Food+Drink
Best of Baltimore
Food+Drink
EDITED BY JANE MARION
WITH AMY SCATTERGOOD AND MIKE UNGER
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY HUANJIA ZHANG
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT SUCHMAN
BAR
PINK FLAMINGO
THERE’S SWEET IRONY in the fact that the most popular cocktail at Pink Flamingo, the tropical-themed Remington bar known for its rum drinks, is its take on a spicy margarita. The Fire Island is made with Arette blanco tequila and Strega, an Italian liqueur that imparts an herbal flavor into the drink. The concoction demonstrates the creativity of co-owner Brendan Dorr, whose food menu includes exotic offerings like Spam chips and dip, oxtail dumplings, and duck tenders. A 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Bar, Pink Flamingo has infused a shot of whimsy into the neighborhood, while at the same time proudly embracing the classic Baltimore corner bar vibe.
BAKERY
LA MAISON BY CAFÉ DEAR LEON
When the Remington doors of La Maison, the second, considerably larger bakery from the folks behind the popular Café Dear Leon in Canton, opened last October, Baltimore’s pastry lovers hoped that lines like those permanently installed outside Dear Leon would not be an issue. Wrong. People now queue up for La Maison’s remarkable pastries, too: the signature crab dip bagels, the tamago sandwiches, the pain au chocolat, the almond croissants. What makes La Maison, owned by three Korean-Americans with serious French culinary skills, so much fun is that you get an adrenaline rush—not just from the sugar but from the crowds and the excellent coffee.
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BRUNCH
THE DUCHESS
There are many things to love about The Duchess: restaurateur Tony Foreman’s soccer obsession, which translates into early weekend Premier League games; chef-partner Kiko Fejarang’s menu, influenced by the food of her native Guam; the stately English-pub-style mood and pints of ale. But maybe the most enjoyable is the weekend brunch, which features creative dishes for those who love brunch but have grown weary of eggs Benedict and mimosas. Instead, there are SPAM and egg donburi bowls, kimchi fried rice, togarashi kaarage chicken and waffles—and the breathtakingly purple ube mochi waffles, which require contemplation before consumption.
BURGER
THE PRIME RIB
While not an obvious order at a steakhouse, the burger at this venerable restaurant is outstanding. Enjoy all the amenities of this Mount Vernon institution—live jazz, tuxedoed servers, ice-cold martinis—while eating an elevated handheld. Installed on a plush brioche bun, the burger itself is an inchthick patty of USDA prime capped with the cheese of your choice (go for the Gruyère), smoked bacon or mushrooms, and caramelized onions that tie things together. One bite and we promise, you’ll never miss using the fork and steak knife at your table.
CANDY STORE
RHEB’S
This fourth-generation, southwest Baltimore confectionary has been slinging sweets out of the same rowhouse since 1917. Rheb’s is the same as it ever was when then-newlyweds Louis and Esther Rheb moved into the rowhome, where Louis started making taffies, brittles, fudge, and jellies in the basement before transforming the garage into the store that still stands today. And while the repertoire has expanded—look for almond bark, sea salt caramels, and nonpareils—the mission of making time-tested family recipes served with a smile remains the same.
CEVICHE
LA CALLE
Run by Luis and Augustin Sandoval, two of four restaurateur brothers from Puebla, Mexico, La Calle brings a sophisticated Mexican menu to Fells Point—but you’re here for the aguachiles, remarkable plates of raw fish in various marinades. The Sandovals source their pristine seafood from Samuels Seafood Co. in Philadelphia, using it to create gorgeous oceanic still lifes: discs of fluke, red onions, jicama, cucumber, and mangos, all bathed in a passion-fruit sauce spiked with lime juice and chiles. There’s also a superlative shrimp aguachile, plus daily specials determined by the fresh fish.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTIN TSUCALAS
CHICKEN BOX
BLACKSAUCE KITCHEN
THE CHICKEN BOX IS a Baltimore institution, a vestige of Jim Crow carry-out meals that has carried over into the signature Royal Farms meal. But the best one? The superb chicken box at Damian Mosley’s Blacksauce Kitchen in Remington. Mosley’s chicken can be the classic fried chicken, crunchy as chips and intensely flavorful, or a smokey BBQ, or a jerk variation, each version exceedingly well-executed. And they come paired with one of his perfect biscuits or a square of cornbread, maybe some mac and cheese or slaw or a drizzle of hot honey—regardless of the variables, be sure to ask for a cup of the house fish-pepper sauce. No, the box is not always on the menu, so check the Instagram feed. Yes, it comes in an actual paper take-out box.
