Birthday Fun at Woodberry Kitchen

Good Monday Morning err Afternoon to you! Hope you had a great weekend. I definitely did because I got to celebrate my 26th birthday! My birthday isn’t until next weekend, but since I will be in North Carolina at my friends wedding-Chris decided to plan something special for me yesterday.

I had no idea what he had planned, but I had an IDEA it had to do with food. And of course I was correct! He took me to Sunday brunch at Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore.

This is a restaurant I have been dying to try for months now, and I have heard nothing but fabulous things about it. He also surprised me by inviting my 2 best friends and their boyfriends!!!! It was the perfect Sunday morning.

I already knew I was in love with the restaurant just from their decor. The restaurant itself was very modern and open, and had an open kitchen which I love. We were seated next to the kitchen, and ooo’d and ahhh’d at all the dishes being made. Everything looked incredible! I had read on Jordan’s blog about their famous bloody mary, and I knew I had to try one.

The Full Monty- Bloody Mary with candied bacon, and Natty Boh chaser

BFF Kelly’s BF also chose The Full Monty.

And boy was it good. Flavorful, spicy, and the candied bacon was the perfect accompaniment. Plus the Natty Boh chaser was a light and refreshing finish to the spicy cocktail! What could be better?!?!

Although all their drinks looked pretty incredible if you ask me.

Everyone at the table had such a hard time deciding what to order because everything seriously sounded delicious. It was such a hard choice. But again, following in Jordan’s footsteps I ordered the Crab Benedict. Everyone ended up ordering something different so we all got to taste each others dishes. LOVE! I mean check out some of the items on the menu.

We ordered coffee for the table, which came in a large french press, with a side of raw sugar, and real cream. This was some of the best coffee I’ve EVER had. Chris agreed too, and he is a coffee snob! At Woodberry they have a fabulous barista (not sure if this is correct terminology) JUST in charge of the coffee. She was so nice, and came to our table to ask how our coffee was, and let us know a little bit about where the coffee beans came from. The service at Woodberry Kitchen was GREAT!

We ordered beignets to share for the table. These were warm, fluffy balls of dough covered in sugar that basically just melted in your mouth with this sweet caramel sauce. I ate about 5 of them. INCREDIBLE!

By the time our food arrived, Chris and I decided to split a mimosa. But this wasn’t just any mimosa. This was a mimosa with freshly squeezed orange juice, St Jermain flower, and sparkling Rose. HOLY AMAZING! I figured I’d go all out. I mean it was my birthday after all!

As the food arrived, every dish looked better then the last. It came out piping hot from the kitchen (which was literally next to us), and was perfect portions.

Most of the dishes at Woodberry Kitchen are made in the wood fired oven. We were told that they don’t use any non-stick pans at the restaurant so most of their dishes are in cast iron pans and skillets and cooked in the wood fired oven. GENIUS!

Words just can’t describe how good the food was. I loved my dish, and had a bite of everyone elses. Everything was so so good. My crab benedict was a house- griddled English muffin topped with a crab cake, poached, egg, and hollandaise sauce with a side of potatoes.

And of course because Chris told them it was my birthday they surprised me with a little dessert. It was strawberry sherbet with a peanut butter cookie, a chocolate chip cookie, fresh strawberries, and home-made jelly candies. It was the perfect dessert (even though I’m dying to try their famous C.M.P) because it was light and refreshing.

I didn’t get many pictures inside the restaurant, but will definitely be going back soon (I hope) so I will take some then. After lunch we walked around, and took pictures because that is just what we like to do.

And later Chris and I drove to St. Michaels to meet up with my parents. They are in the process of moving, and we thought we would surprise them for a late afternoon treat. We hung out there for a while and helped my dad set up his new bar, and then headed to a restaurant on the water for dinner. No pictures because…well…the food was mediocre. I got a 5 oz crab cake with a side salad and some home made chips. But I think my breakfast that morning made up for it. I can’t stop thinking about that restaurant, and I already want to go back! If you are in the Baltimore area-you MUST TRY WOODBERRY KITCHEN! I know I will be going back.

In other news-I finally got my gym membership! I have my gym bag packed and ready for an after work workout. I just need to push myself and actually go!

I also tried my very first juice! I have been looking for a juice place, and I found out that the Robeks near my gym offers juices AND fro yo! So I headed over there and got an apple, carrot, spinach, and ginger. It was so good, that I can’t wait to get another one after my workout tonight. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Besides that-I’m just packing and prepping for my trip this weekend. I have yet again another VERY busy week ahead of me. Work, Physical Therapy, Chris has more birthday fun planned for Tuesday, I’m having a birthday dinner at his parents house on Wednesday (his mom and I have the same birthday…we were born literally 25 years apart-cool huh?), and then leaving for NC on Thursday!!! Lots going on-I better remember to breath!

SWANSON VITAMIN GIFT CERTIFICATE WINNERS!!!

I apologize for taking so long in letting you know who won, but the two winners of the $25 gift certificate to Swanson Vitamins are: #16 and #23!!!

Aurora from The Life of Rory’s Blog and Courtney and Whitney from Teens Eat. Please email me your addresses to eatdrinkandbehopeful@hotmail.com, and I will get your gift certificates to you ASAP.

Congratulations!

Well I’m off to get a whole ton of stuff done. See you all later!!

Tagged as: birthday, bloody mary, Crab benedict, mimosa, Robek's, swason vitamins, The Full Monty, Woodberry Kitchen