the red star

Today, as I was reading fellow Baltimore food blogger Marginal Foodie's recent restaurant reviews (and there are many!) I came across a mention of the Red Star in Fells Point. This jogged my memory...I was there two weekends ago for a lovely Sunday brunch. I had however, forgotten to post, as I was admist my brief brain-death pre-LSATs mode. So here it is, lots of gratuitously mouth-watering, pictures of eggs and potato and cheese...

The Red Star rides on the wave of the new gastropub. Clean and sleek, with vaulted ceilings of dark wooden beams and rafters, and tons of exposed brick walls, this bar still manages to maintain a sporty neighborhood feel. It's owned by the same people as the Waterfront Bar, also in Fells, on Thames. There was a large group of us, 8 total, and we comfortably seated ourselves on bar stools around a long table in the middle of the restaurant. As brunch progressed, it got louder and louder, as more and more Ravens fans showed up to watch the game.

A couple of us got their "bottomless" mimosas. For about $9, you choose between mimosas or bloody marys. The oddest thing: the mimosas were served to us in pint glasses...with straws! We saw the bartender premixing them in large pitchers. I guess it's really not that surprising since it is a...bar, duh. The straws though...hmm.


I ordered the crab hash with poached egg and hollandaise. (I apologize, the name of the dish is escaping me.) Jumbo lump crab mixed with a hash of potatoes and sweet potatoes. It was good, but if you're expecting a hash, you may be disappointed. It seemed like the crab was simply tossed with the hash, instead of cooking everything together to let the flavors meld. I also found bits of chicken in my hash, which didn't belong there. The egg was perfectly poached though.

This was more of an open-faced omelette than it was a frittata. On the menu, it was called the Farmer's Market Frittata, or something to that effect. There were about 10 different veggies and meat in it...a true brunch smorgasbord!


Eggs benedict. A very straightforward and clean dish. The only complaint was that the portions were slightly wimpy. The fruit salad of melon and pineapple was a nice addition, though some of it tasted like Old Bay from the hash.


Steak and eggs! No complaints here. A real manly man's kind of brunch dish. Again, the same hash and fruit salad, with one kicker...toast!


The Good Burger, rightly named since it was full of all kinds of good things: bacon, mushrooms, cheese, onions, tomato... According to my friend who polished it off, it was quote "GOOD."

Overall, the food is hearty and filling, but in my opinion, not extremely creative nor comforting. The dishes will not be appearing in my dreams anytime soon. I have a feeling there is a rather large tub of premade hash sitting in their kitchen, that's dished out onto every plate, with or without lump crab. Oh and a big can of Old Bay too. I'd most definitely go back, but probably to get some finger foods or a beer or cocktail from the bar. A sidenote: I did get 10% off our total bill. If you're a Charm City yoga cardholder, you can get the discount when you present your server your card.



Red Star Bar & Grille
906 S. Wolfe Street
Baltimore, MD 21231