Red Star Bar & Grill: A homecoming
“Folklore” has it that Red Star was named for the nautical red stars painted by women on sidewalks in lieu of shining red lights, which were prohibited at the time in Fells Point. Lonely sailors who reached Fells Point followed the red stars to the various places with homey comforts (a good meal, cold beer and perhaps some more intimate items on the menu). Today, the Red Star Bar & Grill, located right on the water by the water where boats pull ashore, offers those traditional meals and cold drinks, and the only intimacy would be good conversation and laughs among friends.
Red Star is a spacious two-floor restaurant, bedecked in glowing wood walls, shelves and long wood bars, candlelight, lanterns and exposed brick. It’s clean, warm, inviting and rustic, unlike some of Fells Point’s other bar & grills. Downstairs is mostly a bar with a handful of dining tables, while upstairs is a dining room that can also be rented out for private parties.
Red Star’s food menu is on the small side, offering your basic bar foods in a pleasing presentation, but nothing mind-blowing. That being said, the food is also fairly good if you’re there for happy hour and would like a bite or two. There are starters (wings, crab dip, that type of stuff), salads, sandwiches, burgers, and a few entrees. Much of the food does not really say “DINNER” but more as a snack upon which to munch while enjoying a drink. Nothing on the menu is completely different and unique from what you can find any another bar, but in some ways that adds to Red Star's charm and purpose in being the place sailors (and today's locals) go to find something familiar and homey. The steak salad is a tasty option, as is the bistro steak sandwich. Red Star makes a sweet potato french fry that is a nice alternative to the regular fry, also available (and you can have a mix of both on your plate). The pizzas are only okay, depending on your mood, but the burgers are a hit.
Where Red Star really shines is in its happy hour and drink list. The beer list features several IPAs and microbrews, and even the wine list skips past the Gallos and Mont St. Micheles to choose a selection that’s unique and displayed on its shelves. Cocktails suit every palette, and Sunday brunches include bottomless bloody marys and mimosas.
Posted by Rin-rin Yu
