shirley’s Cafe, and Blue Moon Cafe. 

Helen’s Garden 
My colleague from Notre Dame and I started doing monthly breakfasts around Baltimore.  We thought it would be cool for us to get together to chat about life, work, love, wild and out Baltimore nights….whatever comes up.  Our first monthly breakfast was back in October on a Saturday morning at Helen’s Garden in Canton Square.  Helen’s Garden has a real nice setup:  when you enter through the main entrance, you’re kind of entering through the little alley way that’s between two rowhouses.  When you go left you head into the dining area, and when you go to the right, you enter the bar side.  When I walked into the dining area, I totally understood why it’s a Baltimore favorite.  My colleague, Michelle, ordered the Pumpkin Pancakes (which were amazing!) and I took the simple route and ordered french toast and eggs.  Helen’s Garden prides itself on using fresh ingredients, and I must say, it’s reflected in the food.  It’ s not just a breakfast spot, so you can go there and check out other entrees they have.  They have incredible specials throughout the week, so definitely pay close attention to those!

Pros:  Location, Price, Quality of food, Incredible food specials
Cons: Space is somewhat of an issue, so I can definitely see how it may be difficult to get a spot during peak times, but really, it’s worth it!
Ideal person to go with: Definitely a date night or a meal with a close friend
Other comments:  Service was spot on and the vast menu selection caters to all taste buds! 

Blue Moon Cafe
Michelle and I continued our monthly breakfast and went to Blue Moon Cafe on Aliceanna St.  Now from the reviews I read online, the common theme was ”it’s really small” and I was  thinking to myself well there are few restaurants in the city that are large in size.  Yeah, when we walked in, I definitely believed the reviews!  There were a few round tables and a ”bar” that could accomodate a couple extra people.  Overall, I think the restaurant could accomodate probably 25 to 30 people, max, at one time.  

Pros:  Captain Crunch French Toast!
Cons:  Space…we waited 40 minutes for a table on a Saturday afternoon, but it’s worth the wait
Ideal person to go with:  Hangover buddy, date, maybe family
Other comments:  Try the CAPTAIN CRUNCH FRENCH TOAST!  They are only open to from 7 AM to 3:30 PM, so you if you want to avoid any wait time, I would go really early or late. 

Miss Shirley’s Cafe 

Now if you’re from Baltimore, you know Miss Shirley’s is an amazing Baltimore restaurant and widely familiar in the area.  They have two locations – one on Cold Spring in the Roland Park area and a new one down at the Inner Harbor.  Normally, you have to wait  a solid 40 mins for this place as well, but my girlfriend and I definitely went later in the day and got lucky.  The weather was absolutely amazing yesterday in Baltimore and everyone, of course, was out and about walking in the Harbor enjoying the warm November day.  They have pretty outdoor seating as well, so many Baltimoreans took advantage of the rays and dined outside.  Everything is a sure fire hit at Miss Shirley’s.  I’m into my fall flavors, so I double dared myself and ate the French Toast stuffed with Pumpkin Cheesecake filling.  When the server brought it over to us, my jaw just dropped.  The challah french toast was stacked high on my plate with a raspberry compote, graham cracker crumbs, and fresh whipped cream garnishing my plate.  I was hungry, so I definitely killed it, and it was rather satisfying.

Pros:  location, food, service, fresh ingredients, menu selection
Cons:  Wait time….like I said, it’s worth it!
Ideal person to go with:  Anyone – very family friendly
Comments: Same as Blue Moon – if you want to avoid the wait, go early or go late

So I guess you must be wondering, which one is the best?  And the answer is….They are all equally delicious!  It really depends what you’re in the mood for.  I feel Miss Shirley’s and Helen’s Garden have a more gourmet twist to breakfast, while Blue Moon is what you would want after a long night of partying.  If you are a fan of breakfast fan, like I am, you won’t be disappointed by any of these places. 

