Acqua Restaurant
1739 W. Nursery RoadReally quick work trip to Baltimore.
My work trips are usually several days but last week I was in Baltimore for less than 48 hours. I flew out of Grand Rapids Tuesday morning, worked all day Tuesday and Wednesday in Baltimore and Washington DC, then flew out of Baltimore back to Grand Rapids Wednesday evening.
Most of the meals on this trip were supplied by the group we were traveling with and I didn’t have any time at all to explore on my own. I had a job to do and that’s pretty much all I did.
I did have a little bit of down time on Tuesday night after a 16 hour work day. The group I was traveling with stayed at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. I wasn’t totally comfortable with the travel arrangements so I actually got a room at the hotel right next door.
I was staying in the Aloft hotel right next door. It’s part of the Marriott chain although it’s one I never heard of.
I checked in to my room about 8:00. They have a pretty nice bar in the lobby and their website showed they did snacks/appetizers so I just planned on getting some wings and a drink. The hotel was undergoing a renovation though so they didn’t actually have any food at the bar. It was too far to walk anywhere else so I headed back to the Hilton to grab something to eat from their bar.
Acqua Restaurant is located inside the Hilton next to Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum Heights. The hotel’s address is Nursery Road but the hotel is actually on Elm Road which dead ends just past the airport. The restaurant is accessible from the main lobby but there is also a dedicated entrance off to the side of the hotel in the parking lot.
The restaurant has the feel of almost any hotel restaurant. The space is kind of tucked in to it’s own little area but it’s still open to the larger lobby. There are a number of communal type tables to that stretch from the lobby area to the bar area. The bar has a nice feel to it with large TV’s at eye level and the lights kept pretty low. Hotel bars are always a weird mix of people like me who just want a beer, a burger and to be left alone and people who don’t love eating alone while traveling and are looking for anyone to strike up a conversation with.
There is a larger dining room if you keep going past the bar and the host stand that was right inside the back entrance. This area really feels like a hotel with larger round tables and white table cloths. This looks like it may have been preset for a Mother’s Day brunch or something which would have been happening in a few days. It’s an area that can be flexed to however they need to use it depending on how busy the bar is. The night I was there, there was no host so it was a seat yourself and order at the bar night.
The menu at Acqua is kind of a surf and turf bar edition. We are on the East Coast so things like crab cakes and shrimp are on the menu, but they also have the bar standards like burgers and wings.
I first asked if the kitchen was open because it was pushing 9:00 by the time I sat down. The bartender said yes, so I ordered a Raging Bitch IPA draft and asked to put in an order to go so I could head back to my room across the parking lot and watch TV while I ate my dinner.
The burger I ordered was the Brunch Burger. This sandwich is a rather large burger patty served on a brioche bun with grilled onions, an over easy egg, and American cheese. I forgot to ask to leave the onions off but they were fortunately on the bottom of the patty so they were easy to remove. I was pretty hungry by the time I was ready to dive in to this sandwich so I took a big bite….and the over easiness of egg came spilling out the back. Boy, am I glad I was not sitting by people when this happened. I was so hungry I forgot that the egg was runny and would likely create a mess if I went to hard. I laughed about my mistake then went right back to scarfing this thing down. It was a really delicious burger and hit the spot after a 16 hour work day that included several hours of travel.
The sandwich comes with choice of side and I, of course, chose the fries. The fries were skin on frozen French fries that had a thick layer of seasoning on them. This is the kind of frozen fry I don’t really mind. It’s not as good as fresh, but still tasty. The large amount of seasoning makes up for what could be a very bland potato.
The cost for my meal, with the beer, was right around $30 before tip.
I don’t usually have a pretty high bar for hotel restaurants. They’re always a little pricey and the food is usually pretty boring. It’s the convenience of hotel bars that draws me in. Acqua Restaurant is a pretty standard hotel bar. The food was good and a little better than I expected. I was really hungry by the time I finally found my way to this place and I was super happy the kitchen was still open. I don’t know how much business they draw in outside of guests at the hotel but this is a pretty great restaurant to have at your fingertips if you’re staying at the Hilton.
SW Michigan Dining 