729 West 34th Street
Okay, this three-bedroom, one-bathroom rowhouse is actually on 34th Street.  The 34th Street.  The one with the hubcap Christmas tree and the wagon wheel Frosty and the peaceful happy gawkers looking at all the elaborate decorations and lights.  All that’s on the outside, though, but the inside of this house is just as gawk-worthy with its recently remodeled kitchen, huge living room and gorgeous hardwood floors.  It’d be a nice place to relax after hanging (all!) those lights.  Priced at $245,000.

3012 Keswick Road
This three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom rowhouse is close to so many things you’d expect it to be a city all by itself.  Wyman Park, the Avenue, Johns Hopkins, Jones Falls Trail, Druid Hill Park are all within throwing distance, but if you’d like to get a little farther away know that it’s convenient to I-83 and the light rail.  Staying in is a nice option as wel,l with an updated kitchen, a back deck and brick patio, and hardwood floors.  Priced at $259,900.

3103 Tilden Drive
This three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom rowhouse is unique in Hampden: it was built in this century.  Older houses are great, but they’re not for everyone; some folks like all sorts of modern trappings.  Modern trappings like open floorplans, kitchen islands, granite countertops, a master suite… all of which this house has.  It is, however, tucked away on a little Hampden backstreet full of green space and quiet, in case you need an escape from all that modernity.  Priced at $339,000.

photo by flickr user nickhall

Welcome to that magical time of year when the noun ‘holiday’ can be used as an adjective to modify any event, product, or activity, regardless of its relevance to any historical or current holy day. It may not feel much like December––so much as an interminable pre-dawn shower with no hot water when the power’s out––but I’ll help get you into a holiday mood (see?) with a few timely recommendations:

1.    Christ Lutheran Church in the Inner Harbor (701 S. Charles Street) continues its Bach concert series with a performance on Sunday, December 6 at 4:00 p.m. The piece of the day will be the Second Cantata from the Christmas Oratorio. The show is free. Besides, you look like you could use a little culture.

2.    The Central Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Mount Vernon (400 Cathedral Street) is holding a massive used book sale this weekend from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Hardbacks go for a fifty cents. That should give you some notion of the pricing. CDs and DVDs will also be sold. It is harder to think of an easier way to support a better cause in the next seventy-two hours. I’m going with this one.

3.    Miracle on 34th Street is, in addition to being the title of a celebrated and somewhat stale Christmas movie, a stubborn Hampden tradition. The residents of the strip of 34th street that runs from Chesnut Avenue to Keswick Road have for the past sixty-odd years celebrated the coming of the Messiah with massive and garish displays of electrical might in their front yards. Think of the most excessive, parodic arrangement of Christmas lights you’ve ever encountered. Now imagine a laser pointer fired at the surface of the sun. That’s basically the difference between what you’re imagining and what this is. It is tasteless; it may even be sacrilegious. But it’s definitely worth the trip. The spectacle runs through December 31.

In what preliminary holiday rituals will you participate this week?

839 Wellington Street
This three-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath property is only a block from the Avenue — not that you’ll ever want to leave this house once you live here.  Renovated by its previous owner (a contractor!) in 2008, everything seems to be in the right place, from the built-in bookshelves, to the landscaped garden, to the cedar closets in the bedroom.   We’re impressed:  this is a house that has the details right.  Priced at $224,900, down from $239,900.

3157 Keswick Road
This two-bedroom, one-bath rowhouse has perhaps the most spacious backyard we’ve ever seen:  Wyman Park.  Okay, the backyard isn’t actually Wyman Park, but you may feel like it is; the property backs directly up to it, and there’s a spacious screened-in porch directly off the kitchen.  And if you’re worried that with such easy access to open space and playgrounds you won’t get any work done, never fear! The second floor has space for an office – or sitting area, if you don’t want to work from home.  New appliances throughout.  Priced at $219,000, down from $229,900.

1110 W. 38th Street
End of group rowhouses are our favorite, because they just allow that extra little oomph of natural light that make a home feel open and airy.  This two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath rowhouse is no exception.  And why would it be with its big, spacious rooms, backyard patio, and central air conditioning?  Plus it’s only two blocks from the Avenue and a block from Falls Road, making it convenient to shops and restaurants, and convenient for commuting in and out of the city via I-83.  Priced at $239,900, down from $254,900.

If you’d like to know more about any of these houses — or if you have an entirely different house in mind – get in touch with us at Urban Discoveries Living. We’ll help you out with any and all of your real estate needs.

+Your best (and, presumably, only) source for spinach and carrot ice cream,  Dominion Ice Cream (3120 St. Paul Street) will be closing its Charles Village doors sometime later this fall. But never fear, ice cream lovers! The shop plans to relocate, possibly to Hampden. We’ll let you know when we hear for sure.

