Additional fact checking by Jalen McNeil.

In 2017, Alma Cocina Latina owner Irena Stein was meeting with her then-chef Enrique Limardo and a Venezuelan food distributor when an idea began marinating.

“He and Enrique were talking about doing ‘a little something’ with arepa recipes,” recalls Stein, pictured above. “I said, ‘Let’s not do a little thing, why don’t we do a big thing?’”

After the meeting, she did some online research to see what coverage already existed on this popular sandwich-like street food of her home country, and she was surprised to learn that the staple Venezuelan corn cakes, stuffed with myriad fillings, dating as far back as 1,000 B.C., had never exclusively been the star of their own cookbook.

And while her colleagues never did jump on the bandwagon, Stein knew she had stumbled onto something, especially as many millions of Venezuelans were immigrating to other countries—and bringing their culture with them.

After the usual round of publishing rejections faced by first-time writers, Stein landed her first cookbook deal with Ryland Peters & Small, a Britain-based publisher, thanks in part to an introduction by Baltimore plant-enthusiast-turned-author Hilton Carter, whom they also represent.

Five years in the making, Arepa: Classic and Contemporary Recipes for Venezuela’s Daily Bread will be released worldwide on July 18 and distributed across the country by Simon & Schuster. Featuring 50 arepa recipes, from pickled octopus and clam with heart-of-palm salsa to lamb cutlets with yogurt and mint (as well as a few appetizer and dessert recipes from current Alma chef, David Zamudio), it’s the first cookbook of its kind the world over.  (Ahead of its debut, the book has already received national praise—topping Food & Wine’s recent list of the The Best New Summer Cookbooks.)

Writing the book was also a global labor of love. Stein’s publisher was based in London. She hired Venezuelan chef Eduardo Egui, who moved to Barcelona while developing the book’s dishes. Her test kitchen was a friend’s house in Caracas. Not to mention a Spanish translator, based in Miami, who pored over the recipes several times. Photographed entirely by Stein with her own Canon camera, the book introduces her beloved cuisine to the world.

“My memories are my maternal grandmother, Cimodocea de las Mercedes, making arepas,” she says. “She made basic arepas with cheese, but as is the custom, we also ate them with whatever was leftover—chicken, lettuce, tomato, cilantro.”

Fittingly, Stein and her husband, Mark Demshak, will open an arepa bar in Station North, just next door to Alma, shortly after the book is published. And while arepas are long gone from the menu at Alma, the appetite for them looms large.

As local poet and Alma fan Kondwani Fidel writes in the book: “Some foods speak to the soul in ways that words cannot. The arepa is one of them.”

Below, Stein shares two recipes from the book—a simple and delicious cheese arepa, as well as one stuffed with crab salad and yogurt sauce.

AREPA: THE BASIC RECIPE

Receta de la arepa
Makes six arepas

Ingredients:
⋅ 720 ml (24 fl oz/ 3 cups) water, at room temperature
⋅ 2 tbsp vegetable oil
⋅ 2 tsp salt
⋅ A pinch of sugar (optional)
⋅ 350 g (12 oz/ 2½ cups) Harina P.A.N. pre-cooked white maize flour (cornmeal)

Instructions:
In a large mixing bowl or bowl of an electric mixer, combine the water, oil, salt and sugar (if using). Slowly add the Harina P.A.N. pre-cooked maize flour (cornmeal) and mix the dough with your hands or electric mixer on medium speed for at least 10 minutes. The dough must be worked for a full 10 minutes to prevent the arepas from cracking when cooked. Once mixed, the dough should be free of lumps and soft to the touch.

Wet a paper towel or clean dish towel and wring out well. Cover the dough and let it sit for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 230°C (450°F/Gas 8) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Oil your hands. Pull off 170 g (6 oz.) of dough and form it into a ball. Flatten the ball with your hands, pressing down to form an 11-cm (4-inch) disc that is 2.5 cm (1-inch) thick. Transfer the arepas to the prepared baking sheet and cover with the damp towel. Repeat with the rest of the dough to make 6 arepas, oiling your hands before forming each disc.

Heat a griddle pan over a medium heat and brush the pan with oil. Working in batches, put the arepas on the pan and cook for 5 minutes on each side or until lightly golden. Return the cooked arepas to the lined baking sheet.

Once griddled, put all the arepas directly on the rack of the hot oven. Bake the arepas for 20 minutes, flipping them after 10 minutes. The arepas are cooked when they have puffed up a bit, are brown in spots, and sound hollow when tapped.

Holding a hot arepa with a clean dish towel, cut three quarters of the way through using a serrated knife. Scoop out some of the soft insides to make room for the filling, leaving the crispy top of the arepa and a little of the soft inner. Add your choice of filling and serve immediately.

To Make Cheese Arepa:
Split open an arepa and scoop out some of the soft insides to make room for the filling. Spread both sides of the arepa with butter, then fill with grated (shredded) aged hard cheese (queso de año) and close the arepa.

AREPA WITH CRAB SALAD, TOMATOES AND YOGURT SAUCE

Arepa de ensalada de cangrejo, tomate, salsa de yogurt
Makes six arepas

Ingredients:
For the arepas:
⋅ 1 quantity of basic arepa dough* (see above)

For the crab salad:
⋅ 300 g (10½ oz/2 cups) fresh crab meat (do not use frozen)
⋅ 80 g (2¾ oz/1 cup) finely diced red onion
⋅ 60 g (2 oz/½ cup) finely diced celery
⋅ 20 g (¾ oz/1 tbsp) finely diced sweet red bell pepper
⋅ 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
⋅ 2 tbsp mayonnaise
⋅ 4 tbsp fresh lime juice
⋅ Tabasco red pepper sauce, to taste (optional)

For the roasted tomatoes:
⋅ 400 g (14 oz/2⅔ cups) cherry tomatoes
⋅ 3 tbsp olive oil
⋅ 2 tsp finely diced garlic
⋅ ½ tsp sugar
⋅ 1 tsp salt
⋅ A pinch of black pepper

For the yogurt sauce:
⋅ 240 g (8½ oz/1 cup) strained Greek yogurt
⋅ 50 g (1¾ oz/¼ cup) coarsely grated (shredded) cucumber
⋅ 30 g (1 oz/2 tbsp) finely diced white onion
⋅ 1 tbsp olive oil
⋅ 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
⋅ 1 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce
⋅ 1 tsp finely chopped dill
⋅ 2 tsp salt

Instructions:
To make the roasted tomatoes, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Halve the cherry tomatoes and mix them with all the other ingredients in a bowl. Spread the tomatoes over a baking sheet and roast in the hot oven until they start to dehydrate and turn golden around the edges. Remove from the over and set aside.

