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Are there any Speakeasys in Baltimore?


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#1 Mike in STL

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Posted 30 April 2017 - 10:27 PM

I don't mean the bar called Speakeasy in Canton. Or simply old timey places like Horse you came in on in Fells. I mean legit hidden bars.

Was up in Philly for the day, family from out of town were there for the weekend. Got lunch before going to a bar, then my brother in law suggests there is place he wanted to check out. We follow him and end up at a random black set of stairs on the sidewalk. He starts talking to a guy dressed in all black there. I'm trying figure out what's going on, why he stopped talk to this guy... A few seconds later he leads us down stairs and through a doorway into a dimly lit bar with little, yet classic decor. What a Speakeasy would have been like during prohibition. Classic cocktail menu. Overpriced, but delicious old fashioned. The place was called Franklin's after we noticed a small sign hanging up by the 2nd floor in the area near the stairs where your eyes don't really travel when walking by.

Anyway, he told me back home in St. Louis they have a speakeasy they go to and the bar will text everyone "in the know" a daily password, or secret code. So if you come in, and know the password, 50% off drinks. Which is great, because an old fashioned was $15.

Pretty cool idea, and I would happily pay $7.50 for a perfectly made old fashioned. I like manhattans too but most bartenders go crazy with the vermouth and it becomes gross.
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#2 McNulty

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    la cerveza está muy fría

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Posted 01 May 2017 - 12:02 AM

I'm guessing this was the bar you went to - http://www.thefranklinbar.com/

 

There is one in Baltimore similar.  WC Harlan

 

Edit: I read this last night right before I went to bed, I swear I didn't see that sentence where you put the name.  Not a bad pull just from the description.

 

I've been to Franklin a few times...it wasn't my favorite.  I didn't like the system for seating people; no reservations and they didn't let you get a drink without a seat.  Very odd.  WC Harlan is pretty good though.  They have solid cocktails for the price.


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#3 Mike in STL

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Posted 01 May 2017 - 07:34 AM

I'm guessing this was the bar you went to - http://www.thefranklinbar.com/
 
There is one in Baltimore similar.  WC Harlan
 
Edit: I read this last night right before I went to bed, I swear I didn't see that sentence where you put the name.  Not a bad pull just from the description.
 
I've been to Franklin a few times...it wasn't my favorite.  I didn't like the system for seating people; no reservations and they didn't let you get a drink without a seat.  Very odd.  WC Harlan is pretty good though.  They have solid cocktails for the price.



Exactly. I'll have to check it out. Seating at Franklin wasn't a problem on a Sunday evening though. But that does seem odd. Maybe because the drinks are built and crafted they can't handle too much volume without taking too long to serve people. Or space being somewhat small has a fire code of x amount of people.
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#4 McNulty

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    la cerveza está muy fría

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Posted 01 May 2017 - 07:52 AM

I've been to a lot of cocktail bars in NYC/SF and none of them had this rule before.  But otherwise its a good spot.  It was my go-to for dates when I was in Philly.  And yes, Cerrano, all the guys I took loved it.


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#5 The Epic

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Posted 01 May 2017 - 07:55 AM

I went to one in Philly, but don't remember the name. I felt like I was intruding (I went with a friend that has gone a few times before), because the guys seemed like since they didn't know me, they didn't want me there.



#6 NewMarketSean

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Posted 01 May 2017 - 08:18 AM

I went to Franklin before too. Met up with some randos while looking for a bar after a show and wound up hanging with them the whole night. Ended up at Franklin. It was pretty good, but our friends were pretty disappointed.

 

WC Harlan is good -- last time I was there I waited 15 mins for a drink and wound up leaving before I was able to order because we had dinner reservations. It was pretty crowded but not that bad...bartenders seemed to put priority on second and third orders before taking someone's first. Oh well. No ill will.

 

There was a list on Thrillist or something like that about the best speakeasy bars in each state and surprisingly WC Harlan wasn't listed for Baltimore. I twas Sugarvale, which isn't even a speakeasy. Sometimes those lists are so wrong.

 

There's a bunch in DC and PX in Alexandria is good, too.


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#7 Nigel Tufnel

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Posted 01 May 2017 - 04:40 PM

I think I remember reading an article a while back about a few old guys in Baltimore who, years ago, had randomly gotten approval to run bars out of their basements and were still running them to this (that) day.  Not sure if any of them are still around, though.



#8 NewMarketSean

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Posted 01 May 2017 - 04:45 PM

Howard's Subway in linthicum was a basement bar. Think upstairs was a liquor store though. Closed a few years ago.
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#9 Nigel Tufnel

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Posted 10 July 2017 - 07:45 AM

There's supposedly a speakeasy opening soon in Harbor East, probably where Ten Ten used to be, and another one coming to Columbia, near the mall.


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