Best of Baltimore: NoCho Style!
09/22/09 20:31 Filed in: Charles
North
First....
The Readers Poll:
Best Eyesore: "Male/Female" by Jonathan Borofsky
Best Festival: Artscape
Best Local Beer: Resurrection, the Brewer's Art, 1106 N. Charles St., (410) 547-6925, thebrewersart.com
Best Dive Bar: Mount Royal Tavern, 1204 W. Mount Royal Ave., (410) 669-6686
Best Upscale Bar: the Brewer's Art
Best Jukebox: Club Charles, 1724 N. Charles St., (410) 727-8815, theclubcharles.com
Best Bartender: Russell de Ocampo, Windup Space, 12 W. North Ave., (410) 244-8855, thewindupspace.com
Best Local Music Festival: Artscape
Best Movie Theater: the Charles Theatre, 1711, N. Charles St., (410) 727-3456, thecharles.com
Best Film Festival/Series: Maryland Film Festival
Best Local Theater Company: Single Carrot Theatre, 120 W. North Ave., (443) 844-9253, singlecarrot.com
And now, the official Best of Baltimore list:
Best Festival
Artscape Midway
For the second year in a row, the aptly named Midway transformed the Charles Street bridge into a playground for local performers and artists to let loose, excite our imagination, and make art fun again. Witness if you will, Disco Boxing, where the force of each punch into a heavy bag translated into how many, and how bright, you lit up the 256 bulbs positioned around you. If boxing wasn't your thing, you could strap yourself to a pole and take part in a game of human foosball. Ever wonder what a rave with a max capacity of about 12 is like? Answer: Awesome! These and many more installations have us itching to see what wonders await next year. So ladies and gentlemen, step right up, and be amazed.
Best Theater Company
Single Carrot Theatre
120 W. North Ave., (443) 844-9253, singlecarrot.com
This category gets tougher and tougher every year, and theatergoing audiences are the true winners because of it. The young upstarts at Single Carrot Theatre get the nod this year, not only for bringing contemporary titles to town, such as Adam Szymkowicz' Food for Fish, Sarah Kane's Crave, and Tracy Letts' Killer Joe; for producing top-notch lesser-known works from classic dramatists, such as the spring production of Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck; or for staging their own original comedies (Slampooned). No, what sets SCT apart is its commitment to participate and build the local theater community: After only three full seasons in Baltimore, SCT launched a week-long summer youth conservatory focusing on acting, design, and production for 8th-12th graders, and two of its members were part of a Baltimore contingent that visited Russia's Golden Mask Festival, a networking journey that could yield local productions of contemporary Russian plays as early as next year.
Best New Theater
LOF/T
120 W. North Ave., loadoffun.net/LoadofFun/TheLOFt.html
MICHAEL NORTHRUP
The Load of Fun Theatre--LOF/t, for short--is exactly what Baltimore needed. This multi-use but technically equipped small black-box theater can accommodate just about any type of performance--from small local or traveling theater companies to mixed-media performances, from poetry readings to very rare intimate music shows, from installation art to performance art. It's a stage setup that by its very design and curatorial mission hopes to expand the definition of theater to incorporate a wide swathe of time-based work and performative output. And it's doing just that with its varied calendar of local and touring artists.
Best Multipurpose Space
The Hexagon
1825 N. Charles St., hexagonspace.com
Formerly the Lo-Fi Social Club and almost exclusively a music venue, the revamped Hexagon Space has transitioned into the most promising multipurpose space in the Station North Arts District. Collectively run by local artists and musicians, the previously underused lobby/lounge has become a functioning art gallery (hosting a members' art showcase and screen-printing exchange and exhibition) and DIY/limited-release music store. The rear performance space still welcomes musical acts of all variety, as well as free 16-mm movie screenings. Constantly accepting proposals for both art exhibitions and music shows, festivals and dance parties, the space has an enthusiastic ever-expanding audience.
