Paint the town | Metromix Baltimore

Paint the town

Get caught red-handed around Baltimore

Dan Piepenbring

Special to Metromix
January 8, 2008

Paint the town
Thinking about a night on the town? Consider Red Maple. (Credit: La Kaye Mbah)

Around Valentine's Day, red is everywhere. It's the color of the roses you give your beloved. It's the color of the chiffon scarf you're wearing to boost "your sexy factor." And it's the color of your blood, after that chick's boyfriend punched you in the nose for flirting with her.

With all the V-Day hubbub, red tends to lose its luster. Rounding-up Charm City's red, red getaways captures way more than love. To remember the color in all its complex glory, ditch the blase roses and take the road less traveled to these venues.

Red Maple

pick Red Maple

930 N. Charles St. - Baltimore
410-547-0149

Red is chic. If you're the kind of person who frequents Red Maple, you're probably chic, too, so relax on the swanky, upholstered furniture with some cocktails and enjoy pithy, cosmopolitan conversation. We regret to inform you, though, that the line between "chic" and "yuppie" grows thinner by the second, so listen over your shoulder for talk of kitchen renovations, Vitamin Water and designer eyewear. If the scene gets too vapid for you, head to the nearest exit and drive to ...

Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse

Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse

800 St. Paul St. - Baltimore
410-230-0450

... everyone's favorite Anarchocommunist-Socialist-Egalitarian bookseller and coffeehouse! If you've grown a beard that would make Fidel Castro jealous and spend your days perusing "The Daily Worker"'s archives, this is the place for you. Get buzzed on some South American tea, trade war stories with grizzled Party members and brush up on post-Marxist theories of reification. "Now wait just a Ho Chi Minh-ute!" you might be saying. "I'm no pinko! I love my capitalism!" Put Emma's on your McCarthyist blacklist, then, and try ...

Red Brick Station Restaurant & Brew Pub

Red Brick Station Restaurant & Brew Pub

8149 Honeygo Blvd. - White Marsh
410-931-PUBS

... a traditional restaurant if e'er there was one. Take an English pub and give it an American twist, and voila--you've got Red Brick Station. Swill some of the microbrews in the $4.50 beer sampler and gorge yourself on burgers or roast beef. If you're looking to stay sober, the Station brews its own root beer, too. The name's no lie, because this place has a lot of red bricks; in fact, it's made of them. But if the pub atmosphere is too warm and staid for you, live on edge at ...

The Block

The Block

400 E. Baltimore St. - Baltimore

... the Red Light District that puts the "charm" in "Charm City." The row of strip clubs includes Larry Flynt's, Club Chez Joey and the Two O'Clock Club, among others. Get a little T&A or catch a naughty flick 'til you get red in the face. For low-grade horndogs and corrupt Baltimore politicians, it's the perfect night out--and we're not judging you, honest. (We're in love with a stripper.) Believe it or not, some folks find The Block rather sleazy, so if you're looking to class things up a bit, you might prefer ...

Red Robin

Red Robin

1238 Putty Hill Ave. - Towson
410-823-4224

... an innocuous, all-American burger joint. Isn't it cute? Can we keep it, Mom? Can we, can we, can we?! What if we told you they had unlimited French fries and inexpensive but massive burgers? Pleeeeeaaaaaase? Pleaaa ...

The Red House Tavern

The Red House Tavern

2239 Essex St. - Baltimore
410-522-3220

"There's a red house over yonder," Jimi Hendrix once sang, and he was talking about a different place than this one. Still, if you've got the blues, this tavern's all-you-can-drink Boh specials can cure what ails you. There's live music several nights a week, and this is one "red" joint with absolutely nothing romantic about it. Should you insist on flirting, though, you'll have better luck at ...

Red Star

pick Red Star

906 S. Wolfe St. - Baltimore
410-675-0212

... a trendy--but not too trendy--bar with an intimidating wine selection on display. It's warm and cozy, comfortable without being a dive, elegant without showing off. If these features describe you (minus the "warm and cozy" part), Red Star is probably right up your alley. Last but not least, though, those looking to expand their horizons should sample the cuisine of ...

Red Square

Red Square

1023 N. Charles St. - Baltimore
410-837-7733

... Baltimore's only Russian restaurant...and Uzbek restaurant and Georgian restaurant and Ukrainian restaurant. The dining room is Commie-red, and there are statues of Lenin and Stalin on display, too. (They'd get along really well with the folks at Red Emma's.) The dishes are surprisingly affordable, so when you get those cravings for bliny and borsch, hunker down with your comrades at Red Square and wash it all down with some spirits. Remember: In Soviet Russia, vodka drinks you.

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