Babalu Grill, Inner Harbor

UPDATE - THIS RESTAURANT IS NO LONGER OPEN

(Image from The Mojito Company)

I don’t go to the Power Plant area that much anymore. And by that much, I mean since about 5 years ago. I just equate it to the early days of drinking legally and I don’t want to revisit that scene again. However, my friends and I were going to Rams Head Live to see some Baltimore comics (Mickey Cucchiella from 98 Rock and some others), and since we got there a bit early, we decided to get a couple of drinks in the area before we went in. We happened to see that Babalu Grill was having the most ridiculous Happy Hour deal ever (Wed-Fri, 4-8PM). Amongst a myriad of good food and drink deals, they had a 2 for $5 Margarita and Mojito deal respectively. 2 mojitos for $5??? Excuse me??? Of course I was skeptical, but then I tried it and it was amazing, so refreshing, and with the perfect amount of mint muddled at the bottom of the glass. They also offer red or white sangria for $3, which was super tempting for me, but I was so impressed with the mojitos that I stuck with my two J

For snacks we tried the nachos ($5) which came with plantain and tortilla chips, cheese, black beans, sour cream, salsa, guac and shredded beef! I was expecting to get a measly happy hour portion, but this was huge! I happily shared with four people! I loved the shredded beef in place of ground beef or chicken- but I suppose that’s the Cuban influence of the restaurant coming out. Reaaaaaaaally tasty snack.

I also tried the chicken quesadilla ($6) which was a good enough portion for a nice meal. This wasn’t your typical quesadilla, for some reason it tasted heartier and well made, not like something you could get at a Friendly’s. We also ordered the chips and salsa ($3) and chose the plantain chips and mango salsa- you can get the traditional kind for the same amount. I am SO glad we tried this, what a nice change. The mango salsa was not overly sweet, especially because it had the right amount of kick to it. I love plantain chips, so I was bound to be happy with these. Our friends tried their ceviche ($5) and although they enjoyed it a lot, their portion size left something to be desired. However, we can let this slide since we are talking about freaking ceviche here, and usually that stuff can cost you a lot more anywhere else.

Overall I was really happy we happened to check out this place before the show. We happened to peruse the regular menu, and all the items looked fabulous- although I’m not sure anything can compare to the happy hour- what a deal! We all collectively agreed that we would love to come again. I really urge you to visit this place, let me know what you think if you do!

If you want a reason to visit, how about a free mojito? They are offering a free mojito with a purchase of $7 or more if you fill out this form on their website.