Baltimore, MD

The first place my fiance and I rented in Baltimore was a carriage house in Ridgely’s Delight (a small downtown neighborhood between Martin Luther King Blvd. and Russell Street). We LOVE coffee and bookstores and there was a “coming soon” sign in the window of nearby shop. A huge coffee cup was hanging above the door, which read, “Baltimore Chop”. We sneaked peeks into the store almost everyday hoping that the doors would open soon.

A week after we moved to Hampden, Baltimore Chop was open for business. Luckily, we still visit the neighborhood and we popped in to explore one Saturday afternoon. There are so many reasons to visit this bookstore/coffee shop/music venue. First of all, there is a fantastic selection of books. Every genre you could imagine (especially indie ones) are represented, plus there is a children’s section and a section devoted to the neighborhood’s most famous late resident, Babe Ruth and his passion-baseball.

In the front of Baltimore Chop is the cafe. Just to give you a heads up, their coffee drinks are all espresso based. That doesn’t mean you can’t have your morning coffee, it just means you’ll call it a “cafe americano”. There are also many other drinks including chai and other specialty drinks.

This Saturday, July 15, at 8:00pm, Baltimore Chop is hosting: Lexington, KY Indie/Pop band-Watson Park and Pittsburgh Indie/Pop band-Bridgley Moore. There are many more shows, pictures, book updates, etc. that you will find on their myspace page.

They are even dog friendly and the staff are very pleasant! Be sure to drop by soon, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Baltimore, Bookstore, music, Baltimore Chop, Ridgely’s Delight, Coffee, Coffee Shop, myspace, Bridgley Moore, Watson Park

There is so much that I have discovered about Baltimore since moving to the city. I will do my best to cover the countless tasty restaurants, special events, unique neighborhoods, and enriching wellness stores and centers. The event that I am highlighting today is Artscape, which takes place on the weekend of July 20th. You won’t want to miss one of Baltimore’s largest events of the year, plus its free!

Here are the logistical details: On Friday and Saturday the festival runs from noon-10pm and on Sunday from noon-8pm. I highly recommend taking the light rail if possible. Parking is tight and the University of Baltimore/Mt. Royal stop is in the middle of the festival, which is the 1200 block of Mount Royal Avenue, in the Bolton Hill neighborhood.

There is something for everyone at Artscape. Performances include everything from opera, to fashion shows, to dance, and everything in between. Families will enjoy the hands-on art activities, musical experiences, and animal education and projects. Every kind of art you could imagine is exhibited at the festival and there are gallery shows around every corner. I highly recommend visiting the Artscape website here to find what you would enjoy most. Not to mention, it is a chance to mingle with your community and eat some great food. Enjoy!

Baltimore, art, artscape