Send us your favorite breakfast hotspots and join the discussion!

Till next time, this is Ankur…

Signing off…..

There are loads of good reasons why you should intern. It helps you build contacts in a professional network; it provides you with valuable industry work experience; it looks good on your resume; if you’re lucky, you can get paid; you can get class credit; you can build your resume. And these reasons make sense. You might have spent the first 19 years of your life dying to become a professional Purple-People-Eater breeder, and then you intern for a summer on a Purple-People-Eater farm and hate it. Never want to see a Purple-People-Eater again. Good thing you know before you invest your life savings into a farm.

Just kidding.

But in all honesty, being a summer (or semester intern, for that matter) is a vitally important part of the college experience. It certainly was for me.

As I finished up my undergraduate career, I began searching for a full-time job position. But with the economy, interning in the field I want to work seemed like a great option. Rather than taking some time off to laze around the pool in between job applications, I decided that becoming the Marketing Intern at the Baltimore Collegetown Network would be a nice way for me gain useful skills and spend some time in a professional work environment. Plus, it would be fun.

As the marketing intern at BCN, I was responsible for a wide array of different things, from handling website maintenance to going to campuses to speak directly with incoming students about what services the Collegetown Network can offer them. I even helped to give a bus tour of Baltimore to a group of incoming freshmen’s parents. I would never have thought to send my parents on a bus tour of Baltimore.

Probably one of the coolest opportunities I had at Collegetown was when we attended the unveiling of the new Charm City Circulator. The fact that the city was showing its new bus line for the first time was exciting enough: the bus was all new and shiny, and had that “new car smell” (I actually blogged about this earlier in the summer). Adding to the cool factor was seeing Mayor Dixon holding the press conference in person. As a former editor on my college newspaper, I loved seeing the T.V. crews and reporters conducting interviews. I was very tempted to grab a notepad and start following around the cameraman myself. A second really cool meeting that I attended was the BACVA Town Hall meeting (BACVA is the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitor’s Association, which is essentially the tourism organization). Turns out, tourism is one of Baltimore’s biggest industries. After hearing Mayor Dixon give a very dynamic speech, there were some awards and then a surprise announcement: BACVA will now be called “Visit Baltimore.” The event was a great opportunity to network and get to know other people at local Baltimore businesses.

We also had our Downtown 101 event, with the Downtown Partnership. This event was a great opportunity to collaborate with another group working within Baltimore and to meet other young professionals in the area.

I also manned our table at one of Goucher’s orientation open houses. That was a nice opportunity to tell both students and their parents about the different activities that Baltimore has to offer (other than merely the aquarium). Many people aren’t aware of the vast number of things to do in Baltimore on any given day. If you know the right places to look, there is no reason to ever be bored in Baltimore.

Interning this summer was a great experience. I was able (on more than one occasion) to apply a fair amount of what I learned in my business classes while doing completing my marketing duties, such as reading an analytics dashboard or creating a media kit for inquires. I also shadowed BCN’s executive director, Kristen Campbell, to a couple of meetings. It was interesting to attend these meetings and watch how different organizations make their decisions and conduct their daily tasks.

Plus, I’ve meet a lot of new people that I would not have met if I stayed solely in my “Hopkins bubble.” Luckily, the College of Notre Dame (where BCN has its offices) has a lot of young employees and with them I was able to go to new places and events in Baltimore I would not have known about otherwise (like the Beer Flight I blogged about earlier).

Overall, it was a very interesting and productive summer. Granted, with most internships they are what you make of them. I tried to make the most of my experience with the Baltimore Collegetown Network by making suggestions for new ways to do things, asking questions about why certain things work the way they do, and taking every opportunity to expand my skill base.

Hope you all have a great fall! Maybe one of you all will be writing here next!

Many more adventures to come.

