It’s been well over a year now since we decided drive our trusty old Chevy down to Crazy Ray’s and let them chop it up. So far it’s gone really well for us. We’ve got no complaints and certainly aren’t going to be car shopping any time soon. A year on a bike has...

Here at the Chophouse we like to cook. Whether it’s something as simple as putting together a good sandwich or as complicated as laying out a four course dinner for six, we do more high quality home cooking than the average bachelor. When the Fall rolls around, we really kick it into...

If you’ve been watching closely recently, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve changed things up a bit around here. We added an image of Wee Willie Keeler’s T-206 tobacco card to the header, and adopted it everywhere we are online… Twitter, Facebook, etc. But what...

It’s been a while since we did the whole Bike Party thing. We tried to do it back in June and while we made it to the Block Party, we decided that 110° was just too damn hot for recreational riding. Then we thought about doing it again in July when there was a coordinated ride timed...

If you’re standing on the street right now pissed off, smartphone in hand desperately Googling to figure out where the fuck your car is and how to get it back, relax. Take a deep breath. The Chop is here to help. If you were towed at rush hour, during a ballgame, or in connection with...

An unusual turn in our daily schedule had us heading uptown in the early afternoon yesterday, and it finally afforded us a chance to grab lunch at Land of Kush. It was pretty good, by the way. Good vegan food and big portions of it for reasonable prices. It was very much like the Yabba Pot...

Update: Tonight’s bike ride is officially sold out. There’s only so much beer to go around. If you snoozed you lose-d. There will be another one soon. - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - –...

Update: Presumably because of the water main break and the extreme heat and the generally shitty state of affairs in Baltimore City this has been postponed until August 15. Not exactly a banner endosement for living and working downtown, but that’s a matter for another time. Hey...

Good news everyone! In a thousand years most of you pathetic jerkbags will be ancient wormfood. And do you know what happens to ancient wormfood? (Hint: it involves the Slurm Queen’s cloaca.) But that’s not really news, is it? You already knew you were boned. The good news is that...

Artscape is coming up this weekend. We might even bother to go to it. Don’t get us wrong: Artscape is a great and wonderful thing and our heart floweth over with civic pride and our city is truly lucky to have a premier arts event that generates tons of commerce and community and...

With the whole Derecho Debacle and the Fourth of July falling on a Wednesday, this week has turned into pretty much a nine day weekend for a lot of folks. Even if you weren’t lucky enough to get 9 days off, it’s a good bet you’re slacking pretty hard this week and taking at...

Today is the fourth of July. We’re pulling the blog into port and going ashore for a day off. Happy...

No power means no blog posts. Sorry kids. We’re sleeping on the balcony and living off of pizza and Chinese food and being bored and sweaty and miserable until the power comes on again. In a week or a month or...

Volume XVI. That’s sixteen in regular numbers. Our living room has come a long way over the course of the last few months. When we began this whole process, our front room was nothing more than a convenient place to park a bicycle. There was nowhere to sit, and even if you wanted to...

If there’s one thing every Baltimorean should own it’s a good calendar. Every time you turn around there’s a First Thursdays or a Final Fridays or a T-Shirt Tuesdays or some such thing. It’s quite a task to keep track of all of the various events that neighborhoodsy...

You already know that Su Casa sells furniture. You’re probably also aware that they’ve got you covered on everything from home decor to kitchen essentials to things for the kids’ bedrooms and play areas. They can even help you stock your bar. But what you probably...

One of the biggest benefits to cycling is the ability to notice things that would be missed passing by in a car. Whether it’s something as small as a makeshift snowball stand or as large as Sherwood Gardens, There’s an entire world waiting to be discovered outside your car. We...

Dave Tedder died suddenly last week. While I wasn’t especially close to Tedder, I’ve known him for more than half my life at this point. I’m sad to see him go. I always expected Tedder would be off for good someday, but not like this. He was a dude you naturally assumed...

If you’ve ever been inside a Su Casa location, you know it’s rarely the same store twice. They’re constantly bringing in new pieces, redesigning whole areas of their showrooms, and keeping things fresh and interesting. In that same spirit we’ve decided to...