Best Film Series
The Charles Theatre
1711 N. Charles St., (410) 727-3456, thecharles.com
When we want artistically soulful, intellectually satisfying, and more visually challenging filmgoing, we'll stick with the one that's been giving it to us for decades. As always, the Charles' programming leans to the artier, the indie, and the auteur-embracing, and while it would be nice to see it try something riskier on every now and again, its various film series provide much-needed cinematic food for the soul. Between the John Standiford-booked revival series (which brought some new prints of classic Jean-Luc Godard titles to town and revisited the films of Robert Altman), the contemporary French movies that screen intermittently as part of the solid La Cinematheque series, or the midnight film series that revisited some fun classics (Videodrome, RoboCop, The Serpent and the Rainbow, They Live)--not to mention the international opera and ballet series broadcast from Europe--the Charles is inching closer and closer to its halcyon 1980s programming schedules, where almost every night offered some new kind of kick.
Best Wings
iBar
2118 Maryland Ave., (410) 637-3089, ibarbalt.com
We found this odd little bar almost by accident, having no expectations for it other than a cold beer and, hopefully, some level of non-creepiness. (From the outside, it looks an awful lot like one of a handful of depressed/defunct internet "cafes" in the area and makes its home on a methadone clinic/day-treatment center-pocked stretch of Maryland Avenue not exactly known for bustling nightlife, or really anything.) Instead, we found a cozy, friendly spot with a near-constant stream of glowing--like, radioactive glowing--Buffalo wings coming out of the kitchen. Those not-too-vinegary, not-too-sweet, perfectly sauced, and perfectly spicy wings have kept us coming back ever since. Order the "suicidal," a glass of water, and thank us later.
Best Non-Music Bar Act
Wham City lecture series
1726 N. Charles St., (410) 727-8815, whamcity.com
There are lots of things one can imagine doing at a bar, but listening to an art student lecture on the history of segregation in Baltimore is probably not one of them. But Connor Kizer, of Santa Dads fame, has assembled an eclectic combination of graduate students, musicians, artists, and people he meets on the street to lecture a bar crowd about the subjects they know and love best. If you've missed the series so far, you can find a few of the best 45-minute talks online, like wild tales from erstwhile City Paper contributor Rjyan Kidwell of touring through random cities in western Canada, and creative writing teacher Julia Kudravetz discussing the history of complaints. While the grab-bag nature of the series means that its consistency drops on occasion, the lanky, charming Kizer is the perfect host for the event, and he's always looking for speakers.
Best First-Date Bar
The Brewer's Art
1106 N. Charles St., (410) 547-6925, thebrewersart.com
FRANK HAMILTON
Question: Is a better first-date bar brutally loud or comfortably quiet? How 'bout both? The dim downstairs catacomb of the Brewer's Art is, by now, a first-date institution. Awesome food and awesome beers to impress your date (and not crush your wallet), a short walk from the Charles Theatre, the Lyric, and the Meyerhoff, and a layout full of secret, quiet nooks to get to know each other, and the chaotic, often near-deafening main bar area to rescue you when the conversation starts to get awkward, but neither one of you are ready to throw in the towel.
Best Local Bottled Beer
Resurrection
Bright and strong, abbey-style Resurrection has long been a favorite wisely served in a goblet at home base Brewer's Art, on tap at finer establishments around town, and, finally, in a tall 750-milliliter brown glass bottle to share. Its smoky amber color and foamy head look quite lovely in a vessel of your choice while sitting a bit on a porch, stoop, or back deck--even in uneven weather, we Baltimoreans know how to utilize our limited space. It's a serious beer with a playful bite that kicks ass in a loud bar, but at home, it's just a special treat meant for savoring over conversation and under the stars.
Best Bar for Tourists
Club Charles
1724 N. Charles St., (410) 727-8815, theclubcharles.com
We can hear the outrage already: "What, they don't even have crabs! Or Pikesville Rye! Or Natty Boh!" "I'm not walking from my Inner Harbor hotel all the way up there!" "Is that neighborhood even safe?" Well, we're kidding about the last one--kinda, we still hear goofballs freaking out about Station North--but, yeah, we are saying this is Baltimore's best bar for tourists. Why? It's an institution for starters. It's been on the block since 1951 (though it was called the Wigwam Restaurant for the first 30 or so years). Add to it a location that's far realer than the prefab touristiness of the Inner Harbor and close to the heart of Baltimore's arts and music communities, and you're getting there. Add to it that this is one of Baltimore's handful of "John Waters bars," multiply by the fact that Dan Deacon is probably Baltimore's new John Waters and he definitely hangs here, and it's worth checking out, even if you're just passing through.