To make the sauce, place the yogurt in a muslin cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible until it has the consistency of cream cheese. Place the grated (shredded) cucumber in a paper towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place the strained yogurt and cucumber in a bowl and mix together with all the remaining ingredients. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Following the basic arepa instructions above, shape the dough into 6 arepas and cook them just before serving.

To make the salad, pat dry the crab meat with paper towels. Combine the crab meat with all the diced vegetables and herbs in a bowl. Add the mayonnaise and lime juice to taste. You can also add a couple of dashes of Tabasco red pepper sauce, if you prefer a little spice.

Split open the arepas and scoop out some of their soft insides to make room for the filling. Lay the roasted tomatoes on the bottom half, then add spoonfuls of the crab salad. Drizzle over the yogurt sauce. Serve with lime halves dusted with cayenne pepper for squeezing over.

Stein’s Helpful Hints: 

⋅ For best results it is essential to use Harina P.A.N. pre-cooked maize flour (cornmeal), which is made by cooking, drying and then grinding corn kernels. Each arepa recipe in this book has been tested using Harina P.A.N. and no other brand will yield the same results.

⋅ An arepa needs to be eaten as soon as it comes off the griddle, out of the oven or from the fryer. If you wait more than 15 minutes to serve an arepa once it has been cooked, its texture and taste are far less desirable.

⋅ To prep ahead, shape the dough and griddle the arepas. Leave to cool on a baking sheet. To chill, tightly wrap the entire baking sheet in clingfilm (plastic wrap) to prevent the arepas drying out. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days. To freeze, tightly wrap the griddled arepas in clingfilm (plastic wrap) with parchment paper between them to prevent sticking together. Store in the freezer in an airtight container.

⋅ When needed, thaw the arepas if frozen and bake in a hot oven as usual.

Most people associate the centuries-old churro with Portugal or Spain, but the beloved fried dough dessert is thought to have originated in China. (The theory is that, from there, the country’s Portuguese population brought it to Spain.) There are also competing theories about how the dessert was invented.

One story goes that the treat was made by Spanish shepherds who needed something simple to consume while wandering the mountains. Whatever the origin,
churros (whose name likely derives from the curly horns of Spain’s Churra sheep), are appearing on area menus including Alma Cocina Latina, La Cuchara, Papi’s Tacos, and even Canton’s Iron Rooster in the form of a “waffle churro.”

While delicious any time of year, in Baltimore, churros sell better in colder months when consumers favor warm desserts.

“They’re one of our bestselling desserts,” says David Zamudio, the Venezuelan-born executive chef at Alma, “but we sell way more of them in winter.”

From Cuba to Peru, churros are widespread all around the globe.

“Maybe they’re popular because they’re easy and cheap to make, and people love the crispy, airy dough,” Zamudio says.

While all churros are made from flour, water, and salt, the dipping sauces can vary. Zamudio’s churros are coated with a sweet and spicy Royal cinnamon and paired with a dark Valrhona chocolate made with Venezuelan cacao beans that get their zing from cloves and allspice. They also look more like a spiral than a stick.

“I serve mine in a spiral shape,” says the chef. “The stick shape is boring. The way I serve them has the ‘wow’ effect.”

Back in 2002, when Irena Stein first opened Café Azafrán inside the Space Telescope Science Institute at Johns Hopkins, her initial idea was to run a tiny venture with a handful of seats for the astrophysicists and astronomers who stopped by for a taste of her global cooking.

But the lunchtime specials, particularly the stuffed corn sandwiches known as arepas, were such a hit that Stein soon found herself feeding the campus at large and drawing fans from the entire Baltimore community.

“When I first opened the cafe, I thought, ‘We will have like four tables and it will be so cute,’” she recalls. “But small never works for me.”

Eventually, Azafrán launched Alma in Canton, originally imagined as a simple arepa bar and inspired by the imploring scientists she was serving.

“I always say that astronomers are these shy people,” says Stein, with a laugh. “But when we had arepas they were not shy! They were so enthusiastic and always asking me, ‘When are you going to open an arepa bar?’”

Equally enthusiastic was Mark Demshak, then Director of Architecture and Planning at Hopkins Homewood campus, who first became enchanted by Stein’s homemade chili—and in no time, by Irena herself.

“Irena makes this incredible chili,” says Demshak. “I kept going back for the chili—then I kept going back for Irena.”

Soon, Stein and Demshak, who married in 2012, opened Alma in Canton, but at 4,000 square feet, the space was much larger than originally conceived. “Our arepa bar,” she says, “became an entire Venezuelan restaurant.”

Nine years into owning Alma—one of the few Venezuelan restaurants in the country—Stein and Demshak have continued to expand their restaurant and their reach.

When the pandemic struck Baltimore and restaurants closed down due to COVID on March 16 of last year, Stein and Demshak joined forces with Mera Kitchen Collective, a community kitchen. The partnership has allowed Stein and Demshak not only to feed a community in need but help their employees (many of whom did not qualify for unemployment due to their work visas) stay afloat.

“Irena doesn’t wait around for things,” says Demshak. “I take time to simmer like a stew. Irena is more like a stir fry. She jumps in, she jumps out.” At the outset, says Stein, “we delivered hundreds of meals a day.”

ALMA’S DINING ROOM IS A PLANT-FILLED PARADISE THAT EVOKES THE EQUATOR.

To date, thanks to a partnership with Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen (in addition to individual gifts and grants), and a newly named venture with Mera called Alkimiah (inspired by the word for alchemy in Arabic and Spanish), they’ve served more than 120,000 healthy meals—“no different than the ones people pay for,” says Demshak with pride—to Baltimore neighborhoods in need.

It’s a model that’s enabled Alkimiah to succeed, helping to defray costs of running the business, including paying their staff a living wage with the grant money they’ve received for meals from World Central Kitchen.

As for Alma, in September, the restaurant expanded again. Stein and Demshak outgrew their Canton kitchen and were looking for a new location big enough to work in a shared space with Mera’s crew. They settled on the 5,300-square-foot spot inside the former Pen & Quill space in Station North, with its oversized windows, long marble bar, and proximity to Tapas Teatro, Orto, and The Charles and Parkway theaters that comprise a mini restaurant row in a cultural pocket of the city.

As you enter, there’s a welcoming foyer that brings to mind a Venezuelan home with its Spanish Colonial blue tile floor and guava color palette. It’s the perfect entrée to the dining room, a plant-filled paradise that evokes the equator and boasts street art that feels right at home in this designated arts district.

One Thursday in early spring, Venezuelan-born executive chef David Zamudio, who worked on a six-star cruise ship and apprenticed at several Michelin-starred spots in Mexico and Spain, readies for dinner service. His kitchen functions as two operations. In the morning, meals for Alkimiah are made, packed, and delivered. By midday, the space is transformed into Alma’s kitchen.

On this spring afternoon, Zamudio is creating a new bar menu with tapas (Latin gyozas filled with plantains and cheese is one palate pleaser), plus new arepas, including a heavenly version with baby octopus and shrimp. There’s also an outstanding red snapper ceviche, a rich squash soup appetizer, and a showstopping paella.

