New Baltimore Places! WOO HOO (Day 2)

Day 2 in Baltimore was shaping up as an easy one stop day.  I headed out from the hotel to my stop for the day.  I ended up again in the northern part of the city near Baltimore's Loyola University.  I wasn't sure what to expect from this place, it has very unusual hours 11a-2a and from what I had heard and read it was pretty much just a very small bar, but if it was good for Guy, it would be good for me!

I arrived shortly after "Swallow at the Hollow" had opened for the day.  I wasn't really sure if it was open because the tour is tinted dark and it looked dark inside.  Luckily for me it was open!  I walked in and was warmly greeted by the Waitress/Bar Tender and was seated at a table just inside the door.

 

I looked over their menu and asked what they had made for the show and from what I was told, they made about 6 different items so I had a lot to choose from.  Two sort of caught my attention, the Tangy Ghost Wings and the Crab Cake.  Thinking that the Ghost was a reference to the Ghost Chili pepper, which is the hottest pepper in the world, I decided that the Crab Cake Sandwich was the meal for me.

The Bar at The Swallow at the Hollow

As I was waiting for the meal I walked around the place and there was really neat photos of bar scenes during the restaurants history.  One that was hanging behind me was a bar scene from 1952 and another was from the 1970s and the bar area has not changed that much, some updates and flat screen TVs but it really is a blast from the past.

My meal arrived and the Crab Cake was very good!  It was served with fries on the side.  There was very little filler in the cake and filled with a lot of crab meat. 

My Crab Cake Sandwich meal

Real Crab meat Crab Cake!

As I was enjoying my meal, the owner, Jim, came over and we had a nice conversation about the place.  The Swallow had been just a small bar and there was a barber shop next door, but a few years ago the barber shop closed and they bought it out and created a small dining room.  I asked him how they had been selected and he told me that they had been recommended by a viewer or patron.  From there the production office of the show called and from there he had several long (1 hour plus) phone calls that led to the decision to put them on the show.  He told me that it was 3 or 4 very intensive days of filming that included Guy visiting for about 3 hours to do his scenes.  He had a lot of great things to say about the crew, especially Neil Martin the crew member who had given me the locations that they filmed in Baltimore.  The day after they had finished the staff and film crew all went to Camden Yards to see the Orioles play!  As I prepared to leave I was shown a special Swallow Bowling Shirt that they had Guy sign and the Penguin Mascot on this special shirt had Guy's hairdo!  I was also shown the baking pan that Guy decorated with his signature "Guy Ate Here" design.

"Guy Ate Here"!

Just before I left Jim told me that they had also filmed a place nearby and I had hear the same thing at all of the other places I had visited, so now my day of one place to visit became 2!  I loved this place, Jim and his staff were great, delicious food and great conversation, what more can you ask for!

I headed out with a new place to get to.  I headed off and in about 15 minutes I was at "Clementine - Maker of Fine Food".  I really lucked out on this one, this place is only open for lunch on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and today was Friday!  What an interesting place.  It looked like a Coffee bar as you entered there was an area of sofas for lingering over your cup of joe, but as you went further in there was divided dining area and some really interesting wall art.  I took a seat at the bar and started to talk to the bar tender, Kristen and wanted to make sure that they had filmed there and she did confirm it.  I told her about my travels and she told that her husband Winston, the chef and co-owner would come out to sign my book.

Winston came out, he is a guy with a big Grizzly Adams style beard and was as nice as could be.  We chatted for a few moments about the place and the filming and he asked me about my travels, I also had a great conversation with Kristen.  The menu looked great and the prices were the most reasonable that I had seen in a long time at a DDD place.  I chose to get the Catfish meal which included Winston's special Cheese Grits, it was the Cheese Grits that made up my mind.

The bar at Clementine

The Specialty Beer menu

For a Friday lunch the place was very busy, the waiters and waitresses were very busy and after a few minutes my meal came.  The catfish was tasty, I think that catfish is my favorite fish.  There was a corn mix on top that was really tasty but the cheese grits really made he meal.  Sitting a few seats down the bar was one of book keepers of the place and she started telling me about how much she loved the meal I had ordered and by the time I left she told me that she ordered it for herself. 

My Catfish meal at Clementine

 I had finished my trip to Baltimore on a very high note.  All of the places I visited were top notch and the staff at each were so friendly and accommodating.  Thanks to all of them!  My DDD count now stands at 361 and 400 isn't too far off!