The Readers Poll:
Best Eyesore: "Male/Female" by Jonathan Borofsky
Best Festival: Artscape
Best Local Beer: Resurrection, the Brewer's Art, 1106 N. Charles St., (410) 547-6925, thebrewersart.com
Best Dive Bar: Mount Royal Tavern, 1204 W. Mount Royal Ave., (410) 669-6686
Best Upscale Bar: the Brewer's Art
Best Jukebox: Club Charles, 1724 N. Charles St., (410) 727-8815, theclubcharles.com
Best Bartender: Russell de Ocampo, Windup Space, 12 W. North Ave., (410) 244-8855, thewindupspace.com
Best Local Music Festival: Artscape
Best Movie Theater: the Charles Theatre, 1711, N. Charles St., (410) 727-3456, thecharles.com
Best Film Festival/Series: Maryland Film Festival
Best Local Theater Company: Single Carrot Theatre, 120 W. North Ave., (443) 844-9253, singlecarrot.com
And now, the official Best of Baltimore list:
Best Festival
Artscape Midway
For the second year in a row, the aptly named Midway transformed the Charles Street bridge into a playground for local performers and artists to let loose, excite our imagination, and make art fun again. Witness if you will, Disco Boxing, where the force of each punch into a heavy bag translated into how many, and how bright, you lit up the 256 bulbs positioned around you. If boxing wasn't your thing, you could strap yourself to a pole and take part in a game of human foosball. Ever wonder what a rave with a max capacity of about 12 is like? Answer: Awesome! These and many more installations have us itching to see what wonders await next year. So ladies and gentlemen, step right up, and be amazed.
Best Theater Company
Single Carrot Theatre
120 W. North Ave., (443) 844-9253, singlecarrot.com
This category gets tougher and tougher every year, and theatergoing audiences are the true winners because of it. The young upstarts at Single Carrot Theatre get the nod this year, not only for bringing contemporary titles to town, such as Adam Szymkowicz' Food for Fish, Sarah Kane's Crave, and Tracy Letts' Killer Joe; for producing top-notch lesser-known works from classic dramatists, such as the spring production of Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck; or for staging their own original comedies (Slampooned). No, what sets SCT apart is its commitment to participate and build the local theater community: After only three full seasons in Baltimore, SCT launched a week-long summer youth conservatory focusing on acting, design, and production for 8th-12th graders, and two of its members were part of a Baltimore contingent that visited Russia's Golden Mask Festival, a networking journey that could yield local productions of contemporary Russian plays as early as next year.
Best New Theater
LOF/T
120 W. North Ave., loadoffun.net/LoadofFun/TheLOFt.html
MICHAEL NORTHRUP
The Load of Fun Theatre--LOF/t, for short--is exactly what Baltimore needed. This multi-use but technically equipped small black-box theater can accommodate just about any type of performance--from small local or traveling theater companies to mixed-media performances, from poetry readings to very rare intimate music shows, from installation art to performance art. It's a stage setup that by its very design and curatorial mission hopes to expand the definition of theater to incorporate a wide swathe of time-based work and performative output. And it's doing just that with its varied calendar of local and touring artists.
Best Multipurpose Space
The Hexagon
1825 N. Charles St., hexagonspace.com
Formerly the Lo-Fi Social Club and almost exclusively a music venue, the revamped Hexagon Space has transitioned into the most promising multipurpose space in the Station North Arts District. Collectively run by local artists and musicians, the previously underused lobby/lounge has become a functioning art gallery (hosting a members' art showcase and screen-printing exchange and exhibition) and DIY/limited-release music store. The rear performance space still welcomes musical acts of all variety, as well as free 16-mm movie screenings. Constantly accepting proposals for both art exhibitions and music shows, festivals and dance parties, the space has an enthusiastic ever-expanding audience.