The dishes explode with unexpected flavors like passionfruit tahini sauce drizzled on an arepa stuffed with lentil fritters or wagyu prime ribeye with avocado-cilantro sauce that brings an almost Caribbean flair to the cooking. Zamudio, 27, once dreamed of becoming a pilot so he could travel the world. Instead, lucky for us, he attended culinary school on Margarita Island, off the coast of Venezuela.

Now, with his help, Stein and Demshak are clearly flying high.

ALMA COCINA LATINA 1701 N. Charles St. 667-212-4273. HOURS: Tues.-Sat. 5-8 p.m. PRICES: Appetizers: $10-17; arepas: $15-20; mains: $25-60; desserts: $7-10. AMBIANCE: Tropical sophistication.

Corn Soup

DAVID ZAMUDIO, ALMA COCINA LATINA

SERVES 4

If you’re not cooking with corn, it just isn’t summer. “Growing up, my grandmother would make me soups,” says David Zamudio, executive chef of Alma Cocina Latina. “This corn cream soup is inspired by one that she often made.” As soup recipes go, this one is incredibly basic, says Zamudio. “Boil all of the ingredients first, then blend and strain. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!” And if you want to turn this simple soup into more of a meal, you can do that, too. “The soup goes great with crispy cassava [yuca] bread,” he says. To finish it off, “Brush the cassava with butter and herbs to complete the flavor profile.”

INGREDIENTS

1⁄2 large onion

1 leek (white part only)

1 clove of garlic

4 cups of water

1⁄2 tablespoon salt

1⁄4 teaspoon pepper

1⁄2 teaspoon onion powder

1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder

1⁄2 teaspoon Old Bay

7 ounces corn kernels, preferably cut straight from the cob
1 bunch cilantro, reserving some for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Dice the onion.
2. Slice the leek.
3. Boil all ingredients for about
30 minutes over medium to high heat, with exception of cilantro.
4. Add the cilantro, blend, and strain. 5. To garnish, add additional
cilantro leaves.

Hottest Day on Record

CHELSEA GREGOIRE, DRINKABLE GENIUS

SERVES 1

“At first I thought about making a cocktail that
could stretch into fall, but then I remembered: August in Maryland is an absolute swelter!” says Chelsea Gregoire, who grew basil during quarantine. “My basil was immediately gigantic. To use some of that beautiful basil, I crafted this summer refresher.”

INGREDIENTS

2 ounces light rum (or any light spirit: vodka, gin, tequila)

1 ounce peach liqueur or peach juice
3⁄4 ounce lemon juice

3⁄4 ounce Campari

1⁄2 ounce green tea syrup, (see below)
2 large or 4 small basil leaves
3 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters

For Green Tea Syrup: In a small saucepan, bring 16 ounces of water to boil. Once hot, remove from heat, and add two green tea bags. Once steeped, remove tea bags. Put saucepan on low heat, and add 16 ounces of sugar. Stir until dissolved. Cool and store in refrigerator for up to three weeks.

DIRECTIONS

1. Add all ingredients to a shaker
or Mason jar with ice.
2. Close, and shake vigorously.
3. Pour the shaker contents into a Collins glass, adding more ice, if necessary. 4. Garnish with fresh basil.

Rigatoni with Lobster, Eggplant, Burrata, and Pistachios

JULIAN MARUCCI, TAGLIATA

SERVES 2

For this recipe, Julian Marucci, executive chef at Tagliata, says he decided to focus on the combination of lobster and eggplant. “Eggplant has a natural bitterness that goes well with sweet flavors,” he says. “The remaining ingredients complement the lobster and eggplant.”

INGREDIENTS

Extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons shallot, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon celery, minced
2 small eggplants, peeled and medium diced
1 tablespoon capers 1 ounce pistachios, toasted and chopped
11⁄2 ounces honey
11⁄2 ounces aged sherry vinegar
13 ounces rigatoni
2 lobsters, 1 pound each
1 lemon
1 piece of burrata
2 sprigs of fresh basil, small leaves
1 teaspoon chives

DIRECTIONS

1. Sauté shallots, ginger, garlic, celery in extra-virgin olive oil, carefully cooking to just sweat the vegetables without color. 2. Add eggplant to saute pan. Season with salt and pepper stirring frequently, cooking on low to medium heat.
3. Once the eggplant is soft and tender, add capers, nuts, honey, and vinegar. Taste and set aside
to be mixed with pasta.
4. Boil roughly five quarts of water, season with salt. Cook pasta according to package. Strain pasta and mix with eggplant mixture in a large bowl. (Don’t rinse pasta with water). Add some olive oil and stir. 5. Cool pasta in refrigerator.
6. Cook lobster in boiling water
for 9-12 minutes, depending on size of pot and lobster. Once cooked, chill in ice water, then clean and dice meat.

To Serve: Toss pasta with more olive oil, if needed. Add lobster meat, lemon juice. Plate in a large bowl, garnish with torn burrata, a drizzle of oil, basil leaves, and chives. Save tail meat to use as garnish.

Chipotle Honey Chicken Tacos with Street Corn Salad & Bacon Guacamole

JOHNTAY BEDINGFIELD, LA FOOD MARKETA

SERVES 6

“This is an easy, approachable dish that’s clean and light,” says Johntay Bedingfield of his recipe. “I like to use one ingredient, like cilantro, in more ways than one. You can use stems for marinade and the leaves for the corn salad and guacamole.” And if you want to make the dish a little lighter, he sometimes swaps the mayonnaise for yogurt in the corn salad. “It’s tangy and adds a nice cream component,” he says.

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. chicken (preferably thighs)

Chicken Marinade (yields about 12 ounces)
2 cans chipotle peppers
1 tablespoon adobo liquid (from chipotle peppers)
1 bunch cilantro stems
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1⁄4 cup white vinegar
2 limes, juiced and zested
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS
1. Place all ingredients in blender or bullet. Mix well until smooth.
2. Use 1⁄3 of marinade to coat chicken. (Set aside remainder of marinade.) Cover and let chicken rest in refrigerator for 1 to 4 hours.

TO GRILL CHICKEN:
Heat grill. Oil or spray grill as chicken will stick a little because of the sugar and honey. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Grill for about 7 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the chicken. Allow chicken to rest 10 minutes before cutting. Dice chicken and toss with about
1 tablespoon of reserved marinade.

Street Corn Salad
4 ears corn (in husk)
1⁄4 cup mayonnaise or Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons chipotle honey marinade
1 teaspoon salt
2⁄3 bunch cilantro tops (minced)

DIRECTIONS
With corn still in husk, place corn in a container large enough to submerge in water. Allow corn to soak as long as the chicken.

