Edited by Jane Marion

Photography by Scott Suchman and Justin Tsucalas

Illustrations by Mary Kate McDevitt

Best of Baltimore

Best of Baltimore 2024: Food and Drink

Our annual ode to the city's excellence in dining and hospitality.

Edited by Jane Marion

Photography by Scott Suchman and Justin Tsucalas

Illustrations by Mary Kate McDevitt

August 2024

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT SUCHMAN

Breakfast Sandwich

CATALOG

The drinks at this new Hampden coffee shop are excellent—well-pulled cortados, nitro iced coffee, ceremonial matcha—but the breakfast sandwiches are where they truly excel. Served all day, the offerings include breakfast bánh mìs, scrambles on toast with fresh herbs and veggies, and the classic: a paprika fried egg, melted cheddar, and huge rashers of bacon between thick slices of bread. The menu is beautifully accommodating, with vegan cheddar, smashed chickpea and scallion salad, and even vegan aioli on offer, as well as plenty of available hot sauce.

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APPETIZER

TATER TOTS AT THE RUXTON

What do you get when you top tater tots with caviar and crème fraîche? One taste of this extravagant appetizer at Harbor East’s The Ruxton and the answer is obvious: the perfect bite. The oversized square spuds are mixed with Gouda cheese, then fried to golden oblivion. The crème fraîche adds tang and texture and a hit of Kaluga caviar is a stand-in for a sprinkling of salt. The whole affair is adorably presented inside a caviar tin, so it’s oh-so photogenic. This is elevated comfort food at its best.

BALLPARK BITE

FUZZIES BURGERS

The Orioles have upped their game for the fans at Camden Yards—both on the field and off. If you can drag yourself away from watching Gunnar and Adley crush pitches onto the flag court, stop by Fuzzies Burgers for the best grub in the park. The food truck staple has a permanent stall near Section 67—not that you’ll need a map to get there. Just look for the line. The popularity of its dry-aged Black Angus burgers, plus the fact that each one is served piping hot, means wait times can be long. But as O’s fans who suffered through so many losing seasons know, sometimes the wait is worth it.

MY FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT:

“Woodberry Tavern. Spike has created the best burger in the world. Lisa has some of the best drinks I’ve ever had. So I’m really thankful for Woodberry Tavern. Also, Alma Cocina Latina. They’re my two favorite spots. When I’m home, I always try to get to those spots ASAP.”

—D. WATKINS, WRITER, PRODUCER, JAMES BEARD WINNER

BARBECUE

THE GENERAL’S JERK & PIT WERKS

Lifelong Baltimorean Antonio Baines started barbecuing back in the ’90s. He was the longtime head chef at Tapas Teatro and, for a time, stored his big smoker across the street from the Station North tapas restaurant. Eventually, he moved it outside his Remington home and started smoking meats on the weekend. Then, in 2022, he set up a Instagram account, which he called @jerkwerks, where you can order his ribs, jerk chicken, and pit beef for carry-out. You can smell your dinner before you pick it up, which gets you plenty hungry: Fortunately, there are parklet benches near the smoker. Baines smokes racks of ribs, phenomenal jerk chicken, and massive pit beef sandwiches that you can pair with paper bags of Old Bay fries. Be sure to order all the sauces.

BOTTLE SHOP

HOPSCOTCH

Why should imbibers of alcohol have all the fun? If you’re sober—or just abstaining—a trip to Maryland’s first zero-proof spirits shop is intoxicating. Every item in the Fells Point store is as nuanced as a bottle of its more spirited counterpart. From Rieslings and Chardonnays to Cabernets and Syrahs (or gin, whiskey, and rum, if you’re a hard liquor lover), Hopscotch has more than 200 n/a options that mimic the taste minus the alcohol. Best of all, owner Darryl Collins is committed to helping you find what you like and offers free tastings so you don’t risk disappointment when you get home.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTIN TSUCALAS

New Cocktail Bar

KENWOOD TAVERN

Here are a few things not to be when you walk into this corner bar with no sign: in a hurry, eager to watch a game, or in the mood for junky bar food. Co-owner Matthew Steinberg and his staff take the preparation of cocktails very seriously at this Canton bar, and thus they take their time to ensure they’re done right. Whether it’s their take on a classic or one of their creations, like the Umami Martini with vodka, gin, yuzu, chile oil, and dashi, every drink is meticulously crafted. There are no TVs, very limited food, and all the music is spun on the turntable behind the bar. Here’s what you should be when you walk into Kenwood Tavern: thirsty and excited.

