State of Play

Stepping into Huck’s American Craft (3728 Hudson St., 443-438-3380) is like taking an epic, cross-country road trip. With license-plate art on the wall, Southern rock on the stereo, and a robust menu of regional favorites, we can travel to all 50 states without leaving Brewers Hill. Opened by husband and wife Lori and Charlie Gjerde along with Carrie Podles (who co-own Alexander’s Tavern and Papi’s Tacos in Fells Point), the warm and inviting corner bar has been slinging drinks since June 2015 and just launched its food menu in January.

We started things off with a selection from Huck’s well-curated cocktail menu, which is broken down into Maryland-style crushes, infused bourbons, and classic mixed drinks. Fittingly, we went with the Huckleberry Fizz—a tart blend of Buffalo Trace Bourbon, huckleberries, lemon juice, simple syrup, and club soda. Huck’s craft beer list is downright impressive, with hard-to-find varieties like Uinta Brewing out of Utah or New Hampshire’s Smuttynose. But hometown pride had us sticking with Raven Beer’s Annabel Lee White ale.

While perusing the food menu, we enjoyed the regional cuisine theme with options like New England clam chowder, a Philly cheese steak, and a Minnesota Juicy Lucy burger. Ultimately, we decided our drinks would best be soaked up by the Texas Frito pie—corn chips, chili con carne, New York aged cheddar, and pickled peppers—baked in a cast-iron pan. The hearty appetizer packed some serious heat and was a nice counterbalance to the brighter notes of our drinks.

Just before we paid our tab, our knowledgeable bartender convinced us to indulge in Huck’s “adult” root beer float consisting of house-made vanilla ice cream and Not Your Father’s Root Beer, a 6-percent ABV creation out of Illinois. As we took the final sips of our snappy dessert, we couldn’t wait to take another interstate trip at Huck’s.