TO GRILL CORN:
I like to grill my corn in the husk so it steams and keeps the corn tender while picking up charred notes from the grill. You want to burn the husk when grilling. Grill corn for 12-15 minutes, turning every few minutes. Allow to rest for 10 minutes to cool down before shucking husk off the corn. Once cooled and shucked, cut corn off cob. In a mixing bowl, mix mayonnaise or yogurt, marinade, salt, and cilantro. Fold in corn. Set aside for assembly later.

Bacon Guacamole
1⁄4 pound bacon

4 avocados

1⁄4 cup small diced red onion

1⁄3 bunch of cilantro tops (minced)
1⁄4 lime juice

DIRECTIONS
1. Cook bacon at 350 Fahrenheit for 14-16 minutes until super crispy, almost burnt! Once cooled, dice bacon into bits. 2. In a mixing bowl, add avocado, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and bacon. Mix well. Cover with plastic wrap.

Tortillas
1. Place tortillas (double stacked) on grill for about 30 seconds on each side. Don’t be afraid of a little color. Wrap tortillas in a kitchen towel to keep them warm until ready to serve.

ASSEMBLY: Start with your tortilla, place a smear of guacamole, add chicken, and top with street corn salad.

While Canton’s Alma Cocina Latina has transformed itself into a carryout arepa bar, husband-and-wife owners Mark Demshak and Irena Stein have also been focused on helping their back-of-the-house staff, most of whom don’t qualify for benefits, find employment. In addition to working at Alma, four of their staffers are also working in collaboration with Mera Kitchen Collective, a community-driven, food-based cooperative focused on empowerment for refugee and immigrant women.

Using the commercial kitchen at Neopol Smokery, Mera has been providing up to 700 free meals a day for Baltimore communities in need. “It’s one thing to sell food and feel the love and support that you get from of the community,” says Demshak. “What we’ve done with Mera Kitchen and the staff fills the heart.”

I know that several of your staffers have not been able to come into the kitchen to help with carryout. Can you talk about that?
IS: Our executive chef, Karem Barragan, is pregnant. She’s home—she places the orders for the kitchen. And then our sous chef, David Zamudio, who is Venezuelan is stuck in Spain. If we had an executive chef with us, we could do a lot more, but we can’t. Our back-of-the-house kitchen is extremely well-trained by our chefs, so they can run the whole thing beautifully, but we could have more ideas implemented if Karem and David were there.

“Mera Kitchen is now feeding thousands of people. In three weeks, they did 6,300 meals and four of our team players are there during the day.” —Irena Stein

How is your staff doing?
IS: Basically, we have three categories of employees: We have the people who have gone on unemployment, we have the people [with visas] with exceptional talent who cannot get unemployment, and then we have those who don’t have access to any of those benefits.

We are trying to avoid hunger among anyone. The situation here reminds me very much of the Venezuelan reality of no food, no toilet paper, no medical assistance. I never expected the U.S. to be on the same page as Venezuela, but this is so familiar for me.

This was a little easier for me to handle because I already know my priorities. Priority number one is that everyone has to be fed. The people who have the least possibility of income are the people whom we will support the most—those people on the hourly wages without access to services. Their children have to be fed. We employ them, rotating them in the kitchen with takeout and preparing the food, and then Mera Kitchen is now feeding thousands of people. In three weeks, they did 6,300 meals and four of our team players are there during the day. Between what we have going at Alma and what Mera offers them, they are fine. It’s a huge relief—that means they have food on the table.

Mera is based on a lot of Syrian and Eritrean food. Now, they have included our people. So you have Central American food, too. So these migrants are feeding the hungry in Baltimore, which I find fascinating. Our Mexican and Guatemalan guys have done Mexican food—they are all taking initiatives rotating the things that they do. And our chef who is stranded in Spain used to work on a cruise ship. He is giving them advice on how to cook for hundreds of people a day. You have all these nationalities serving this population in Cherry Hill.

“Mera is based on a lot of Syrian and Eritrean food. Now, they have included our people. So you have Central American food, too. So these migrants are feeding the hungry in Baltimore, which I find fascinating.”—Irena Stein

Did you have a relationship with Mera Kitchen Collective before this?
IS: We collaborated in the past doing Syrian and Venezualan food, which is perfect because we have a small Syrian community in Venuzuela. Two years ago, we did a collaboration “Damascus Meets Caracas.” [Co-founder] Emily [Lerman] and I became very close friends—we think alike in so many ways of supporting community. Alma and Mera Kitchen are just a natural combination. When this came along, I said to her, ‘If you ever have room for more people because your community is growing, we have these people who really need work.’ She said, ‘Absolutely,’ and now we have four guys from our kitchen working there every day.

MD: What’s interesting is that the people Emily was employing before were refugees. She was employing them to give them a livelihood—they weren’t necessarily trained chefs or line cooks. They didn’t necessarily have experience in catering, so what she found with our guys there is that it raised the level of the kitchen. Their payroll has been reduced significantly because they are moving faster, so she has more money to spend on food.

IS: Once this is over, she’s going to send her prospective team to Alma to train for a few months. To see these Latino guys working with the Syrian chefs and this other woman from Eritrea, you have these cultures that are completely different existing with no language—just sign language—and it creates understanding of other cultures and other mentalities. I love the humanity of it. All of these things have always mattered to us, but to have it in full display with this collaboration has been really wonderful. The guys are so appreciative of being able to work over there and every dollar becomes something important. As long as no one goes hungry, we have won.

“What we’ve done with Mera Kitchen and the staff fills the heart.” —Mark Demshak

How is your carryout going at Alma?
MD: Right now, we are functioning much more like an arepa bar you’d find in Caracas.

IS: The community has been lovely. I know we could be making more money if the chefs were around, but we do what we are doing the best we can. Some people are coming from 25 minutes away and we don’t want them to have a bad experience, so we are giving them instructions on heating the arepas. Some people will tell their building or their neighbors and they come on behalf of several families, which is so wonderful. We’ve also added cocktails and sangria.

Did you consider not doing carryout?
MD: We did consider not doing carryout for a split second. We thought let’s at least try it—we have things that you can carry out. If we didn’t have arepas, it would be much more difficult, because we don’t have our chefs here. Our line cooks are really extraordinary.

IS: It’s the legacy of [former executive chef] Enrique Limardo. Our executive chef and the chef had such a good experience learning under him.

“As long as no one goes hungry, we have won.” —Irena Stein

What will happen when Alma reopens for full service?
IS: We can’t answer clearly. We are concerned that it will be hard to have the restaurant be as full as it should be. [We don’t know what this will] mean to the city, the economy, and people going to restaurants. We have to see if we can do the menu the same way.

MD: We will continue to do take-out once we reopen. We’ve set it up in such a way that it’s a feasible business. At this point, it will be another revenue stream, so we will continue that.