+Also in Hampden:  tiny but beloved Grano (1031 W. 36th Street) will get a bit more breathing room when it takes over the Chestnut Avenue spot recently vacanted by Dangerously Delicious Pies. We’ve heard some murmurs that a Cuban restaurant might take over Grano’s spot on the Avenue, but nothing’s definite.

Poppy and Stella in Fells Point (728 S. Broadway) is a sly little fancy-town boutique where you (you being a lady) will find plenty of inspiration when next you’ve got a wad to burn. These are shoes and bags one wears with the intention of being noticed, not necessarily with practicality or thrift in mind. There is a fairly reliable sale section, but is that really what you came here for?

Homey and indulgent, Ma Petite Shoes in Hampden (832 W. 36th Street) is a combination shoe-and-chocolate store that takes both lines quite seriously. There are in fact some shoes for men, but I feel that I needn’t name the target gender. With a range of prices, brands, and occasional (ask nicely) free tastings, this is a good store to visit with friends, sisters, or even Mom.

When it comes to men’s shoes, Baltimore’s no different than most places in America––you’ve basically got the discount warehouses and the mall brands. There is some good stuff in both. But if you’re feeling snooty and you’ve got money to spend, try Gian Marco Menswear in Mount Vernon (33 S. Charles Street). In addition to their distinctive clothing (suits) and sportswear (not for playing sports), they’ve got a limited but memorable selection of fine Italian shoes. Men’s shoes are in some ways trickier than women’s. You want to stand out, but you don’t want to look like a jackass. Gian Marco gets it right.

Finally, if you’re going to bother buying decent shoes, then you’ve got to take care of them. Make Eugene’s Shoe Repair in Roland Park (516 W. Coldspring Lane) part of your routine every few months––for polishing, heel repair, and resoling. It’s a tiny place, and the staff isn’t particularly sweet-tempered, but they know what they’re doing and they do it on the cheap.

Where’s your favorite place to get shod?

Photo by flickr user defecto.

So we don’t know how you like to grill, but when we do it we like to partake in a sip or two of suds.  A cold beverage makes a hot job go by much faster.  So we’re here to help you find Baltimore’s best places to get the brew of your choice.

The Wine Source (3601 Elm Avenue) in Hampden has a beer selection that’s kind of amazing.  They’ve got everything from cold cases of Natty Boh to Allagash Four Ale, a Belgian-style Quadrupel. (We thought they stopped at tripel.)  If you can’t decide among all that variety don’t worry, they’ve got a build-your-own-six-pack shelf.

Our Louisianan roommate loves Well’s Discount Liquors out on 6310 York Road in Cedarcroft because it’s the only place he can reliably find his old New Orleans beer, Abita.  Well’s not only has a huge selection (organized by country and region) they also offer online shopping and home delivery from their website (minimum order of $75 for delivery).

Maybe you’d rather get out of the house for your pint of lager and meet some new people.  Well, you’re in luck because Baltimore has some great beer bars.  We’ve mentioned a few of them on this blog before – Brewer’s Art, Max’s Taphouse, the Wharf Rat – but it bears repeating that these places have wonderful beer. You might also want to try Mahaffy’s Pub in Canton; we haven’t been there ourselves, but we hear good things.

Lastly, if you’re into local beers you should give Clipper City Brewing a try.  They’re hometown guys who know their ales from a hole in the ground.

Any other good Baltimore beer tips?  Where’s your favorite place to tip one back?

Photo by flickr user ~BostonBill~

One of the nice things about living in a town with a baseball team that, well, has a somewhat relaxed post-season is that it’s possible to decide to go see a game on a whim at the very last minute. Affordably.

We’ve got a slew of solid sports bars, among them: Dizzy Issie’s in Hampden (300 W 30th St.), the Charles Village Pub in Charles Village (3107 Saint Paul St.), and Elliott’s Pour House in Brewer’s Hill (3728 Hudson St.).

This summer several special offers available through the Web are making it cheaper than ever to visit Camden Yards Downtown (333 W. Camden St.):
1. It is your birthday. Register at the website, and the Orioles will treat you to a game during your Zodiac sign, on them. For those with non-summer birthdays, there’s a proxy-month arrangement that won’t leave you out in the cold.
2. You are a student. Every Friday night when there’s a home game, bring your student ID and get in for only $6. Then brace yourself for the youthful fervor of the student section. Remember college?
3. Today is Tuesday. It’s almost like we planned this. Upper Reserve seats go for $8 every Tuesday, even when regular prices shoot up on prime dates.
4. You are hungry. On Thursday, cough up $15 and get a Eutaw Street Bleacher seat along with a sandwich from the tasty but curiously named Boog’s Barbecue.
5. You are too hungry for that. Pay $40 for a ticket in sections 272-288 and get your hand stamped for all the otherwise prohibitively expensive stadium food you can eat from ninety minutes before game time through the seventh inning.

What’s your favorite part of a trip to Oriole Park?

