Last weekend, with my sister and her family in town, the adults were able to sneak away to a lovely dinner at 18th & 21st. 18th & 21st is located at the corner of Broken Land Parkway and Little Patuxent Parkway, sharing the same building as Cured. The restaurants are “separate” in their logistics (i.e. reservations) but they share the same entrance and signage… but the two have two totally different feels.
We’ve been to both and have enjoyed our times at both. Cured has more of a bistro feel and 18th & 21st is most definitely a jazzy “Prohibition-era” supper club (their description, but it fits nicely).
18th and 21st is part of the Wecker Hospitality Group, which also owns Iron Bridge Wine Company, Mutiny Pirate Bar, and a few other spots in Howard County.
We went to 18th and 21st on a “concert night” which meant more traffic than usual and a slightly different traffic pattern (they have concert/event day instructions). We were able to find parking on the 2nd level of the parking lot across the turnaround off Grantchester Way. Basically drive to the location and it’s the parking lot across the way. There was no parking attendant and we drove in, found some open spots reserved for the restaurant, and walked over.
The space is relatively small (get reservations!) with the bar on the left side and a small stage up front. This evening, we had a jazz saxophonist playing and he was great. It can get a bit loud with the music but we were seated near the back so it wasn’t an issue for us.
Every month there is a “theme” and July’s theme was “berries.” It meant that berries were featured on several of their dishes, which was a fun little touch.
We got a few appetizers but I only took photos of two of them – a crispy brussels sprouts in sweet chili sauce (think: General Tsao’s brussels sprouts) and a whipped ricotta with berries. In looking at the 2023 Restaurant Week menu, the brussels sprouts made that menu.
I enjoyed a nice tasty cocktail, the Clover Club, described as “Spring in a Glass” – private label one last time gin, dolin dry vermouth, raspberry syrup, lemon, egg white.
Our mains were fantastic. The portions were enormous (only my brother in law finished his, which was the Grilled Hangar Steak… also on the Restaurant Week Menu).
The room is dimly lit so the photos are of varying quality but you can get a sense of how large the portions are. They don’t look big on the plate but compare them to the size of our forks and wine glasses!
The meal wouldn’t be complete without desserts, right?
We enjoyed their crème brulee, house made donut bread pudding, and beignets.
Overall, we had a great time and it’s one of our favorite places to go because of how unique the space is, the live music, and service is top-notch.
Just make sure you get reservations because you never know if they’re going to be booked up.