Crazy Fun Things to do in Federal Hill

I've lived down here in South Baltimore for 3 years now, so I'd consider myself pretty adjusted to the average Friday/Saturday night in the neighborhood.  Perhaps it's more like a building up a resistance to a drug, for some reason the same ol' hit of Cross Street just doesn't do what it used to.

It was with that in mind that I assumed a Federal Hill scavenger hunt would be just like any other party.  Perhaps a scavenger hunt is going to have the same mean fun level as a normal party but a much higher variance, because I was very, very wrong.  It was probably one of the most fun nights of my life.  Sure, I enjoy drinking as much as the next guy (although, in all honesty, possibly not as much as the next guy in this neighborhood), but this party also combined two of my favorite things to do while drinking:

1. Doing things - especially active, unusual, exciting things
2. Competing at things - especially pointless, fun, team-oriented things

Yeah, scavenger hunt was pretty much the ideal party activity for me.

It also helped that it was superbly planned and organized.  Everyone met up at one house, had a couple drinks, then we scavenged, then post-party at another house.  The lists were even laminated!  There were like 6 or 7 teams of 5 to 7 people, so there were a lot of people running all over Federal Hill looking for viryta or Chartreuse (from my favorite bar - Idlehour) or someone walking two dogs.  The best part was how welcoming everyone was in at all the bars.  By the second half of the hunt, we'd show up in a bar with our laminated list looking to sing karaoke and people would be like "Oh, you're with the scavenger hunt!"

Of course, what really makes or breaks the hunt is list.  The guys did a fantastic job with the Federal Hill Scavenger Hunt List.  Check it out and see what you think.  We had from about 9:20 PM until midnight to gather photographs of as many of those items/actions/places as possible.

My team actually won with 860 points.  It was a little unfair, 6 of the 7 people on our team are at least casual runners - so we used speed to our advantage.  I was definitely in a flat-out sprint to make it to the second house on time after deciding to go for those last 10 points at 11:55 PM.

My favorite picture of the night:

Human pyramid (worth 20 points) and picture with "The J&P guy" (Pete) (worth 10 points) in a single picture.  There's also some random dude spotting us.  And by "spotting" I clearly mean "hoping to get a chance to fondle that girl's ass."

So word from the wise: if you're like me and you enjoy "doing things" and "competing at things" while having a couple drinks - attend the next scavenger hunt you get invited to.

Oh, and wear practical shoes (definitely saw at least one girl in heels for this... that team was unable to compete with our teams' highly appropriate footwear).

A Great Local Establishment

This post is a thank you to Pete, the owner of J&P Carryout of 1538-40 Light St. If you live in South Baltimore anywhere near J&P, you probably know Pete. He's a friendly guy, always willing to stop and have a conversation with you. Plus, he makes a damn good cheesesteak.



One of Pete's greatest business decisions was to close at 3 AM on Fridays and Saturdays, because bars in Baltimore close at 2 AM. It was just such an occasion last weekend that I happened into Pete's establishment. Now, I had just come from a marathon "Round the World" party that had lasted something like 8 hours. And I had my brand-new, extra-expensive camera with me. It had made it with me through 6 house parties and 3 bars, but the second my pizza fries were ready, my attention was elsewhere.

About half an hour later, with my late-night junk food craving sated, I prepared for bed and thought "Wait? Where's my camera?!?" I sprinted back to J&P and was lucky enough to catch one of the cooks closing up. She informed me that they were closed and I shouted in a panic "I left my camera here a little bit ago!" I could tell by the look on her face that not only did she know what I was talking about, but that they might even have my camera. Sure enough, not only had they noticed that I'd left an expensive camera in their establishment, Pete had locked the camera up in the safe, figuring that I'd be back for it in the morning.

So here's to Pete, honest and friendly proprietor of a great local business. I completely recommend them to anyone in need of some late-night snacks.

City Crepes Cafe

I just wanted to post a quick shout-out to my favorite creperie in the neighborhood, City Crepes Cafe. I was in there today for brunch (although it's tough for me to order a real brunch crepe, I can never get past the Nutella/banana combination) and heard that they are under new management. Seems like they are going to change things up a little in hopes of increasing business a little, perhaps they'll open a little earlier on weekdays or stay open a little later on Sundays.

Anyway, if you haven't been there yet, you should stop by for a crepe and a cappuccino, it's a pretty nice way to start off your lazy Sunday. They're at 1107 Light St., right across from Cross Street Market.

Best Local Bar

Idlehour.

Located at the corner of Fort Ave. and William St.

If you don't think that a bar with music that is not so loud as to preclude conversation and without television is a good idea, then you should go to MaGerk's instead. Also, they have original art for sale. Oh, and if that weren't enough, they have Resurrection (from Brewer's Art) on tap.

Go there.

Dangerously Delicious Pies

There's been a recent addition to my neighborhood that I absolutely have to support: Dangerously Delicious Pies. They are such a recent addition, in fact, that they do not even list their current location on their website.

Why do I support such an institution in Federal Hill?

1. Their pies are ridiculously good
2. Their coffee is reasonably priced and pretty good
3. The proprietor started making pies when "rock and roll wasn't paying the bills anymore"
4. The combination of items 1 thru 3 IN ONE STORE.

One thing that I've always found annoying about Federal Hill is that there is no coffee shop open after 8 PM. No place where you can go sit and read The City Paper and relax with a cup of coffee. Finally, someone opens a place to fill that void...and it happens to be a tattoo-ed semi-retired rock-and-roll drummer who bakes pies. Isn't that the American dream?

Anyway, if you live in the area, you should give them a try. Apparently there's some sort of grand opening party this Saturday with pie and rock and roll. The store is located near Blue Agave on Light Street...I guess that makes it the 1000 block of Light Street.