Less than seven weeks ago, President Donald Trump tweeted to his millions of followers and constituents that U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings’ district—which includes much of Baltimore and its surrounding counties—is “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” as well as a “very dangerous & filthy place.” This evening, the 45th president walked straight into the proverbial rat’s nest, as hundreds of people gathered around Harbor East ahead of his arrival to the House Republican Conference at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel. Here’s what some of the demonstrators had to say about the visit.

Claude Taylor, Silver Spring

I started a political action committee, and principally what we do is anti-GOP and anti-Trump billboards. And we also do the rat. We’ve had this rat for over a year, and deployed it in several states. It’s been at the White House and Trump Hotel—we took it to Mar-a-Lago. Sometimes it’s a rat truck, sometimes it’s a rat boat, but it’s always Trump rat. It’s ironic because we created it almost a year before [Trump’s statements about Baltimore.] But, that’s Trump. The rat is the perfect message.

Val Astin and Marilyn Carlisle, Baltimore City

Astin: We’re here basically to let Trump know that we don’t agree with his policies, and we don’t agree with what he has said about our city. You look at this crowd, and there’s a mixture of every color and race and age. We have to be out here to show the fact that we’re united. As a city and as people.

Carlisle: We have to show them that it’s not okay. Not in our name. He doesn’t listen, so I don’t think he cares [about the protests.] I’m doing this for me and my grandchildren. I have to stand for what I believe even if it’s not going to make any difference today. And I will be registering voters and going to other states to do so.

Joe Murphy, Baltimore County

I’m here to see the President of the United States come to Baltimore City. I’ve been here my whole life, and now my president’s finally coming. He opened up opportunity zones which is why he’s here today, so he can actually rebuild the worst parts of our city and make them nice again. His four tweets [about Baltimore] have cleaned our city up tremendously.

Chris Tallent, Ednor Gardens

Campaign Director of MAYDAY America

This is Cleanup Carl. He’s a superhero for democracy who is on a national tour to call out all of the country’s biggest corruptors, and there’s no bigger corruptors than Trump and GOP members of Congress. I think it’s so offensive that Trump thinks that he can tell people about Baltimore when he doesn’t know anything about this city. Baltimore has its fair share of problems, just like any city does. Baltimore is a beautiful, diverse city with so many wonderful neighborhoods and so many beautiful people and Trump doesn’t know anything about that. There’s no place for racism from Trump and the GOP in Baltimore City or anywhere else.

Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, Baltimore City

Baltimore Regional Director of CASA in Action in Maryland

Many of our members recognize Baltimore City as their home. Many of them have been living here, on average, for about 15 years and they are tired of the inhumane treatment from this administration and the continued bullying. So we’re out here today with a big sign that says, “Abolish ICE” to remind the administration that this is the time to ensure that our voices are heard. I think it’s important that the president continues to see that immigrant community members are united with so many hundreds of allies behind us. We’re letting him know that this is our city, and his continued threats and attacks of panic will not defeat us here in Baltimore.

Liuda Galinaitis, Westminster

I’ve been doing almost weekly protests against the Trump administration since he became president. One of my bucket list items was to come and protest when Donald Trump is in the area. I did the Women’s March, too, in Washington, D.C., which was fabulous. It was one of the top experiences of my life. I know he was in the White House then, but today is a little more personal. I want to show my solidarity and show that Baltimore is strong and we’ll always stand up to Trump’s policies, no matter what he says about us.

Grace and Isabel McLain, Baltimore City

Grace: I think there’s a lot of frustration and anger with the way that things in the country are going, and it’s cathartic to go out and be with people who are also angry and frustrated and shout about it. This [poster] has made its way around a few different rallies in Baltimore. I think that in our country a lot of people like to disguise their racism as patriotism, and then when you call it out, they try to pretend that you’re ridiculous and gaslight you into thinking that it’s about loving our country and not about hating other people.

Isabel: The real question is, what parts of this country do they love and what type of America do they consider great?

