Dining & Dancing on Wednesday

Latin Dance Class- BIG SUCCESS! Great Soul Wellness Studio is a beacon of spiritual light for the Baltimore community. Right after the corner of Moravia and Harford, you will find the black and red façade of the Great Soul Wellness Studio. Up a steep set of stairs and we enter a quaint welcoming space adjacent to the only studio room and two wellness treatment rooms. A treatment is in session so we must keep quiet. I have to give praise to the soothing surroundings including the paint and wall imagery which happen to have been completed by my latin dance partner and friend, Danielle J The lone studio room is exactly what I would have expected fr a multi-functional studio; all classes are conducted in this space so there are mirrors at the front ideal for any dance course but something I would definitely appreciate for Yoga so as to observe my positioning.

Our Dance instructor, Sheena was very helpful and sweet. We started with the basic steps to meringue for warm-up then switched gears to the salsa. The overall vibe was pretty lax; with only 6 or so in attendance everyone could get one on one attention which was a plus.

Post Dance Nourishment

Joe Squared Dining Area

Essentially the sandwich I ordered...at least aesthetically speaking.

On my way home, I knew a dinner pit stop would be called for since it was already almost 9 and the last thing I was planning on doing was cooking when I got home. No energy for that after all that salsa dancing! I had never actually been to the Joe Squared location on Howard and North Ave since my gentleman and I prefer the delivery option. I decided to compromise by scoping it out while waiting for take-out. (I would have waited to eat in but Top Design was waiting for me) The ambiance was predictable; a MICA mecca. The space is well...spacious? with a dance floor/performance area right as you walk in followed by a bar and a couple tables in the middle area and a fairly sized table top dining room towards the back. Each table was adorned with a mismatched collection of dyed flowers and quirky vases, the walls were covered in bright murals and intricate artwork, and the drinkers and diners pretty much fit the atmosphere. I somehow got this funny face (circa 1957- Audrey Hepburn) vibe; remember that smoky scene where she’s dancing in the beatnik bar in Paris and Fred Austere finds her there? Well I kind of felt like I was there…but a half century later.

So the food. Holy cow. I have to say, I was a little overwhelmed with the first page of the menu where I found like 50 pizza toppings! It’s going to take me a month to choose from this list; so I opted out of the pizza option since it unnerved me and selected the zucchini parmigiano sandwich. This was one of many parm sandwich options ranging from the standard chicken, eggplant, and also a mushroom. They certainly did NOT disappoint. I am telling you this sandwich was decadent. It came on a splendid ciabatta roll and stacked high with lightly breaded and fried zucchini slices. The slices of cheese were beautifully melted along the bottom half of the roll with layers upon layers of the fried zucchini. I stacked it even higher with my request of tomatoes and lettuce; maybe a little much but to me made all the difference in the world. Make note that for dine-in meals, a salad option comes with the sandwiches and soups. For take-out, salad is extra. My waiter was generous enough to allow me to “dine-in” but brought to-go boxes with my meal making my side salad FREE!