Cinco de Mayo Specials to Liven Up Your Virtual Fiesta

Lauren Cohen — Tue, 05 May 2020 08:30:00 +0000

Sure, we all wish we were out at our favorite neighborhood bars celebrating Cinco de Mayo with the best of them this year. But thankfully, even during a statewide lockdown, local cantinas aren’t leaving us hanging. From full-fledged Mexican restaurants to trendy tequila bars, plenty of Charm City spots are featuring carryout specials to spice up virtual celebrations at home. Here are a few to choose from:

Bandito’s Bar + Kitchen: Cinco de Mayo, the anniversary of the Mexicans’ unlikely victory over France in the Battle of Puebla in 1862, just so happens to fall on Taco Tuesday this year—and this Federal Hill staple is celebrating accordingly. Bandito’s will be open from 12-9 p.m. with takeout specials such as 16 or 32-oz. cocktails and margaritas, canned beers, orders of three tacos, and DIY taco kits. Orders can be placed online, in-person, or by phone.

Blue Agave: Just around the corner on Light Street, this neighborhood favorite will be open from 12-10 p.m., packing up orders of guacamole fresco, chips and salsa, fajitas, and tacos. To-go margaritas are available in traditional house or Spicy Guavarita flavors. Customers can call ahead for pickup or order delivery via Grubhub and Doordash.

Cane Collective Kits Benefiting CFF Maryland: The bar veterans behind craft spirit company Cane Collective have teamed up with Mr. Nice Guy Cocktails to distribute a special passionfruit margarita kit on Cinco de Mayo—with all proceeds benefiting the Maryland chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The $75 kit includes one bottle of Patron Reposado, one bottle of Cane’s passionfruit-jalapeno mix, and one Patron cocktail shaker. Orders can be placed onlinefor pickup and delivery.

Clavel: The team at this Remington gem is encouraging patrons to decorate their homes with homemade papel picado (Mexican folk art made by cutting designs into tissue paper) and tag the restaurant in their photos. To complete the festivities, Clavel’s new carryout operation, Pisa y Corre, is featuring tamales, michelada kits, special mezcal flights, and frozen empanadas to fry at home. Order online here.

El Bufalo Tequila Bar and Kitchen: Naturally, the Cinco de Mayo celebrations at this Canton stalwart began a few days early. But they will continue throughout the day on Tuesday with 64-oz. Altos margarita pouches for $14, Casamigos premium margarita pouches for $10, and $65 build-your-own taco party kits. Place carryout orders by calling 410-814-0594.

La Food Marketa: Call this Pikesville spot to order a turkey chorizo, Peruvian chicken, and beef barbacoa taco kit that serves four. It comes will all the fixins, but you can also add on guacamole, churros, a pint of margaritas, or even a six-pack of the Mexican beer that shall not be named.

La Palapa Grill & Cantina: La Palapa is a fiesta headquarters in Ellicott City. Though the bar’s holiday celebrations will look a bit different this year, it’s still offering massive margaritas—made with Jose Cuervo or 1800 tequila—for curbside pickup. Additionally, guests can order chips and salsa, as well as 12 pork carnitas tacos topped with grilled pineapple, red onion, and cilantro. Orders can be placed online or by calling the restaurant.

Mezcal Mexican Restaurant and Bar: Celebrate with the full food menu recently made available for carryout at this Baltimore County cantina, which operates locations in Owings Mills and Timonium. In addition to the standout fajitas, burritos, and tacos, Mezcal offers bottled sangria, margaritas, and mojitos.

Papi’s Tacos: Not only is Papi’s offering special fiesta packages from its Hampden location (a bundle for four includes tequila, a mixer, an appetizer, tacos, and two sides), but it’s also hosting a virtual fiesta on Facebook Live. Throw on a sombrero and tune in from home to enjoy mariachi music, raffle drawings, live comedy with Mike Quindlen, trivia with owner Charlie Gjerde, and maybe even a piñata to whack open for good measure. The team is also giving away a $50 gift card to Papi’s and its sister-spots, as well as a Yeti cooler filled with $500 worth of booze. Any to-go order of $25 or more from either Papi’s location in Hampden or Fells Point will come with a raffle ticket to enter to win the prizes.

