Langermans in Canton

I am not sure why, a year and some change later, I am choosing to return to writing about my food bucket list. But so it continues… The spot: Langerman’s. It may not be in the south, but it is definitely our very own delicious little slice. The occasion: I finished my class for the semester The day: Tuesday, December 11, 7pm The confession: We had a Groupon for a severely discounted meal. Arriving at Langerman’s I was grateful that the restaurant was not empty on a Tuesday night. The atmosphere is fancier than most Canton restaurants but not at all pretentious. The most pleasant and functional staff member on this night was the person we encountered first, the hostess. As we sat down we were immediately greeted by our server for the evening willing to place our drink order; Pinot Noir for the lady and 22oz Oatmeal stout for the gentleman. From this point forward the service got progressively worse. This stymied the entire experience. My dinner date and I realized that halfway through the two hour long meal that we were not really talking to each other. We were spending our entire conversation complaining about the lack of a waitress. I have been in ‘the business’ before so I know it’s not always a fun and easy job but poor service can devastate an opinion of a restaurant. Also adding to the lack of attention may have been due to our Groupon. But beyond the service complaints, which I want to be clear, it is not my recommendation to avoid this restaurant because of my freak experience of service, the food was yummy. Table service started with southern style corn bread and biscuits. The cornbread was hard to resist and impossible to put down. We got a tuna, crab, and avocado tar-tar for an appetizer. I do not think I would order that again but it was tasty. I must not have been in a tar-tar mood that night. I have had fried green tomatoes from here in the past. To die for! For entree number one I ordered the Atlantic cod with mushrooms and potatoes. Don’t let the mushrooms scare you away. It was delicious and the fish was perfectly cooked. The star of the night however was Todd’s dinner; melt in your mouth beef tenderloin cooked medium. So good that I woke up the next morning and ate the left over for breakfast. That’s right, I said breakfast. Our Groupon included a dessert to share. We chose apple cobbler with a scoop of ice-cream and homemade whipped cream. The apples were too sour for me. The ice cream made the dessert bearable to cover the sour twinge. The whipped cream was also good. Todd argued that a cobbler is prepared differently than what we were served and that our dessert was actually pie. I had to google was true cobbler is and I agree with the sentiment. Would I recommend friends to visit this restaurant? Yes, the entrees are well thought out and taste as if someone is paying close attention to how they are prepared. I have also eaten at Langermans for a girl’s night and from I remember the service was excellent and the food was top notch that night.

Claddaugh’s

Lately I have been exploring the menus and day time atmosphere at Claddaugh. I have to say I find the daytime atmosphere, although still somewhat dreary inside, a lot more enjoyable than the night time bumper car feel. Although I guess that preferences depends on your mood, aim, and age. With that being said I have two meal times to write about.

My favorite meal type - Brunch
Waking up on a Saturday morning in Canton, with the disappearance of Helen’s Garden, can be a difficult task to find a restaurant catering to the breakfast eater (I know I need to try the new place on Elliot but until then…). Opening at 9am and saving my mood was Claddaugh. Seats were available both at the casual bar and in the more formal white table cloth section in the back room. I chose the bar as I needed a hangover curing drink and the engaging soccer watching crowd. The menu although not extremely extensive had options for every breakfast eater, savory, sweet, meaty and healthy. I have ordered the croissant bacon egg and cheese sandwich, as well as an Italian omelet (huge!). Both were tasty. Drinks are okay. Even though I would order an orange crush again it was not the best crush I have ever had. And from what I remember the Bloody Mary was fine too. Standard pub atmosphere, easy to find a seat, and enough variety on the menu.

Lunch
Although I do not have much else to say about atmosphere and setting I ordered a poached shrimp salad, no dressing- the Greeley. As I begin my diet - I could see myself eating this salad 2 or 3 times a week; Satisfying, refreshing and filling. Sara ordered the margarita pizza and had I not been calorie cutting this day I would have order this delicious looking flatbread pizza too!

Peter’s Inn Review

Peter’s Inn Review
Baltimore Dining Bucket List #1

http://www.petersinn.com/
504 South Ann Street
Baltimore, MD 212314

Maybe the people of Baltimore City have been keeping this gem close to their hearts so as to not overcrowd the small restaurant on the nights they want to have a nice dinner out. Or maybe I have been living under a rock. Whatever the case I am so appreciative that a friend recommended that we go to Peter’s Inn on February 11, 2011. I could also be thanking Prime on Eastern Ave, our attempted first destination, for driving us out with not just poor service but no service entirely. All things happen for a reason. We couldn’t be seated or get a drink at Prime because we were, thankfully, meant to wander around the corner to the unassuming Peter’s Inn.

A s a party of 6 for a late Friday night dinner out we found ourselves lined up at the butcher block bar at Peter’s Inn. The menu is customized on a weekly basis and hand written on a sheet of regular printer paper. The restaurant has only about 7 tables covered with a white table cloth and I want to say a small flower vase in the middle of each but I could be making that up. All tables were full of conversation, good looking food and filled drinks. I would describe Peter’s Inn as a fancy dive. It has the staff, size, and décor of a fells point dive but the food and over all experience was more refined.

Lucky for us a few people exited the bar as we were arriving. By the time we had arrived a few of the menu choices were sold out so for future trips I recommend getting there by 7:30. Our party snagged the last order of lamb, and it worth it! I ordered duck for the first time. It was amazing. The garlic bread is easy to rave about. The boys ordered the filet (medium). I cannot think of the one other dish that was order for the meal. I said something widely inappropriate similar to the idea that everything that went in my mouth was amazing. I tried the lamb, filet, duck, vegetable sides, and mashed potatoes. Then after dinner we ordered dessert. I am not much of a dessert person but still amazing and recommended; coffee ice-cream, chocolate and some smooshy cookie.

I will continue to rave about the food eaten at Peter’s Inn. I was pleasantly surprised by my risky order of duck. All of the patrons in my party were equally excited about their choices. The one downfall that I don’t want to ruin the review, but it should be mentioned, is the bartender wasn’t exactly friendly. He was a little disgruntled but I didn’t let that bring me down!!