CHEESESTEAK
DIMPLES BAR & GRILL
Baltimore has been fortunate in recent years to have welcomed an influx of excellent cheesesteak places. In a crowded field of high-caliber contenders, the best in our view is Dimples, a corner bar in Locust Point (with another location planned for Fells Point). The key to its success is knowing its roots. Husband-and-wife owners Armand and Mary Miles hail from Philadelphia—the undisputed champion of cheesesteaks—and have imported the principles that make that city’s cheesesteaks iconic. It all starts with the bread, Amoroso’s Italian rolls, which they pick up daily in Delaware. They also cut their own rib-eye and, of course, offer Cheese Whiz (in addition to our preferred Cooper Sharp). We agree with the delightful Mary, who we’ve heard proclaim, “Everyone deserves to be Dimpified.”
DATE NIGHT ACTIVITY
BALTIMORE CHEF SHOP
Too often cooking is a burden, a daily chore required of tired adults to feed their children, spouse, or themselves. At this teaching kitchen in Hampden, it’s regarded as an art to be embraced. You need not have the knife skills of Bryan Voltaggio or the creativity of Carlos Raba to enjoy one of the many types of classes offered. Chefs with a clear passion for gastronomy teach students techniques like mise en place (the French term for gathering, preparing, and organizing ingredients) and offer introductions to cooking regional cuisines like Jamaican, Chinese, and Spanish tapas. It’s educational, sure, but more than that: It’s fun. The best part, of course, comes at the end, when students eat the fruits of their labor.
DIM SUM
NIHAO
Dim sum is one of the triumphs of Eastern civilization, a curated series of dumplings and little dishes that has its origins in Silk Road snacks and was refined into a cuisine in 19th-century Hong Kong teahouses. These days, perfection is best found at chef-owner Peter Chang’s Canton restaurant NiHao, where they offer a magnificent weekend all-you-can-eat dim sum brunch. The dishes come out small, almost like a tasting menu, which is sensible, as you can explore the large menu and then bear down on your favorites, like repeating bamboo steamers of perfectly pleated xiaolongbao, deft shumai, and super punchy chile-oil wontons. Oh, and don’t forget the bottomless pink mimosas.
EMPANADAS
EMPA511
The number in the name of this bright blue Fells Point empanada shop tells you all you need to know: 511 is the country code for Peru, where owner Jose Victorio Alarcon was born and where he grew up eating his grandmother’s handmade empanadas—replicated to perfection here. The simple menu features myriad baked, not fried, hot pockets filled with delectable combinations, including the lomo saltado (a sort of beef stir-fry including onions, tomatoes, French fries, plantains) and the huachana (pork sausage, blue chile, onions, scrambled eggs, potatoes), which Alarcon ate for breakfast as a boy. No matter the meal or the time of day, you can’t go wrong by indulging.
FARMERS MARKET
BALTIMORE FARMERS MARKET
Now in its 49th season, Maryland’s largest farmers market, held April to December under the Jones Falls Expressway underpass, is our town square. Although it’s had some bumps in the road—notably when its longtime organizer, Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts, briefly lost its contract—the market has continued to unite farmers, food and flower vendors, street musicians, and the produceloving public. This can mean running into friends and neighbors over bags of collard greens and peaches, holiday dinner shopping, buying Christmas trees, or picking up pit beef sandwiches under barbecue-smoke weather. In other words, the market is one of the cornerstones of city life.
FOOD BANK
PLATING GRACE
Dim sum is one of the triumphs of Eastern civilization, a curated series of dumplings and little dishes that has its origins in Silk Road snacks and was refined into a cuisine in 19th-century Hong Kong teahouses. These days, perfection is best found at chef-owner Peter Chang’s Canton restaurant NiHao, where they offer a magnificent weekend all-you-can-eat dim sum brunch. The dishes come out small, almost like a tasting menu, which is sensible, as you can explore the large menu and then bear down on your favorites, like repeating bamboo steamers of perfectly pleated xiaolongbao, deft shumai, and super punchy chile-oil wontons. Oh, and don’t forget the bottomless pink mimosas.
FOOD INFLUENCERS
MD FOODIE BOYZ
We’ll admit that this fabulous foursome was not on our radar until they were parodied—by Sabrina Carpenter, no less—on Saturday Night Live. But now that we’ve discovered MD Foodie Boyz—aka Harford County highschooler BFFs Ryan, Peyton, Jackson, and Emmett—we can’t stop listening to their hilarious podcast. Like the blue Airheads they adore, their unfiltered banter about various snack foods such as celery (“How is it water when you can eat it?”) and pizza (“Wawa pizza is gas”) is what they’d call “fire.” Their honesty and high-school-boy humor brings much-needed levity to our lives, while teaching us not to take snacks so seriously.