We’ve spent a lot of time lately talking about designing our living room and all the new furniture we got from Su Casa, and especially our new sofa from Pad. We’ve been taking part in their Test it, Blog it, Win it contest, and while we’ve had a lot of fun decorating and...

Although we’ve only had our new sofa from Pad for a week today, we’ve been doing our level best to make up for lost sitting time. We figure we’ve probably got about three weeks’ worth of sitting in already, because we’ve been on the couch morning, noon and...

So here’s what happened: 2 years ago Blackberry was still a viable company and hadn’t decided to roll itself off a cliff yet. It had just released the Torch, and we bought one, and never really liked it much. Once our 2 year contract was up we practically ran to Best Buy, where we...

It’s been an eventful morning here at the Chophouse. As you already know if you’vebeen following along, we’ve spent the last two months or so designing a new living room from the ground up. We’ve been putting it all together piece by piece, and this morning we finally...

As most of you already know, we’ve been participating in an ongoing contest in which we’re blogging about redesigning our living room. The whole thing is sponsored by local retailer Su Casa, who informed us that our couch has in fact been built and shipped, and is right this very...

This blog has been somewhat critical of food trucks in the past. In fact, as much as we like to cook and eat, we’re not keen on foodie culture as a whole. That’s still true. We still think that the food truck should belong to its working class provenance. Its modern reinvention by...

If there’s one thing that both locals and outsiders seem to enjoy immensely it’s pointing out that as a Mid-Atlantic city Baltimore has always been “A little bit Northern, a little bit Southern.” One of the strangest and most subtle ways that this phenomenon has...

As we’ve noted before on several occasions, Baltimore has long been a city dedicated to the value of thrift. Whether it’s shopping in thrift stores or picking things up off the street, most Baltimoreans will go to great lengths to save a couple of dollars. Baltimore is also a city...

Over the last two months, we’ve been participating in a contest detailing our experience designing our living room from the ground up. We purchased a good deal of our furniture from Su Casa, and can honestly say that we’ve enjoyed our experience shopping there more than we have...

Once upon a time, we mocked and derided Twitter mercilessly. Then we got a blog and joined Twitter and realized that OH! this is actually pretty awesome. Not only does it drive blog traffic, but it lets us know about almost everything way before everyone else- from a simple traffic jam to the...

One of the best aspects of shopping for furniture at Su Casa is the convenience of having several professional interior designers on staff who are available to consult on anything from finding a small accent piece to designing an entire house floor to ceiling. Aside from being the design face...

Happy Facebook Day everybody! This post is being published at 7:00 am, and odds are that even at this early hour you’re already completely sick of hearing about Facebook’s IPO and how they have a billion users and are worth a trillion dollars etc etc etc. We’ve certainly got...

So, we’re not sure if we made this up, or just picked it up along the way some place, but we’re going to go ahead and take credit for it because it appears that we are actually the first to publish it on the internet, and as everyone knows the internet is like the official hall of...

When we entered the Test it, Blog it, Win it contest a few months ago, it was a great opportunity for us not only to ‘test drive’ a brand new sofa, but also to fill a whole living room full of custom furniture from Su Casa. A couple of weeks ago we took delivery of our brand new...

We’re still waiting patiently for the fast-approaching delivery date of the new sofa we’re trying to win in the Test it, Blog it, Win it contest from Su Casa Furniture. A couch is typically the first thing that goes into a living room, and in our case it was the first thing we...

We’ve long been a great fan of thrift store shopping. We can hardly pass by a Goodwill or a Value Village without popping in for at least a quick look at what’s on the racks. Whether it’s just a hasty rummage for a casual tie or an all-day weekend bargain hunt, there’s...

So we’re trying to win a couch. We’re getting a couch from Pad, and writing a series of blog posts about it, and if we can manage to out-blog the competition then the good people over at Su Casa will give us the couch for free. It’s not just about the couch though. We ordered...

It’s been about a month now since we announced we’re participating in the Test it, Blog it, Win it contest from one of our favorite local retailers Su Casa Furniture. They let us pick out a custom couch for the Chophouse, and we’re going to live with it for a month and...

We announced a few weeks ago that this blog has been selected to be a part of the Test it, Blog it, Win it contest from local retailer Su Casa Furniture. We’re thrilled to be participating, and win or lose it’s been an incredibly positive experience for us. After demonstrating just...

