Fortunate Femme

I finally got to try the tavern named after one of my favorite poems.

Edgar Allan Poe spent a couple years and ultimately died in Baltimore. His tomb is a popular spot to visit for fans.

He’s why the football team’s mascot is a raven. As football teams go, I find it pretty damn cool to have a literary reference as a mascot. And the Raven’s name is Poe, thankyouverymuch.

Anyway, it’s a small tavern in the middle of a not-so-great part of town-“off the beaten path” as they say, in Canton. It is tiny, so a cozy dinner for two would do best here.

The yellow cocktail in the photo below is the Annabel Lee, and was well-balanced, strong enough while still maintaining a light taste, not too sweet, not too sour, just refreshing. The duck fat fries had a different twist with herbs de Provence. I am a big fan of Brussels sprouts and they did not disappoint. But the best part was their caramel crunch cake, which my husband claimed to be the best cake he has had in a decade (and he is not one to oversell anything!).

This is a fun yummy stop for travelers who want a real Baltimore feel with a little bit of culture mixed in.

And of course, an homage to the famous poem would not be complete without a reading:

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.

I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea;

But we loved with a love that was more than love-

I and my Annabel Lee;

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsman came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,

Went envying her and me-

Yes! – that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we-

Of many far wiser than we-

And neither the angels in heaven above,

Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,

In the sepulchre there by the sea,

In her tomb by the sounding sea.

by Edgar Allan Poe