WTF happened to the WTF

About a month ago my wife and I were slipped into one of our go-to watering holes, The Waterfront Hotel to grab a drink and a bite to eat. I was craving the buffalo chicken wrap; she was craving their homemade potato chips. To our surprise, we weren’t able to order either.

Apparently, WTF had changed owners recently, and the new proprietor(s) wished to shake things up a bit, by bringing in an almost entirely new staff, significantly modifying the interior, and rolling out a totally new menu. The old Waterfront Hotel that my friends and I had discovered within weeks of our 21st birthdays, and been in love with ever since, was no more.

After a month or so of grieving, Team Bob Ganoosh decided pay a visit to the new WTF with an open mind and a healthy appetite.

The menu required us to study it in great detail, as none of the traditional items – including those kettle chips or the buffalo chicken wrap – were offered. The new menu has a Tex-Mex meets Low Country theme, and included items such as Frogmore stew, an assortment of tacos, the Cuban sandwich. Pork belly also held a significant presence on the menu.

As an appetizer we ordered the crab queso fundito, which essentially was a traditional Mexican queso dip with crab meat inside. As far as queso dips are concerned, this was one of the better ones we have had. Of course, adding crab meat to a dish never hurts. However, the price point of $14 makes it a bit more expensive than the average nacho dip, and pricier than I prefer for an appetizer.

For our entrees, we ordered the WTF burger, a beef burger topped with mango barbeque pork belly and jalapeño flavored bacon; the pork belly Cuban, a traditional Cuban sandwich; and the black bean burger.

The WTF burger included a healthy portion of beef cooked to perfect doneness – we ordered it rare, and got exactly what we ordered. I have never really seen a burger from a restaurant cooked rare or medium rare – they are usually over-done for safety reasons – but these guys got it right. The pork belly was extremely flavorful and very tender.

The pork belly Cuban is dish in which the pork belly really shines, though. The well-stuffed sandwich is filled with ham, pork belly, and variety of fixins, and was proclaimed by our waiter to be the “best thing on the menu, hands down”. And frankly I must agree, which really speaks to the quality of this sandwich, as I am generally not a fan of pork, at all.

The black bean burger was obviously made in house from freshly-ground black beans and hand formed. The quality of the burger patty was excellent, though we found the spices to be a little bit overwhelming, and the guacamole to be a little bit too plentiful. For someone who likes a bite to their bean burger, this would be perfect; but for us, it was a little bit overpowering.

All in all, we really did enjoy the food we had; however, we are still having a hard time thinking of WTF as a Tex-Mex joint. We also didn’t care for the new look on the first floor, which much more industrial in nature. They also installed high-end sound equipment for live entertainment, which may make the place more marketable as a music venue, but also takes away the “small dark bar where the bartender knows your name and there’s a guy playing the guitar in the corner” quality that we have loved for so long.

And while the service was good, we miss the handful of folks who have worked there for a few years now.

In the end, the only things that have remained the same about this place are the name and the shell of the building (and I guess, the upper floors). And while we definitely do not dislike the new WTF or discourage anyone from going there, it will never be the same as the bar we stumbled into six years ago. RIP, WTF.

Kali's Mezze Restaurant - A Milestone for Bob Ganoosh

Bob Ganoosh experimented with some quasi-cannibalism last night. You guessed it, he tried Baba Ghanoush, the classic Mediterranean eggplant dish from which his nickname - and thus this blog - was originated. We had been contemplating trying this namesake disk for a few weeks, when we met a group of people while playing pool at the Waterfront Hotel. When Shawn introduced himself as Bob Ganoosh, one of the gentlemen indicated that he worked for a restaurant that served Baba Ghanoush. And he referred us to Kali's Mezze Restaurant.

Located in Fell's Point walking distance from the water, Mezze is a small trendy joint squeezed-in next door to its sister restaurant Kali's Court. They offer a tapas style menu with a Mediterranean influence. At the time we got there (around 8pm) most of the dining room and all of the sidewalk seating was full; however, they managed to seat our party of 3 moderately quickly.

Being the Bob Ganoosh team's first tapas experience, we were pretty entertained by the idea of ordering a bunch of small cheap plates in lieu of a large expensive dish. For those unfamiliar with tapas-style restaurants, dishes are served in appetizer-esque portions, for prices usually less than that for a large dish at a traditional restaurant. Typically, if you're hungry you'll order several plates, or if you're just sipping down some drink you may just order a few plates at a time for the table to share.

When we reviewed the menu, we came to realize that the prices were a little bit higher than I had anticipated, with some plates costing in excess of $10 (for a small plate). Granted, these plates usually contained lamb or steak. And they did have cheaper plates as well, such as tapanade (a spread made of olives, among other things), which was under $4. The Baba Ghanoush was about $6. Given the trendy cosmopolitan theme and the quality of the dishes, we didn't find the prices unreasonable.