Signing off,

Heather

In order from lightest to darkest, the beers are the Southern Tier 422, Wachbeyer Zotten, Censored, and Milk Stout

When we heard that one of Baltimore’s nicest French Bistros, Petit Louis, held weekly Beer Flights the question quickly became: when can we go? And go we did. On July 28, a group of us headed over to the darling French restaurant. When we arrived at 5pm, the restaurant was empty. No matter — all the more attention that could be lavished upon us. Gathering around the ceramic-tiled bar, we listened patiently as the bartender explained how a Beer Flight worked: tasters get 3oz. to sample of all four beers. After tasting, smelling, lingering and challenging each other to see who can identify all the “tasting notes” correctly, you get to choose which beer you would like to drink a whole bottle of. The evening’s favorites were the Zotten and Milk Stout. Those participating would have the four beers of the month (then July’s) poured out in 3 oz. snippets with information about each brew’s name, producer, style and tasting notes. The four we tried were:

Southern Tier 422, an American Pale Wheat Ale. This beer was very light and had a hint of banana to its taste.
Weyerbacher Zotten, a Belgium Pale Ale. Darker than the Southern Tier, the Zotten tasted “very Belgium” and floral.
Lagunitas Censored, a Red Ale. The darkest brew so far, the Censored had a fruity smoothness to it.
and
Lancaster Milk Stout, a sweet stout. This was popular dark brew had notes of coffee to match its color.

Don’t think the evening was all about the beer because, as always at Petit Louie, the food was a hit. We ate off the bar menu, but the regular dinner menu was available too. From the pommes frites to the batter-dipped zucchini slices, at only $5 the little plates were a great complement to the beer. But the crowning jewel of the bar menu was the cheese cart. Having to select 2 cheese off of a cart containing at least 15 different types of cheese made from goat’s, sheep’s and cow’s milk. The fromagerie described the tastes, textures and procedures for each individual type, which ranged from the “King of Cheeses” brie to one so smelly it was stored in a special box.

Overall, the night was a gastronomical success!

Petit Louie holds Beer Flights Mon-Fri from 5-9pm each week. The beers rotate each month; August is a selection of local beers. For more information, see the restaurant’s website at: http://www.petitlouis.com/

More adventures to come,

Heather

It seems that come summer time, every culture in Baltimore wants to celebrate with a festival to call their very own. And lucky for me, I have friends who are willing to explore around town with me. One such friend suggested “Latino Fest” and we were off to the east side with little more than a sense of adventure.

Neither of us had never been to Paterson Park, where the festival was being held, but someone had told us that it was in Fells Point. So we drove down through the Harbor and across Little Italy to Fells. Here, the New Yorker in us (we’re both from the same state) told us to grab any available parking spot we saw. Which, of course, we did without realizing that Paterson Park is about 10 blocks east of where we were parked. So in addition to attending Latino Fest, we gave ourselves a little walking tour of Fells Point. It’s a lot nicer when you don’t attend during the hullabaloo of Halloween.

Anyway, we finally made it to the park, and after paying the entrance fee of $5 we were free to roam the fair. The air was filled with a mix of funnel cake, fried plantains and grilled meat. Ahh, the smells of summer! We did a tour around the festival to get our bearings; it was decently sized, with a mixture of food stands, handmade crafts and two stages. One stage was more kid-oriented, with Dora the Explorer and her cousin Diego the main attractions. The other stage had live dancers and a band playing
Latino music from a variety of Latin American countries. There was meringue, mariachi and more, including an Ecuadorian form of dance I don’t know the name of. But it was cool to watch. As they performed and the emcee spoke in rapid-fire Spanish, I realized that high school Spanish was an extremely long time ago. I was still able to understand snippets of all the conversations around me, but it all seemed like eons ago.

After our sweep of the town, we decided food was the way to go. My friend’s vegetarian, so our decision of where to eat was determined by which stand looked the most meat-free friendly. I had a beef-empanada for the first time. It was good, saltier than I expected. My friend had a fried- mozzarella cheese and corn bread patty (that she assured me was delicious) and fried plantains, which I tried for the first time.

