Pumpkins Galore

Stopped by Harbor East with Ross in the poopy weather for a free burger at Elevation Burger and a matinee of Where the Wild Things Are at Landmark. Stumbled upon some Halloween festivities which included live music by a local favorite, The Crawdaddies, face painting, scarecrows on stilts, and a couple of middle aged witches. Very kid-friendly, which meant I enjoyed myself. Here are some pretty pumpkins I spotted.

Bmore Run Fest/Burger Binge

What do you follow up with after taking part in the largest Running event in Baltimore? Eat! A lot! Well, that's what I did. This past weekend was the Baltimore Running Festival, a gigantic event that brings a ton of publicity and tourism to our city that is "okay"... The fest consists of a full marathon, half marathon, team relay and 5K. For the third year, I have participated in the team coed relay and for two straight years we have been victorious! It is so much fun and makes eating as much as I do not feel quite as bad.

After sticking around at the finish line area for a bit, my fellow relay mate and some friends needed some post-race nourishment. To my surprise and excitement, it was settled we would rendez-vous after showering, at Abbey Burger Bistro in Fed Hill. I had been craving a beer and a burger The Abbey seemed to be a solid choice...seeing as they specialized in burgers...and beer.

They were packed, lots of other race participants, most of which didn't have the luxury of going home and showering. The staff was very accomodating and even tolerated us huddling by a smaller table near their entry way until a larger table opened up. Drink specials were available; a couple lagers at $2 and $3, not bad.

What enticed me most on the menu was the Build a Burger option available. Similar to my experiences at the Counter in California; a form is provided on a clipboard (part of the kitsch factor) and categories are broken out with check boxes next to the available options for your sandwich concoction. You can customize your burger all the way down to the type of aioli sauce! The options weren't too overwhelming and my eyes went straight to the desired items. Pretzel bun, turkey burger, avocado, homemade mustard with whole mustard seeds, fresh lettuce and tomato and my favorite-the dill yogurt sauce (sounds weird but super yummy for homemade chip dipping- served on the side as requested). The burger was tender and just the right size. I really liked it. The presentation was cute with the traditional toothpick and olive, and the accompanying chips were prepared nice and crispy even amongst the burger juice.

A friend had ordered the "Waffle nachos" from the appetizer menu and didn't realize that it was going to be served with waffle fries instead of nachos. Uhhh...duh. Her bad. None of us got to try this loveliness but I figured I'd still snap a shot before it was sent back. I definitely would have housed it.

Abbey Burger Bistro
1041 Marshall Street, Fed Hill

St Paul Food Mart

Who knew you could find traditional Indian food ingredients at your local food mart?

Mere blocks from our humble abode in Mt Vernon, Ross and I have stumbled upon a quick-stop that stocks not only the best Ben and Jerry's selection in downtown Baltimore- I'm talking all the newest flavors, marzipan madness and all the oldies too- but also a sundry of Indian food ingredients! I've never prepared Indian fare but I certainly eat it and if I were to ever cook Indian food, perhaps I would consider purchasing my ingredients here. Pretty authentic stuff. I couldn't tell you exactly what they were selling...beans and grains of some sort? Also pictured, Bakar Khani? Maybe I'll investigate more...

St Paul Food Mart is located just up St Paul near Read St and the Spotlight Theatre. Good stuff.

Random Thought

Halloween inspired dinner...

Bratwurst sauteed in Pumpkin beer with mashed sweet potatoes and sauerkraut.

Someone make this.

Happy Halloween.