With the advent of regular Boltbus service from Penn Station, New York City has gotten a lot closer in the last couple years. Honestly, if you’ve never been on the Boltbus, try it. When you factor in everything involved, their service to NYC is actually faster than flying and much...

As some of you may know, we’ve been selected to participate in the Test it, Blog it, Win it contest which is going on right now at Su Casa Furniture. We’re incredibly excited about having the opportunity to try to win some furniture by blogging about it, especially since our living...

When we were traveling recently, we were able to sample a lot of great cuisine in Israel. Unfortunately for us, Turkey did not prove nearly as appetizing. Turkish food is unique and exotic, but as a vegetarian there was very little for us to choose from among the Kebap, Tantuni, Biftek, Doner...

So, we’re two weeks home from our latest trip abroad; a trip where we lived and worked in close proximity to a bunch of men and no women. Right before that, we made another trip to the Middle East likewise with no women around at all. We’re home now though, and as luck would have...

Last week, we made the grand announcement that we are finally ready to furnish our living room. We’ve lived in the Chophouse for two and a half years now, and haven’t got one single piece of furniture in the house’s main space. Right now it serves as a bicycle garage, which...

We don’t often blog about food. Even though the Chop is actually a very good cook, it’s just not something we enjoy talking about too much, let alone reading about and writing about online. But in Israel recently we discovered Shakshouka, which is just too incredibly life-changing...

So, when a man travels all over the world to exotic locales and the holiest sites in Creation, you would think he’d have a lot on his mind; history, philosophy, anthropology, war and peace. There’s so much out there to see and experience- lives, cultures, civilizations…...

There are a couple of seldom-admitted paradoxes that we’ve been noticing more and more lately that we want to address today, and they have to do with bicycles and buses. Most of the “bike people” we know and interact with are eager to evangelize bicycling as a lifestyle....

Just a quick post today, since it’s Memorial Day and everyone is outside cooking on grills and hanging around the beach and not reading blogs anyway. We’ve already seen a little of it, but with today being the traditional start of Summer, the women of Baltimore are all...

We’re not supposed to like golf. Historically, we’ve always thought the game was as dull as dishwater to watch and fit somewhere on the scale of elitist snobbery between polo and croquet. It was a great game for retirees, trust funders, and people in advertising sales, but not up...

Baltimore, more than most cities, has always embraced thrift in all its forms. Whether it’s the local Goodwill, the flea market, church basement sale, consignment shops or just finding things on the street, Charm City natives are always keen to save a buck. As anyone who’s saved...

We’d like to wish Mama Chop and mom’s everywhere a happy Mother’s Day today. Treat your mom right today because if you don’t, well… Be sure to do something nice for mom. Get her a card or a nice gift. You might even take her to brunch or buy her some...

The Chop’s cousin is getting married soon. Thankfully, the best man actually followed our sage advice on How to Plan a Proper Bachelor Party, and Cousin Chop’s bachelor party today will be a progressive affair. We’ll be tearing up the Canton/Fell’s corridor later...

If you’re looking for us today, we’ll be out visiting family. If you’re looking for us tomorrow, we’ll be making the rounds of grocery and convenience stores buying up Mary Sue Easter Eggs at a discount. Happy...

Ever since we got into the market to buy our first home, we’ve been watching a lot of HGTV. Whether you’re looking for design and decor ideas for your own house, or just want to gawk at the way other people are living, Home and Garden’s got something for you. We especially...

As we all pause today to honor Dr. King’s legacy, it is important to note that some of us honor that legacy by word alone, and not by deed. Hypocrisy and injustice continue today, and for those of us who truly value civil rights and equality, protecting that legacy means guarding against...

We’ve got some wasted space in our bedroom closet. It’s not much space, really. 31″x21″x20″ About 8 cubic feet we’d guess. In a Baltimore rowhouse though, closet space is a precious commodity, and the waste of any of it is silly and shameful. For one such as...

That’s right Baltimore… we’ve got resolutions. If you knew the Chop in real life, you’d know that we’re the type that damn well does what we say we’re going to do. One day we woke up at random after 13 or 14 years and said “Gonna quit smoking this...

