Happy Monday! I hope you had a relaxing weekend, even though it was one hour shorter.
On Saturday, I went to Baltimore to pick up the bike that I am going to ride across the country this summer. Unfortunately, the bike shop didn't have my size ready to go, so I have to come back again some time this week. It wasn't a wasted trip, since my aunt and cousins came along to visit the Baltimore Inner Harbor.
After visiting the bike shop, we walked around the harbor and saw some of the historic ships. I went inside the Chesapeake (below) with my cousins, and they went into the USS Torsk (a submarine) with my brother. I should have gone inside the submarine, but I didn't want to buy another ticket. I think got to see it when I was younger, so no big deal.
Haha, my four year old cousin got a bit scared when we were on top of the ship. It was pretty high up (for a little kid) and was afraid that he would fall over board.
We walked towards a plaza just in time for a street performer show. It was pretty entertaining and the guy was quite hilarious! He kept making jokes at the expense of some of the audience members. There was an 8-yr old and a college-aged girl who volunteered to help him, and they did pretty well, too! The performer juggled flaming torches and did some other cool juggling tricks. He even juggled a torch, knife, and bowling ball on a balance board as his grand finale.
For dinner, I wanted to take my aunt and cousins to eat some really good Maryland crab cakes. I did some research, and decided on the Rusty Scupper, an more upscale restaurant right on the water's edge. We had some nice views of the inner harbor after the sun went down.
I wanted crab, so I ordered a crab cake with three crab-stuffed shrimp. The crab cake was really good and very high quality. Good crab cake should have large chunks of lump crab meat and minimal filler. This cake had plenty of crab and was perfectly seasoned. The shrimp weren't as good as the crab, and I thought they were a bit tough. We also split an order of fried calamari for an appetizer, which was superb. Seriously good calamari; it was so tender.
I would recommend dining at the Rusty Scupper if you're in Baltimore for a visit, but it is on the pricier side. We averaged about $50 per person, including one appetizer, a glass of wine, tax and tip. That's even with ordering a kid's meal. This place would be nice for a special occasion, and it really has some nice views!
Although we splurged on dinner, at least I had a cheap lunch! La Tagliatella, an Italian restaurant, is having a different deal every week for the month of March. This week's deal was everything on the lunch menu was only $5. The normal prices range from about $9-$15, so it really is a good deal! I was pretty hungry, so I ordered two entrees: a really cheesy calzone and a salad. This picture really doesn't do the calzone justice. It was HUGE! Though the dough is really thin and it's mostly full of air. It's just a bit overwhelming at first.
I split the calzone with the table, and ate most of my salad. My salad had shrimp, crab, artichokes, tomatoes, olives, and corn with a honey pistachio dressing. We had five diners, and the bill was only $26. Not bad for a sit-down lunch! To be honest, though, I don't think the food here is that great. If I paid full price, I would think it's a bit overpriced. However, the deals make it pretty worth it. It's still better than a meal at say, Subway (and about the same price!)
Next week is $5 pizza, so I might get lunch there again. The pizza's not that great, since the crust is basically like a cracker, but for a large pizza that's only $5? Can't turn that down.
Do you choose restaurants just because they are super cheap? Or would you rather pay more for better food?
What's the best thing you ate this weekend?
