Grub and Grog Review: Davis’ Pub – The Maritime Republic of Eastport MD

Staff:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Seat to Beverage Time:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Food:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Company:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Hygiene:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Atmosphere:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Value:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Average:4.7 Stars (4.7 / 5)

Davis’ Pub is like the ‘Cheer’s’ of Eastport it seems everyone that enters know’s everyone’s name!  Davis’ Pub is a little place in Eastport right off the 4th Street dinghy dock in an old open beamed cabin type building.  It’s quite cozy and a bit tight, but they also have tables along the sidewalk if you feel like eating outside.

When we first found this place I could tell I’d like just right from the start, though we were unknown to the many regulars they were all very friendly folks and the open beamed building made me feel right at home.  The overall atmosphere of this place is something that can’t be manufactured;  it was built back in the 20’s and has been serving up food and drinks since the 40’s to the working class neighborhood it resides in.  Their menu states, ‘Where there are no strangers, only friends you haven’t met’, and here it’s no lie; the folks are quick to start up a conversation and you just might know the names of their extended family by the time you leave.

While you can’t go wrong with there standard pub food  I can state their ‘Chicken and Sausage Gumbo’ is great and it’s less than $10!  We also at the specials a few times which were also very good, just ask the folks sitting next to you what they like and they’ll tell you.

If you want to feel like an instant part of the the community stop by here and you’ll have some new friends in no time.  Oh Guy Fieri came here for the Food Channel a while back and liked it, don’t really like the guy (Guy) but I suppose he know’s  a bit what he’s talking about.

Grub and Grog Review: The Boat Yard – The Maritime Republic of Eastport MD

Staff:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Seat to Beverage Time:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Food:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Company:2 Stars (2 / 5)
Hygiene:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Atmosphere:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Value:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Average:4 Stars (4 / 5)

The Boat Yard Bar and Grill seems to be the ‘go to place’ for the area’s yachting scene.  You’ll see seasoned sailors, east coast yuppies and yacht club douchbags and maybe a few tourists sprinkled in sitting in a place that’d I’d like to replicate in my home for interior design.

As soon as you enter there is  a large beautiful bar that wraps around to the right with some seat yourself bar tables along side, to your left are hosted seated tables with another room further down that has quite a fine dining atmosphere.  The place is very busy on weekends starting with breakfast and get’s quite loud and boisterous as the day winds on.  Though there are a lot of people here it’s one of the few establishments that we didn’t have a memorable experience meeting folks.

We’ve stopped be here a number of times when our boat was in Back Creek sucking our wallets dry at a few various boat yards.  During lunch we normally just sat at the bar and had fairly good service.  They’re sandwiches are really good and I’ll recommend the Cuban.  We’ve also had a sit down dinner in the fancy room down to the left, which actually was quite a surprise.  It is a really elegant room with capable and friendly service.  We split a pizza and salad that were both great and reasonably priced.

Next time we’re in Annapolis we’ll make the journey over to The Boat Yard even if we aren’t stuck in Back Creek. . . sometimes we just need to hang out with the classy folks and you can do it here fairly cheap.

 

 

 

Grub and Grog Review: Stan and Joe’s Saloon – Annapolis MD

Staff:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Seat to Beverage Time:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Food:2 Stars (2 / 5)
Company:3 Stars (3 / 5)
Hygiene:3 Stars (3 / 5)
Atmosphere:3 Stars (3 / 5)
Value:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Average:3.4 Stars (3.4 / 5)

Stan and Joe’s Saloon is a unpretentious sports bar like establishment that’s got lots of beer, pub food and locals.  Nothing really to appeal to the tourist and a bit up the road from the main Annapolis downtown area Stan and Joe’s is a great dark place to grab a beer and a fried snack.

We’ve visited Stan and Joe’s a few times in our multiple stops to Annapolis and would likely go back if we’re making our way past, but won’t go out of our way for a visit.  The place is reasonably dark with a long bar that goes almost the length of the place with table seating along side there is also a nice patio out back for the great summer evenings you can have in Maryland.

They have quite an array of beers on tap, I’m sure everyone in your party can find something to their liking or choose to have a cocktail.  The food is standard pub food likely frozen and just dropped in the deep frier.  I’m not a fried food kind of person so I always walked away with a bit of a stomach ache, but can see how other corn fed americans would love it.  The cliental is mostly all working stiff locals that are removed from the more pretentious boating scene that’s closer to the water, which can be quite refreshing . . . but the only transient we’ve seen in town eats here for lunch and he smells anything but refreshing, if you see him at the bar do not sit down wind!

