I’m going towards Baltimore to pick up my mom from the airport tomorrow night. She gets in around 7:30, so we were thinking we’d find something to eat in Baltimore before we head back home (Frederick, MD). Any recommendations? Pretty much any price range is okay (she’s paying), interesting food would be great, convenient to the airport would be a bonus.
Don’t know of any restaurants out near the airport, really. I’m sure there probably are some, but it’s not really the sort of area i’d head for a meal.
The Helmand on Charles Street near the Washington Monument is always popular. It’s an Afghan place, and is owned and run by the brother of Hamid Karzai, the Afghan leader. Price range for entrees is about $14-20. Nearly always busy.
Quite a few people i know love Salt, out near Patterson Park. I’ve never eaten there, as the selection for vegetarians isn’t great, but my wife says that the Duck Fat Fries are to die for, and the entrees are very good too.
I took my wife to Bicycle in Federal Hill for her birthday a couple of years back, and we both loved it. It’s a bit higher up the price scale, but the food was excellent and the service was great. Two appetizers, two entrees, a shared dessert, and a cheap bottle of wine (their signature is a selection of pretty decent $18 bottles) set us back about $160, including tip. Not cheap, but also not outrageous for good food with a bottle of wine.
A cheaper, cheerful place that opened up a couple of years back is Rocket to Venus, in Hampden. It has a decent bar, and the food is a reasonably interesting mix of bar-type food and restaurant fare. The hard floors and generally echoing make it a bit loud at times, so it might not be the best place for a quiet dinner for two.
These are just a few, off the top of my head. If you want to do some searching by cuisine type, neighborhood, price, etc., check out the Search function in the Baltimore Citypaper’s Eats and Drinks section.
Germano’s in Little Italy.
Just a bit south of the airport Arundel Mills Mall. There used to be some rather good restaurants in there - not the usual Mall fare. However, it’s been some years since I’ve been there, so I make no promises or specific recommendations.
While I’ve not been there, I know dozens of people who love the crabcakes at G&M. Huge, reasonable, etc. And, considering it’s the Chesapeake Bay, you have to eat seafood.
If I’m not mistaken, this is out near the BW airport. Should be within 10 mins or so.
Now if you were asking about DC, I could give you better seafood recommendations. 
These are great ideas! I’d love to try the Afghani restaurant, but my mother is keel-over-and-die allergic to mint, which is included in a lot of Afghani dishes. Maybe I’ll call them and ask.
Sam, if you feel like giving D.C. recommendations, I’d note them down for later.
mischievous
It’s in Linthicum, which isn’t far at all from the airport. I will say that the last time we went there, the crabcakes were … not terrible. They were ok, but not nearly as good as we’re used to them being at G&M. That was just one time, though, so maybe the cook just had an off night or something.
The absolute best steamed crabs I have ever had were at Obrycki’s.
Never had the crab cakes there, but I have heard good things.
Love Obrycki’s and they have a good house beer brewed to go with the crabs. The seasoning they use, iirc, is more pepper based than the traditional Old Bay seasoning used at most other crab houses. I always thought Faidley’s in Lexington Market had far and away the best crab cakes, but not really a place I’d take mom depending on how adventurous she is.
WIE is an interesting place to take a mom.
Disclaimer: it’s been years since I lived in Baltimore AND crabs and crab cakes (which are the best) can be a very contentious point among folks from Charm City.
A smaller Obryckis used to be right up the street from my grandmother’s house, next door to my Aunt Eleanor’s house. I grew up picking crabs, and now I wish I had some. Down here in southern Md, they steam crabs heavy on the salt. I prefer the pepper-style steaming from Baltimore.
<drool>
I used to live near, and frequent (when I could afford it), The Brewer’s Art. They were particularly famous for their rosemary-garlic french fries, which they had taken off the menu but have apparently brought back (for the bar areas only) because people kept ordering them anyway.
Thanks for all the recommendations - I ended up getting a reservation at Bicycle. Then, the insane mega-thunderstorm system that hit the region prevented my mother’s plane from coming in for 4 hours, so I went to Bicycle with my boyfriend instead. The food was awesome!
(Yes, I did go back to the airport for my mother, but it was nearly midnight by time she landed.)
How you two doing, mischievous ?
Pretty well, actually. I’m looking forward to you visiting in August - let me know your schedule.
I will whole-heartedly endorse the Brewers Art as well. Great home made Belgian beers, great Belgian influenced menu. Love this place.
I also think that if you want one of the best crab cakes in the city hit G&Ms.