The Charm City Circulator bar crawl
I barhopped on the Charm City Circulator. Nevin's Cross Street Station, The Hill, Peter's Pour House. I was supposed to have gone to two more bars, but by the time I left my third, the circulator was approaching its curfew.
So, yes, it is possible to barhop on it, you just have to limit yourself to one drink a bar if you want to actually make it to more than three in one night.
That was my original plan anyway. And it was in the crapper pretty much as soon as I stepped inside Nevin's, where I did a quick succession of Blue Moons, Irish car bombs, and Lithuanian liqueurs.
But I knew that was going to happen. For one, passengers and transportation activists had complained about the short hours in Monday's story about the circulator.
And two of my fellow passengers further underscored the complaint when we got off the bus at Cross Street Station. Their exchange:
Lady 1: "All right, that was awesome."
Lady 2: "Maybe we take it back?"
Lady 1: "Yeah, maybe. If we can get wasted before 12 a.m."
And Nevin's is for lovers. At least lovers of karoeke, Irish car bombs, and barbacks who look like Grandmother Willow. (Read: me).
The full dispatch is here. A stop-by-stop guide to barhopping on the purple and orange circulator follows:
Stop 218: Pratt & Eutaw Streets
Frank & Nic's West End Grille, 511 W. Pratt St.
Sliders Bar & Grill, 504 Washington Blvd.
Pickle's Pub. 520 Washington Blvd.
Stop 220: Pratt & Calvert streets
Tir Na Nog Bar & Grill, 201 E. Pratt St.
Stop 223: Harbor East Circle
James Joyce Irish Pub and Restaurant, 616 President St.
Taco Fiesta, 618 Exeter St.
Stop 225: Central Avenue & Bank Street
Mustang Alley's, 1300 Bank St.
Stop 201: Lombard & President Streets
Power Plant Live, 328 N. Charles St., including bars, Luckies, Mex, Mosaic, Rock Bar.
The Purple Route will get you from Pennsylvania Station to South Baltimore:
Stop 305: Pleasant & Charles Streets
Mick O'Shea's, 328 N. Charles St.
Maisey's, 313 N. Charles St.
Stop 309: Biddle & Charles streets
Brewer's Art, 1106 N. Charles St.
Club Phoenix, 1 W. Biddle St.
Stop 310: Lyric/Pennsylvania Station
Turp's, 1317 N. Charles St.
Mt. Royal Tavern, 1204 W Mount Royal Ave.
Stop 323: Cross Street Market
Nevin's Cross Street Station, 31-33 E. Cross St.
The Hill, 1017 S. Charles St
Metropolitan, 902 S. Charles St.
Stop 303: Light Street
Water Street Tavern, 102 Water St
Peter's Pour House, 111 Mercer St.
Photo: Riding the circulator at night (above, right); South Baltimore's best barback, Linda Diehly (center). (Amy Davis/Baltimore)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
// Go to Peter's Pour House to see suburban dad garage bands do R.E.M. covers. //
OK, Maza, it's taken a while, but I'm starting to dig your stuff. Nicely done.
Posted by: Chris | December 10, 2010 4:23 PM
The Hill is one of my favorite places in Federal Hill. Kudos to them for being one of the few places down there that opened up during the Snowpacalypse.
Posted by: CB | December 10, 2010 4:54 PM
So I'm assuming you tried the Leviticus? That stuff is dangerous and delicious! It's like pumpkin pie that forces you to make terrible decisions!
Posted by: KGM80 | December 10, 2010 5:11 PM
yea @KGM80 i talk about it in the story. i thought it tasted like pancakes. terrible decisions like drinking it after an irish car bomb and a couple of beers.
Posted by: Maza | December 10, 2010 5:25 PM
God Bless Nevins. However, my advise to skip the beer and go straight to cocktails there, strongest in Fed Hill.
Posted by: Federal Schwill | December 10, 2010 5:51 PM
Debbie's Long Island at Nevin's is lethal
Posted by: Tif | December 11, 2010 9:58 AM