As for the food, we did not order a single thing we didn't like. We all found the Baba Ghanoush to be surprisingly pleasant, especially when eaten with the wonderful complimentary pita bread they provide. In addition to his namesake dish, Shawn got a dish with Haloumi cheese (very similar to mozzarella) on top of portabello mushrooms, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. This dish was very flavorful, with the balsamic perfectly accenting the cheese and portabello. He also tried the baby lamb chops, which were generously seasoned with thyme and basil. I am not a big fan of lamb in general, but Shawn found it to be very tasty.

We also tried:

• Stuffed peppers, which consisted of 3 small green peppers stuffed with cheese, rice and spices. Don't be fooled by the peppers, this is a very mild dish
• Steamed Mussels, which gave Bertha's a run for its money (no disrespect to Bertha's, which is one of my favorite Fell's Point establishments). The mussels were fresh, the portion was generous, and the seasoned butter sauce drizzled on top sealed the deal.
• Cheese Pie - several cheeses baked into a phylo dough crust. Can't really go wrong there!

The Bob Ganoosh team would also like to give Mezze kudos for its plate presentation. Each dish was carefully and attractively garnished with Mediterranean-themed items (olives, etc.). And Shawn enjoyed the fact that all of the garnishes were not only edible, but delicious!

The only major downside was it's unlikely ability to handle a large party, especially without a reservation. This is merely a result of the small space in which they operate.

So, Bob Ganoosh's first tapas experience (and first taste of Baba Ghanoush) was a huge success! We plan to visit again with some more (but not too many) friends.

Kali's Mezze Restaurant
1606 Thames Street
Baltimore, MD 21231
410-563-7600
www.kalismezze.com

WTF??? This Food is Good!

NOTE: Please see the update to this article published 8/1/2011.

Today's post is long overdue, as it is of one of our favorite eateries and watering holes in Fell's Point - The Waterfront Hotel. Represented throughout the area by its ovular "WTF" stickers, the Waterfront is a restaurant/bar located in an historic rowhouse on Thames Street, right across from the old recreational pier. The building, built in the 1770's as a hotel for sailors and such (hence the restaurant's name), is one of the oldest buildings in Baltimore.

We originally started hanging out at their bar back in college (like 3 years ago or so). It was a little bit different back then - they have been making the place a little higher-scale over the past few years, although it was a pretty decent place to begin with. You may recognize the first-floor bar - it was where the bar scenes in Homicide: Life on the Streets were filmed. Their "pub grub" was always a little on the pricy side, since their menu is a little higher-scale, so we never really tried much of that. Although, the bucket of Old Bay Fries (if they still have it) is to die for.

For the dinner scene, the Waterfront has a quaint little 2nd-floor dining room, with windows that look out on the goings-on of Thames Street. The dining room is not large, and thus not promising for large party accomodations; however, usually when we go there (during the week) the dining room is mostly empty. The ambiance is calm and quiet, and a nice place to go for a relaxing meal.

All of the food we have had there is enjoyable. Admittedly though, the prices are toward the higher end of what we like to pay for a casual meal ($15-25). So, we would recommend going during the week, during most of which they offer dinner specials from 6-10PM. These include the "12 for 12" Tuesdays - 12 items (normal priced around $20) are discounted to $12; and the Wednesday Steak Night, where they offer a nice steak, dressed one of several different ways with mashed potatoes and veggies, for $15.

Last night, we took advantage of the "12 for 12" special. Shawn tried the Lobseter Ravioli and I had the Fettucine dinner. The Lobster Ravioli was served under some kind of red sauce, which had a little bit of a tangy kick to it (not too much though). I believe there were peppers in the sauce too. Shawn loved it. The Fettucine included breaded chicken, stuffed with prociutto ham, laid across a plate of fettucine tossed in a mustardy cream sauce. The mustard sauce was different - not what I had expected - but overall it was tasty and very unique (as well as filling).

Shawn and I each got a salad too, which we thought was included but apparently was not. But the salad was very nice, wish a wide assortment of crisp leaves and such. If you like lots of dressing though, you might want to ask for extra on the side.

In short, the Bob Ganoosh team would like to officially give its seal of approval to an establishment that we have been fans of throughout the last few years. We deem this to be a great place for a nice quiet dinner, as long as you're not looking for dirt cheap. And if you're trying to avoid crowds, don't go on a Friday or Saturday night, as the bar crowd tends to be heavy at those times (obviously).

WTF - our only major suggestion: BRING BACK THE BUFFALO CHICKEN WRAP!!! It was our favorite!

The Waterfront Hotel

1710 Thames Street

Baltimore, MD 21231

410-537-5055

http://www.waterfronthotel.us/