NEWS

Water for Chocolate: Last week, chef Sean Guy unveiled the newly renovated and expanded version of his beloved brunch spot in Upper Fells Point. After two months of upgrades, the space now features a warmer feel with additional seating, wooden accents, modern backsplashes, and interior greenery. “We want to provide a better dining experience that’s on par with the food that we serve,” Guy said in a video announcing the changes back in May. Though the interior has gotten a fresh look, diners can still count on Guy’s tried-and-true dishes such as barbecue shrimp and grits, raisin bread French toast, and stuffed breakfast burritos.

Azumi: This Japanese steakhouse in Harbor East is taking teppanyaki to a whole other level. Come October, the Atlas restaurant will debut a brand new room for chefs to prepare meals in front of guests at two scheduled seatings per night. Equipped with six tables that can accommodate 36 diners, the room will feature a special menu with options such as king crab, lobster, scallops, Miyazaki wagyu, and kobe beef. Along with the addition to the space, Azumi has also brought on chef Anthony Micari as its director of Asian cuisine. Micari—who previously headed up the kitchen at Makoto in Miami—will work alongside executive chef Andy Gaynor at Azumi, while also helping to develop a future Atlas concept. Stay tuned for more details.

Doug Atwell Announces New Bar in Fells Point: We’ve been following Doug Atwell’s career since his days behind the bar at Rye (back when it was at its old location on South Broadway). Since then, the veteran bartender has gone on to head up the celebrated programs at Blue Pit BBQ and Dylan’s Oyster Cellar. Now, he’s getting ready to open a spot of his own. The Baltimore Business Journal reported earlier this week that Atwell is in the process of converting the former home of Santa Clara Bar & Restaurant in Fells Point into a new cocktail bar with a classic vibe. The spot will highlight killer Manhattans and Old Fashioneds, as well as interior touches like tin ceilings and a jukebox.

OPEN

With Love Company: The Parkville dining scene recently welcomed this healthful hangout on Harford Road—whose mission is summarized in a hand-painted wall mural that reads: “Everything begins and ends with love.” The eatery incorporates its plant-based and gluten-conscious philosophies into dishes such as lentil burgers, raw veggie lasagna, and sweet potato salads. To complement all of the eats, the menu also lists holistic juices and smoothies in varieties like pineapple-mango and peach-banana.

Pure Raw Juice: Speaking of juice, this local detox destination recently debuted its newest location at The Rotunda in Hampden. The new spot adds to the health-conscious community in the mixed-use development, neighboring other tenants like MOM’s Organic Market, Brick Bodies, and Corepower Yoga. For those in need of a post-workout pick-me-up, Pure Raw offers its signature smoothies, juice blends, and açai bowls like the “Electric Pink” filled with dragon fruit and granola.

Chilango’s Tequila Bar & Grill: Earlier this summer, we told you about this new Mexican destination taking over the former home of Modern Cook Shop in Fells Point. Now, owner Carlos Cruz has officially unveiled the restaurant—which is a sister spot to his Highlandtown haunt Carlos O’Charlies. Stop by to sample the strong margaritas paired with Cruz’s house recipes ranging from baked tilapia with tequila and garlic to a grilled flatiron steak in a spicy tomato chili sauce. The space itself has been completely transformed with classic cantina touches like wooden paneling and decorative sombreros.

COMING SOON

The Original Pancake House: Soon, Canton locals will be able to feast on flapjacks and fluffy omelets at this international breakfast favorite. Situated next to Outback Steakhouse in the Canton Can Company, the diner will mark the chain’s first Baltimore location. Be on the lookout for signature items including a lemon Dutch Baby, cherry crepes made with sweet Danish wine, and an apple pancake smothered in cinnamon sugar,

EPICUREAN EVENTS

8/13: Entré Amigos
Earlier this week, mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young signed an executive order directing city agencies to protect immigrants. Local restaurants Bar Vasquez, Alma Cocina Latina, and Puerto 511 are also coming together to support the cause by launching this new dinner series that will benefit Families Belong Together—an organization that works to permanently end family separation and detention. “Baltimore welcomes diverse and creative entrepreneurs,” says Bar Vasquez co-owner Tony Foreman, who will host the series at the restaurant. “We all serve the many good people of this city and are proud to do it.”

For the next three Tuesday nights, the teams from Alma Cocina Latina (August 13), Puerto 511 (August 20), and Clavel (August 27) will head to the Argentinian restaurant to prepare passed appetizers, welcome cocktails, small dishes, a meat course, and a collaborative dessert with Bar Vasquez chef Marion Caño Catalan. The menus will collectively reflect all of the restaurants’ distinct regions and styles. Highlights from the first meal next week will include risotto-style arroz con pollo and mango flan.

8/12-18: Stone’s Throw Hash Pop-Up at R. House
This sweet potato hash concept, which prides itself on sourcing ingredients from purveyors just a stone’s throw away, is setting up shop at the R. House’s rotating pop-up stall next week. Founder Ben James created Stone’s Throw eight years ago, when he discovered that he was allergic to wheat. Gluten and paleo-friendly bowls to to try include the “Bay Be Blue Crab” (Chesapeake blue crab, free range eggs, pickled carrots, and Old Bay), “Wakey Wakey Apple Bacy” (shredded apples, seasonal greens, and pastured bacon) and the vegan “Buddha Hash” with crispy tofu and organic beets.

Starving artists? Not so fast. For many chefs, cooking is already an art form—after all, it has been said that the first taste is with the eyes. But while their Insta-ready plates are something to behold, some area chefs take their artistry a step further. When they’re not working in their commercial kitchens, many chefs dabble in other forms of art (from woodworking to sketching). See for yourself—their talents make us wish we could frame them.

ENRIQUE LIMARDO
EXECUTIVE CHEF, ALMA COCINA LATINA

Enrique Limardo comes by his artistic skills honestly. His mother is a fashion designer back in Caracas, and his grandfather was a painter and sculptor. Growing up in Caracas, he says, “I was very restless, so my father put me in art classes, including painting.” Limardo studied architecture, and though cooking became his calling, he never lost his passion for painting. “I paint every day,” says Limardo, “but it takes a lot of time to do nice-sized canvases, so I started doing sketches with charcoal and pencil. I sketch people I admire, like Einstein, Dalí, and Carlos Santana.” Often working well past midnight, Limardo produces a finished piece every day. “I’ve discovered that this gives me more creativity to bring to the kitchen,” he says. “I always keep design in mind when I’m thinking about plating. I think about colors and textures and, most importantly, flavor, but if I can create it in my mind, I can put it on the plate. The plate is a canvas.”