HAPPY HOUR DEAL
THE RUXTON
Atlas Restaurant Group establishments vary in affordability. The Ruxton, the company’s swanky Harbor East steakhouse, is among the priciest, but its happy hour offers downright delicious deals. Weekdays from 4 to 6 p.m., cocktails like the Stiletto, a vodka martini with Lillet Blanc, cucumber, and passion fruit, are just $10, while glasses of wine are $7 and select draft beers are $5 (local breweries like Union and Nepenthe are often featured). Hungry? A couple can eat well for less than $30. The rich, juicy burger, a 10-ounce dry-aged Black Angus blend topped with truffle aioli and Gouda, is a steal for $10. The $7 chopped salad could be an entrée: It’s packed with salami, provolone, and fresh, crisp veggies, many of which are grown on the company’s farm. House-made tater tots, chargrilled oysters, and a pit beef sandwich made with bison are among the other rotating favorites, and all ring up for under 10 bucks.
HOSPITALITY HEROES
EKIBEN
It’s no secret that Ekiben co-owners Steve Chu and Ephrem Abebe are two of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet in the food business. Through the years, their generosity and big-hearted gestures have been well-documented, from driving to Vermont to fulfill the wishes of a terminally ill customer who craved their tempura broccoli to feeding some 15,000 health-care workers during COVID-19. So, it came as no surprise when, during the 43-day government shutdown last fall, they were among the first to feed furloughed federal employees and their families. This is not lip service—it’s what true hospitality looks like.
Shell Game
FRIED OYSTERS
CHARLESTON
Cindy Wolf’s fantastic cornmeal-fried bivalves, served four to an order with a tangy house-made remoulade, have been known to convert the uninitiated into overnight afficionados.
OYSTER PIE
WOODBERRY TAVERN
The crimped and crusted savory smoked pie at Woodberry Tavern is comfort food at its best. Rife with cabbage, carrots, celery, and shallots in a rich cream sauce, it’s briny, buttery, and oh-so-Chesapeake.
OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER
LOCH BAR
This decadent dish is as rich as its namesake John D. Rockefeller. Here, Chesapeake-sourced Loch Bar salts are baked, then mixed with cream spinach and fennel, scented with Pernod, and blanketed with Parm. It’s enough for a hearty lunch or a shareable start to any meal.
RAW OYSTERS
THAMES STREET OYSTER HOUSE
Grab the pencil and oyster checklist at the bar or on your table at this New England-style seafood house that sources a wide variety of the very best bivalves from coast to coast. Housemade mignonettes made with fresh horseradish enhance every specimen.
ROASTED OYSTERS
TRUE CHESAPEAKE
Maryland’s first oyster farm/ restaurant is proof that the old rule about mixing mollusks and cheese does not apply. Roasted oysters arrive with a hit of house-made herb Old Bay butter and Parm—the flavor profile is a triple threat: briny, smoky, and sweet.
KOREAN BBQ
CHOSUN HWARO
At ChoSun Hwaro in Ellicott City (with a sibling spot in Fairfax), there’s no karaoke and no dancing—just a bountiful spread of house-made banchan alongside high-quality meats, sliced and marinated for the grill over real charcoal, as in the alleyway restaurants of Seoul. Here, galbi, bulgogi, brisket, beef tongue, and classic pork belly beckon. Go with a group, because you’ll want to sample some of everything once the grill is glowing. And don’t discount other topnotch non-BBQ dishes, like crisp-edged haemul pajeon (seafood pancakes), cloud-like gyeranjjim (steamed egg), and tangy kimchi-jjigae. It’s as authentic as it gets—deeply satisfying and steeped in tradition.
MATCHA
EQUITEA
Don’t go to Remington’s Equitea if you’re chasing a quick hit of caffeine. Maryland’s first dedicated matcha house is all about slowing down to enjoy the ritual of drinking the ancient green tea powder from Japan. The matcha “studio” of husband-and-wife Quentin and Erin Vennie functions as an inviting community hub furnished with a listening station, plants, and plush seating, as if you’re a guest in their own living room. Sit—and stay—while sipping out of one of their carefully crafted cups—truly drinkable art—from the OG Matcha Latte topped with a toasted vegan marshmallow or a lovely Lavender Matcha Latte garnished with a locally sourced purple plant sprig that floats across the foam. Dunk a piece of Japanese honey-butter milk bread into your drink and bliss out.
