Suzie’s Soba

It’s not there anymore. Walk to Mekong Delta instead nearby. Unilocal,please update your list!

We are the fast & the furious.
We of Downtown Balmer’s Lunch Bunch content ourselves with greasy fast food or hot dog vendors at Mitchell Courthouse. Lunch ain’t held as holy. Our tunnel vision to the hurried hustle of our 9 – 5 compels us not to slow down to enjoy the ride.
In search of a relaxed lunch, I tried Suzie’s Soba Downtown. Not to be confused with Uptown Hampden’s Suzie’s Soba.
I liked my Malay Laksa ($ 13) and it’s spicy curry full of shredded carrots, onion, snow peas, and red peppers complimented by ginger, cilantro, and loads of vermicelli. A zingy splash from a fresh lime wedge gave a tweak more punch. I added chicken. Shrimp, eggplant or tofu available.
My Japanese Donburi (rice bowl) ($ 10) had snow peas, carrots, red peppers, and shittake mushrooms topped with fried egg. Much rice. I chose tofu over meat. It was fresh. Clean. The vegetables did the talking more than any seasoning or sweet soy sauce.
Whereas I found my Korean Yaki Mandu (dumplings) ($ 8) served with lime wasabi dressing a tamer appetizer, my Japanese Spicy Tuna Tartare ($ 8) was giddily unrestrained in spiciness. Served in a halved avocado.
My steaming hot Ginger Honey Tea ($ 3) was most memorable with bold hits of ginger and soothing waves of honey.
Being light on patrons the vibe was contentedly relaxed as WBJC played Classical via radio. Service too was relaxed, informal, yet affable.
Suzie’s Soba was a nice diversion from my hectic Downtown lunch spots. It inspired me out of my ridiculously repetitive fast food foolishness & mayhem. But with lunches weighing in at $ 22-​$ 23 before tip my relaxing lunches here will be infrequent.
If just for a moment, I of Downtown Balmer’s fast & the furious throttled down to do a smooth shift to the Asian (noodle) drift.
–Dedicated to Daniel L of Unilocal LA via Berkeley for uncorking my Inner Asian

(11/​17/​2010) Consistently good and savory, although they do need to work on their Ho Fun. It’s not Asian fusion, but more like pan-​Asian. There’s traditional Chinese (the aforementioned Ho Fun), Vietnamese (Phở), Malaysian (Laksa), Japanese (Udon, Soba), and Korean (Jap Chae) noodle dishes, as well as some creative takes with Asian seasonings (Spinach and Shiitake soba, Spicy Seafood noodles). The House Salad is a spring mix with shiitake mushrooms, gari (Japanese pickled ginger), red bell pepper, cucumber with a spicy Korean red pepper paste vinaigrette-​type dressing. The Yook Gae Jang (Beef in Spicy Broth with Cellophane Noodles) was so incendiary it made my lips and tongue go numb (love it!). It’s a salty, beefy, sinus-​clearing soup for a cold and rainy day. The Munsey location is upscale; it’s in a renovated old bank (still has the teller windows and marbletop main counter).

Suzie’s Soba is a slightly upscale, casual dining spot serving a pan-​asian menu with a focus on Japanese sans sushi. This location (never been the other one) has a simple, but chic intererior. It also sports a variety of seating arrangements: two long bars near the entrance that are great for groups and tables well-​arranged in a tiered area near the windows.
I have eaten here three or four times, and each time the food has been excellent! The service has also always been prompt and helpful.
While the prices are a little steep, the deep and varied flavors of the dishes they serve are worth it. My favorite dish has been the spicy tuna tartare – fresh tuna combined amazingly with seaweed, sesame seeds, and a house sauce. Delicous! I recently had a Malaysian Laksa that was, as the menu claimed, «incredibly flavorful.» The lemonades are also pretty tasty. And of course, the soba and other soup dishes are all very good, and served with generous portions.
I am disheartened to see, however, that the large space is rarely filled with more than a handful of diners. It seems like it would be a great place for a business lunch – but alas, perhaps the tasty offerings are too exotic for the white collars of Baltimore. Or perhaps it’s location is just too difficult to spot from the street. Regardless, I hope this gem of a non-​sandwich-​serving downtown lunch spot (which are few and far between) is able to stick around!

This is the third visit to Suzie’s and I have to say they are consistently good. This time I got the Oriental Chicken Soba but substituted tofu for the chicken. When the dish came (amazingly quickly, I might add), it had a nice variety of lemongrass, Broccoli, snow peas and tofu with the soba noodles. I was concerned with the red Korean style sauce, as it looked like it could burn my face off. I took a small bite expecting some pain, and was surprised by a perfect amount of spice to flavor ratio. While there was a nice warm burn, I could still taste the flavor of the lemongrass and Ginger as well as the vegetables. This place may be a little hard to see from the street, but it’s worth looking for. Oh, try the raspberry tea. It’s homemade and is unsweetened. It tasted so good it didn’t need any added sugar.

My husband and I had lunch at this place. I ordered the spicy tuna tartare. The spices used were tasty but could not mask the overly fishy ‘fresh’ tuna. I eat a lot of raw, fresh fish and should really not have eaten it for tasting somewhat off. The ensuing unpleasantness was not worth it! Also, the portions are small and the prices slightly steep, particularly for food that appears not to be qualitatively superior.

4.5 stars actually!, I love this little place and Hampden in general this is one of many little treasures. I love their mung bean pancakes, their teas and all their noodles dishes I have tried are delicious! To answer Lula’s question yes, locals do eat later b/​c Hampden has a little known good nightlife for the rock/​indie/​rockabilly crowd. Lots of cute independent boutiques in the area too. I would definitely take my friends here and I wish they would open a location closer to me.

Finaly, spicy Thai food on the east coast. I love this place and recomend it especially for lunch!

Great little place in Hampden for Asian fare. Good seafood dishes and noodles — really good drinks menu also. They have a good selection of vegetarian dishes for those who lean that way.

Suzie’s left me with many questions. Why were only three tables full at noon? Does Baltimore’s downtown/​inner harbor business community all eat at their desk? Do they eat late?
I’m sorry that more people weren’t here; I hope that I just caught it at on off moment because the food is worthy of a loyal and large clientele