What’s a D.C.-based reporter to do when faced with ferreting out a worthwhile repast while on assignment in neighboring Baltimore? Solicit recommendations from Maryland’s congressional delegation, of course.  

At least, that’s how Bloomberg BNA scribe Anthony Adragna played it Wednesday morning before hitting the road for an out-of-town conference.  

Hey @SenatorCardin, @SenatorBarb know any good lunch spots by Baltimore Convention Center?

— Anthony Adragna (@aadragna) July 23, 2014

According to Adragna, the dining S.O.S. was very much a spur of the moment thing.  

“First time ever reaching out and didn’t put much thought into it,” Adragna told HOH. He said he meant to pose the question to Maryland Democrat Benjamin L. Cardin in person a day earlier — the two, evidently, chatted here on Capitol Hill Tuesday — but just never got around to it.  

No matter.  

Cardin came through on Twitter anyway.  

.@aadragna Many great places, you might try @PrattStAleHouse

— Senator Ben Cardin (@SenatorCardin) July 23, 2014

The junior senator from the Old Line State advised Adragna to turn his ankles toward Pratt Street Ale House , a storied brewpub sandwiched between the convention hall and the city’s fabled Inner Harbor.  

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., on the other hand, did not reply to Adragna’s entreaties (or ours) for gustatory guidance.  

Meanwhile, had he bothered to check in with the Baltimore-savvy members on the other side of the Capitol (which we, of course, did), Adragna could have had his pick of congressionally-endorsed meals.  

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., pitched Mughal Garden , an Indian restaurant with an expansive lunch buffet, as a solid contender. The rest of Cummings’ office cast their votes for:

• Miss Shirley’s Café: specializing in eye-opening refreshments (Pickled okra-packed Bloody Mary, anyone?), curious starters (avocado-laced deviled eggs, pull-apart monkey bread sweetened with cinnamon and bananas) and inventive sandwiches (fried soft-shell crab, blackened shrimp salad medley; pulled barbecue chicken-pimento cheese partnering).
• Roy’s: pan-Asian playground dishing out myriad sushi rolls (wagyu beef, tempura shrimp, spicy tuna), fiery bites (short rib bibim bap, seafood hot pot) and exotic mains (macadamia nut-crusted mahi mahi in lobster cream sauce, Thai-style chicken escorted by creamy jasmine rice).
• Teavolve: weekday carte features assorted egg dishes (omelets, breakfast sandwiches), signature crepes (smoked salmon with scallion cream cheese, turkey breast with dried cranberries), gourmet burgers (black bean, grass-fed beef, bacon-cheese) and seafood-laden offerings (cayenne-spiked shrimp and grits; crabmeat-topped spinach ravioli in sun-dried tomato and basil cream sauce).

An aide to Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., confirmed the boss is “a big fan of Faidley’s crabcakes at Lexington Market .”  

Work, sadly, conspired to keep Adragna from enjoying any of the culinary charms Baltimore has to offer.  

“Don’t expect I’ll have time to follow up on his suggestion this trip unfortunately,” the time-crunched hack lamented via email.  

Correction July 24, 10:40 a.m. An earlier version of this post misspelled Anthony Adragna’s name.