Sure, the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront is a ginormous convention hotel, towering amid the other Manhattan-like skyscrapers in Harbor East. But a recent renovation has transformed the lobby restaurant into a warm, inviting area—complete with a new name—that has a ringside seat to a water view. Now called Apropoe’s, a clever nod to our favorite macabre author, Edgar Allan Poe, the restaurant, with its hues of soft brown and subtle lighting, offers a calming place to relax at the bar, nestle into one of the comfy lounge chairs planted near plasma TVs, or stake a table in the dining room. There’s a subtle flow that creates a unity wherever you sit.

It’s an easy place for hotel guests to unwind and feast on seasonal New American fare with nods to Baltimore ingredients or imbibe fancy cocktails like “The Raven” with Hendrick’s gin, Aperol, balsamic, and ginger beer. Besides artisinal drinks, there’s a reasonable wine list and a selection of draft and bottled beers.

Management clearly wants Apropoe’s to be a destination for locals, too, enticing driving diners with valet service and an $8 parking fee with a restaurant receipt.

We started at the bar, where our affable bartender juggled a mix of drinkers and nibblers. It’s worth it to go and eat at the bar, always good for travelers. The menu features options divided into snacks, small plates, and entrees. For instance, snack selections include a caramelized onion dip with house-made potato chips and hummus with pita and celery and carrots.

We chose to continue our meal in the main dining room, where we ordered the deviled Krieder Farms (PA) eggs with shaved Virginia ham and smoked paprika. The four squishy halves were picnic good, though we couldn’t detect any ham. We also delved into a terrine of pimento cheese with smoked bacon jam and grilled bread. It was a great dip, especially with the savory jam, but we would have liked more pimiento in the mix.

We’ve seen our share of beet salads this year, so we were curious about Apropoe’s version. It was a flavorful rendition with peppery upland cress, ricotta salata, almonds, sun-dried cherries, and just-enough honey-ranch dressing.

While there are sandwiches like the Poe burger and a roasted turkey BLT, there are only six entrees to tempt you, which is fine with us. The kitchen, under the guidance of executive chef Carlos Gomez, a grad of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, has a tightly scripted menu that will appeal to all appetites.

For this evening, the big plates appealed to us. Our waitress promoted the crab cakes. Uh oh, that’s a challenge for any Baltimore native.

We’re happy to report that our local delicacy—two cakes, in this case—lived up to our demands, with lots of lump crabmeat and little filler. The sides weren’t traditional, but we liked the accompanying sweet creamed corn, roasted Brussels sprouts, and smoked pepper sauce.

We weren’t familiar with the 1855 New York strip. Our helpful server shared that it’s a type of prized Black Angus beef. The steak was indeed juicy and tender. The smashed fingerling potatoes, roasted asparagus, chimichurri drizzle, and frizzled onions were appropriate complements to the hearty meat. We also enjoyed the braised Duroc pork shank with herbed spaetzle, heirloom baby carrots, and a smoked onion purée—a comfort meal, if ever there was one.

The dessert list seemed fairly standard until one of our choices was delivered to the table. First, we laughed, and then we gaped in wonder. It was simply the biggest serving of crème brûlée we’ve ever seen in a restaurant. We didn’t have a measuring tape, but the long, narrow dish was at least 12 inches in length. Count on sharing this one, flavored with the elixir Grand Marnier.

The tart was also an innovative version, with the pastry wrapped around a mélange of fruit that included apples and blueberries. And, good news, the restaurant serves hometown favorite Taharka Brothers ice cream. The vanilla bean was as sultry as its Haitian roots. A wedge of chocolate-ganache cake with Kahlua and whipped cream will satisfy any chocoholic cravings.

As we finished our meal, we were struck by the comfortable ambiance of Apropoe’s as guests mingled in various parts of the room and we gazed out to the harbor.

Given a recent visit to the excellent The French Kitchen at Lord Baltimore Hotel, we’re wondering if the days of the grand-hotel restaurant are returning—albeit with a contemporary spin. The servers at Apropoe’s wear jeans.