Life has been pretty crazy for me recently (in a good way), time for some catching up ...
"Now approaching it's 50th season, Buzz BeLer's swank steakhouse continues to set all kinds of dining standards in Baltimore, from the service which is the ideal of unobtrusiveness, to the consistent quality of its steak and seafood, which has never wavered." - Sun Magazine
The Prime Rib is located in Mid-Town Belvedere and is quite discrete from street view, blending into the surrounding area, but once you enter, you know you are somewhere special!
All interior finishes are either black, white, or gold - high end, shiny, some may say gaudy. No shorts allowed for men, and men's shirts must be collared (I guess they assume women can make appropriate wardrobe selections based on the standard set for men). All members of the staff, from the host, to the waiter, to the chef, appeared to be male, which is something I thought noteworthy, something I definitely don't think I have experienced anywhere else.
The menu is quite pricey, but to be expected for a high end steakhouse, ranked #3 among Baltimore restaurants. Going for Restaurant Week was a pretty good deal, as we all were able to select a first, second, and dessert course. Bread and sides to share were also brought to the table. Service was top notch, food was delicious, an overall great experience!
Pictures did not turn out great, but at least provide a glimpse into The Prime Rib's offerings ...
Course 1:
Course 2:
DESSERT!
Since we crossed two restaurants off of the top 50 list in July, and with everyone's busy summer schedules, we skipped doing a restaurant in August, and kicked off September on Labor Day with #33 City Cafe, skipping over #34 Pazo, which we'll return to next month.
City Cafe is also located in Mid-Town Belvedere, and sun Magazine states, "Guests Know they'll find something good, comforting and well prepared at City Cafe, whether it is for brunch, a rainy Monday night or before a symphony concert." I would say I agree. Many of us had been before for brunch or happy hour, and had had good experiences, so we were excited to try their diner menu.
The restaurant is rather large, and broken up in to multiple areas/levels. The interior is very light and airy, and quite "contemporary cool!"
We were early enough to catch their happy hour and tried a couple discounted Beers and Cocktails, and then, decided to split a bottle of wine, because, well, they were 1/2 price and we had Labor Day to celebrate!
We had all looked at their menu on-line, an had in mind what we might order, but were all also temped by their Monday special ... You could choose a meat: steak, chicken or fish, as well as two toppings for it, in addition to two sides, for only $19, which is a treat as we work our way up the list towards #1. Some details of their menu/specials/options were a little unclear to us, but they were very happy to answer our questions and explain the things that were unclear, so I definitely wouldn't consider that a deterrent.
Here is what we tried:
