Hull Street Blues has been operating for nearly 25 years, an eternity in the bar and grill business, and it is easy to see why. The beer is cold, the food is well-made and ranges from fine dining to quick-grab pub grub, the prices are competitive and the place itself is absolutely charming.
Hull Street Blues, which opened when the iconic “Hill Street Blues” cop show was enjoying its first run on television, was a gastropub before gastropubs became the rage. There is a long oak bar in front, where the regulars gather for friendly chat over beers and cocktails. In back there is the Commodore Room, a white-cloth dining room with seating for 30 or so. The decor is eclectic, well-worn, mainly marine and antique—and the oversized beer mugs and wooden beer crates over the bar are certainly covetable.
We popped in for a Thursday lunch, on a day when the breeze is cool and the sun is warm and just about everyone is out for a stroll, and most of them decided to head over to HSB for lunch. One valiant server was taking care of the dining room and the bar, plus a few people who dropped in for carryout. So the wait was long, but the wait was worth it, and besides, who wants to rush back to work on a sunny, breezy Thursday? Might as well pass the afternoon with the congenial Locust Point Irregulars.
Alas, we can’t drink for lunch, but we would have if we could have, because the draft list at HSB includes some very distinguished local microbrews: Magic Hat #9, Brewer’s Art Resurrection Ale, Blue Moon and Loose Cannon Ale, all of them delicious but guaranteed to make your afternoon unproductive (Loose Cannon is seven percent alcohol).
We primly settled for Diet Coke and coffee; a pub-grub classic, a Taco Salad ($9.95), and a dish you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find on a bar menu, Wild Mushroom Ravioli with Spinach ($10.95).
Everything was layered. The taco salad was chili layered over romaine lettuce and ringed with tortilla chips, with sour cream and a nice tart and spicy salsa on the side. The chili, made with beans and ground beef, was nicely spiced with a little jolt of cayenne modulated with a whiff of cinnamon.
The ravioli were similarly layered, with the strata being fresh, bright green baby spinach, wilted just slightly by the steaming hot marinara ladled on top, and the ravioli stuffed with sauteed mushrooms on top of the sauce. The marinara sauce was chunky and summery, sharp and fragrant with basil. The ravioli were plump and soft.
There is a dessert menu, but the leisurely pace of our meal and the size of the portions had satsified us too well.
The place is open 7 days a week. Lunch and lite fare is served Mondays from 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Dinner hours are 5 p.m.-10 p.m. from Tuesday through Thursday, and 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 4 p.m.-9 p.m. on Sundays. Sunday brunch is 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Specials include $5 burgers on Monday, $12 Tuesday menu and on Wednesdays, trivia and half-price wine.
The website is www.hullstreetblues.com and the phone number is 410-727-7476.