Here we are, Baltimore, at the end of the year. You might expect your Mobbies winner for best nightlife blog to give you some kind of nice little round up about all the fun things that are going on around town tonight. Nope. We say balls. We already went on record last year as coming out...

Chopstradamus has seen the FUTURE, and we predict the following things will happen in Baltimore in the year of Our Lord two thousand eleven… The Baltimore Charm of the Lingerie Football League will play their final game and no one will care. It might be because they can’t sell...

More on Boxing day fox hunts at Mister...

Merry Christmas from the Chop.

Well, here we are at the end of the year. The holidays are well nigh and everyone is busy buying gifts, planning parties, eating, drinking, making merry, and of course, looking back and taking stock of the past year. Yes, looking back and taking stock is one of America’s favorite holiday...

It’s been a few years since we were around for the holidays. We’ve been all over the world, but there’s nothing out there quite like Thanksgiving dinner with a large and happy family. Here’s hoping that you’ve got plenty for which to be thankful. We certainly...

Okay, Baltimore. Today is the last day for you to go over and vote for us in the Mobbies. Go ahead. Click over and do it now. We’ll wait. Are you back? Okay. Cool. Thanks for that. Anyway, We’re still hoping to pull out a win in the Music/Nightlife category. We seem to have fallen...

A friend once told us of a conversation he was having with an acquaintance of his who was from Glasgow. The two of them were walking down the street chit-chatting when they passed a set of fireplace tools; a poker, tongs, etc. “What in the fuck is that?” asked the...

Today, Baltimore, the 28th of October, is a day of tremendous moment and importance. It’s a big red letter day for us, because exactly one year ago today we launched our humble little blog with this post about the Office of Future Plans at the Sidebar. Now that we’ve turned 30, a...

“Ah yes, here I am, far away from everyone And the only fish I smell Is on the deck of my boat. I’ll steal some gas, fix my motor Put on my Doors tape And get you out of my head!” If you’re looking for the Chop in town today, don’t bother. We chartered a boat and...

I love my dad. He taught me everything I know about being a man, and I can think of no better way to live than to turn out just like...

We were really torn on what to do tonight Baltimore. You seem to have left us high and dry this time. What’s doing tonight? Go down to the stadium and watch the O’s lose again? Go to that dull little Honfest concert thing? Go fill up on grape leaves and ouzo with the Greeks? Nope....

As you probably already know, many area Catholic schools are slated to close due to ‘budget issues’. We’re going to reserve any comment on the Church as a whole, and instead stick to what we know best. We have very mixed feelings, to say the least. Although the Chop is...

That’s right Baltimore, Old Hilltop is open again. With the Orioles stinking it up halfway through a long west coast road trip and the weather being the very picture of Spring, there’s no better time to for an outing to Pimlico to see the horses run. The 2010 Spring meet opened...

If there’s one thing the Chop loves, its beer. And if there’s one thing the Chop loves more than beer, it’s beer in a garden! A garden of beer! We saw our first proper beer garden at the tender age of five, as it was a cornerstone of the Chop’s annual Catholic School...

Okay Baltimore. Have you learned your lesson yet? Have you maybe finally figured out that you deserve that hangover? That quality always outstrips quantity? That nobody wants to kiss you and you’re not Irish? We hope so. After spending most of yesterday at home with roommate drinking...

It’s sometimes strange living as a man of leisure. Its easy to fall out of sync with the rest of the world. When the rest of the city is hating Monday and wanting to pass out with fatigue at night, we’re restless and looking for fun. When its Friday rush hour and everyone else is...

That’s right Baltimore. Its the distant future. Right now! Today! It must be the distant future, because we clearly remember being a wee little Chop in the Reagan era and doing the math. We were born in 1980, so In 1990 we’ll be ten, and in the fifth grade with Sister Joan. In the...

Sigh. Today the Chop doffs our cap one last time to a Baltimorean we well admire; Brian Dubin. He’s off to Japan as of today. What’s he doing there? Who knows. We’ve been gone, you know, and each year that goes by we fall more and more into the trap of allowing internet...

You never can tell where the night will lead in Baltimore City. It can begin in one neighborhood with the best of intentions, and end someplace entirely different, and even unfamiliar. The Chop might well start out at some ritzy affair at the Engineers Club, and end the night swilling tequila...