Burke's: your next stop for steaks
Guest Column
"Are you hungry?"
"Yeah, starving. Where do you want to eat?"
My friend and I were walking down Light Street near the Inner Harbor area last Tuesday, looking around for somewhere to grab dinner, somewhere that would hopefully send us away with full stomachs and decently full wallets.
Suddenly, a building across the street jumped out at the two of us. In contrast to the modern glass walls of the surrounding architecture, Burke's Café and Comedy Factory is designed to look like it was transplanted from a fiefdom in medieval Germany into the bustle of downtown Baltimore.
"How about there?" I asked, already preparing to loosen my belt a few notches.
"Sure, let's check out the menu first."
We approached the old building. The menu posted outside the doors quickly convinced us to go inside, since the prices were reasonable and the fare looked intriguing. Burke's is a seafood and steak house - entire pages of the menu are devoted to their oyster selection and plate-sized steaks. The restaurant is definitely for those in search of some good comfort food (including traditional German food). For appetizers and sides, the menu boasts potato pancakes, onion rings, fried zucchini, bread, yams and cabbage. For entrees, customers get their pick of a variety of sandwiches, burgers, fish, steaks and soups. The dessert menu was fairly traditional: cheesecake, chocolate cake and ice cream are listed, along with a few other classics. Judging by the décor and the dessert menu alike, Burke's is a big fan of the "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" policy.
To start, my friend and I ordered the fried zucchini, which came out quickly, and was consumed nearly as fast. The batter on the zucchini was made with oregano and other herbs, which made it smell and taste sensational.
For an entrée, I ordered the veggie burger with grilled yams (I'm a vegetarian), My friend ordered the sour steak with cabbage salad and potato pancakes. When our food came out, there was a slight mishap - my veggie burger tasted a little too beefy to be trusted. In fact, that's because it was beef. This mistake was corrected, and I soon had a significantly less beefy burger, a bit of a disappointment in an otherwise lovely dinner. The yams literally melted, the potato pancakes were crisp - a far cry from Hopkins cafeteria food. For all of this, (after two entrees, drinks and an appetizer) the total came out to less than $30 for both of us.
In addition, the inside of the restaurant stood up to the unique outside appearance.
There were large stained glass windows, high vaulted ceilings, heavy wooden furnishings and antique decorations that created a charming old-world tavern atmosphere.
Burke's is also a comedy club ÂÂ- "Baltimore's oldest and favorite comedy club" that is - and regularly features stand up comics Thursdays through Sundays. The upcoming comic is Nikki Payne, who will be performing Thursday, May 1st to Saturday, May 3. Nikki Payne is a Canadian comedian and actress who was a contender in The Last Comic Standing. Paul Mercurio will be performing from May 8t to May 10, and Tony Woods will perfom May 15 to May 17.
"Yeah, starving. Where do you want to eat?"
My friend and I were walking down Light Street near the Inner Harbor area last Tuesday, looking around for somewhere to grab dinner, somewhere that would hopefully send us away with full stomachs and decently full wallets.
Suddenly, a building across the street jumped out at the two of us. In contrast to the modern glass walls of the surrounding architecture, Burke's Café and Comedy Factory is designed to look like it was transplanted from a fiefdom in medieval Germany into the bustle of downtown Baltimore.
"How about there?" I asked, already preparing to loosen my belt a few notches.
"Sure, let's check out the menu first."
We approached the old building. The menu posted outside the doors quickly convinced us to go inside, since the prices were reasonable and the fare looked intriguing. Burke's is a seafood and steak house - entire pages of the menu are devoted to their oyster selection and plate-sized steaks. The restaurant is definitely for those in search of some good comfort food (including traditional German food). For appetizers and sides, the menu boasts potato pancakes, onion rings, fried zucchini, bread, yams and cabbage. For entrees, customers get their pick of a variety of sandwiches, burgers, fish, steaks and soups. The dessert menu was fairly traditional: cheesecake, chocolate cake and ice cream are listed, along with a few other classics. Judging by the décor and the dessert menu alike, Burke's is a big fan of the "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" policy.
To start, my friend and I ordered the fried zucchini, which came out quickly, and was consumed nearly as fast. The batter on the zucchini was made with oregano and other herbs, which made it smell and taste sensational.
For an entrée, I ordered the veggie burger with grilled yams (I'm a vegetarian), My friend ordered the sour steak with cabbage salad and potato pancakes. When our food came out, there was a slight mishap - my veggie burger tasted a little too beefy to be trusted. In fact, that's because it was beef. This mistake was corrected, and I soon had a significantly less beefy burger, a bit of a disappointment in an otherwise lovely dinner. The yams literally melted, the potato pancakes were crisp - a far cry from Hopkins cafeteria food. For all of this, (after two entrees, drinks and an appetizer) the total came out to less than $30 for both of us.
In addition, the inside of the restaurant stood up to the unique outside appearance.
There were large stained glass windows, high vaulted ceilings, heavy wooden furnishings and antique decorations that created a charming old-world tavern atmosphere.
Burke's is also a comedy club ÂÂ- "Baltimore's oldest and favorite comedy club" that is - and regularly features stand up comics Thursdays through Sundays. The upcoming comic is Nikki Payne, who will be performing Thursday, May 1st to Saturday, May 3. Nikki Payne is a Canadian comedian and actress who was a contender in The Last Comic Standing. Paul Mercurio will be performing from May 8t to May 10, and Tony Woods will perfom May 15 to May 17.
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