What do normal couples do on their 5 year anniversary? Well there's usually wine, roses, big fancy dinner, nice clothes, the whole nine yards. What do Ben and I do? We toss on our best jeans and t-shirts, go to a baseball game, and make it a Triple D double dip. Eh whatever, we admitted a long time ago that we aren't a normal couple. Baltimore has kind of become our mecca for Triple D days--it's a short drive and there's enough to do that you can fit in two meals with enough stuff in between so as not to be so ungodly full after your first meal that you never want to think about dinner. So for our 5 year anniversary at the end of August, we bought some O's tickets and planned a nice day in Baltimore sandwiched between breakfast at the Blue Moon Cafe and dinner at Brick Oven Pizza (check back later for that post).The Blue Moon is in one of the most laidback, indie, trendy areas of Baltimore. A few miles east of the Inner Harbor is Fells Point, an eclectic li'l neighborhood full of tiny cafes and shops, plus a huge bread factory, which leaves the whole area smelling heavenly for most of the morning hours. Fells Point shares "borders" with Little Italy, which you have to drive through in order to actually get to Fells Point so there's always the danger that while driving with the best intentions towards this area of town for dinner or lunch or whatever, you'll detour into a little Italian eatery and you'll never get to experience the joy that is the Blue Moon Cafe. The Blue Moon was another re-visit for us. It was one of the 3 places that we had gone to before officially starting out on this crazy adventure, so since we've already covered Big Jim's and Blimpy's, the Blue Moon (apparently we only went to places that started with B before we started actually recording our visits) is the last on the short list of places that helped really spur this journey. What's also kind of cool about the Blue Moon is that it helped contribute to us almost completing a full episode of Triple D because it was featured on "Comfort Food" along with Grampa's and the Central City. If it had been a normal episode we would have completed it, since most episodes are only 3 visits, but of course, this was one of those rare episodes with 4, so alas we are still in search of completing a full episode, since we have yet to wander down to Texas to visit the Tip Top Cafe, which would make "Comfort Food" complete...but I'm getting off track.
It's kind of hard to not notice the Blue Moon when you're driving through Fells Point--not because it has some kind of crazy exterior or because it's huge or anything like that--no you notice the Blue Moon because of the massive throng of people always outside of the building any day of the week between the hours of 9am and 2pm. This is hands down the most popula
r place we've visited. When you combine amazing food, with an extremely tiny seating area (seriously we're talking like 7 tables), and a very very dedicated fan base the result is a very long wait. If you're planning on making the jaunt down to Baltimore plan your entire morning around the Blue Moon. Average wait is around an hour/hour and 15, longer if you've got a big party--honestly I would probably say if you have more than 4 people I wouldn't even try in the morning because they'll probably just tell you to come back later. Most of the time they tell you to wander around the area and go shopping and then check back, it's just that popular. Ben and I have taken to bringing books with us and sitting on the sidewalk outside while we wait, and I'd highly recommend that tactic. The Blue Moon is an experience, and one that you'll enjoy only if you go into it willing to wait and with patience. There's something oddly comforting about standing outside a restaurant with ten to fifteen other people all just waiting to eat, it makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger than yourself, and it also makes you feel like you're in on a big city secret, because people will drive by and look at all of you like you're crazy for waiting that long for food, but you know it's totally worth it and they're missing out. Plus, with that many people waiting there's guaranteed to be other Triple D visitors--it's happened both times we've visited, which makes for some interesting conversations and a great opportunity to swap stories about all the places you've visited. Believe me when I say though that the wait is worth it...when the wait is over an hour and people are willing to do it without a care in the world you know there's something good on the other side of that wait...and ya know what that is?? Cap'n Crunch French Toast.
