I can't believe it myself, but I nearly missed Baltimore Restaurant Week. I'm not sure how, but I fell so far out of the loop, it's insane. It may have had something to do with the fact that we took a 10-day vacation down to Texas to visit with family. So the time leading up to the trip, and then while on the trip, and then after the trip, I was so extremely occupied, I just had no time to think about anything else.
Thanks to my amazing husband for finding the event before it was too late, we were able to catch a local neighborhood favorite, The Rowhouse Grill (RHG), before restaurant week came to an end. That's right. On the last day of Baltimore Restaurant Week, we made our way out to RHG for brunch.
RHG features innovative takes on classic American cuisine and serves it up in a handsome old row-home right on the 2600 Block of Wilkens Ave. Unlike the rest of the bar scene in Federal Hill, Baltimore, RHG seems to cater more to the actual neighbors with a more cozy interior, and less riff-raff. It's the type of place you and your friends could head to for a couple of drinks and shared plates for happy hour (which by the way has amazing deals like 2 for 1 drinks and cheap appetizers), and then come the next day with your family for a delicious dinner.
Now, we'd never been to RHG before, but we had used the delivery service OrderUp to have dinner delivered a few times, and each time, it was simply amazing. We vowed that we'd one day visit for ourselves, so restaurant week was the perfect occasion and excuse to get out there.
Before we went, I called to make sure we didn't need reservations, and apparently it was a good thing we did. While we didn't NEED reservations, just the heads up letting them know we needed a table for 2 adults, 2 kids and one of those kids needed a high-chair was enough for them to reserve a table for us with the exact set-up I had described on the phone. It's little things like a reserved table with a high-chair that make me feel good a place pretty immedietly.
We were seated upstairs, and got right down to the menu. We were provided with normal brunch menus as well as the official Baltimore Restaurant Week lunch menus. While Major was more keen on the brunch offerings, Michael and I decided to go with the special prix fixe selections.
For $15, you could select two courses and for $25, you'd be able to enjoy carefully selected wine pairings with each dish.
For the first course, they were offering Caesar salad, watermelon & beet salad, or white wine mussels, and for the second course, they were offering a French dip sandwich, a salmon wrap with lettuce, tomato, avocado and herb mayo, a fried soft shell crab sandwich with lettuce, tomato, bacon and herb mayo, a roasted turkey club or a chicken salad sandwich.
I chose the Caesar salad and the salmon wrap, while Michael went with the mussels and the soft shell crab sandwich. Major decided on some blueberry Belgian waffles, and for Jack, I ordered some scrambled eggs and home fried potatoes. Michael also went with the wine pairings, while I just chose the house white.
When our food was brought out to us, we were all very happy. Everything looked amazing, and smelled amazing too. We didn't hesitate to dig right in.
My salad was a good, solid Caeser. There was a nice amount of cheese and dressing, and the lettuce was crisp and fresh. It was nothing to write home about, but it was good.
Michael's mussels, on the other hand, WERE something to write home about.
The mussels themselves were perfectly steamed, and there were a lot of them! They didn't skimp on portions even with a prix fixe menu. The broth was sensational. So garlicky, lemony, herby and buttery... I SO wish I had some right now. These little guys were just so full of sweet, and briny flavor, and combined with the broth, it was a true winning dish. Jack even liked the broth, as he slurped it down shell-full after shell-full.
We've actually ordered mussels from RHG before a few times, and each time we ordered the Fra Diavolo: Crushed Tomatoes, Garlic and Chili Flakes. They're literally some of the best mussels I've ever had, and these lemon, white wine and herb mussels from our visit to RHG are up there with them.
Major's waffles were a thing of beauty.
Crispy yet fluffy, covered in deliciously reduced berries and house-made whipped cream, these waffles were things of Major's dreams, and maybe Michael's too.
He really loved the waffles, and nearly finished the whole plate. That's a TON of food for a little boy.
Michael's soft shell crab sandwich was a beaut as well. The bacon was thick-cut and perfectly crisp. The crab was crisp and deliciously sweet. The combination was sensational, and he ate each bite happily.
My meal was good too.
I wish I had gotten something different, but it was still good. The salmon was warm and cooked nicely, however I think the ratios were a bit off for protein to veggies to sauce. It was still good, and I still ate every single bite. I just had ordering regret after seeing Michael's and Major's.
Jack really enjoyed his potatoes and eggs, and all in all, it was an awesome time had by all. So awesome in fact, that we HAD to go back again this week!
This time, we went for lunch, and once again, it was a more than pleasurable experience. Personally, my meal this second time around was my favorite of all of our RHG experiences, and I was beyond happy. Major ordered the waffle monte cristo with vanilla waffles, smoked ham, swiss cheese, and raspberry jam.
Sweet, savory and salty all come together here to make a creative and beyond delicious breakfast sandwich that will keep you full and satisfied long into the day.
Michael's choice this time around was the Rowhouse Angus burger with Creekstone farms Angus beef, cheddar and a grilled onion.
The cheese was actually hit with fire from a torch to get it extra ooey and gooey, and the onion ended up being super sweet and charred. The burger looked amazing, and Michael was really glad he got it.
Jack got the kids' chicken tenders and fries, and he ate more than he usually does. He especially enjoyed the fries.
And as for me, I got the smoked chicken fajita tacos with lettuce, tomato, peppers,onions, pepper jack cheese and guajillo pepper sauce. The meal came with 3 stuffed tacos, and oh my GOSH they were GOOD.
I will - 100% - order these again. Too bad I can't have them right now... The flavors were bold, intense and in your face in the best way ever. Thinking about how the smoky, juicy chicken paired with the bite from the slaw and the sweetness of the peppers and the spiciness of the sauce gets my mouth watering so bad. I can't wait to go back to RHG, specifically for their fra diavolo mussles and their smoked chicken tacos. Beyond amazing.
Thanks to RHG for being a local haunt that I can see our family visiting time and time again. And I'll see you soon, tacos... I'm coming for you.