Then, sitting in the grass of the grass of the park, listening to a cover of a Celia Cruz song — recognizable by the cries of “Azucar!” peppered throughout — everyone just started to dance. It was subtle, some bobbing and swaying to the beat. And then in women began to salsa. Old women, young women. Maybe they knew each other, maybe they didn’t. But that didn’t stop everyone sitting around the amphitheater from shaking their hips to the beat.

The vendors were nothing out of the ordinary — the same sorts of crafts and bags and sunglasses at all of these fairs. However, McDonalds and Goya each had booths, which was fitting because they were sponsors. It was so nice to see bilingual signs across the entire fair and see flags from different Latino countries waving.

Walking back meant trying to beat the foreboding rain clouds, but there was time to stop at Rita’s. It was my first time going to one — I’d recommend the mango.

Hurray for another day of exploring Baltimore.

Many more adventures ahead,
Heather

It was a beautiful day last Wednesday, when members of the Baltimore community, media outlets, contest finalists, and Mayor Shelia Dixon gathered in front of City Hall for the great unveil of the newest, greenest and cheapest way to get around downtown. Baltimore was getting a new bus line that would run (for free) across downtown and then up north to Penn Station. When I heard about this, the first thought that came to my mind was “Yahoo!” A free, easy and green way to get from one side of town to the other? Sign me up. And what was even cooler was that I would be there for the moment when the city revealed the name of the new line and what the buses would look like. I was stoked.

Behind the podium and a sizable crowd of spectators, there it was, covered in a sheet, waiting for the word from Madam Mayor herself. There were some speeches, describing the usefulness of this addition to Baltimore’s public transportation, how the parking tax had been raised to pay for it (but hey, now Bmore drivers only need to pay to park downtown once!) and how after combing through the 2700 entries to the “name the bus” contest held this winter, ten finalists were chosen.

With a 1, 2, and 3 off came the sheet and there the bus was in all of its hybrid- gas efficient, purple glory.

Covered by the sheet, the new bus awaited its big moment.

The Charm City Circulator, name courtesy of 24 year-old Michelle Brand. It looked like a combination of a spaceship and some weird bug with bright colors and a cute little city design on its side. The futuristic vibe was fitting, considering its eco-friendly nature and the seeming need for car companies to make earth-friendly rides look sort of like they’re about to blast into space. The bus’s interior was clean and streamlined, the seats were plush with plenty of leg room. I took a deep breathe in. Ahh — eau de new bus. I have a feeling that the new car smell won’t last long; the 21 buses begin their maiden voyage from University of Maryland Biopark to the Inner Harbor East, starting in mid-August. Promising to come every ten minutes to take you on your way, guaranteed.

Introducing, the Charm City Circulator!

And with two more routes slotted to make the rounds — if you’ll pardon the pun — after Labor Day, all I’ve got to say is, I’m charmed to meet you, Charm City Circulator.

More adventures next time,

Heather

The Wyman Park Dell was full of music, food, artists and locals.

For my second summer in Baltimore, I am determined to do all the things that I missed the first time around. This included, of course, walking the extra two blocks past 33rd and N. Charles Streets toward the music blasting in the Wyman Park Dell to visit the Charles Village Festival (June 7-8). Coming from Hopkins, my two friends and I imagined a summer-version of Spring Fair: fried oreos and carnival food galore, artsy vendors selling their wares, a soundtrack courtesy of local bands and maybe some harsh words between Planned Parenthood and some Pro-Life protesters. And having experienced Hampden’s Honfest last year, I was excited for what sort of “Charles Village Flair” I’d see. But what I saw was, well, small.