CARLOS RABA
CHEF/CO-OWNER, CLAVEL

For as long as he can remember, Carlos Raba has been a doodler. “The doodles started because I’m a visual guy,” says Raba. “The doodling helps me focus on one element—and that element is the plate.” In fact, Raba often doodles dishes when coming up with new menu concepts for the Remington taqueria. “Drawing is different than writing,” says Raba, who draws mini-masterpieces with his finger on his iPhone. “If I write down the words ‘spice’ and ‘salt,’ it’s not the same as putting black sparkles on the plate. Drawing helps me envision what will go on the plate and how I will decorate it. Do I need some green color with cilantro? Do I need a slice of something or a drizzle? A painter sees it with paint—I see it with food. Anything you present and have a passion for is art, because you are creating your idea, your vision, and your passion.”

ANDY GAYNOR
EXECUTIVE CHEF, AZUMI

With a mother who was a landscape architect and a grandfather who built boats on the Eastern Shore, Andy Gaynor was steeped in the arts at an early age. “As a kid, I was always tinkering with things, and I made knives out of scissors,” says Gaynor, who studied business at Salisbury State. These days, the chef works in multiple mediums—from metalworking to woodworking to painting. He has made the family dining-room farm table, a coffee table in the living room, and even contributed to the design for the logo of the Harbor East sushi hotspot. A recent project was crafting a saya, or knife sheath, for the sword he brought back from a recent trip to Japan that will go on display in the open kitchen at Azumi. “I like using my hands and having a finished product,” explains Gaynor. “Once you get marinated in it, so to speak, you kind of lose yourself in it and lose track of time. I love that art allows you to use the other half of your brain.”

JOSH HERSHKOVITZ

CHEF/CO-OWNER, HERSH’S

Long before going into the food industry, Josh Hershkovitz majored in fine art and philosophy in his undergraduate years at the University of Chicago. While in school, Hershkovitz particularly enjoyed sculpting with construction materials. “I felt the weight of those objects made it seem more real,” he says. “You see a Brancusi sculpture, and it’s polished brass and silver, but it’s behind a rope and you can’t interact with it. I enjoyed working with concrete, metal, and wood and something as proletarian as concrete.” After moving to Baltimore, Hershkovitz did decorative painting and gilding for high-end furniture finishers such as McLain Weisand, as well as cabinetmaking for Artisan Interiors. By 2011, he and his sister, Stephanie, opened Hersh’s. And while he no longer works as an artist, he still tinkers at home, where he has built a library and an entertainment center. And at Hersh’s, where he built the bar—he makes pizza with his hands. “If you’re not working with your hands, you’re not doing it right,” he says.

OPEN

QQ Boba: Don’t be surprised if you happen to see an influx of bubble tea photos flooding your Instagram feeds. Earlier this week, QQ Boba joined the scene on The Avenue in Hampden, offering smoothies, juices, and a wide array of boba—the trendy Taiwanese milk teas often enhanced with flavored jellies and chewy tapioca balls. Taking over the former home of Polenta Cafe, the spot specializes in bubble tea favorites like passionfruit green tea and the lavender-hued taro milk tea. The shop is open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on weekdays and Sundays, and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. 900 W. 36th St., 443-682-3502

Gordon Ramsay Steak: Famously fiery celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay came to town earlier this week to unveil Gordon Ramsay Steak, his new restaurant inside Horseshoe Casino Baltimore. Ramsay’s first East Coast dining destination features various cuts of meat and seafood dishes, as well as fare like beef wellington and sticky toffee pudding that serves as a nod to the chef’s British roots. The interior also furthers the U.K. vibe, with plush furniture and a huge Union Jack flag on the ceiling above the dining room. (Read more about Ramsay’s restaurant and his thoughts on Baltimore.) 1525 Russell St., 443-931-4386

NEWS

Colossal Blue: If you’re on the hunt for ultra-local gifts to send to foodie friends this season, this new startup might be your best bet. Recently launched by lifelong Marylanders George and Catherine Nichols, Colossal Blue ships traditional crab cakes, crab balls, and crab soups nationwide. All of the cakes are hand-made using the family’s decades-old recipe, then packaged with black ice in a polystyrene box to maintain an ideal temperature for next-day shipping.

POP-UP PLANS:

TO 12/3: Big Bean Theory at R. House

Big Bean Theory, the celebrated soup stall at the Mount Vernon Marketplace, is setting up shop at a new communal food hall this week. Throughout the weekend, swing by R. House to sample chef Eula McDowell’s specialties including hot soups, fish sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, and black bean burgers. 301 W. 29th St., 443-347-3570

12/3: Haenyo at Village Square Cafe

The dudes behind this Korean-fusion pop-up are certainly keeping busy. On the heels of takeovers at spots like R. House in Remington and Cafe Andamiro in Mt. Vernon, Collin Morstein and Irvin Seo are heading to Cross Keys this weekend. The pop-up at Village Square Cafe will have a fall harvest theme, featuring dishes like japchae (sweet potato noodles and vegetables), songpyeon (sweet rice cake), doenjang-jiggae (bean curd soup), and Korean-style meatballs made with beef from Liberty Delight Farms in Reisterstown. 66 Village Square, 5-10 p.m., $8-18, 410-433-2233

EPICUREAN EVENTS

11/30: Pig Roast + Tiki Party at Alma Cocina Latina

If you’re already missing the summer heat, Canton’s Alma Cocina Latina has got you covered. At this all-out tiki bash, sip on refreshing punches from Denizen Rum, feast on a 17-hour smoked Rortega Farms pig, and tap your feet to live music by flamenco guitarist Michael Perez. All while snacking on traditional Venezuelan favorites like arepas, cachapas (corn cakes), pickled onions, and cilantro mojo. 2400 Boston St., 6:30 p.m., $40, 667-212-4273

12/6: Second Annual Truffle Feast at Gnocco
This Highlandtown dining destination is hosting a special dinner to celebrate the peak of truffle season. Chef Brian Lavin’s six-course menu featuring wine pairings from Northern Italy (think cortese and prosecco brut) will include dishes such as savory pumpkin sformato (similar to a soufflé) with caramelized onions and crispy leeks, fontina tortellini with brown butter and hazelnuts, and seared sea scallops with a sea urchin crema. 3734 Fleet St., $179, 7 p.m., 443-449-6540

SHUT

Tooloulou: Locals lost a go-to for pizza and po’boys earlier this week, after Cajun eatery Touloulou shuttered its doors in Belvedere Square. Owners Shawn and Megan Lagergren took to Facebook to announce the news, stating that the decision was a difficult one: “Blood, sweat, tears, and so much sacrifice have gone into our business,” the post reads. “Sometimes, it’s not enough. We are deeply, deeply hurting with this loss and the closing of Tooloulou. Thank you for coming in and making memories with us.” There’s no word yet on what will become of the spot, which was best known for its shrimp and grits, fried oysters, kale salads, and classic beignets. 529 E. Belvedere Ave. 

National Rum Day couldn’t have come at a better time. As the summer draws to a close, we can’t think of a more ideal way to savor the season than with a colorful punch or strong Dark ‘n’ Stormy. And luckily, Charm City is chock-full of industry talent getting creative with rum varieties from near and far.

One of the city’s largest rum collections can be found behind the bar at pizza palace and live music venue Joe Squared in Station North. The origins of the bar’s inventory date back to 2005, when owner Joe Edwardsen first opened the spot and noticed a need for more rum destinations in the city. Since then, the offerings have grown to include more than 35 rum options from 15 different countries.

“It’s a very versatile beverage,” says general manager Okan Arabacioglu, who has tended bar at Joe Squared for nearly a decade. “The fermentation and the way it’s barreled and aged has a huge impact on how the rum develops into its own character.”

Arabacioglu says that he enjoys introducing barflies to the different types of rum, mentioning bottles from as far as Guatemala and the West Indies. Among some of the bar’s most popular rum cocktails include a Campari punch, a spin on a traditional rum runner, and a ginger-basil mojito muddled with lime juice, basil leaves, and evaporated cane sugar.

“There are a lot of rums that need to be explored,” Arabacioglu says. “Like whiskey, there are many varieties that are so smooth and beautiful, but not a lot of people know about. It’s very underappreciated.”

Along with Joe Squared, there are plenty of other local spots that boast stellar rum collections. Here are our picks for the best places to celebrate the spirit:

Alma Cocina Latina: The colorful cocktails at this Venezuelan restaurant in the Canton Can Company pair nicely with the dishes that come out of the kitchen looking like works of art. Making use of both foreign (think Papa’s Pilar and Brugal) and local Old Line Spirits rum, the bar menu lists many different coladas and island cocktails including the “Playa Desnuda,” with pineapple-infused rum, house pineapple kombucha, orange juice, and cardamom bitters. 2400 Boston St., 667-212-4273

Bar Vasquez: This Argentinian spot in Harbor East offers its own spin on a rum and coke featuring Myer’s dark rum, fernet branca, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, lime, and cola. Stop by during weekday happy hour to enjoy the sip alongside $5 snacks from 5-7 p.m. 1425 Aliceanna St., 410-534-7296

Blackwater Distilling: Just in time for National Rum Day, this Kent Island-based distillery has finally debuted its new solera-aged rum—an interval process that involves mixing ages in barrels. Plenty of local bars offer Blackwater products, including the fan-favorite Picaroon rum. Among them are Bookmakers, Blue Pit BBQ, and The Oceanaire Seafood Room. 184 Log Canoe Circle, Stevensville, 443-249-3123

Bluebird Cocktail Room: Head to this literary-themed Hampden hangout to sip craft cocktails while browsing classic books. The new summer menu features a frozen pina colada, “Don’s Banana Hammock” with rum and bananas, and the “Expression of the Divine,” which highlights peach rum. 3600 Hickory Ave., 667-303-3263

Gunther & Co.: Along with a list of house libations, this Brewers Hill bar features a few cocktails spotlighting Gosling’s dark rum. Head outside to its picturesque patio to sample the cleverly named “Rye’n Gosling,” with Rittenhouse rye, Gosling’s dark rum, caffo amaro, agave, and flamed lemon. There is also the “The Ibis,” which mixes the dark rum with campari, velvet falernum, pineapple, and lime juice. 3650 Toone St., 443-869-6874

Lobo: Spend happy hour sipping the fan-favorite Mai Tai at this Fells Point watering hole. The signature cocktail ($9) mixes Kraken rum, Appleton white rum, Grand Marnier, fresh-squeezed orange juice, housemade grenadine, and housemade almond syrup. 1900 Aliceanna St., 410-327-0303

Little Havana: This South Baltimore staple stays true to its Cuban inspiration by featuring authentic eats and plenty of rum drinks at the bar. Aside from a traditional mojito, Dark ‘n’ Stormy, and rum runner, the spot also features a “Goombay Smash” with coconut rum, peach schnapps, pineapple, and orange juice. 1325 Key Highway, 410-837-9903

R. Bar: The centerpiece bar inside Remington food hall R. House will be celebrating Rum Day in style with drinks off of its summer camp-inspired seasonal menu. The rum-focused “This One Time, At Band Camp” (a nod to cult classic American Pie) features Charanda Uruapan Mexican rum, Shrub District strawberry dill shrub, White Envelope spiced syrup, lemon, and mint. 301 W. 29th St., 443-347-3570

We think it’s safe to say that raw fish is having a moment. Of course, Charm City has its share of sushi spots, and poké bowls (the trendy Hawaiian delicacy that tops rice with cubes of uncooked fish) are also finding their footing. But ceviche—the marinated seafood staple with roots in South America—has proven itself to be particularly popular, especially as summer temperatures begin to peak.

“It’s very refreshing,” says Jose Victorio Alarcon, owner and executive chef of Peruvian destination Puerto 511 downtown. “In Peru, it’s traditional to call up your friends on a hot day and go out for ceviche and a cold beer.”

The dish, which is usually made with raw fish cured in citrus juices and spiced with chili peppers, is associated with Peru, but also can be seen in Central American countries, as well as throughout Mexico.

Even the team behind Clavel in Remington has transformed an adjoining garage into an authentic cevicheria inspired by co-owner and executive chef Carlos Raba’s native Sinaloa, Mexico.

“It’s always been our plan to mimic my upbringing,” Raba says. “Whenever I go somewhere I enjoy, I’m always thinking, ’How can I bring this place to Baltimore? How can I bring my family from Mexico here to experience the same things they have at home?’”

Although many recipes and techniques vary by region, local chefs agree that the perfect ceviche starts with one key ingredient.

“You always have to use quality fish no matter what,” says Enrique Limardo, executive chef at Canton’s Alma Cocina Latina, who names favorites including halibut, royal seabass, and red snapper. “In the end, you can mix in whatever flavors you want, but if the fish isn’t fresh, it’s not going to be good.”

Alarcon agrees, mentioning that the Peruvian version calls for a principal combination of a fresh white fish (like grouper or flounder), lime, salt, onion, and aji pepper. The difference, he says, lies in the marinating method.

“In a lot of Mexican or Central American ceviches, they marinate the fish for a few hours and sometimes let it sit overnight to serve the next day,” he explains. “But Peruvian ceviche only needs five minutes to marinate. It’s supposed to feel very fresh.”

The traditional Peruvian marinade—a citrusy juice dubbed Tiger’s Milk, or leche de tigre after its white color—also sets it apart from other styles. Alarcon notes Puerto 511’s ceviche clasico (fish and leche de tigre mixed with cilantro, red onion, glazed sweet potato, and Andean corn) as a customer favorite.

“At the restaurant, my wife goes around to the tables to teach people about the leche de tigre,” he says. “And she encourages them to drink the juice right from the plate because that’s how we do it in Peru.”

