Best BYOB Restaurants In Baltimore
If you don't like to sacrifice good food in exchange for a great drink selection, you may well consider a restaurant that lets you cart in your own personal drinks while still happily serving up the goods in the food department. All five hangouts listed here are renowned for their excellent food, good prices and permissive policy when it comes to BYOB.
Byblos
1033 Light St.
Baltimore, Md. 21230
(410) 209-2495
www.bybloslebanesecuisine.com
Byblos is a Lebanese restaurant with a comfortable, homey feel made possible by its relaxing atmosphere and authentic art. And what could be more like home than relaxing and drinking your own brand of adult beverage? Breeze in with your own six-pack, and don't sweat corkage fees, because there are none. Whether you try the hummus, the shawarma or the pita, each dish tastes as if it was homemade just for you. And if you get tired of your own beverages, try the Turkish coffee. It's about as authentic as it gets.
Baba's Mediterranean Kitchen
745 E. Fort Ave.
Baltimore, Md. 21230
(410) 727-7482
www.babaskitchen.net
Mediterranean food has a lot to offer. For the health-conscious, there are a wide variety of filling and tasty salads and rice dishes; and for the true carnivore, Baba's range of meat dishes, kabobs and pitas are sure to please. But exotic dining is often best with familiar brews. Grab a case of your favorite beverage and head over to Baba's for good food and personalized drinking. They don't mind, they won't charge and their much-touted in-house service makes the dining – and drinking – experience a never-miss.
Darker than Blue Cafe
3034 Greenmount Ave.
Baltimore, Md. 21218
www.darkerthanbluecafe.com
If you are in the mood for All-American dishes prepared by a gourmet chef, Darker Than Blue Café serves up the goods in style. This restaurant aims to convey the authentic African-American experience that everyone can enjoy. Chow down on USA favorites like burgers, baby-back ribs or roasted chicken. Bring your own beer at no extra cost, and enjoy it the way that a Baltimore brew should be savored: with Chef Casey Jenkins' own Maryland crab cakes.
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Iggies
818 N. Calvert St.
Baltimore, Md. 21202
(410) 528-0818
www.iggiespizza.com
Iggies serves up a darn good pizza by any standard and takes pride in its use of '00' flour, bottled water and San Marzano tomatoes used on the same day as purchase. The gourmet pizzas include such flavors as duck confit and blue cheese and asparagus. Iggies is a heartwarmingly generous establishment. It doesn't accept tips, encouraging patrons to put that money toward the charity it is sponsoring that month. Iggies allows customers to wheel in their own beverage of choice with no corkage fees. Enjoy!
Orchard Market & Cafe
8815 Orchard Tree Lane
Towson, Md. 21286
(410) 339-7700
www.orchardmarketandcafe.com
Orchard Market & Café deserves the publicity. Tucked away in the corner of a strip mall in Towson, it's not very visible, but it is a great venue. The name "Orchard Market" may not immediately conjure up the image of Persian food, but that's the menu. Come on in for such treats as dried plum lamb, duck fesenjan, spicy kermani beef or halim bademjan (a mixture of eggplant, beans, sour cream, garlic, walnuts and madras curry). Wash it all down with your personal favorite in drink, and don't worry because this spot doesn't charge corkage fees.
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Joel Furches is a freelance writer and researcher for The Examiner and Logos Software, and also manages his own catalog of writing on Hub Pages. Joel is on the board of directors for Ratio Christi. He has a bachelors in Psychology and a Masters in Education.