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CHOCOLATE SHOP

JINJI CHOCOLATE

There are chocolate shops—and then there is Jinji Chocolate, where owner Jinji Fraser creates scratch-made chocolate from cacao butter and cacao powder processed at origin or from cacao beans she roasts and grinds on-site at her new Waverly storefront. The result is high cocoa content bonbons in fanciful flavors, like passion fruit with strawberry ganache and grapefruit olive oil. The shop also features handmade home goods, gathered from some of Fraser’s favorite cacao-growing regions. And any trip to Jinji should also include a stop at the only drinking chocolate bar (think high-quality hot chocolate) in the state.

DESSERT

WOODBERRY TAVERN’S BAKED ALASKA

The size and shape of a very large teacup, the baked Alaska at Spike Gjerde’s Woodberry Tavern is a retro wonder. Composed of a dome of caramelized meringue enfolding layers of ginger cake, whiskey caramel, and apricot ice cream, the dessert is brought to your table, where your server will douse the insulating meringue with a small pour of Demerara rum and then light it on fire. It’s one supremely satisfying experience—kind of like a haute-cuisine campfire s’more—followed by another, as you spoon up the warm, faintly charred confection, with its still-frozen ice cream.

DIM SUM

DIMSUM PALACE

Dim sum is best experienced in large dining rooms where metal carts are wheeled between tables, rolling hot dumplings, buns, and tarts in a procession of small plates. Dimsum Palace in Catonsville is owned and cheffed by folks from Hong Kong, where modern dim sum originated in 19th-century teahouses. The dim sum is excellent—shu mai, turnip cakes, barbecue pork buns, sticky rice, egg tarts—as are the larger plates, which include Peking duck, XO noodles, and hard-to-find rice-noodle rolls. Bring a crowd, score a table with a lazy Susan, and order as much as you can.

DOUGHNUTS

FENWICK BAKERY

While many pastries are best found in upscale French pâtisseries, the doughnut is an old-school creation, and thus often reaches its finest incarnation in similarly old-school bakeries. Fenwick’s origins date to 1913 and its recipes go back to the Swiss immigrant bakers who first opened the bakery. The most popular doughnut in the tiny Parkville storefront’s loaded pastry case is the marshmallow, a pillowy doughnut halved and stuffed with marshmallow creme, but the Bavarian cream and raised chocolate—made with house-made chocolate—are also stellar, as is the honey-dipped Bismark, which sells out almost as fast as their famous peach cake.

BIRD LAND

ROTISSERIE CHICKEN FLIES HIGH IN CHARM CITY

COURTYARD CHICKEN

Chachi’s

Husband-and-wife team Karl and Stephanie Diehn have built a tiny menu around magnificent rotisserie chickens. Dry-brined for 24 hours before roasted, the succulent birds are paired with creative sauces.

OLD-SCHOOL PERUVIAN CHICKEN

Chicken Rico

Chicken Rico is one of the oldest Peruvian chicken joints in town. The Giordano family began the business in Lima, Peru, then brought it stateside. The chickens are charcoal broiled in rotisseries, then paired with yucca, plantains, and sauces.

STRIP-MALL ROTISSERIE

El Gran Pollo

With six locations, El Gran Pollo has Peruvian rotisserie chicken down to a science: The birds are juicy and deeply flavorful, rotating in massive rotisseries, bags of charcoal stacked nearby. The caramelized plantains are required.

NEW ROTISSERIE JOINT

Nana

At Nana, Carlos Raba brines birds for one day, dries them for another, then loads them into a Frenchbuilt rotisserie. They’re roasted until burnished and crisped, above a tray of schmaltz potatoes.