Best Film Series
The Charles Theatre
1711 N. Charles St., (410) 727-3456, thecharles.com
When we want artistically soulful, intellectually satisfying, and more visually challenging filmgoing, we'll stick with the one that's been giving it to us for decades. As always, the Charles' programming leans to the artier, the indie, and the auteur-embracing, and while it would be nice to see it try something riskier on every now and again, its various film series provide much-needed cinematic food for the soul. Between the John Standiford-booked revival series (which brought some new prints of classic Jean-Luc Godard titles to town and revisited the films of Robert Altman), the contemporary French movies that screen intermittently as part of the solid La Cinematheque series, or the midnight film series that revisited some fun classics (Videodrome, RoboCop, The Serpent and the Rainbow, They Live)--not to mention the international opera and ballet series broadcast from Europe--the Charles is inching closer and closer to its halcyon 1980s programming schedules, where almost every night offered some new kind of kick.
Best Wings
iBar
2118 Maryland Ave., (410) 637-3089, ibarbalt.com
We found this odd little bar almost by accident, having no expectations for it other than a cold beer and, hopefully, some level of non-creepiness. (From the outside, it looks an awful lot like one of a handful of depressed/defunct internet "cafes" in the area and makes its home on a methadone clinic/day-treatment center-pocked stretch of Maryland Avenue not exactly known for bustling nightlife, or really anything.) Instead, we found a cozy, friendly spot with a near-constant stream of glowing--like, radioactive glowing--Buffalo wings coming out of the kitchen. Those not-too-vinegary, not-too-sweet, perfectly sauced, and perfectly spicy wings have kept us coming back ever since. Order the "suicidal," a glass of water, and thank us later.
Best Non-Music Bar Act
Wham City lecture series
1726 N. Charles St., (410) 727-8815, whamcity.com
There are lots of things one can imagine doing at a bar, but listening to an art student lecture on the history of segregation in Baltimore is probably not one of them. But Connor Kizer, of Santa Dads fame, has assembled an eclectic combination of graduate students, musicians, artists, and people he meets on the street to lecture a bar crowd about the subjects they know and love best. If you've missed the series so far, you can find a few of the best 45-minute talks online, like wild tales from erstwhile City Paper contributor Rjyan Kidwell of touring through random cities in western Canada, and creative writing teacher Julia Kudravetz discussing the history of complaints. While the grab-bag nature of the series means that its consistency drops on occasion, the lanky, charming Kizer is the perfect host for the event, and he's always looking for speakers.
Best First-Date Bar
The Brewer's Art
1106 N. Charles St., (410) 547-6925, thebrewersart.com
FRANK HAMILTON
Question: Is a better first-date bar brutally loud or comfortably quiet? How 'bout both? The dim downstairs catacomb of the Brewer's Art is, by now, a first-date institution. Awesome food and awesome beers to impress your date (and not crush your wallet), a short walk from the Charles Theatre, the Lyric, and the Meyerhoff, and a layout full of secret, quiet nooks to get to know each other, and the chaotic, often near-deafening main bar area to rescue you when the conversation starts to get awkward, but neither one of you are ready to throw in the towel.
Best Local Bottled Beer
Resurrection
Bright and strong, abbey-style Resurrection has long been a favorite wisely served in a goblet at home base Brewer's Art, on tap at finer establishments around town, and, finally, in a tall 750-milliliter brown glass bottle to share. Its smoky amber color and foamy head look quite lovely in a vessel of your choice while sitting a bit on a porch, stoop, or back deck--even in uneven weather, we Baltimoreans know how to utilize our limited space. It's a serious beer with a playful bite that kicks ass in a loud bar, but at home, it's just a special treat meant for savoring over conversation and under the stars.
Best Bar for Tourists
Club Charles
1724 N. Charles St., (410) 727-8815, theclubcharles.com
We can hear the outrage already: "What, they don't even have crabs! Or Pikesville Rye! Or Natty Boh!" "I'm not walking from my Inner Harbor hotel all the way up there!" "Is that neighborhood even safe?" Well, we're kidding about the last one--kinda, we still hear goofballs freaking out about Station North--but, yeah, we are saying this is Baltimore's best bar for tourists. Why? It's an institution for starters. It's been on the block since 1951 (though it was called the Wigwam Restaurant for the first 30 or so years). Add to it a location that's far realer than the prefab touristiness of the Inner Harbor and close to the heart of Baltimore's arts and music communities, and you're getting there. Add to it that this is one of Baltimore's handful of "John Waters bars," multiply by the fact that Dan Deacon is probably Baltimore's new John Waters and he definitely hangs here, and it's worth checking out, even if you're just passing through.