Globe Book Club!

Gotta be honest folks....I feel bad for giving Thursday a bad rap. Thursday can be cool, too. Sorry, Thursday.

For instance, the Globe Book Club takes place on the very first Thursday of every month. "What?!" you might exclaim, "The Globe has wondrous food, music, art, AND literary enrichment?!" It's true! The Globe hosts a book club once a month right upstairs in the Gallery. A group of about 10-15 intelligent folks like yourself meet and discuss a book, maybe enjoying a glass of wine and definitely enjoying one Globe appetizer on the house. It's a lovely, thoughtful way to spend a Thursday if you ask me.

This coming Thursday (August 7th) at 6pm, the Globe Book Club will convene to discuss All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. It's a New York bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths cross in occupied France as they attempt survival in the throes of World War II. Now, I haven't read it, but that sounds like

 War Horse - Horse x Atonement = Heart-Wrenching and Compelling

Or, in other words, complete awesomeness. Doerr has brought us books such as About Grace: a novel, Four Seasons in Rome: a memoir, and Memory Wall: a story collection, but this would appear to be his coup de grace.

 

Look at it. I'm compelled already. 

The Book Club will meet at 6pm to discuss Doerr's book, which will be the latest at a long list of awesome books they've read. Last month they read The Gold Finch, and on September 4th they'll meet again to discuss Tempting Fate by Jane Green. So get your reading glasses out! It's a welcoming, intelligent group of book-discussers who would love to have you, and so would we. 

The Book Club, though hosted by us, is organized by Lisa Challenger. If you have any questions about Book Club, she can be reached via email at lisac6221@gmail.com.

Art art art, vote vote vote

I know it's summertime, but I'm about to give you guys some homework. Don't worry though, it's pretty cool homework.

As we speak, lovely, lovely artwork is gracing the walls of The Balcony Art Gallery upstairs in the Globe. Not only is it lovely, it's art we've never seen before! It's work by talented local artists who are debuting their work for us for the first time. We sent out a message to all local artists to send us a few pieces of their work to display in the Gallery (on the condition that we'd never displayed it before), and the rest is up to you. Go vote for your favorite! The winner gets a month-long private show. This is how we discovered some of our new favorites, like Patti Backer and Evan Fitzgerald. Voting runs right up until the evening of August 3rd.

I'd like to point out what a great idea this was and how it represents the spirit of Berlin. Encouraging artists to do what they do is so important, and everybody wins. We get brand new art to admire and draw inspiration from, and aspiring artists get the exposure they were looking for. I see Berlin as a community of artists. We've got Jeff Auxer and his glass blowing studio, Patrick Henry who graces us with exhibitions more frequently than we deserve, Patti Backer and her whimsical paintings, Peggy Hagy (who totally does awesome and hilarious colored-pencil work) and even the saints at Baked with those freaking cannolis - I am grateful and terribly upset that I didn't try one until a month before I moved across the bridge, if I'd gotten on that train any sooner I'd weigh 800lbs. Artists see the world in new and beautiful ways and we're lucky to have so

many of them in Berlin to brighten things up for us.

If YOU are an artist, first of all thank you for being so cool and being brave enough to put your talent on display, but get yourself on our email list! You'll hear about our next Call to Local Artists and maybe it'll be your work in the Gallery. I'd like that. Wouldn't you like that?

Sundays, Globe Style

Alright, so I was thinking about what my favorite day of the week is. On paper, it's Thursday.

Look at it. It just looks nice. 

But then I realized, that's not actually true. By and large, Thursdays have not held too many exciting things. The TV shows I liked aired on Monday and Tuesday. Thursday is not included in the weekend,  it's not early enough to be part of the productive week, either. Thursday didn't hold up. It's not Thursday's fault, I guess I should never have put it on that pedestal. 

So I had to challenge my own beliefs, which is hard, and decide what my favorite day of the week actually is. And hands down, it's Sunday. 

Sunday is when football happens, which is great. Sunday is also when people make great food, at least in my experience. People gather on Sundays, to eat that great food they made and to gather confidence from each other about the coming week. People sleep in on Sunday mornings. You're recovering from Saturday, you're recharging for the week. Sundays are the best.