FRENCH-STYLE SPIT CHICKEN

Rooted Rotisserie

The rotisserie chickens at Joseph and Amanda Burton’s Hollins Market restaurant are brined for one to two days, brushed with preserved lemon, garlic, and herb oil and roasted, then paired with white truffle aioli or black garlic.

EMPANADAS

THE EMPANADA LADY

These tasty, protein-filled pastries are popular throughout the world. Elisa Milan, aka the Empanada Lady, makes a Puerto Rican version that are fried, fat, and fantastic. A business that started out of her home is now a sitdown restaurant downtown, where diners can feast on standards like beef and chicken as well as vegan, shrimp, and crab (when fresh meat is available) varieties. Our favorite is the ground turkey, sautéed with herbs, peppers, onions, and cheese. Be careful biting into one—it’s easy to burn the roof of your mouth but impossible not to wow your tastebuds.

ESPRESSO MARTINI

THE LAST PENNY

Tucked away on a quiet street in Locust Point, this neighborhood bar serves cocktails that are worth going out of your way for. Not Your Father’s Folgers, the unique espresso martini, uses both vodka and hazelnut rum to achieve a smooth blend of booze that’s paired with cold brew and simple syrup. The result is a slightly sweeter version of the drink. The caffeine is nearly as potent as the alcohol. If you can fall asleep the night you have one, you’ll likely dream of having another.

FRIED CHICKEN

BUNNY’S BUCKETS & BUBBLES

Jesse Sandlin’s fried chicken is everything you want when you’re looking for something finger lickin’ good—pieces of poultry are nicely spiced with salt, pepper, and cayenne, then twice dredged in rice flour and fried in canola oil, making it not only gluten-free but extra crispy without being greasy. The whole experience is elevated with fluffy house-made biscuits, bread-and-butter pickles, and a variety of flavorful dunking sauces that are meant for the chicken, though we suggest slathering them on anything in sight. (The honey butter is positively drinkable.) Do as the name of the Fells Point restaurant suggests and throw in a glass of bubbly.

GOURMET MARKET

THE CORNER MARKET

Baltimore has a treasure chest’s worth of local makers and culinary artisans. Fortunately, The Corner Market store, owned, operated, and carefully curated by Liberty Delight Farm just down the road in Reisterstown, makes it easy to sample many of them under one roof. The market carries a wide array of small-batch, gourmet goods, at least 50 percent of which come from the Old Line State. Some of our favorite products to purchase are Dimitri extra-virgin olive oil, Keepwell vinegar, Banner Bee infused honey, and cheeses from Atwater’s. Moving through the aisles of the store makes us Maryland proud.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT SUCHMAN

Greek Treats

ESTIATORIO PLAKA

If ingredients like honey, crushed walnuts, and sheets of phyllo pastry make your mouth water, look no further than this new Highlandtown Hellenic hot spot, Estiatorio Plaka. There’s a restaurant on one side and a bakery on the other. The bakery turns out a range of gorgeous Greek goodies, some commonplace, such as baklava and kataifi, and others less well-known, such as galaktoboureko (semolina custard encased in phyllo dough and drenched in syrup) and portokalopita (orange cake), a supremely moist, dense delight blended with oranges and spiced with cinnamon.

HAPPY HOUR

TRUE CHESAPEAKE

There’s a “the more the merrier” feel to the happy hour at Whitehall Mill’s True Chesapeake, as patrons gather around the U-shaped bar area made with pressed oyster shells. Tuesday through Friday, from 5 to 7 p.m., Maryland’s first oyster farm restaurant turns into a happy hour hangout with $2 raw and roasted St. Jerome Creek oysters, terrific cocktails, including $6 martinis and Old-Fashioneds, plus 25 percent off on bar snacks, including one of the most scrumptious clam dips in town. There’s also a fun new tiki menu on Tuesdays. Some happy hours skimp on the drinks with inferior alcohol or serve cheap fried food, but True Chesapeake is truly a high-quality deal.

