It was just an ordinary Friday and I decided to try another one of Baltimore’s Best on my own.  Heading toward to Under Armor Headquarters in Locust Point, 1157 Bar and Kitchen is nestled away on the corner of Marriott Street and Haubert Street.  The address is 1157 Haubert Street, Baltimore, MD 21230 so the restaurant name is a play on the address (1157barandkitchen.com).  The entrance is located on the Marriott Street side and the restaurant offers no parking.  It is literally in a residential neighborhood and across from one of the headquarter buildings.  I had to park around the corner and walk to the restaurant. This is a pretty safe neighborhood so I was not intimidated.  But I can imagine that parking could be problematic during the evening hours.

Once I arrived, I was shocked by how small and quaint the restaurant was. The place only holds about 30 seats.  It is literally a Bar and a Kitchen.  The small kitchen is off to the right, and you can look right in. I am trying to figure out how such a small place could produce such great cuisine!  The restaurant was packed with people standing and drinking, sitting at the bar, and sitting at tables celebrating special moments. It was loud, exciting, and reminded me of a neighborhood bar like a Cheers where everyone knows your name.

I took a seat at the bar next to a couple and a group of guy friends.  Presumably, most of the patrons at the time worked at Under Armor and was having a drink after work.  Everyone was so friendly.  The bartender was very welcoming and provided me with a menu. I started the meal with Bloody Mule cocktail ($9) which consist of blood orange syrup, ginger liquor, Luksusowa vodka, and crushed ice served in mint julep cooper cocktail cups.  As I waited, I saw plates of the sandwiches, cheese plates, crispy octopus, and wings going by and they all were presented well and looked amazing.

I originally ordered the Korean Chicken wings ($11) served with pickled veggies, curried Brussels sprouts ($7) with fig vincotto (a dark, sweet dense condiment produced in Italy made by the slow cooking and reduction of non-fermented grape), and the braised short rib sandwich ($13) with aged cheddar, horseradish mayo, shaved red onions served on ciabatta bread with jus and a quinoa salad with cucumber, fresh basil, and what appeared to be goat cheese.  I told the couple next to me that I was doing a blog and that I probably would not be able to eat all that I order so they offered to share their curried Brussels sprouts with me so I could taste.  I immediately canceled my sprouts order so I could try theirs. Win!

Their order and my Korean Chicken wings arrived at the same time.  The Brussels sprouts were darkened from being roasted and sat on top of the pasty curry sauce.  I am a huge fan of these vegetables and I do not need much to get excited but they were crisp to perfection and the sauce accompaniment was wonderful.  I wished for a moment that I had ordered my own.  But I can always go back later.

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The wings came in an order of 7 and I shared one with the couple (I offered more but they only took one. For anyone that knows me, this is a big deal for me to share.)  The wings were breaded and fried and tossed in a sauce of soy, sesame, chili spices, and a few other ingredients.  It was hard for me to wait for them to cool down because they smelled so amazing but once they finally cooled, I took a bite and was instantly excited. They were crispy, well seasoned, and the kick of spice at the end was just delicious.  After a few bites, the heat started to really kick in and I ordered a glass of water.  They were jumbo wings and while on the one hand, there is a lot of meat, on the other hand is that if you are not careful, they can be under-cooked. Out of the three I ate, two of them could have been cooked about 30 seconds longer.  However, they were not unsafe to eat but this is just a note to be on the safe side. I took the other three home for later and anxiously awaited my sandwich.

The couple next to me highly recommended the sandwich calling it a treat and quite the experience.  It arrived on a wooden cutting board served cut in half with one half on top of another.  The jus sauce and the quinoa salad were in small bowls on the board. The sandwich was served piping hot and it took a few minutes to allow it to cool down. The bread was toasted and resembled a Panini.  Again, everything looked so good so it was so hard to wait. I took a few bites of the quinoa salad and it was flavorful and the veggies were crunchy and fresh.  I just wanted the sandwich to cool down. I finally took my first bite and my taste buds immediately gravitated to the short rib that was so tender and delicious. I dipped it in the jus and loved the sandwich even more. Then all of a sudden, I got a taste of the aged cheddar cheese that was sharp and was the added an additional flavor to the sandwich.  The horseradish flavor was prevalent but not overwhelming.  All the flavors came together in a perfect harmony.  I took the half of the bread off and enjoyed it as an open-faced toasted sandwich.  When I finished the second half, I was wonderfully pleased satisfied.

I ended my meal with the sandwich because the desserts were not exciting enough for me to break my eating routine.  I considered my cocktail my dessert and I could not even finish that because it was quite a large cocktail for the price.  I was quite pleased about that.  My meal totaled about $34.19 and I have a 20% tip totaled $40.19. For all of the delicious food that I had and the large cocktail, I felt like it was money well spent!  I will definitely make my way back to this hidden Locust Point gem!! My Seven Mac Score consisted of the following:

Please look out for my next post as I review another one of Baltimore’s Best! And remember: It’s a BIG world and we are going to eat our way through it!