So, what do you do with your newly-crowned-best-day-of-the-week Sunday? At some point you sit down for that Sunday meal, right? OH MY GOD GO DO THAT AT THE GLOBE. I'm telling you, human to human, it's a great idea. 

You want classic breakfast food? French toast. Eggs benedict. Want some special breakfast? There's gonna be some crazy specialty french toast and there's always the seafood omelet, also known as The Destroyer of Previously Held Notions of What Breakfast Could Be. Let's be honest, are you hungover? Mitch's Mess. Mitch's mess all the way. Throw a $2 Bloody Mary in there. There's gonna be great music from 10am-1pm. Sit down, listen to Hilari do her English accent (why? I don't know but it's magical), and bask in Sunday. 

But Becky, you say, Brunch ends at 3pm and I begin at 4pm. You know what else begins at 4pm? Pint & Pizza Night. $10 pizza, easily enough for three or four people (or one ambitious person, it's your Sunday), and $4 drafts. Good drafts, too; Flying Dog, Dogfish Head, Fin City. Put off Monday a little longer, have some good brews, it's a great time. Football is right around the corner, too - The Giants and The Bills play on August 3rd. 

Yes, this is a flagrant plug for the Globe, but it's also how I feel. I listened to my heart, and it said, "Becky, you're lying to yourself about Thursday. You love Sunday, and you love Brunch. Also pizza." 

Ode to Globe, Where I Grew Up

Alright dear reader, full disclosure. The post you are about to read about The Globe is being written by someone who technically no longer works there.

It's true. After 2 years at The Globe, I moved to Baltimore yesterday. (Insert lots of emotions.) But I thought anyone who's reading this knows how I feel about eating at The Globe (swoon), or going to see the artwork, or listening to some music on a weekend night, but what about working there? So hey I'll tell ya. I would say I'm qualified.

It's not easy. Working at The Globe is not for those who want to get comfortable, or turn their brain off for a shift. It is not a place where you can throw your hands up and say, "Whatever, good enough." Everybody working at The Globe is working hard. For instance, the reservation book is airtight. The front desk staff has been trained to get the most detailed reservations they possibly can. They strive to pinpoint exactly what table would best suit the needs of the guest on the phone (stairs/no stairs, high chair/booster seat, upstairs or downstairs, etc.), and then they make sure that even if the restaurant is packed to the gills with people that table will be available at the correct time. The waitstaff can describe anything on the menu (which is huge) and anything on the specials sheet (which changes daily). They have been drilled on which items are gluten-free, the spiceyness factor of each dish, how each cheese on the cheese plate tastes and what country it is from, you name it. That's not to mention the drink menu - the servers can tell you which beers on tap are hoppy, citrusy, nutty, heavy, light, summery, etc. and probably a little bit about the brewery each beer is from. And the beers on tap change almost weekly. The bartenders have an encyclopedic knowledge of every drink ever - how an Old Fashioned is traditionally made, what fruit garnish each drink usually takes, the body of each glass of wine. I asked Hilari how the new Pinot Noir tastes (as a plebe, I was looking for descriptors like "dark red," "dry," or "really winey," and I got a run down on where Bridlewood Pinot Noir is made, a little bit about the grape itself, and what food it best pairs with.

You get the idea. A lot of knowledge and hard labor goes on in that building. But here's the thing:  you'd think we all stay on our toes to avoid getting in trouble - that's how it goes with jobs, right? You do your job right so you get a pat on the back from your boss and your weekly paycheck. But at The Globe, people work hard to know their stuff so that they can do their jobs well and best accomodate the guest. It's true! They care! Not to say they're the only restaurant that does - Berlin is blessed with an array of awesome places to eat - but I was blown away almost daily by the lengths our staff would go to to accommodate folks that joined us for a meal.

So, I'll miss it. I would not be amiss to say that The Globe is one of the places where I grew up. If you work somewhere that continually encourages betterment you can't help but improve a little as a person. Thanks, Globe staff and Globe guests. You all reading better go get a margarita and a seafood burrito so I can live vicariously through you.

Ah, Berlin.

Disclaimer: The following blogpost is mushy as HECK! 

The love levels are high, read with caution!

I don't know if you know this, but the town of Berlin is absolutely lovely. It looks charming, which is nice, but it's also full of genuinely welcoming and kind people.

About a month ago, a few friends and I were hanging out and not being particularly quiet in the apartment above the Maryland Wine Bar. Right across the street, Victorian Charm was having an anniversary celebration and sale event. We had the windows wide open, and we heard the owners attempting to speak to us from across the street. We immediately fell silent, sure they were going to tell us to quiet down - an instinctual, "dad's yelling down the stairs for us to put a sock in it" kind of effect. 

Lo and behold, the owners of Victorian Charm saw that we were having our own celebration, and were offering us the leftover food from their event. Pieces of smoked salmon on cucumbers, tiny chicken salad sandwiches, the works. It was a total windfall, and we were awestruck. We spent the rest of our evening talking about how that kind of stuff just doesn't happen everywhere. It's not just a perk of living in a small town, it's a perk of living in a small town of nice people. 

I love that Jason and Peggy at Berlin Coffee Shop know which kind of bagel I like the most, I love that I can strike up conversation with just about anyone in town, I love that when I went around Berlin hanging posters for the Food Drive every shop owner lent me some window space, and I love that I see new faces in town all the time. It's even more exciting to see someone else fall in love with Berlin, like I recently realized I have. I love reading those comment cards people leave behind at The Globe that say things like "Can't believe we've missed out on Berlin until now!" and "Everyone is so nice!"

And it gets better all the time! New restaurants to try, new local musicians to hear, new emerging artists,  new faces at The Globe... I can't wait to see what Berlin will be like in a year. This year's been something special, and it's only half over.

Featured Artist June 2014 - Eric Budd

Check out the amazing creations of our June Featured Artist, Eric Budd Decoys and Taxidermy! His work will be on display in the Balcony Art Gallery & Lounge throughout the entire month of June.

 

More information here!

Music at the Globe

It is a delightful thing to walk into the Globe and hear live music playing from the stage. We're lucky to have a variety of very talented musicians play just about every Friday and Saturday night, which makes dinner time on the weekends a really special event. We have bands that play for us almost every month during the summer - like the classy and very popular Dark Gold Jazz and the upbeat and truly fun Poole Brothers. But then we also have some wild cards - last summer we had a ticketed show featuring a John Denver impersonator. He was fantastic; he looked, sounded, and dressed exactly like the real thing and had apparently been adopted from John Denver's home town. And then there's Bryan Clark, who puts every woman in the building to swooning and every one else to dancing. Even if his voice wasn't so dang great he puts on one of the best shows I've ever seen. For New Year's Eve we had Hot Sauce Sandwich, some younger local guys who put a funky spin on the Mumford & Sons sound. The list goes on and on.

But on July 17th we've got something really special! Deanna Bogart, a versatile and truly gifted musician will be playing at 8pm for your listening pleasure. This woman can boogie. She sings, she plays piano, she plays a mean saxophone, and is generally a lot of fun. Give us a call with your questions about tickets or if you just want to know more about her (410.641.0784)! Also here is her website. 

Look. Look she's playing piano and looking soulfully at someone. I'll pretend it's me.

So soulful! Luckily, she probably isn't playing Careless Whisper.

Food Drive Time!

     When you're part of a community as wonderful as Berlin, you can't help but want to give back. We participate in clothing drives, charity auctions - and we're glad to do it. The Globe was a drop off point for a clothing drive for victims of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and it really made everyone's heart a little lighter to fill up the entire Gallery with shoes, socks, and sweaters that the lovely people of Berlin brought to us. We loaded up an entire truck and it really felt good.

     So, we are hosting a food drive! We are collaborating with Maryland Foodbank and Burley Oak to collect food for families in need all over the Eastern Shore. The main event will be at Burley Oak at 6pm on Monday, June 16th (as part of Burley Oak's fantastic Monday charity series), but The Globe will be taking food donations all week starting on June 10th. Dig that canned food out of your cabinet and leave it with us!

    In order to coordinate the food drive, I (Front Desk Becky) met up with Ralph Hickman, one of the Directing Managers at the Maryland Foodbank in Salisbury. He was kind enough to give me a tour of their warehouse and speak a little bit about what they do. The Foodbank provides to families all over Maryland and even has after-school programs for children who are "food-insecure," meaning they're not sure where their next meal is coming from. Mr. Hickman told me that while it used to be 1 in 4, now 1 in every 5 kids in the area the Foodbank serves is food insecure, and while I'm glad for the improvement it's still very heartbreaking. Hungry kids have evident trouble paying attention in school, maintaining their energy levels, and controlling their behavior.

