Ale to the Chief

Last night, I went with some friends to Ale Mary's in Fells Point, and we had a great time. Overall, it was a good experience, with mostly excellent food and decent service. The atmosphere was indescribable, mostly because we ate outside, so I can't really describe the inside at all.

Appetizers

They have a variety of tater tots on the menu, plain, or with various toppings all featuring cheese. 'Sloppy Tots' also have Sloppy Joe on them, the 'Deli Tots' come with Reuben dip, and we got the 'Crabby Tots', served with crab dip on top. We also got the '8 Puffy Pastry Pigs', or Pigs in Blankets as they are more commonly known, served with honey mustard (pictured above). Both were delicious.

Entrees

All entrees were served with a Caesar salad (pictured above). It was good, but nothing special. I had the rosemary pork tenderloin, which was cooked perfectly, not too dry, quite tasty, but didn't taste much of a rosemary taste (though a sprig was served on top). It was served with garlic mashed potatoes and snap peas. The potatoes were great, but only had a hint of garlic (I would have preferred more). While the peas looked overcooked, they still had some bite to them. I also ordered a side of mac and cheese which was delicious, with a nice crispy parmesan crust. One friend also ordered one of the specials, the BBQ Braised Pork Shank (pictured above).

The menu also includes plenty of sandwiches and wraps (Cheese Steak, Sloppy Joe Burrito, Catfish Po Boy, Grilled Fresh Veggie Wrap), a few pizzas, several specials (Cold Duck Salad among them the night we visited), and a handful of entrees (Seafood Grill, Penne Alfredo). The appetizer tots are also available as sides, along with a few other things.

Dessert

The reason we came here was because last week, I had a sample of their bread pudding at the "Foodie Experience" (see previous blog post). We ordered this for dessert, a la mode. DELICIOUS! But how could it not be, since instead of bread, they use Krispy Kreme donuts! It was without a doubt the best bread pudding I have ever had. The pudding itself was warm to the last bite, and it had a nice flavor of cinnamon. If you come here, make sure to save room! We ordered a single portion for the three of us, and it was ample (big enough to be served with two scoops of ice cream).

Service

Service seemed a little slow. To be nice, I'll call it 'relaxed'. The server made two minor errors in our order. One friend had asked for a garden salad instead of the Caesar, but no such luck. We also actually ordered the 'Deli Tots' but received the 'Crabby Tots' instead. Always wanting to give the benefit of the doubt, I chalked this up to him not hearing us correctly. No excuse for the salad, though!

Brunch

Ale Mary's also has a decent looking Brunch menu, served 10:30am-3pm on Sundays. Items include traditional breakfast fare, as well as a breakfast burrito, steak Benedict, veggie Benedict, their infamous tots smothered in sausage gravy, and more; they also have many items available a la carte, including a half portion of the !%$# on Biscuits. Mimosas and Bloody Mary's are $3.

Prices

Appetizers: Most around $9, tots are cheaper, a few more items are more expensive.

Sandwiches: $7-$11

Pizzas: $7-$9

Entrees: Most around $16, several cheaper, as high as $28 for 10 oz. filet topped with blackened shrimp

Brunch: $8-$12

Desserts: We didn't actually look at a dessert menu, but the bread pudding a la mode was $8.

About Ale Mary's

Their site: http://www.alemarys.com/

UrbanSpoon: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/31/350059/restaurant/Fells-Point/Ale-Marys-Baltimore

Phone: 410-276-2044

Address: 1939 Fleet St., Baltimore, MD 21231

Open for dinner every night; lunch Friday - Sunday only

Overall, I would give Ale Mary's "Eight Thumbs Up" on the Homer Simpson scale from 7 to 9.

No Reservations

I just went to see Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert at the Hippodrome in Baltimore last night. It was a great show - about an hour of them talking, responding to questions from the host, a local DJ, then about a half hour of answering audience questions, and another 15 minutes of more rapid-fire questions from the host. Highlights below.

Following the show, I attended the meet and greet with both of them. As one of the 100 or so "VIP's", we received a swank T-shirt and a copy of Bourdain's book, "No Reservations". I had Tony sign that and my copy of "Kitchen Confidential", and I had Eric sign his book, "On the Line". Both were very nice, answering a few questions and taking photos with anyone that wanted them. I asked Eric for recommendations on Buddhist reading; he said anything by the Dalai Lama, but I think he might have been biased, having just cooked lunch for him earlier that day.

After the meet and greet was the "Foodie Experience", with 20+ local restaurants offering food tastings, and Mambo Combo performing. They sold way too many tickets for this part, with maybe 400 people in attendance. Every table had ten or twenty people in line. Highlights below.

Highlights from the Show

• Tony, on butterscotch scallops while judging Top Chef: "This is like belching Mrs. Butterworth's." He wasn't sure why they cut that line from the show.
• Tony, surprised to learn Eric didn't mind vegetarians at Le Bernardin, impersonating one of his customers, spoken in Comic Book Guy's voice: "I am not interested in your fish!"
• Tony, on Food Network buying Travel Channel: "They bought my f$cking network so basically if Guy Fieri needs a bikini wax at 4am, or Paula Deen needs a rubdown...."
• Tony, on Bobby Flay, and why Food Network has him doing less true cooking shows: "A significant part of the population thinks you're a smug prick."
• Tony, on Eric's even temperament: "I've never seen Eric lose his sh$t ever. It's sickening."
• Death row last meals - Eric: Shaved black truffle, garlic, olive oil, on toast; Tony: high-test sushi from Hokkaido, with sea urchin roe.
• The cast of Jersey Shore ate at Le Bernardin once. Tony to Eric: "Snooki's the orange one."
• Tony highly recommends Gabrielle Hamilton's upcoming book, "Blood, Bones, and Butter", due out 8-Mar-2011. He says it puts everything he's ever written to shame.
• On eating "normal" foods, Tony to Eric: "I made you eat Cap'n Crunch with Crunch Berries once."
• What would be the first thing Tony would say at the Pearly Gates in Heaven: "No Billy Joel"
• Tony, on his wife's biggest complaint about him: "My cooking"
• Favorite curse words - Tony: "F$ck"; Eric: declined to answer

Highlights from the Foodie Experience:

• Bangers and mash from Diamondback Tavern
• Sweet Sin Bakery had gluten-free cupcakes and mushroom soup. Delicious! They said I wouldn't be able to tell their cupcakes were gluten free. They were tasty, but I could tell.
• Cream of crab soup from City Café
• Some kind of a chocolate deal on a tiny ice cream cone from Peter's Inn
• Pork belly from Roy's
• Bread pudding, also duck confit from Ale Mary's
• Soft shell crab from Woodberry Kitchen
• Pasta in a light red sauce from LaScala
• Sea bass, also some kind of custard with strawberries from Portalli's
• Duck confit ravioli from Sascha's

There are a few more pictures here.