All in all a good place to stop in for a snack and a beer.

Grub and Grog Review: Rams Head – Annapolis MD

Staff:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Seat to Beverage Time:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Food:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Company:3 Stars (3 / 5)
Hygiene:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Atmosphere:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Value:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Average:4.3 Stars (4.3 / 5)

Rams Head Annapolis is part of a few locally owned establishments that put a lot of emphasis on live music and good craft beer, what could be wrong with that?   Absolutely nothing. . . and it get’s better.  The bar itself has a few different primary areas, the first is at street level where you’re greeted by a nice wood, brass and mirrored bar with friendly faces serving up drinks.  There is also a nice patio out back and a snug and intimate  second bar downstairs that is reminiscent of taverns of yesteryear.  You can’t really go wrong where you park your butt.

So how does it get better than a good live music line up with a great selection of craft beers in a cool setting with cool folks?  Throw in some free food and you just might have won the competition for our favorite place in Annapolis.  That’s right free food, during happy hour where craft beers are only $3 you also get tickets to go up to the staffed buffet where the selection changes daily; tacos, wings, carved meat, even oysters . . . and it’s all pretty darn good.  We did order off the extensive menu a few times and were not disappointed and prices are reasonable.

Every day of the week Rams Head has some type of live entertainment, but check times as it varies.  Our favorite act that required us to stay up past our bed time was Swamp Candy who are a duo that play what I would consider to be ‘dirty blues’.  Check them out if they are still on schedule.

Visit with my Mom, Kay, Steven & Rosemary – D.C. & Annapolis

This is the final post from my family’s visit to the East Coast in early October.  I had a great time seeing everyone and hope they’ll all come visit again!

We decided to spend one day in D.C. even though everything was shut down.  We figured we could at least see the monuments and walk around.  All the monuments had caution tape put up around them but we were happy to see that no one paid any attention to that and just went right in anyway.  We were able to do the walking tour of D.C. monuments starting with the White House and then going down to the Lincoln Memorial.  We were even able to see the new MLK monument which I hadn’t seen before.

 

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All of us in the Oval Office! ;)

All of us in the Oval Office! 😉

After a nice walk around we got hungry so headed to Old Ebbit’s Bar & Grill.  Ryan and I had frequented this place when we were in D.C. and my Mom had been before when she was in D.C. with her friend Gina.  Lunch was delicious and then we went to Steven & Rosemary’s friend Ben’s apartment to check out the view from his roof.  Ben’s got a pretty sweet place and the view is awesome.

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The next day Steven and Rosemary came to Annapolis to see our boat and walk around town.  We had a lunch where Steven got a pretty epic fish sandwich and then we walked up Main St and visited the William Paca house and gardens.

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What a great way to end their visit.  Steven and Rosemary went back to their friend’s place in D.C. and the next day I took my Mom and Kay to the airport.  It was sad to see them all go but we had an amazing time and I’ll be looking forward to the next visit.

Visit with my Mom and Kay (and now Steven & Rosemary) – Mt Vernon

My Mom (Sally) and her friend from the library Kay came out to visit in early October.  Halfway through their trip my brother Steven and his wife Rosemary came out to stay with a friend in D.C. so we were able to spend time with them too!

It was a rainy wet day at Mt Vernon, but we didn’t let that stop us.  We decided to not only do the house tour but one of the behind the scenes tours as well.  My Mom was the only one who had an umbrella, but strong winds kept that from being very useful!  The rest of us got a little soggy, but were able to dry out during lunch were we tried peanut soup (verdict….meh!) and had some hot tea and chicken pot pie.

Mt Vernon

Mt Vernon

The useless umbrella!

The useless umbrella!

A little soggy...

A little soggy…

Back of Mt Vernon

Back of Mt Vernon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onsite at Mt Vernon they have George and Martha Washington’s grave that you are able to visit as well and several outbuildings that recreate life at Mt Vernon.  They also have a really great museum that we spent over an hour going through.  It had all kinds of interactive exhibits and movies to watch.  It also had George Washington’s dentures!

Steven and Rosemary in front of GW's grave.

Steven and Rosemary in front of GW’s grave.

An old carriage.

An old carriage.

My Mom taking the oath of office!  Is this binding?? :)

My Mom taking the oath of office! Is this binding?? 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all had a great time and planned to meet up in D.C. the next day!

