Santa and Sushi

Ahhh. Christmastime at Harborplace. It's not as spectacular as I remember. What used to be a destination now just feels sleepy (coincidentally, I also feel sleepy, so perhaps me and Harborplace are a perfect match). The shoppers are missing. The tourists are missing. The lights are missing from the trees and I can't remember when the last time Santa's llamas were out and about.

I always thought that the harbor was its most beautiful in December. And, while it's lost its glitz, there's still something very comforting and magical about the place. Santa's house hasn't changed one iota. Except for the llamas, everything's the same. And that is good.


And even though the restaurant I waited tables at as a teenager has long closed, there is still plenty of good food to be had. The three of us shared miso soup, seaweed salad, veggie tempura and salmon skin rolls (well, Pepita and I shared the salmon skin rolls anyway) next to a glass window overlooking the harbor.



I don't know why it's not more crowded this time of year, but it totally works out in our favor. It really is perfect and our Santa really is the best Santa. We parked on Light St. for free and we wandered around for at least three hours. And it was so nice to just let Pepita run outside on the promenade without worrying about losing sight of her. We'd never be able to do that in a mall!

And if you take the long way home, you can squeeze in one more Baltimore treat...