Baltimore is a special city, one that has something that can appeal to many people. Original Northwood has a suburban feel. There are multimillion dollar homes in Guilford. There are stunning rowhomes around Franklin Square and Union Square. Then we have former industrial homes in Fells Point, Locust Point, and Remington.

While the city as a whole is losing population, there are many neighborhoods that are growing like crazy, including Remington, which is going through a kind of renaissance right now.

This is San Fran right?

We started our evening at W. C. Harlans, a speakeasy that is one of the worst kept secrets in the city. Its the kind of place that you would expect to find in Harbor East, or DC, as opposed to being in an industrial district. In fact, my friend who works for a Silicon Valley startup, said that it is the kind of place he would expect to find in San Francisco.

Make no mistake about it, these are craft cocktails. I got the Dark Matter, because it was an interesting mix of ingredients that I hadn’t tried together. The pineapple gave it a definite tropical flavor, and the shiitake mushroom gave it an almost meaty flavor. It was interesting, but was the kind of drink I would probably only have once. It elicited a “huh” reaction from those that tried it.

Photo Credit: Jenn Parnell, who takes better pictures than I do

The drinks had ingredients that are not common at most other bars, they were well crafted, and they looked stunning, especially in the dim light of the beautiful bar. It probably comes down to personal preference, but I enjoy a place that is slightly a dive bar that surprises you with an amazing drink.

The speakeasy shtick was novel ten years ago when it first started, but it feels a little tired, and a bit like they are trying too hard. They have good drinks, but you are still paying $13 for drinks. That just feels a bit snooty for my taste. I know its their model, but its just not for me.

After something fancy like that, I really needed something a bit more along the lines of ‘cheap food and a beer’. So we went to Mi Comalito, a Salvadorian Restaurant in the middle of Charles North.

Charles North includes the Station North Arts and Entertainment District, and is this amazing hodgepodge of a neighborhood. The tallest building is the J. Van Story Branch Senior Apartments, and is surrounded by the arts district, a slew of Korean restaurants, and a slowly improving neighborhood. Once, when I was waiting for a late bus on North Ave, I talked to a long time resident who said that drug activity used to be common, but has quickly been cleaning itself up.

She just licked the salt

La cerveza mas fina means the finer beer!

Mi Comalito seems to exemplify the changing neighborhood very well. We sat down next to the full wall mirror, and ordered drinks. Todd and I got $2 Coronas, and my wife got a margarita with a fancy umbrella, because she is fancy.

Corona isn’t my normal beer, but does go very well with the food we were getting would go very well with some cheap beers.

Plantanos con crema

Pollo Frito con tatadas

Chicken tamales

Papusas ❤ ❤ ❤

The four of us decided to order family style so that we could try more things. The plantos con crema came with plantains, and fried yuca. The flavors complimented each other well, with a sweet and savory option. The yuca could have almost stood in as french fries with a slightly thicker texture. Both went amazingly well with the sour creme based topping.

Next was the pollo frito con tatadas, which was chicken over plantains, and covered in a salty cole slaw/cheese/salsa mix that was surprisingly good. I would not have ordered it, because cole slaw, but it was actually really good. The plantains were no prepared like the plantanos con crema, and acted as a really good delivery mechanism. It was Salvadorian style nachos!

We also got fried pork, which also came with yuca. I love meat, so I was particularly excited about this one, which dis not disappoint. The meat was slightly crispy, salty, and had a spice to it that reminded me of carne asada. It also came with a creme side that went well with the meat. There was also fried corn pudding that was like corn bread that was sweet and fried. It was an unexpected treat on the side.

The chicken tamales were my least favorite, simply because of the texture. Mi Comalitos made them just like they are supposed to be made, I just am not a fan of the texture of the jelloy corn meal that surrounds the chicken. My tablemates disagreed with me, which is why we ordered them in the first place. To each their own.

Finally, we had pupusas, which were my favorite part of the meal. These are circles of flatbread that are pockets of amazing flavor. At $2.50 each, they could easily be turned into a meal, as they have options with cheese, beans and cheese, vegetables, pork, and spinach. We tried the pork and cheese options, and they were stellar. If we didn’t already have so much food on the table, I probably would have been happy just eating those for dinner.

The entire evening taught me two things: Salvadorian means salt, creme based sides, yuca and plantains. Also, the area between Remington and Station North is an amazingly interesting place that is worth exploring. I plan to do just that in a future trip, especially since there is so much Korean food in the area.