 

Visit with my Mom and Kay – Annapolis

My Mom (Sally) and her friend from the library Kay came out to visit in early October.  This is the continued saga of our adventures…  🙂

Annapolis was our home base while they were visiting because we needed to get some boat work done before our trip to the Caribbean.  Ryan and I also love Annapolis and think it’s a great town so it was fun to show it to them.  Kay had also heard good things about Annapolis from her husband who had visited before.  So with expectations high we set out to explore!  It just so happened that they planned their trip over the Annapolis boat show which draws thousands of people to come gawk at boats and get good deals on boat supplies, so the town was a little more active than I’d seen it before.

We took a fun trolley tour around town to get acquainted with the sights.  And we strolled the picturesque Main St.  I visited the boat show while Mom and Kay toured the Naval Academy.  It turns out that was the most thorough tour they’d ever been on, lasting 2 hours and walked 2 miles!!  We also had some nice meals in Annapolis going to some of my favorites….The Rams Head Tavern and the Chart House.

Dinner at the Chart House

Dinner at the Chart House

Relaxing on the boat

Relaxing on the boat

On Main St in front of the Rams Head Tavern

On Main St in front of the Rams Head Tavern

Enjoying a lunch overlooking the boat show.

Enjoying a lunch overlooking the boat show.

At the Naval Academy.

At the Naval Academy.

Visit with my Mom and Kay – Baltimore

My Mom (Sally) and her friend from the library Kay came out to visit in early October.  This is the continued saga of our adventures…  🙂

We spent a couple of days in Baltimore checking out the sights and enjoying the beautiful weather.  First stop on our itinerary was the Baltimore Aquarium.  My Mom had heard this was one of the best aquariums in the US!  We went in and first thing you go on this tour up through one of the building enjoying all kinds of fish as you go up these escalators and then walk through each level.  It’s a pretty cool building as well as having lots of interesting fish and animals to look at.

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They also had dolphins there and we got to watch a dolphin training show!

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The Baltimore waterfront is actually quite nice and we spent some time walking around.  There are also a number of old ships that you can tour.  We did a tour of the tall ship the Constellation.  We were given an audio tour and were able to visit all four decks of the ship.  It was interesting to see how the sailors lived aboard!

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My Mom steering the ship.

My Mom steering the ship.

Ring Ring!  All hands on deck!

Ring Ring! All hands on deck!

Kay sporting her new Baltimore Aquarium shirt!

Kay sporting her new Baltimore Aquarium shirt!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were able to get a birds eye view of the Baltimore harbor by going up in their trade center.  That was fun to be able to see out over the whole city.

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Since there wasn’t much going on in  D.C. at this time (thank you government shutdown :S )  we spent another day in Baltimore touring the sites.  This time we stopped at the Conservatory of Flowers.  We have a wonderful conservatory in Golden Gate Park in SF that I have fond memories of going to with my family so this was a fun stop.  We took in the flowers and different climate rooms they had.  They even had a lovely orchid room!  I wish I could keep orchids but I have a purple thumb!

The Conservatory from outside

The Conservatory from outside

Enjoying the pretty gardens

Enjoying the pretty gardens

Orchid room!

Orchid room!

We also were able to visit the Baltimore Museum of Art.  They have some very nice exhibits; we all agreed we like the classic paintings the best!

Art!

Art!

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After driving around some trying to find some lunch we finally found a great french bistro in one of the picturesque neighborhoods.  They had beautiful churches nearby and a huge monument to George Washington.  They also had a very good museum that we visited.  They had a lot of information on the civil war and how Maryland was divided between the north and south.

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After another fun filled day we returned to our home base in Annapolis.  Dinners on the boat were fun and we were able to relax and enjoy the ambiance.

 

Visit with my Mom & Kay – Viriginia

My Mom (Sally) and her friend from the library Kay came out to visit in early October.  We had such a great time and their visit was really fun.  Here’s the first post chronicling our adventures!  🙂

The boat was based in Annapolis, but we rented a car and explored everywhere from Baltimore to Monticello!  With the government shut down and virtually everything in Washington DC closed  we decided to head to Virginia for a night and visit Monticello.

Hello Virginia!

Hello Virginia!

