Every few years my hometown Detroit Tigers come to Camden Yards on a weekend.  My wife and I have made it a tradition to spend those Saturdays and Sundays in Charm City.  So this year I sat in Orioles Park and reflected on it and its new neighbor on the Anacostia.

I like Nats Park and have been there for about 20 games, but Camden is already a classic.  I really hate Peter Angelos but can't hate the prototype for every new ballpark that came after it.  Make a point to take in a Saturday night game, stay in the Inner Harbor and then onto the Sunday 1:35pm matinee.  For the price there is no matching the Holiday Inn Inner Harbor.  The general manager saw we were fellow DC area neighbors, and gave us a complimentary 20 dollar breakfast, there's and indoor pool, nice restaurant and the hallways and rooms have recently been re-done.  There is a parking garage and of course best of all, it's a block from the Stadium. 

The Holiday Inn used to have great views of the park, but the city decided it needed a new convention center hotel and built this monstrosity that blocks the view of the park.  In fact  this new, bland and rather hideous structure also blocks much of the good views fans had when looking out beyond left field.

Pre-game on Saturday evenings head down to Faidley's Seafood at the Lexington Market, where you can get fresh clams, oysters, crabs, snow crab claws, lobster, and more at a real and vibrant city market.  Standing at the counter or the bar, you lean in and drink Natty Boh Beer and chat with some real Baltimore natives, people you'd never see at the game.   Its a ten minute walk down the street from the market to Camden, and get there a little early and go up to the Camden Club on the eighth floor of the famous warehouse.  Where once you needed to buy top tickets for the game to get in to the club, you now can just buy a five dollar day pass.  Its a great bar, full food menu and tons of tables looking out on the field from high above right field.  Make a reservation if you want dinner.

Overall, Camden just doesn't try as hard as Nats Park, and with the authentic warehouse and old buildings just beyond centerfield it doesn't have to.  With small crowds at most games, including just 23,000 for a beautiful Sunday matinee, take advantage and spend a weekend at Camden Yards, just try not to think about Angelos.

      

Sometimes there are places you like so much you hestitate to tell too many people about them. But with the summer half over and these places already popular, its about time loyal Nats fans got in on two great summer secrets away from the ballpark.

1. Friday night Jazz at the Smithsonian Sculpture Garden

Jazz? Yeah, jazz. The highly polished and jamming Joshua Bayer quintet, the Brazilian Supernova band and DC legends The Young Lions among many others. This is the ideal music to unwind from a long, hot week. Most of these bands pull in at least $15 cover at local jazz spots like The Bohemian Caverns, but its all free in the garden. The band sets up at one end of the big fountain and the crowd sheds coats, ties, socks and shoes and dips their feet in the water. Even better, the same interesting National Park rule that allows you to drink whenever, whatever and wherever at Wolf Trap also allows unfettered imbibing in the garden. This has got to be the only spot in town where vendors sell chilled bottles of Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and a few others as well. Other stands have full bars and scores of people walk around with plastic pitchers of Sangria. Who says the Smithsonian is just for tourists?

2. The Courtyard at Poste

Washington summer is great, but its still not South Beach, however on a steamy night at the outdoor courtyard bar of Brasserie Poste you can squint your eyes and almost imagine you're in Miami.  Of course youre surrounded by the 150 year old marble walls of the Hotel Monaco, in the former DC General Post Office, and you're right across from the Gallery Place Metro and the National Portrait Gallery, but the lack of beach and ocean seems excusable.  The big courtard has several big outdoor couches with equally oversized pillows and matching cushioned coffee tables.  There area a ton of tables and chairs and people rarely have to stand.  This year Poste opens an outdoor bar on busy weekend nights so you no longer have to go inside to get a drink.   Yeah, that glass of wine might set you back a little more than at some places, but the atmosphere is well worth it.

      

Months ago I said I was going to explore the bars and restaurants of the Green Line, as its only way to get to and from games directly.  Well, after two reviews I dropped the ball, so let's get back on the green line with the newly re-located Courdory Restaurant. 

Courdory is the absolute last place you'd expect on 9th Street NW, between L and M and a block from the Mt. Vernon-Square Convention Center Metro exit.  Its a completely renovated row house, that is now a plush, modern, refined and gleaming new two story fine dining experience.  Bar and a few private rooms upstairs, and a main dining room downtairs.  Blonde Wood, Moss Green upholstered chairs, and a great two seater booth in black leather perched in an alcove.  The 4 panel modern art pieces are interesting as well.

Start with one of the signature drinks, perhaps the Violet Beuregard, a delight of Tequla, Blueberry Juice and Soda.  Or the ultimate summer drink,the Cucumber Ginn Fizz, highly recommended.  Appetizers here are unusual and worth trying, especially the Peekytoe Crab and Egg Custard, which is thick and delicious delight, full of crab.  The soft shell crab on greens with a phylo dough wrap was decent but not very meaty.

A 2000 bottle chilled wine area sits in the middle of the dining room, go for one of the many great Pinots, there are several from Willamette Valley in Oregon, which is now the single best area for Pinots in the entire country.  The red wines are properly chilled, not at room temperture like at most places.

For desert the staff went all out for the 4th of July, with a red, white and blue sorbet trio of razzberry, coconut, and blueberry.

Main Courses are seasonal, with plenty of seafood options for the summer.  The seared scallops with rice porridge, morel mushrooms and peas is particularly subtle and good.  The 16oz. striploin with scalloped potatoes and snap peas was a perfect medium rare.

Courdory is a great place to treat yourself or take a wealthy relative... And just five brief metro stops from Nats Park.