    The Foodbank gets food donations from all kinds of places - they buy food from grocery stores at discounted rates, take food which is just past the shelf-date but still USDA-approved from bulk-sale stores like Sam's Club and Costco, they collect food from government donations, and they even obtain food from local farms. But the number one source of food is donations from food drives. So let's do it! Bring in those canned peas you were going to make casserole with but ordered pizza instead! Drop them off at the Globe between June 10th and June 16th or (even better) come to our event at Burley Oak at 6pm on June 16th! Bonus: For every pound of food donated, the Globe will donate 50 cents! We'll be glad to see you :)

Donate at: The Globe June 10th-June 16th & Burley Oak @ 6pm on June 16th
Food Drive Finale Event @ Burley Oak 6pm June 16th - 10% of all Bar Sales and All Tips from Burley Oak go to Maryland Food Bank! The Globe will match food donations 50 cents to the pound!

Check that out! Thousands of pounds of food!

I didn't ask if I could drive the forklift because I am a grownup. *Sigh*

That guy right there is helping his community AND knew all the words to "Happy" by Pharrell. I know, I saw him.

The Time Has Come for Sunday Brunch!

"The time has come for Brunch" she said,
"To enjoy many things:
Of eggs--and bacon--and sweet pancakes--
Of cream of crab soup--and wings--
And why not have a $2 Mimosa or Mary,
And savor the Sunday morning of kings."

   

Chesapeake Women's Network (An Inside Peek)

Working at the front desk is an unusual experience at times. The host desk's focus is directed entirely at the front door; we cannot see anything going on anywhere else in the restaurant unless we leave the desk. So, over the course of my shift, I hear lots of things that go unexplained. I'll be standing at the desk and overhear the bartender say something like, "So I'm there, pants around my ankles-" and I'll dart over in attempt to hear more when the phone rings and it's too late. On a Murder Mystery night I might be going over the reservation book and overhear a staged gunshot, or an actor shout something like, "not MY husband!" and be dying to get upstairs to investigate but unable to leave the stand. At times it is heartbreaking - there's always something fun or interesting going on somewhere in the Globe.

So when I was finally invited to attend a CWN meeting, I jumped at the chance. CWN, or Chesapeake Women's Network, meets on the second Tuesday of every month at about 6pm in the Balcony Art Gallery (the source of many mysterious goings on in the host universe). CWN is a group of intelligent, active, and very social women whom I will admit I was a little intimidated by, but who also turned out to be quite welcoming. We all gathered upstairs to mingle for about a half hour before sitting down to hear a speaker on the topic "How to Win Friends and Influence People." I had never read Dale Carnegie's book, but from what I had heard its message is an important and timeless one, so I was excited to hear more.

We sat down and enjoyed some quality Globe food, grilled chicken and sauteed vegetables. The speaker introduced herself and her topic, and suddenly I was no longer at work. It is usually impossible for me to be in the building without worrying about something - fixing a wobbly table, answering the phone, etc. - but that vanished in the midst of the crackly energy exuded by this speaker and the women she was addressing. The speaker, Tammy, shared with us the importance of navigating conflict gracefully, making coworkers and peers feel valued, and learning to understand the differences in others as differences, rather than flaws or shortcomings. I was enraptured and determined to put these new lessons to work as soon as I could. Women around the room were generous enough to share their experiences and stories, and the group I was dining with became more interesting by the minute. I met one woman that night who has decided, while living on the Eastern Shore, to take up dogsledding (like, full-on Iditarod/Balto mushing). She is 63, writes her own blog about nutrition and health, owns 5 huskies of her own, and has been dogsledding for 3 years. All I could think while talking to her is that I want to be her when I grow u

I left CWN gratified to know that the goings on at the Globe deserve all the curiosity I'd been harboring, and delighted that I'd finally gotten a peek at what goes on beyond the front desk. I'm grateful for the experience and would recommend it to any woman in the area who is looking for something to do on the second Tuesday of every month.