Sip & Bite Photos

Fries & Pickled Beets

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Combo Appetizer Plate

Spanakopita & Crab Cake

Baklava Cheesecake

Chicken & Shrimp Sub

Sip & Bite Review

 Sip & Bite Overall Review

 

Restaurant #3 in our dive series is Sip & Bite, a diner located in Canton. It has been open since 1948. The food here is your typical diner fare, plus some traditional Greek offerings such as Spanakopita, Hummus and Gyros. The atmosphere can best be described as 1950’s diner, complete with wooden booths, white ceramic floor and a guy behind a counter in front of a great big grill cooking up vittles while one waitress moves back and forth between the grill and the booths with hearty, down home cooking and frank, entertaining conversation. There is street parking, as is pretty much the norm here in Canton, with its big, busy street that runs right through it, behind which streets are filled with quaint, close set row-houses. This is a great spot for after-hours or when you want breakfast at lunchtime or vice versa. This is definitely family-friendly establishment.  Overall we give Sip & Bite ♪♪a half note. 

2200 Boston Street

Baltimore, MD 21231

410-675-7077

Combo Appetizers

This appetizer came with Onion Rings, Calamari, Mozzarella sticks and chicken tenders.  Interestingly enough, the fried calamari and chicken tenders were wonderfully seasoned with a herbed batter that we really enjoyed.  The Mozzarella sticks and onion rings were prepared in a plain unflavored and extremely boring batter.  Why the difference?  We have no idea.  If you do visit the restaurant, please try the fried calamari, because it was delicious. 

Spanakopita 

Imagine layers of phyllo dough stuffed with spinach and an assortment of cheese.  The phyllo was light and flaky while the filling was creamy and rich.  It had a nice flavor, reminiscent of a floral creamed spinach.  We actually liked it considering neither of us are Greek food fans.  

 Crab Cake, Mashed Potatoes and Pickled Beets

Well Sip & Bite is known for its crabcakes.  This flat pancake like crab cake was ok...  It had quite a bit of filler, yet housed a lot of flavor.  We enjoyed the spiciness of the dish; the spice was a nice compliment to the crab.  The mashed potatoes were real and not out of a box.  Thank the Lord!  The beets on the other hand were rather concerning.  They were oily and oniony....the only way we can sum them up is STRANGE!  We recommend not trying the beets.  

Chicken & Shrimp Sub with Fries

Now this was exciting!  They took shredded pieces of chicken breast and whole fried shrimp, grilled them with cheese and slapped them onto a wonderfully gummy sub roll.  The sub was not greasy and the shrimp had a fresh oceany flavor.  The fries were crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.  Very Yummy!

Baklava Cheesecake

The chef took traditional baklava and made it both the crust and the topping of this super rich cheesecake.  It was delicious, but so heavy and, did we mention, rich.  We each took 3 bites and had to put the fork down.  This is a must try.  

Angela's Review

So, this had to be the most fascinating dining out experience we 2-SoulSisters have ever had. And I mean that in only the best way. This 24 hour diner boasts on its website having been featured in Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  They have been open since 1948 and are famous for their crab cakes, so you know we had to try them. I actually knew about this restaurant from having read about them in Baltimore Magazine, being lauded as having one of the best crab cakes in town, and I have driven past them repeatedly in my jaunts to my friend Mandy’s apartment in Canton. You cannot miss the great big red and blue sign, SIP & BITE… open 24 hours. Now I am very picky when it comes to crab cakes. I used to always say I did not like them, but as I have gotten older and tried more and more variations on the theme, I have realized that it is not that I do not like them, just that I am very particular about how they are prepared. I am used to eating them deep fried, made with mustard and lots of filler. I definitely do not like them that way. I prefer big chunks of crab meat, sans mustard, lightly packed and held together with minimal filler. Sip and Bite’s crab cake was yet another variation. I was sort of shocked to see them come out more flat than round and pretty darn big, reminiscent of a flapjack. They had a really good flavor. I was not disappointed and although they seemed to be as much filler as they were crab (not that there was not enough crab) I enjoyed them.  As for the service, what can I say? It was like being at home with mom. Our waitress; a blond, robust, cheeky woman reprimanded us for not eating all our food and still ordering dessert. I commented that with all the food we ordered, did she really think us two little girls would eat it all? She laughed. She even showed our plates to the table behind us, as she took the remainder of our meals away, to let them see how much food we left on our plates. Overall, I give Sip&Bite ♪♪♪.

Melissa's Review

 

Sip & Bite is a curious little place.  Sitting on the edge of Canton, it is a small hole in the wall diner.  It was featured on the Food Network’s hit show Diner Drive-ins and Dives.    Since this was a spot close to us Angela and I thought we might as well give it a try.  I have to admit I was not that impressed.  The food was pretty good , but far from amazing.  Realistically one should not expect AMAZING food from a diner but since this one was featured on Diner Drive-ins and Dives, I had high hopes.  Alas, my hopes were dashed.    The highlight of the evening was the public tongue lashing we received from our waitress who was offended and aghast that we would not take our leftovers home.   It upset her so badly that she went to the next table and told those folks how unbelievable it was that we were not willing to take our food remains home.  She encouraged them to join in the public shaming.  Being publicly shamed was an interesting experience.  I have to admit that it did not upset me, but rather made me laugh that someone who was waiting on me would so quickly get upset and speak her mind before her tip was given…Lol.   No worries readers, she still got a 20+% tip.  What I have decided is that Sip & Bite is one of those places that if you were hungry and it was late, this would be a good spot to try.  Again, the food is not bad it’s just not the over the top special either.  Overall I give Sip & Bite ♪♪.    