Granted, I don’t expect the small Charles Village Association to pull off a street fair the size of Artscape, but I was expecting there to be more to it. After a stroll down N. Charles towards 29th and the Dell, we had essentially seen all of it. Not to say that bigger is always necessarily better, but with the exception of watching the live bands playing on the stage, there wasn’t really a whole day’s worth of activities. The band performing was pretty good, but due to the heat my friends and I weren’t really in the mood to sit and listen for long. We pretty much felt that after one walk through, we had seen all there was to see.

For kids, there was the requisite moonbounce and, judging from the screams coming from inside, the Charles Village Kiddie Citizens were having a ball. Interesting and unexplained were the dozen or so hula-hoops scattered on the park grass. We took full advantage of them, pulling out all the stops. Truly challenging was the oversized hula-hoop that must have been over 5 feet in diameter. Locals with circus tricks, like juggling, up their sleeves joined the kids on the grassy knoll giving it a bit of whimsical flair.

Everyone who came upon the grass near the statue had to give this enormous hula-hoop a twirl.

The vendors and booths were a combination of local artisans and non-profit organizations. Among the handmade scarves, fork jewelery, and buttons were booths sponsored by Greenpeace, the Maryland Ethics Society, Friends of Druid Hill Park and the Charles Village Civic Association (and a few others). While the promise of funnel cake and gyros typically makes my mouth water, the idea of eating such heavy food in the heat sort of turned me off. However, the SnoBalls looked great.

The Friends of Druid Hill were one of the many local and national non-profit organizations at the festival.

Visitors were a mixture of families, students, older couples and local hipsters — a fair sampling of Charles Village’s usual population; an eclectic mix that made people watching almost as amusing as the festival itself.

Cute and a little kitschy, the Charles Village Festival was well-worth an afternoon spent but probably no more.

More adventures next time,
Heather

Now I’ve expressed in several of my previous blog posts about the lackluster dining options in the Pikesville and Owings Mills area.  I came across a couple of really good restaurants recently, and since roomie bonding time was well overdue, I decided to go out with my bud Patrick.  We were debating between Harryman House and Mari Luna Latin Grille.  Based on the title of the post, it is safe to assume we choose Mari Luna. 

Mari Luna Latin Grille (the Mexican Grille is a hop, skip, and jump away) is located in downtown Pikesville off Reisterstown Rd adjacent to Suburban Club of Baltimore.  The restaurant is pretty easy to find and there’s plenty of parking options – street parking or the lot in front of the restaurant.  They even have  a free valet service which is “so extra” but hey if you need it, use the service!

The restaurant is beautifully decorated and true to the Latin culture.  It has a very open floor plan with plenty of seating, even for larger parties.  It was still happy hour, so I walked back to the bar to meet Patrick.  It was definitely a rough day for the both of us, so a couple of Dos Equis was deemed necessary.  The bar was nicely setup with smoky colored granite countertops and comfortable chairs (not like the ones you sit on at Don Pablo’s!).  We got to chattin’ a little bit and then we were offered the option of going upstairs and sitting outside. 

 Yesterday was  absolutely gorgeous and we couldn’t resist.  We worked out way up the stairs and walked to the rooftop deck and it was amazing.  The view of a trafficky Reisterstown Rd wasn’t necessarily appealing, but being on a roof, enjoying the breeze, drinking and dining, was super fabulous!  While we were waiting for our food, we each got a piece of this amazing fluffy bread.  It had the texture of a croissant but in sort of shaped like a bunch of broccoli.  It was accompanied by this nacho cheesy butter.  I think the description says it all….it was DAMN GOOD!  The only thing I was upset about was they took both of our breads away before we finished them.

Soon enough our food arrived – I ordered the Quesadilla con Angrejo (crabmeat) while Pat ordered the Chicken Caribeno.  We were both extremely satisfied with  our entrees…the flavors were there, the portions were good, service was solid, and it didn’t put a dent in our wallets!