NEW RESTAURANT
SEPPIA
Rare is the restaurant that impresses within its first few hours of opening. Then again, though new, Seppia wasn’t born yesterday. Run by veterans (and brothers) Jake and Ben Lefenfeld and Ben’s wife, Amy, this Hampden spot—set inside a former five-and-dime—offers an homage to Italy’s coasts that’s very much its own. The focus is on bold, beautiful house-made pastas and seafood: tuna crudo brightened by tangerine supremes; anchovies doused in lemon, garlic, olive oil, and parsley; and ruffled ribbons of cuttlefish-inked Mafalda pasta entangled with mussels and clams. The cocktail program, including a slew of martinis, a deep Italian- and Spanish-leaning wine list (many half-priced on Sunday nights), and a trio of savvy sommeliers (we’re looking at you, “Red,” Marco, and Austin) seals the deal.
PHO
PHO SAIGON
Just off the Baltimore National Pike, between a dentist office and a nail salon, is Pho Saigon, a cheery pho shop run by the Tran family. Originally from Saigon, with a long pitstop in Los Angeles before settling in Maryland, the Trans have had a series of restaurants around Baltimore over the last 30 years. There are many variations of particularly skillful pho—the word likely derives from the French “pot au feu”—that combine deeply flavorful broth with a tangle of noodles, abundant plates of fresh herbs, chiles, and sprouts, and whatever protein you prefer. Bonus? The annual Pho Challenge, where dozens attempt to down a bowl the size of a kitchen sink. Daunting, yes, but worth a shot given pho this good.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTIN TSUCALAS
PIZZA
ZAVINO’S
WHILE THIS ITALIAN MARKETPLACE IS new on the scene in Cross Keys Village, owner Gino Kozera and Andrew Weinzirl, who runs the kitchen, are industry veterans who come by their roles as pizzaiolos naturally—Kozera’s grandparents hail from Sicily; Weinzirl established his reputation at Lauraville’s farm-to-fork Maggie’s Farm, where he was known for his playful pairings. That inventiveness is very much on display here, as Weinzirl’s crisp-crusted, wood-fired modern Neapolitan pies are a canvas for creativity, including the Furio: pepperoni, pickled chiles, charred onion, smoked mozzarella, and hot honey; and the Genovese: braised beef, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, chile crisp, and crispy onions.
TACOS
MEXICAN ON THE RUN
Jimmy Longoria’s two Mexican on the Run locations—a taco truck in Idlewylde and a storefront inside the Pennsylvania Dutch Market—highlight the incredible food he’s made since moving to Maryland from Los Angeles three decades ago. Longoria offers excellent fish, al pastor, carnitas, and other traditional tacos, even birria ramen and Mexican pizza, but the reason to return are his quesabirria tacos, now a standard on taqueria menus, but once found mainly in Jalisco, Tijuana, and L.A. The birria—rich chile-spiked pork—is made by his mother, ladled onto cheese-lacquered tortillas, crisped until deliriously crunchy, then served with a cup of consomé.
TAPAS BAR (OLD SCHOOL)
TAPAS TEATRO
Twenty-six years ago, long before small plates were a buzzword on every menu, Tapas Teatro was a standard bearer of the tapas tradition. The sangria, packed with so much citrus and apple it could count as a fruit serving, is equal parts intoxicating and delicious. And the well-priced tapas, many of which have been on the menu since day one, are reliably terrific, in addition to being well-portioned, and well-priced. Among them: the salmón con melaza (salmon painted with molasses and splashed with reduced sherry vinegar), the lamb meatballs with cilantro and almonds, and the always sublime shrimp with garlic and parsley.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT SUCHMAN
DOUGHNUTS
SANDY PONY DONUTS
AT THIS CHARMING BAKESHOP in Annapolis, the namesake confections are a riot of color and texture—and with names like Strawberry Stallion (strawberry glaze, powdered sugar) and Porky Pony (honey glaze, cinnamon sugar, bacon), they’re as much fun to order as they are to eat. Dipped in Fruity Pebbles or coated with coconut, they’re also easy on the eyes, which is why a dozen of these made-to-order beauties were cast as a key plot point in Apple TV’s Pluribus. Don’t want to take our word for it? We hear that even off camera, show star Rhea Seehorn and her compatriots couldn’t resist eating the props.
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT SUCHMAN
TAPAS BAR (NEW SCHOOL)
BAR DALI
WITH ITS ECLECTIC ENERGY, vermouth and sherry tipples, and bullfighter décor, Mount Vernon’s Bar Dali transports diners all the way to Spain, the birthplace of the tapas tradition. Here, small plates arrive at the table the way they were meant to be: rustic, simple, and shareable. Of course, farm-to-table pioneer Spike Gjerde puts a seasonal spin on many offerings, but much of the menu adheres closely to classic preparations, including the ensaladilla with tuna, potatoes, and peas; the salt cod croquetas; and the Gildas, green olives and anchovies threaded together in a briny bite that tastes like it came straight out of Seville.
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