JEWISH DELI

ATTMAN’S

There’s a timeless appeal to foods from the Old Country, which explains why Attman’s, a landmark along “Corned Beef Row,” is still going strong after 109 years. Attman’s proudly carries on the tradition of making Eastern European specialties the way bubbe did. For more than a century now, everything—the kettle- cooked corned beef, the brisket, the pastrami, the knishes—has been made in-house using the highest-quality ingredients. Now in its third generation, the store recently opened its third location in Harbor Point. And no worries if you don’t have a Baltimore ZIP code—as the website says: They “schlep nationwide.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY Justin Tsucalas

Ramen

TOKI UNDERGROUND

Nestled inside an industrial circa-’40s brick building on Greenmount Avenue in Harwood, Toki Underground is making bowls of truly stellar ramen, filling a much-needed gap not just in the neighborhood but in Baltimore’s ramen scene. This is hakata-style tonkotsu ramen, thin noodles in an insanely rich pork broth, with chashu, nori, pickled ginger, and a jammy egg. There are also options: curry chicken ramen, miso ramen, a vegan mushroom ramen, a kicky kimchi ramen, and a no-broth mazeman bowl, as well as terrific starters in the form of dumplings, duck tamales, and steamed buns.

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LOCAL COFFEE ROASTERS

THREAD

Local coffee roaster Thread, which is women-, queer-, and employee-owned, was started in 2012 as a way of furthering social justice movements around the world, including the empowerment of women and assisting small farmers. But along the way, they also ended up roasting a boffo bean. In addition to being named Best Coffee in Maryland by Food & Wine magazine in 2019, Thread was one of three finalists in the world for Roaster of the Year in 2021 by Roast Magazine. Their beans are sold all over town, including MOM’s Organic Market and Whole Foods. Recently, they moved to permanent digs in Greenmount, where they host training labs on latte art and Espresso Making 101.

LOCAL GOURMET GOOD

KIMCHI AT HEX FERMENTS

Korean people put kimchi on pretty much everything—meat, rice, fish, dumplings. They might be onto something. The miso kimchi from fermented vegetable maker HEX Ferments is so addictive, you’ll find yourself seeking out creative ways put it on your food. (On top of a hamburger? On a bagel with cream cheese? On top of pork fried rice? Yes, yes, and yes.) Some kimchi is made with fish sauce, but HEX’s is made with chickpea miso, making it vegan—but no less tasty. Indeed, the miso adds a unique umami that really satisfies. Of course, all the fermented goods at HEX are delicious—their sauerkraut might even turn the staunchest ’kraut skeptics into believers. You can buy their products all over town, including Atwater’s and Whole Foods, but do stop by their cafe and local-makers storefront on York Road. Order the grilled “kimcheese.”

MY FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT:

“I’m definitely a creature of habit, so once I find a place that I love, I tend to just go to that place on repeat. Right now, my favorites are both in Station North. I adore the chicken liver pâté and rye crackers at Le Comptoir du Vin (yes, I realize how pretentious that reads, but trust me, that pâté is insanely good). However, the place that feels like home to me will always be Tapas Teatro. It’s SOLID. The food and drink are reliably delicious and it’s always bustling with positive energy.”

—JESSICA HENKIN, HOST, STOOP STORYTELLING

MARTINI SERVICE

PETER’S INN

Homage must be paid to the OG martini at Peter’s Inn in Fells Pont. The martini (your choice of vodka or gin) comes chilled and filled to the brim in a coupe glass. The drink is served with a sidecar—a cute carafe filled with more spirits—on ice. It’s basically two drinks in one. An assortment of garnishes—a hot pepper, a cocktail onion, a caperberry, a baby gherkin, and a pimento-stuffed olive—are also served on the side so you don’t have to decide. The whole shebang arrives on a silver tray. A more elegant version of the drink, purportedly invented at the Ritz Paris, does not exist.

PUPUSAS

MI COMALITO

This small Station North restaurant has been an under-the-radar spot for Mexican and Honduran food since it opened in 2013, but its pupusas are what set it apart. The national dish of El Salvador, the flattened griddle cakes are usually filled with meats, cheese, and beans. Our favorite is the chicken and jalapeño variety, but whatever comes inside of the pillowy, charred-corn pockets is fine by us.