I’m glad I finally found a Mexican/Latin restaurant other Don Pablos’ within close proximity of my apartment.  Not to mention, it can be a great hangout spot for family, friends, or that special someone!  After last night’s experience, I’ll surely be a frequent visitor at Mari Luna.  Next time, I’ll  jump over to the Mexican grille and see what they have to offer me

They have a pretty cool website…check it out:  www.mariluna.com

For now, this is Ankur….

Signing off…

Recently, Baltimore Magazine put out its list of the 50 best restaurants in the Baltimore area. And Victoria Gastro Pub in Ellicott City, a fairly new restaurant to even be in contention for this prize, made the list at number 47. So when we needed a place to go for Mother’s Day Brunch, we figured what better way to celebrate Mom than at a restaurant deemed one of the best around. Well, we don’t know what Baltimore Magazine was thinking – but there is no way this restaurant deserved to be in the top 50! The meal was terrible and we were so disappointed we actually went out for pizza later to truly celebrate our Mom.

Sure, the newly remodeled Victoria’s (the space had been occupied by a Bennigan’s before) was a beautiful space. The dining room had been divided into separate rooms, each with their own decorative English flair. The dark wood finishes and chandeliers provided a nice dining atmosphere. And with both a separate bar area and the ability to dine outside on their terrace, the seating layout was a step up from your normal chain fare. And, we give them credit for showing off for Mother’s Day, as the manager came by and gave our Mom an envelope full of goodies. But, a restaurant experience is more than just ambience and decoration. The best part of a restaurant should be its food and service. You could be in the Taj Mahal, but if you have terrible service and an awful meal, you won’t enjoy it. The same is true for Victoria’s.

When we first walked in, the restaurant was pretty empty, but the hostesses still made us jump through hoops to get a table. They wanted to know if we had reservations, and that they couldn’t guarantee us a seat if we didn’t have them (again, there was hardly anybody in the restaurant so this was an interesting angle.) Then they made us put both our names down (just an annoyance here) and wait while they figured out where to seat us. So when they took us back, they put us right next to the door where all meal long, servers and busboys were walking back and forth and constantly intruding on our dining space, even though the room we were in had 4 other empty tables!

Looking down at the menus they gave us, nothing looked familiar. Yes, the upscale menu may have looked foreign to us as we are not gourmet connoisseurs, but no menu item was explained, and the prices were difficult to locate. Victoria’s is an English pub/restaurant, and they by no mean hold back infusing the entire menu with English selections. There was no plain “American” breakfast choice to get just eggs and bacon, or French options of crepes, or Mexican breakfast entrees. Every single selection was in an English style. (Even the most upscale restaurants we’ve been to have always tried to mix in a few non-themed menu options to give diners some options.)

While we tried to navigate the confusing menu, the waiter asked for our drink selections. One person asked for a small juice, and the result was a huge glass of OJ no one could finish in one sitting. Another asked for hot chocolate, and was told they didn’t have any. (How can you not have any?) The waiter came back later to happily reply that they did have hot chocolate and brought a small cup out. This was just the instant kind, (not the gourmet kind we were expecting from such an upscale establishment, and the kind we’ve seen at other chains) and then they charged a ridiculous amount for it! (We’re talking more than Starbucks here – for instant.)

When we finally ordered our food, we ordered off the “sides” menu. We asked for simply eggs, potatoes, bacon, and toast. (Again, we asked for rye toast, and were told they didn’t have any. So basically, anything that wasn’t directly listed on the menu wasn’t available to us.) After what seemed like a really long time, the waiter finally brought us our food. We were not given any condiments (including salt and pepper) for our meals, and when we did ask for one, we were brought such a small amount that there would have been no way to possibly share it between 3 diners. (We asked for butter for our toast, and received one spoonful.)

