20418 Middletown Road
Freeland, MD 21053
Baltimore County
Phone: (410) 357-9846
Fax: unknownWebsite: no website on fileEmail: no email on fileHours: unknown
by Kendall Paxton on I have visited Eastside Show Room all of twice, and both times, just as a drinker. I thoroughly enjoy places like this. The bartender/maybe owner talked to us for a while about their process for coming up with drinks. The drinks do take a long time, but that's because it's not as simple as a plain old vodka & tonic. Care and thought goes into these drinks and I will happily pay the price for something that has more than purposeful ingredients.
by Hugo Isbell on Park is a decent bar/lounge at the western edge of the city (slightly far from the subway for those in heels, particularly). Inside, a large greenhouse area with seating, a primary bar around the entry (usually crammed with people), stairs down to a coat check, and what used to be banks of phones, bathrooms to the back area through some swinging doors. To the back, booths in a dark red area with dark wood and a bar to itself. Another room with a staircase right beside linking that and the airy greenhouse area with seating and a faux fur rug. Upstairs, another bar and dance area, a few long low seats and a view outside to Jersey. Usually packed with various birthdays, and the music isn't too bad, mostly. Drinks can be a bit spendy, but that's not too surprising. End of the night tends to be a lot of randomly dropped glass from the drunkards. Entry here before 11:30p usually isn't bad. Later on, though, if you're a man, make sure you have some women around to take you into the club, otherwise they tend to stop you at the door. Haven't had cover here yet, either.
by deane m. on To anyone intending to visit The Kress, don't. I went to The Kress two nights in a row, right after they opened. Both nights, despite the wonderful food, my experiences were soured by poor, sub-par service. Thursday night, it was pretty uncrowded, and a girl named Candy took me around on a tour of the whole building, which was nice. But when I sat down to dinner, everything changed for the worse. Although there were only two other tables in my section with people, I was fully ignored by my waiter for about 20 minutes. Thankfully one of the busboys noticed me and gave me a piece of pita bread. The waiter actually said to me, "Sorry, I didn't see you come in." Apparently he also hadn't seen my several not-at-all-subtle waves of both arms over my head, either. Once I ordered, the food arrived relatively quickly (the wagyu beef on a hot stone takes minimal effort to produce, I'm sure, as it cooks on the table), but the waiter didn't return with my drink until after I'd finished, despite my having told him I needed fast service to catch a show afterward. The check took a while to appear, as well. I had to ask a busboy for the check, after which my waiter returned with it five minutes later. Friday night was even worse. Hollywood Blvd on a Friday night is always such a scene, but I wanted to see how they'd do on a busier night. Our waiter this time around was a little more attentive at first, and then a slimy-looking man in the booth opposite, who claimed to his co-diners to have designed the place, got upset that no one had come to offer him a drink since he'd sat down. He complained to management, and from then on our waiter completely ignored us. Again, food was delicious, and the decor still nice, but to be given such crappy service two nights in a row is kind of a deal-breaker for me. There's nothing more offensive then a server who gives VIP treatment to one party while everyone else has to fend for themselves. We literally had to grab his arm as he was walking by to get his attention - and, I'm sorry, but when meals are upwards of $150 per person, everyone should be treated like a VIP. Bad service will make this place choke pretty quickly, despite the redeeming qualities of the food. I'd recommend the crème brulé quintuplet, though, which was perhaps the one bright part of the whole meal. We were only rescued from dining tragedy briefly, however, because the valet experience that ensued was horrifying. Having arrived at before 8.30, I figured valet would be a safe bet. After all, the car right in front of mine was parked against the back wall, and I assumed my car would likewise remain in the parking lot, since there really weren't any other cars around anyway. When we left, hordes of people were waiting in line to get into the club part of The Kress, and the valet line was backed up to the street. Somehow the cars had all been funneled into a single-file line, with cars both arriving and departing in the same line. And, of course, my car was not conveniently parked in The Kress' lot, but had been taken blocks away. This is no exaggeration - I returned my valet ticket at 10.25pm, and didn't see my car until 11.19pm. Clearly the valet had been sitting in Hollywood traffic a while; the c.d. I'd been playing had gone from track 11 when I left to track 8 when I got my car back. I thought the whole idea of valet was to have quick access to your car. Not so - well, not here, anyway. Again, to anyone intending to visit The Kress, don't. If you really must go, beware the valet. I'd suggest street parking on Selma if you can find it, or at the Arclight if you can't.
