Two guest reviewers review Lucy's and Fins
You know how I'm always asking for mini-reviews of restaurants I haven't been to and I never get any? Well, this morning there were two in my mailbox.
This one was from Meg, about Lucy's Irish Pub near the Hippodrome, which used to be Maggie Moore's:
...visited the old MM's on Sunday (now Lucy's) - found the menu largely the same and still good food...love the atmosphere! We had a rehearsal dinner there in December and it was spectacular!!! Found out that John and Maggie are still here (live in Silver Spring) but her mom is ill in Ireland and she's going back...Owen promised us an update when we return. They hosted a cast party for Rene Zellweger on Saturday night and had fun! We live in Gaithersburg and we had NO Irish places here at all, which is why we schlepp over to Charm CIty all the time!!
And then Claire sent me the following about Fins in Canton, where the Granite Bar used to be, not to be confused with Fin in Fells Point. (Fins may very well have a Web site, but just try Googling for it.) ...
I'm sure you're aware of Fins Restaurant on the square in Canton. My husband and I don't understand why more people don't go there because the food is really delicious. The chef has a really nice touch with vegetables as they are always fresh, unlike the perfunctory sloppy slaw or frozen fries one gets at most places. The specials are really well thought out and give good quality and portion for the price. For example, last week my husband had a NY strip salad. It was a sizeable piece of steak that accompanied a wonderfully fresh salad of mesclun greens mixed with romaine with a homemade feta garlic dressing for only $10.99. I had a grilled eggplant parmesan salad with the eggplant served in a tower with whole milk mozzarella and what appeared to be local tomatoes over a bed of greens and veggies topped with frizzled basil, toasted breadcrumbs and dressing of choice. It was delicious. The Maryland crab soup is excellent and the crab toast is out of this world. I particularly like the grilled calamari that is served with a fresh tomato "fresca" mixture. We have never had a bad meal there and consider it to be the best food in Canton. We hope it won't close because no one is aware of how good it is.
(Photo of Maggie Moore's by Kenneth K. Lam/Sun photographer)
Comments
Fins, and the old Granite, has great food. I think that most people think of Rick's American Cafe, which was stricly a club/dance hall bar. Go during the day though.
Posted by: Drew from Greektown | July 22, 2008 11:47 AM
EL -- I just googled Fins Restaurant on the square in Canton and had no problem getting the following link: http://www.finsonthesquare.com/.
Thanks. "Square" must have done it. EL
Posted by: hmpstd | July 22, 2008 11:55 AM
This is slightly off topic, but does anyone have a report on whatever replaced Taste in Belvedere Square? We will be in that area tonight and would normally have dropped into Taste, but alas it is no longer.
Posted by: Debra | July 22, 2008 12:11 PM
Great job, Detective hmpstd!
Posted by: Rosebud | July 22, 2008 1:39 PM
Huh - who'da thought? I just finally noticed that it was there this weekend, I must confess (perhaps my eyes are naturally drawn to Vaccaro's just down the block?), but found the way-too-Jimmy-Buffett paint scheme out front off-putting, and it never occurred to me to look any farther. (Disclaimer, at 40, I'm past the average for sports bars on the Square, but I used to make it a point to see Buffett every summer, so not too stuffy, I hope.)
Posted by: KristinB | July 22, 2008 1:39 PM
i don't get it. the menu is the same as granite's, which wasn't much different from rick's. and voga pinot grigio is $6.50 / glass when you can go down one more block and buy a bottle for under $9.
Posted by: 21224 | July 22, 2008 2:02 PM
Yes, Debra is right--weren't we supposed to have a new restaurant opening in the place formerly occupied by Taste?
You know how long these things take. EL
Posted by: Dahlink | July 22, 2008 2:03 PM
If I'm not mistaken, Gecko's on Fleet Street used to be called "Fins" about a dozen or so years ago....kind of had a raw-bar/Jimmy Buffett type of theme to it if I remember correctly.
Posted by: Donny B | July 22, 2008 4:57 PM
I may have spoken too soon, but I went to the Fins website, and the logo is just like the one used at the "old" Fins on Fleet Street. I wonder if it's the same owners? Must be.
By the looks of the inside, it apperas to be the same storefront that once housed Amicci's of Canton, Razorbacks, something else after that, and more recently Rick's American Cafe (would be good for the list of storefronts that have housed multiple establishments).
I haven't been to Canton in about 2 years or so. I wonder if Mama's on the Halfshell is still open? I tried finding it online during the early spring, but their website didn;t seem to work.
Posted by: Donny B | July 22, 2008 5:03 PM
YES! Mama's on the halfshell is definitely still open and as good as ever.
PS- Fin's looks horribly cheesy. but looks aren't everything as we all know.
Posted by: Rebs | July 23, 2008 9:49 AM