Taco Bravo: This Timonium newbie is open from 12-9 p.m. for curbside pickup and delivery. In addition to its regular menu, the spot is offering a deal on five chicken or steak tacos for $10. To-go cocktails include $5 margaritas, $10 grande sangrias and mojitos, and $25 64-oz. margaritas.

The Urban Oyster: Typically closed for carryout on Tuesdays, this Locust Point oyster bar is opening up for the occasion with a special menu of surf and turf tacos, guacamole, pico de gallo, elote, tequila lime pie, and seafood nachos smothered in beer cheese. Throw in a spicy grilled pineapple margarita and you’re in for a full-blown fiesta.

Vida Taco Bar: The Severna Park location of this strictly tacos-and-tequila bar is open from 12-8 p.m. for takeout tacos, nachos, guacamole, and cocktails. You can also catch Vida’s mobile margarita vans roaming in the communities surrounding all three of its locations. Upcoming routes are announced daily and orders can be placed online here.

Source

Cowboys and Rednecks Rebranded as Wayward Bar + Kitchen

Lauren Cohen — Fri, 06 May 2016 16:55:00 +0000

Southern charm seems to be permeating through the local dining scene. On the heels of Southern Provisions’ Lowcountry-style rebranding across the harbor in Canton, stalwart Western bar Cowboys and Rednecks (C&R) has also gotten a makeover in Federal Hill.

Under new ownership, the spot best known for its country vibe and honky-tonk soundtrack has been rebranded as Wayward Bar + Kitchen—a new concept that draws on C&R’s Southern roots while introducing more upscale food and drink options and an enhanced interior.

The team behind Banditos Bar + Kitchen across the street jumped at the opportunity to take over the space earlier this year, after hearing through the grapevine that the old owners were looking to sell.

“We thought that it would be a good business move to stay in the neighborhood and look after two places at once while also being able to create a new concept that is more food-forward,” says operating partner Andrew Dunlap. “Federal Hill has this overpopulation of ‘bar’ bars and we didn’t want to pigeonhole ourselves into that same category. We wanted it to be a food destination, but also a fun place to hang out.”

Wayward’s new executive chef Dave Trivette, who was brought on from Bandito’s, has created a menu full of more refined options that span far beyond C&R’s traditional pub grub. Among the Southern-inspired offerings are dishes such as smoked brisket mac and cheese, braised pork poutine, smoked boar sausages, seared salmon with corn succotash, and rockfish with green apple fennel slaw.

Dunlap says that the restaurant has formed relationships with local purveyors, and does all of its own smoking, braising, pickling, and baking in house.

The rebrand also highlights a renovated interior, complete with refinished flooring, updated lighting, marble bar tops, wild boar murals, and reclaimed wood (salvaged from landmarks like Union Wharf and the old Echo Theater on Fort Avenue) furniture made by local carpenters Sandtown Millworks and Lukeworks—who collaborated to create the bar’s signature communal table with a concrete beer trough running down the middle.

Dunlap says that, in keeping with this sentiment, partnering with local businesses is something that he hopes to do more of as Wayward finds its footing. In fact, in establishing its drink program, Dunlap consulted Bookmakers bar manager Ryan Sparks to train his staff in the art of creating classic cocktails.

“We just really wanted everybody to be knowledgeable of the craft,” Dunlap says. “We want our bartenders to be able to actually make the drinks instead of just opening bottles and pre-pouring vodka sodas.”

The bar menu will focus on bourbon, but will also include a wide array of classic cocktails, local craft beer, and hand-picked wines. The new owners hope to implement new nightly specials (such as adding wine pairings to the menu on Wednesdays and amping up acoustic live music performances throughout the week) and—although the space has seen major changes—they’ve decided to maintain the old C&R Thursday night “Flip Night” tradition, where bartenders flip a coin to determine drink discounts.

Wayward has remained open throughout the entire renovation process, but an official grand opening date is set for Wednesday, May 11.

As its name signifies, Dunlap says that all aspects of the restaurant are meant to reflect Wayward’s outside-of-the-box philosophy: “The idea was to put together something that’s undefined and leads you to be curious,” he says. “We want to exercise that in all aspects of the business, whether it’s in our food and drinks or just having a good time.”

Source

Bandito’s Bar + Kitchen – Baltimore Magazine

Cinco de Mayo Specials to Liven Up Your Virtual Fiesta

Cowboys and Rednecks Rebranded as Wayward Bar + Kitchen