(Icterus galbula, a tweet to our ornithologist friends, is a Baltimore oriole.)

Let’s all pat ourselves on the back for a second. Doesn’t it sometimes feel like the only top-10 lists people associate with our fair city have to do with things like murder and drugs? Well, we know better, and it seems like finally the national media is finally catching on as well. Not that we need anyone to validate our pride in our city… but, hey, we all appreciate a little recognition now and then.

• The True Vine in Hampden (3544 Hickory Avenue) is one of America’s 15 best indie record stores, according to Spin magazine. They praise the shop’s friendly, intimate atmosphere and its obscure selection of global music, much of it available for cheap on non-descript CD-Rs. “You’d never find this stuff unless you went here,” they say, and we agree. This place is a treasure, and we recommend that you stop by if you haven’t already (or even if you have!). And a note to the wary:  it’s not all obscurities; we’ve seen plenty of Michael Jackson records there as well.
• The Brewer’s Art in Mt. Vernon (1106 N. Charles Street) was named not just one of the best bars in America, but THE best bar. In the country. That’s insane — but not so insane, once you consider the cozy spot’s Belgian-style home brews and its to-die-for fries. It seems like everyone in the world is in here on Friday or Saturday nights, but we prefer stopping in on a quiet mid-week evening to enjoy a burger and a Resurrection at the bar. City living at its best, indeed.
• The 2008 Baltimore Ravens were among the 20 most successful sports franchises (19th, to be exact), the Baltimore Business Journal reports. The records of all 122 teams competing in the NHL, MBA, NFL, and MLB were compared using a complicated algorithm that we don’t feel like going into — we’d rather just bask in the feeling of success… and try to push out of our minds the fact that the Orioles ended up 115th out of 122. Ouch.

photo by Jeff Kubina

How about bringing back the constitutional? Ladies and gents of a certain social status used to do it all the time. A walk around the grounds after dinner for the sake of one’s digestion. Let’s start that up again. And the easiest way to rig it is to live near a lot of nice restaurants. Walk there, walk back. Here’s a selection of optimal locations:

1. Hampden: what better place to take a borborygmic stroll than the Ave? Hiking through John Waters’ turf, you’ll find Woodberry Kitchen (2010 Clipper Park Road), Golden West Café (1105 W. 36th Street), and Puffs and Pastries (830 W. 36th Street).

2. Mt. Vernon: prime hand-holding territory down by the (original!) Washington Monument, so bring a walking partner when you check out the Helmand (806 North Charles Street), Dukem (1100 Maryland Avenue), Akbar (823 N. Charles Street), and Abacrombie (58 W. Biddle Street).

3. Federal Hill: relive the thrill of swearing allegiance to the Federal Government under threat of cannon fire! Mill about this historically awkward neighborhood and visit the Metropolitan (902 South Charles Street), the Bicycle (1444 Light Street), Junior’s Wine Bar (1117 S. Charles Street), and Matsuri (1105 S. Charles Street).

And when you’re good and stuffed, I’ve got this great How to Serve Man book to show you. What are your favorite B-more neighborhoods in which to eat things?

Canton

Canton is hip, pet-friendly, walkable, social, and spunky (according to the LiveBaltimore website, that is). We love it for its waterfront location, and because it’s perfectly positioned to take advantage of all the best ethnic food in Baltimore.

3800 Hudson Street, 21224

The Boh-man glass window (picture below) says it all: this house helps put the charm in Charm City. We kind of want to live here and throw lots of cool parties for our hip urban friends — there’s a private patio, a surround sound setup in the living room, and lots of exposed brick. Discounted to $255,000 from $335,000, this three-bedroom, 1.5 bath townhouse is nicely priced, too.

Hampden

Much has been made about the hipsterfication of Hampden, but the neighborhood seems to have found the perfect balance between expanding retail options (for example, The Avenue, several walkable blocks of locally-owned shops and restaurants) and maintaining its quirky, neighborhood feel.

3530 Elm Avenue, 21211

This adorable three-bedroom, 1.5-bath house reminds us of the best parts of living in Hampden — you can have a homey haven in the middle of the city. With high ceilings and hardwood floors throughout, we’re thinking this would make a classy family home. (It’s also got a pantry, a carport, and a mud room.) It’s listed at $239,000 (down from $247,000).

Locust Point

With its mix of old-school rowhouses and sleek new high rises, Locust Point is an intriguing example of how the past and present can co-exist in Baltimore. With easy access to the water and to Ft. McHenry, Locust Point is also ideal for Baltimoreans who want to enjoy the outdoors.

1331 Clement Street East, 21230

This pretty brick end-of-group rowhouse features fabulous city views — and tons of windows, through which to better appreciate those views. Inside you’ll find three bedrooms, one bathroom, and plenty of exposed brick and hardwood floors… along with a finished basement. It’s priced at $249,900, down from $254,900.