It was our good luck on the way down that we saw signs for James Madison’s Montpelier.  Since we’re such easy going gals we decided that would be a great stop for the afternoon and then we could head to Monticello in the morning.  James Madison, our 4th president, is considered the Father of the Constitution.  We got to tour his home and enjoy the beauty of Virginia.  Unfortunately that beauty also included Stink Bugs!  These beetle like creatures fly and love to land on you to take a rest.  I definitely was not a fan!

Montpelier

Montpelier

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It’s sure pretty in Virginia

Blue Ridge Mountains

Blue Ridge Mountains

My mother in her natural habitat!

My mother in her natural habitat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a nice afternoon and a good dinner we headed out the next morning to go to Monticello.  My Mom said this was a place she had always wanted to visit so was thrilled that we were going.  Her excitement was infectious and we were all really looking forward to our visit.  We got there and got our tour assignment and then rode a bus up to see the mansion.  The mansion had many interesting features…. Kay remembered from a previous visit that it was designed so every room had natural light.  It was really nice inside and I love all that light.  Thomas Jefferson had designed a clock in the foyer that would not only count the hours, but the days as you went through the week.  He also slept in a bed that was 6ft 4in long and he was 6ft 3in tall!  This bed was in a wall and you could step out on either side, into the actual bedroom or into the den type room.  I have to mention too that Kay is great to have on a tour.  Her inquisitive nature led her to ask many questions and I’m sure we learned much more than any other group!  Thanks Kay! 🙂

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Enjoying our mother / daughter time.

Enjoying our mother / daughter time.

My Mom and Tom.

My Mom and Tom.

Thomas Jefferson's grave is onsite as well.

Thomas Jefferson’s grave is onsite as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a great visit to Monticello and some good shopping in the gift shops we headed out.  We didn’t get too far though because lunch at Michie Tavern was calling. 🙂   They have an excellent homey buffet with all the folks who work there dressed in costume.  It was delicious and fun too.

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After lunch we headed back to Annapolis.  My Mom and Kay loved being on the boat at it’s mooring ball in Spa Creek.  They even liked the dingy rides back and forth to get there!  I’m glad they both are adventurous.  It made for a really fun time.

p.s. Coming up is more on our adventures in Batimore, Mount Vernon and D.C. and even Steven and Rosemary make an appearance!

Grub and Grog Review: Pusser’s – Annapolis MD

Staff:3 Stars (3 / 5)
Seat to Beverage Time:3 Stars (3 / 5)
Company:4 Stars (4 / 5)
Hygiene:3 Stars (3 / 5)
Atmosphere:5 Stars (5 / 5)
Value:2 Stars (2 / 5)
Average:3.3 Stars (3.3 / 5)

The Pusser’s in Annapolis may be the biggest in their chain, though I haven’t been to all I’ve been to quite a few.  The place takes up a significant portion of the bottom floor of the Annapolis Marriott and looks to have space for special events as there are always a few empty open rooms.  Enough about the inside, never even spent any time inside except walking through, it’s their patio that makes this place special.  Pusser’s Annapolis takes up what looks to be about 200ft of dock space on Ego Alley.  What’s Ego Alley?  Ego Alley is a small dead end channel that goes to the heart of Annapolis downtown where folks cruise their boats.  When I mean cruise I mean like cruising your ’81 Z28 on Alki during a rare warm Seattle Saturday night, not cruise as in cruising like we’re doing.

I digress. . . Pusser’s is actually quite fun on summer weekends.  We’ve stopped by here just to see what’s going on and stayed a bit too long a number of times.  The boats are sorta fun to watch, but most are not quite as nice as the captains think they are.  It’s the drunk folks from DC that are fun!  They seem to come to Annapolis for a weekend get aways and flock to Pussers to suck down painkillers as if they’re getting they’re fill of rum before a global shortage.  Diana and I are pretty much batting 500 here for free drinks.  We start up a conversation with folks at the bar and once they hear what we are doing with our lives they wont let us leave and entice us to stay by buying drinks.  We first thought it was a fluke, but it’s happened multiple times; so who are we to walk away from free drinks and trying to encourage others to live they’re dreams!  I will say all of these occurrences happened during the late afternoon, the evening crowd is douche central.  Watch out ladies because there are some smooth operators here at night 😉

We never sampled the food here as it’s quite expensive and wasn’t really appealing for some reason, though it seems to be a bit fancier than the stuff you get at the Pusser’s locations in the Caribbean which are okay and still a bit overpriced.  The drinks here are also more than anywhere else in town, but that doesn’t stop folks from packing themselves in.