Em and I like to travel to new places, try adventurous things, and eat amazing food! Living in the DC/Baltimore area means that we are surrounded with great things to do and places to eat. So this past month, Em and I made it our mission to go exploring and find the best restaurants in DC and Baltimore.
Two weekends ago, we made the spontaneous decision to book a hotel in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Why? We still aren’t exactly sure why. It’s just fun to just go do something with no plans and no real reason. Gaithersburg is only about 30 minutes away from our apartment so, since we have a little budget set aside for weekend getaways, we packed our bags and headed out. It was a good feeling to be able to do nothing but sleep and eat for two whole days without the feeling of needing to be anywhere or do anything.
The restaurant that we ate at was called Ted’s Montana Grill. It had just opened that week and is located right in the heart of the downtown Gaithersburg area. Our waiter was incredibly nice and seemed to know everything about the menu.
Being big steak lovers, the item that really stood out to me and Em on the menu was the Bison Filet. Our waiter explained to us that bison is leaner than beef and that all of Ted’s bison have been grass fed. Our filets tasted amazing – they were perfectly cooked and extremely tender. Ted’s Montana Grill is a definite must for anyone in the Gaithersburg area!
The next weekend, we headed into Baltimore for the Fells Point Fun Festival. There were tons of local vendors. It seemed like every type of food imaginable was there, but we had to save room for our dinner that night. It was a tough task, but with incredible self-control (mainly Em taking away my wallet) we managed to make it through the festival with our appetites intact.
We then headed over to Sullivan’s Steakhouse. The first thing that we noticed about Sullivan’s is that their service is amazing! Everyone from the hostess to the waitress was friendly and very helpful. But the thing that really separates Sullivan’s from other Baltimore restaurants is its incredible food! We had a tough time choosing between steak and seafood, so we did the only sensible thing and ordered both!
Sullivan’s has an awesome surf-n-turf option this fall that includes a six-ounce Filet Mignon and a half pound of Wild Caught King Crab Legs. The crab leg was enormous and had to be the best crab I have ever tasted. Sullivan’s Steakhouse is the perfect date-night restaurant for anyone traveling to Baltimore.
Today, we met up with two of our friends and traveled into DC. I generally am not a fan of fall. I see it as the welcoming committee for winter. However, I will have to admit, the weather was really nice today and the changing leaves are beautiful. Another added bonus is that we got a whole extra hour of sleep! The only downside to that was that my phone said sunset was at 5:06. Not a fan of it turning dark before I get home from work, but I guess that is the price I pay for an extra hour of sleep. ;)
The restaurant that we went to in DC was Carmine’s. Carmine’s is the perfect place to go with a group of friends! The menu is designed that each entree can feed 3-4 people. It is a lot of fun ordering a couple different dishes and getting to try a little of everything. I wasn’t exactly sure what a steak that could feed 3-4 people would look like, but it was huge! It was easily the biggest porterhouse steak I have ever seen. We also tried some other amazing dishes such as fried calamari and shrimp linguine. The portions were not only enormous, but the food was incredible! It was a lot of fun sharing meals and definitely a must-do experience to try with a bunch of friends! (Just make sure you come prepared to eat a lot of food!)
So that’s the recap of our past three weekends! It was a really great month, and we are looking forward to a super fun November as well (just as long as it doesn’t get dark before we get home from work! ;)
12/17/15 Update:
We went to another restaurant last night that we just HAD to add to this list! The Cinnamon Tree Restaurant in Hunt Valley. De-lic-ious. We started with their crab and corn dip and shrimp cocktail, and they also gave us the most amazing holiday mocktails!! :)
We then ordered filet mignon and crab cakes and OH MY GOODNESS was it ever delicious. We finished off with vanilla ice cream puffs and a hot fudge brownie. I’m craving that right now writing this! The entire staff was amazing and it was very much a “family feel” while still being an upscale restaurant. Makes a perfect date night and is a restaurant that we hope to visit again very soon!