The food, besides being delivered slowly, was actually terrible. Our eggs were undercooked and cold. Our toast, if you can call it that, was really just a huge slice of what would normally serve as their French toast, which had been toasted on just one side. The “Gruyere Potato Cake” was a thin smattering of chopped potatoes with a slice of gruyere cheese “melted” on top. Really, the cheese was probably placed on top just moments before the potatoes were done, as it was hardly melted at all. Again, a part of the meal that went cold fast. Perhaps the only good part of the meal was the bacon. It was crispy, and had no icky fat pieces attached, and the seasoning made it actually taste good. However, it was probably a bit too spicy, but overall it was the best part of the meal.

When the bill came, we weren’t surprised that the meal was very overpriced at $50. For cold eggs, and toast that wasn’t even made right (and really, how can you mess up toast), we had to drop a good portion of our Mother’s Day budget. Plus, after we left, our brunch companions ended up sick all day (we’re guessing from the runny, undercooked eggs) which made the holiday not as enjoyable as it should have been as we had to leave them home from our pizza outing. Overall, our meal was a disaster at Victoria’s and the next time we want to go to brunch, we’ll take the extra time to wait in the line outside of Eggspectations for a meal we know we’ll enjoy. One thing we know for sure, we will never go back to Victoria’s, no matter what Baltimore magazine has to say about it.

The Great American Cake Show and Wedding Cake Competition, the Mid-Atlantic’s premiere cake show and wedding cake competition hit Westminster this weekend, taking over the Carroll County Agricultural Center and Shipley Arena. We at Collegetown love cake decorating, and watch all the competition cake shows on Food Network. So we were super excited to hear about this great event coming to town. So this past weekend, we braved the rain and headed out to Westminster to take in the show!

The Carroll County Agricultural Center grounds are great, because they are large enough to house several different types of events all at the same time. Primarily serving as a great place for horse shows and auctions, the Shipley Arena also is a great venue for more formal gatherings and large-scale fairs and festivals. The wide open set-up was perfect for the Great American Cake Show, as it allowed for plenty of display space for completed cakes, separate cordoned off areas for classes and demonstrations, ample space to set-up a children’s corner, and rows and rows of vendors selling their wares. The venue also provides a full on kitchen, so the show was able to provide tons of food for the event, including hot dogs, turkey sandwiches, and tons of baked goods. (Satisfying your sweet tooth was a definite theme for the day.)

The Cake Show brought in competitive cake decorators from all over the country, and even featured international competitors. There were separate categories for professionals, amateurs, and even younger novice divisions. The theme for this year’s competition was to create a wedding cake inspired by a greeting card. All the cakes were beautifully constructed, and though we got to vote for a “People’s Choice” cake, we found it hard to figure out which one was our favorite. We spent a lot of our time looking at all the beautifully constructed pieces, and admiring the detail work that went in to each cake. (For cake enthusiasts, you’d find piping, string work, gum paste figurines, and exquisite flowers adorning these cakes.) Unfortunately, the weather didn’t make for the best environment for the cakes’ delicate structures and several of them fell victim to the humidity and broke or wilted.

We also were able to see some demonstrations while at the event. Here we learned how to construct some of the pieces required to make our own cakes look like the ones in the competition. We learned frosting techniques, how to work with gum paste, and even ways to make our cakes taste better! The kids area was constantly full, and we were kind of jealous we weren’t allowed to participate. The activities included creating gum paste figurines and decorations in fondant, and creating gingerbread houses complete with candy decorations. We personally spent a lot of time in the vendor area of the show. Here we could pick up any cake decorating tool we could imagine. From books, to videos, to gum paste, to cake toppers, to molding tools, to cake stands – there was nothing for the amateur or professional cake maker to leave the show needing. Some vendors were also putting on their own demonstrations, teaching people how to roll fondant properly, how to create gelatin flowers, and even showing off their flavorings by letting us sample their own baked goods.

Overall, we’d have to say we were impressed with both the atmosphere and the entire show. It was exciting to see such a premiere event (even in a world so unique as cake decorating) make its home right here in Westminster. After the day, we’d have to say we are already looking forward to next year’s show!