Nak Won Photos

Seafood Pancake

Assorted Kimchi's

Iced Noodle Bowl

Rice Punch

Bulgogi

More Assorted Kimchi's

Nak Won Review

NakWon Overall Review

 

Restaurant #2 in our Dive Series is Nak Won.  This is a Korean BBQ restaurant in Northern Baltimore City.  The atmosphere at Nak Won can be described as homely and stark.  It was reminiscent of an elementary school cafeteria.  There were no memorable decorations and lonely tables and chairs sat on a very slanted floor.  The food was mediocre and the service sucked!  There is street parking and a small lot next to the restaurant.  While dining you can check on your car by viewing the parking lot on the closed circuit TV which we recommend that you do because of the unsafe neighborhood.  Usually we would take this opportunity to recommend who should dine here, however we do NOT recommend that you dine here.   It sits adjacent to another Korean BBQ restaurant that we recommend you try instead of this one.  (Melissa has actually tried the other one and liked it much better.)  Overall we give Nak Won ♪ and a half note.

12 West 20th Street Baltimore (410) 244-5501

Seafood Pancake

Imagine a potato pancake fritter with spring onions and assorted seafood.  This pancake was not greasy and had a nice crunch.  The onions gave it a nice earthy flavor.  We did wish that there were a larger variety of seafood included in this pancake.  

 Assorted Kimchi's

There was a kimchi with large flat noodles that were gummy and slightly fishy.  There was a bean sprout kimchi, which was mild and lightly fermented.  Next was the imitation crab and shredded cucumber kimchi, which was in a sauce that looked like mayo but tasted like mustard.  The bok choy and carrot kimchi was lightly marinated with sesame oil and sprinkled with sesame seeds.  It too had a light and delicate flavor.  The cucumber kimchi was light and spicy.  It did not have a real taste, but was just spicy.  Next there was the traditional cabbage kimchi which was spicy, vinegary and had a nice kick.  Lastly there was the octopus kimchi.  This was by far the most exciting of the bunch.  The octopus was gummy (in a good way), sweet and spicy hot.  

Bulgogi... Aka Korean BBQ

This should have been a wonderfully BBQ'ed beef cooked over an open flame, instead it was a sweet, sauteed beef that was extremely boring and way too over done. 

Iced Noodle Bowl (this is our name for this strange dish)

Lets see...imagine rice noodles covered in a less spicy red sriracha sauce with eggs and bean sprouts.  The dish was then garnished with ICE CHIPS!...Yes that's right ICE CHIPS!  You figure it out.  The taste was bland and unremarkable.  It can be best described as cold noodles and spice.

Rice Punch

This was by far the highlight of the evening.  This cold rice concoction was sweet and delightful.  Its hard to describe but imagine a sweet rice water.  We really like this little treat. 

Angela's Review

Now I have never been to a Korean restaurant before, but ever since Melissa first made me her version of Korean BBQ short-ribs, I have wanted to try one. Honestly, I can say I think I prefer Melissa’s Korean BBQ to what I had at Nak Won. Don’t get me wrong, the food at Nak Won was tasty and interesting. The ingredients were fresh, the meats tender and the sauces tasty. The food was just missing that WOW factor and the service was only adequate. I say this because we (and by we, I mean Melissa) specifically asked about the Korean BBQ because unlike some Korean Restaurants, there was no grill set into the table, and was told that they bring the grill out to prepare the BBQ. Unfortunately, when the BBQ came out it was already cooked, and we were told this was because we only ordered one order and they only bring out the grill for orders of two or more, because it is too much work for just one order. Of course, anyone who eats out regularly appreciates this sort of information before it is too late to do anything about it. Oh well <sigh>. Two things I did really enjoy about the experience were the Barley tea with which we started, a staple of which I had never heard, and the rice punch with which we ended our meal (this was a really lovely touch). All in all, I give Nak Won ♪♪.

Melissa's Review

I have to admit that I love Korean food and specifically Korean BBQ.  Between Janet’s mama’s amazing home cooking and some great Korean restaurants I feel I have a decent handle on what’s good and what’s not so good.  The food and the service at Nak Won was not so good.  To begin, I made it clear when we were seated that Angela and I wanted BBQ cooked table side.  The waitress said ok.  We ordered our food and when it arrived the BBQ had been cooked in the kitchen.  I asked the waitress why it had been cooked in the kitchen after I made it clear that we wanted to cook our own beef at the table.  She not so nicely, let me know that it was too much work for her to bring out the cooking apparatus and cook our BBQ tableside.   Keep in mind it was not too much work for her to bring that same apparatus to the table of Korean gentlemen sitting right next to us.   Humm…  Thank God for the Holy Spirit because that poor waitress almost got a beat down.  The BBQ had a nice flavor but it was over cooked.  I am not a fan of well done beef and this beef was past well done.  It did not have a char to it and it was clear that it had been sautéed not barbequed.  I will admit the seafood potato pancake was rather tasty.  It was not greasy at all.  I did wish however that it had a larger variety of seafood.  The poor customer service and lack of giving me exactly what I ordered the way I ordered it leaves me no other choice but to give Nak Won ♪.