Technology & MSG

I went to Don’t Know Tavern on Friday night. It’s owned by the same people as No Idea Tavern, apparently both named as if to answer the question “so where were you last name?” I don’t know if I’d call it “in celebration,” but it was for ACW’s final fling happy hour before he quits blogging forever. There were quite a few other bloggers present, plus some non-bloggers and a few starting-up-again bloggers. It’s always nice to see people that you’ve been interacting with online, especially this group.

That wooden bar is rectangular and has seating for 40 around it’s circumference. There are leather couches and chairs in the front corner which looked very comfortable, high four-top tables in the other front corner, as well as a handful of four-top booths in the back adjacent to the games. Restrooms were clean, though the motion-activated light switch could leave you in the dark if you stood still for more than a minute or two.

Food and beverage service at the bar was unbelievably good. In the few hours that I was there I was waited on by no less than 4 different bartenders, all who seemed to be in constant rotation. 20 ounce drafts cost $4 or $5 depending on your preference for domestics or fancier beers, margaritas (with Cuervo) were $6. On Friday nights, ladies can enjoy a $5 bottomless wine glass from 5-8pm. I don’t care for wine, but that seems like a good deal to me.

After seeing someone else get it, we split the Ultimate Grilled Cheese ($6) at the bar. The menu accurately describes it as “four cheeses piled high, applewood smoked bacon, sliced tomato on hearty sourdough bread.” I couldn’t argue with that; as heart-clogging as it was, it was very tasty. A few of us had smelled garlic earlier in the evening as food orders were being walked by us on the way to the tables, but I was a disappointed by the garlic fries ($2). They were edible, but slightly soggy and not all that garlic-like at all. The pickle was a nice finish, however.

I heard good things about the Buffalo Chicken pizza, that it wasn’t just Frank’s slathered on dough but that there were chunks of tomato and celery mixed into it. Charissa didn’t care for the supposed red pepper hummus one bit, however… might want to avoid that.

As far as non-consumable entertainment is concerned, there’s a jukebox and one of those shotgun-like hunting games, tabletop video poker, a pool table, plus shuffleboard and $1 air hockey. I hadn’t played air hockey in a long time but am going to have to find somewhere to play in the future. Shuffleboard is new to me, at least the table top variety. I’d played the clay court version in a retirement village in Arizona over a decade ago and hadn’t ever heard of anything else until a year ago. It was the first time I’ve played and I must say I had a great time even though our team didn’t win. It takes a lot of finesse and delicacy to send the puck down the board without going too far or running into the other pucks. Definitely something to be repeated soon.

The atmosphere is calm though slightly sports oriented. There weren’t a lot of team colors being worn by patrons, but the staff’s apparel was all Under Armour and there were a lot of large televisions on the wall all showing various baseball games. I got there around 6ish and it wasn’t too noisy until around 9ish. Around 10pm it gets somewhat obnoxious as the barely post-collegiate crowd starts piling in after pre-gaming all afternoon at Cross Street or their condos in Federal Hill. If you don’t like it loud, this is a good time to head somewhere else.

I’d be all for starting an evening out at Don’t Know Tavern.

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Tags: baltimore, bars, beer, food, gaming, reviews