r place we've visited. When you combine amazing food, with an extremely tiny seating area (seriously we're talking like 7 tables), and a very very dedicated fan base the result is a very long wait. If you're planning on making the jaunt down to Baltimore plan your entire morning around the Blue Moon. Average wait is around an hour/hour and 15, longer if you've got a big party--honestly I would probably say if you have more than 4 people I wouldn't even try in the morning because they'll probably just tell you to come back later. Most of the time they tell you to wander around the area and go shopping and then check back, it's just that popular. Ben and I have taken to bringing books with us and sitting on the sidewalk outside while we wait, and I'd highly recommend that tactic. The Blue Moon is an experience, and one that you'll enjoy only if you go into it willing to wait and with patience. There's something oddly comforting about standing outside a restaurant with ten to fifteen other people all just waiting to eat, it makes you feel like you're a part of something bigger than yourself, and it also makes you feel like you're in on a big city secret, because people will drive by and look at all of you like you're crazy for waiting that long for food, but you know it's totally worth it and they're missing out. Plus, with that many people waiting there's guaranteed to be other Triple D visitors--it's happened both times we've visited, which makes for some interesting conversations and a great opportunity to swap stories about all the places you've visited. Believe me when I say though that the wait is worth it...when the wait is over an hour and people are willing to do it without a care in the world you know there's something good on the other side of that wait...and ya know what that is?? Cap'n Crunch French Toast.This was once just a special at the Blue Moon--one of those things only on the menu..wait for it..once in a Blue Moon (ba-dum-bah), but it has become a standard on the menu because it's just that popular. If 
you haven't learned by now, I don't deviate when I find something I like, and that's why no matter how many times we have gone and will go to the Blue Moon I will always get this french toast. My good God is it good. I don't even use syrup on this stuff, and I love syrup so believe me it's not needed. 3 thick slices of Texas toast, coated in crushed up Cap'n Crunch and then cooked on a griddle so they get all crispy and carmelized and delicious. Then if that wasn't enough they top it with homemade whipped cream, blueberries, and strawberries. This is honestly probably my favorite meal I've ever had at any Triple D stop. I'm a sucker for sweet breakfast (pancakes, french toast, I'm sold), but this was beyond anything I've ever eaten before. Now my darling Ben kind of hates breakfast--especially sweet breakfast, so he always has a bit more of an issue ordering at places like this. However, he loves the Blue Moon because they have an awesome menu when it comes to breakfast gone Mexican. He's at various points gotten their breakfast burritos--which were huuuuge, to the point that he couldn't finish them because yes there were two--and their Mexican scramble, which was eggs, cheese, peppers, chorizo, salsa all that good stuff. For it being breakfast, he loves their food! When you order off of the menu, you get their homemade biscuits too, which are big, fluffy, and moist, essentially they're perfect. Now Ben's a wonderful boyfriend and since he knows I love bread, he let me have his biscuits, but I share as much as I can. Lastly, a ritual for us at t
he Blue Moon is ordering one of their plate size homemade cinnamon rolls for a kind of appetizer. They warm them up for you, and they're gooey and every ounce of them is homemade down to the filling in the dough. They are like Grands Cinnamon Rolls times 100. In some ways they're my favorite part of the meal, because they are just that good. Hopefully, that gives you a clue as to why this place is worth the wait. I would wait hours for my french toast and cinnamon roll...sometimes good food just takes patience, and that staff appreciates that you've waited that long so they don't rush you, they make sure your food is great, and that you enjoy your time. They give you a quality experience because they know how long you've waited to be there. They are nothing short of gracious, which is sometimes rare in places this busy.
you haven't learned by now, I don't deviate when I find something I like, and that's why no matter how many times we have gone and will go to the Blue Moon I will always get this french toast. My good God is it good. I don't even use syrup on this stuff, and I love syrup so believe me it's not needed. 3 thick slices of Texas toast, coated in crushed up Cap'n Crunch and then cooked on a griddle so they get all crispy and carmelized and delicious. Then if that wasn't enough they top it with homemade whipped cream, blueberries, and strawberries. This is honestly probably my favorite meal I've ever had at any Triple D stop. I'm a sucker for sweet breakfast (pancakes, french toast, I'm sold), but this was beyond anything I've ever eaten before. Now my darling Ben kind of hates breakfast--especially sweet breakfast, so he always has a bit more of an issue ordering at places like this. However, he loves the Blue Moon because they have an awesome menu when it comes to breakfast gone Mexican. He's at various points gotten their breakfast burritos--which were huuuuge, to the point that he couldn't finish them because yes there were two--and their Mexican scramble, which was eggs, cheese, peppers, chorizo, salsa all that good stuff. For it being breakfast, he loves their food! When you order off of the menu, you get their homemade biscuits too, which are big, fluffy, and moist, essentially they're perfect. Now Ben's a wonderful boyfriend and since he knows I love bread, he let me have his biscuits, but I share as much as I can. Lastly, a ritual for us at t
he Blue Moon is ordering one of their plate size homemade cinnamon rolls for a kind of appetizer. They warm them up for you, and they're gooey and every ounce of them is homemade down to the filling in the dough. They are like Grands Cinnamon Rolls times 100. In some ways they're my favorite part of the meal, because they are just that good. Hopefully, that gives you a clue as to why this place is worth the wait. I would wait hours for my french toast and cinnamon roll...sometimes good food just takes patience, and that staff appreciates that you've waited that long so they don't rush you, they make sure your food is great, and that you enjoy your time. They give you a quality experience because they know how long you've waited to be there. They are nothing short of gracious, which is sometimes rare in places this busy.Just a few more tips other than being willing to wait: they're only open until 2 in the afternoon most days, and then sometimes they re-open at like 7pm, but we've only ever gone in the morning, so plan accordingly. I would recommend giving it a morning visit. Also, parking is on the street, so have someone who doesn't mind parallel parking. Lastly, like I said before, bring a book!! It'll make the time go faster I promise.
No website for them--it helps them keep as low a profile as possible...being on Food Network doesn't really help that much :-)
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