COURTESY OF LOUIE SILVERIO

INSTAGRAM WINNER

LOUIE SILVERIO

@BMOREFOOD

In a world of social media influencers, it can be tough to sort out the real deal from the 15-minutes-of-fame seekers. Baltimore born and bred Louie Silverio (@bmorefood) is all about highlighting Baltimore’s booming food scene—and he does it with a sense of joie de vivre and humor. Whether he’s highlighting the crab pie from Matthew’s Pizza in Highlandtown or promoting the custard cones with sprinkles at Miss Twist in Essex, Silverio is a great booster for all things edible in Charm City.

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RESTAURANT BATHROOM

THE MILTON INN

At The Milton Inn, it’s all about attention to detail, from the welcoming host at the door, to the fine food and service, to the loveliest of loos. When nature calls, there are several bathrooms to choose from, but our favorite is the one closest to the bar. Here, every dog lover will delight, as the walls are covered in canine-themed art, from adorable puppy portraits to prints and paintings with frolicking Fidos. A trip to The Milton Inn always makes us feel warm and, yes, fuzzy, all over.

SANDWICH

MEATBALL SUB AT DIPASQUALE’S

In this instance, size doesn’t matter. Make no mistake about it: The meatball sub from this century-old Italian grocer is enormous. It’s difficult just to get your mouth around it, let alone finish one by yourself in a single setting. But its true magic lies in its taste, not its girth. The meatballs, covered in sweet tomato sauce, are impeccably flavored. They’re blanketed with provolone or mozzarella cheese and stuffed into a half-loaf of rustic Italian bread to make one of the biggest—and best—sandwiches in the city.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT SUCHMAN

Pizza

LITTLE DONNA’S

Little Donna's doesn't have a massive Italian pizza oven or a uniformed pizzaiolo tossing pies into the air. What the understated Fells Point spot does have is fabulous tavern pies featuring superb ingredients and a chef-owner who worked for years with Chris Bianco, arguably the best pizza guy in the country. The pizzas are thin-crust pies with pockets of char around the edges and they range from the loaded, idiosyncratic taco pizza to a minimalist tomato pie made with just tomato sauce, slivers of garlic, and wild oregano. The Bianca pie, with ricotta, lemon-zapped greens, and sesame seeds, is spectacular, especially with a ramekin of tomato hot honey.

TAMALE

CARNITAS ROCIO

Tamales are comfort food at its finest, packets of soothing masa wrapped in corn husks and steamed, the corn dough hiding fillings of chile-spiked pork or chicken, or maybe just melted cheese. At Carnitas Rocio, a family-run rowhouse taqueria and tortilleria in Highlandtown, the tamales are larger than most, hefty rectangles that arrive warm and deeply aromatic. The best of the bunch are the chicken mole tamales, made with coowner Rocio Garcia’s rich mole sauce, a complex, earthy concoction that will linger on your palate and in your memory.

THAI FOOD

THE DARA

This Fells Point newcomer is run by a chef raised and trained in Bangkok, and that authenticity and skill shows in every aspect of the menu: the bowls of excellent khao soi, the seafood tom yum soup, the duck larb, the fried chicken with butterfly pea flower rice, and especially the curries, which are all individually, perfectly made. As befits the space, a former tavern, the cocktails are as good as the food, made with jasmine and tamarind syrups, mango foams, and Thai teas.

WINE SHOP

THE FRENCH PARADOX WINES

The father-son duo of Peter and Matt Wood run this charming boutique wine shop in homey Stevenson Village. The shop features vino from the best grape-growing regions of the world and has a wonderful selection of Japanese whiskey and barrel-aged bourbons. Bonus points for the well-curated selection of accompaniments for possible pairings, including foie gras and specialty cheeses.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT SUCHMAN

New Restaurant

COSTIERA

Gnocco's Brian Lavin and his business partner, Sam White, disappeared from the scene for a few years, but in late winter of this year, thanks to the debut of Costiera, they’re not only back, they’re at the top of their game. With a focus on the coastal foods of the Mediterranean and an emphasis on seafood and house-made pasta, Costiera already feels like a classic. The pastas are the Platonic ideal of what can happen when you mix flour and water. The seafood dishes are stupendous. The service is dependable. The vibe is laid-back, and the cocktails are potent. Lavin and White first became friends while living together on a college program in Rome. Clearly, they paid attention in class.