Annabelle Lee

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

E.A.Poe (1850)

There's a new restaurant in the Highlandtown (now Canton) section of Baltimore called Annabelle Lee. It's a remake of an old corner bar, of which there are myriad in that part of Baltimore. I'd heard good things about AL, so on Friday, Cat, Dog and I crossed the city to try it out.

Even though we got there at the ungodly early hour of 6:15 p.m. we had to sit at the bar because all of the small tables were full. Luckily, we got a corner of the bar, which made conversation much easier. The light in the bar was great and I had fun playing with my camera, using a beer bottle for an impromptu tripod.

We started with AL's amazing duck fries, perfectly cooked and very crisp. Cat got a brussels sprout salad, with lettuces, mushrooms and sauteed brussels sprouts. I hate sprouts because when we were children, they were always cooked to within an inch of their lives. I ate one sprout.

Dog got a few selections from AL's beer menu. One of the owners of AL used to work at the Brewer's Art, so they know from beers. I got gin & tonics and Cat got wine, and then beer. For dinner, Dog got the turducken quesidilla, I had a Poe-boy sandwich with tenderloin tips and gorgonzola, and Cat had a half pound of shrimp. We split a piece of Key lime pie for dessert, but were all disappointed with it, because the condensed milk taste was a bit too heavy.

The tab for three, with drinks, but not tip was $92.00. Not too bad.