While Limardo also uses the Peruvian technique for his ceviche at Alma Cocina Latina, he puts his own spin on the dish by fusing the restaurant’s signature Venezuelan flavors (think tropical fruits like pineapple and mango) into the leche de tigre. Says Limardo: “No matter what dish we make, we always have to add a little bit of Venezuelan inspiration.”

At Points South Latin Kitchen in Fells Point, executive chef Rey Eugenio’s ceviches are influenced by a number of different cultures. Not only does he draw from his upbringing in the Philippines, but he also solicits input from his staff about traditions from their home countries throughout South America.

“You always want to be innovative, whether it means taking components from other countries or combining two different styles together,” Eugenio says. “In the Philippines, we have a dish that isn’t called ceviche, but it’s certainly similar to the traditional citrus-based ceviche. We even do a beef-style ceviche where raw beef is dressed in a citrus vinaigrette.”

Although there are seemingly endless ways to create a flavorful ceviche, Raba says that, above all, the dish is about simplicity.

“There are a lot of ways to play with it,” he says. “But too many elements will make you lose the essence of the ceviche.”

Alarcon, too, prefers to stick to the basics: “You feel the acidity from the lime, sweetness from the glazed sweet potato, spice from the pepper, and crunch from the corn,” he says. “In one plate, there are so many sensations.”

Whether it’s shelves of succulents at Forno or a living wall at Gunther & Co., plants have taken root as a prominent design detail in many area restaurants. Beyond prettying up a place, however, experts say that going green is good for your well-being. In many cases, plants act as renewable air sources that reduce pollutants while expelling clean oxygen.

“Having plants around us is healthy,” says Kate Blom, conservatory supervisor at the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens in Baltimore. “They smile back at you and make you feel good.” Here are some of our favorite spots that are tapping into the horticulture trend.

Alma Cocina Latina: Tall palms and tropical plants contribute to the Venezuelan vibe of this Canton Can Company restaurant, which is meant to evoke the spirit of Caracas-born owner Irena Stein’s home country. “Since Venezuela is near the equator, we always have pleasant temperatures that allow homes to be partly open to the outdoors year-round,” Stein explains. “The décor in the restaurant is meant to feel like our homes there and serves as an introduction to the food.”

Bar Vasquez: Designer Katie Destefano showcases small succulents, tropical plants, and 18-foot palm trees at this South American spot. “I wanted to incorporate the lushness of the rainforests,” she says. “Organic elements bring in whimsy and break up hard lines in a space.”

Encantada: The interior of this whimsical spot inside AVAM is supplemented by potted centerpieces, which range from ivy to ferns. “I’m a firm believer in having plants in restaurants,” says owner Robbin Haas. “They make the space feel more lively and real.”

Forno: Potted plants and three-tiered shelving units full of succulents add to the rusticity of this downtown cocina. “The plants complement the earthy tones and give the space an organic feel,” says general manager Ricky Johnson.

Gunther & Co.: In addition to herb gardens, this Brewers Hill spot boasts a 16-foot living green wall, which works as an air-filtration system and improves acoustics. Says co-owner Nancy Hart Mola, “There’s something about being around living things. It’s good for the soul.”

R. House: Retractable doors will soon open up to a wall of wisteria and a canopy cascading with flowers and vines. “Plants add to the feel that you’re coming into someone’s house,” says Seawall Development’s Jon Constable.

WHILE IT’S TRUE THAT PLANET EARTH isn’t actually orbiting any faster than usual (67,000 miles an hour, last time we clocked it), life on Planet Baltimore can feel like a whirlwind. Every day brings a new reality—from neighborhoods being built out of thin air to burgeoning businesses and a constant influx of power players. Nowhere is this warp speed more apparent than on the ever expanding food scene, which shows no signs of slowing down.

“Food trends used to move a lot more slowly before the internet and the rise of this current world of food media,’’ says food and beverage trend expert Kara Nielsen. “People are thinking about food and excited about food in a way we haven’t seen in recent history.’’

As much as we love the explosion, it can be dizzying to decide how best to spend our dining dollars. (According to the National Restaurant Association, there are 11,100 eating and drinking spots in Maryland.) If you’re hungry (and who isn’t?), there’s never been a better time to tap into the culinary Zeitgeist. Steamed buns are all the rage, pizza is proliferating, doughnuts are dominating, and bar food is having a moment.

“With the millennials as one of the biggest audiences buying food,’’ says Nielsen, “we’ll see their interests and values reflected in the trends—exploring and celebrating other cultures, being excited about things that are artisanal or authentic, big sensory flavors, and a good dose of indulgence.’’

On these pages, we explore the 10 trends you need to know about now and the up-and-coming tastemakers who are helping to shape the scene. We also take the pulse of what’s hot—and what’s not—and explore the science of table trends with a foodie forecaster.

Word of warning: Whatever you discover, the nature of trends is that they rise—and they recede. So don’t get overly attached. The Next Big Thing is always waiting in the wings, while another may be on the verge of extinction. So, in the ever fickle, blink-and-you-miss-it world of food, catch these trends at area tables while you can.

Naked Lunch at MOM’s Organic Market

Food that’s good for you can sometimes taste like a dose of medicine. But that’s never the case at the Naked Lunch cafe inside MOM’s Organic Market in Hampden, where seemingly humble ingredients graduate to star status. At lunchtime, queue up for a bodacious sushi bowl with brown rice, miso-roasted tofu, avocado, seaweed, and ginger-sesame dressing. Want to make the memory linger? Browse the miles of aisles to shop for ingredients to re-create the whole shebang at home. 711 W. 40th St., 667-219-2500

The Green Bowl

Bibimbap, mofongo, tostones: Is this a spelling bee or are these menu items from The Green Bowl? We love everything about this Asian/Latin-inspired food truck and its health-conscious cuisine. We’re convinced that the spinach and greens with bean sprouts, carrots, zucchini, and a fried egg will add years to your life. thegreenbowlfoodtruck.com

Zia’s Cafe

If you have a dietary need—be it vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or paleo—Zia’s has you covered. Smoothies and 100 percent raw cold-pressed juices are menu highlights here. The macaroon smoothie with bananas, dates, raw cacao, maca, coconut, and almond milk tastes sinful but is anything but. Want more of a meal? Go for the Firecracker Wrap with avocado, apples, arugula, jalapeños, and a hit of horseradish for extra heat. Two locations including 13 Allegheny Ave., Towson, 410-296-0799

On the Go Organics

This new Fells Point raw-foods vegan takeout spot features plant-based pressed juices, wraps (we heart the lettuce wraps with collards as the coat), and tasty gourmet desserts. Owner Dwayne Copeland, who apprenticed in California, is a wealth of raw-food knowledge. 600 S. Wolfe St., 415-265-7650

Das Bier Haus

Nowhere is the beer-and-brat trend more evident than the corner Federal Hill bar Das Bier Haus, which opened this past January. The bar fits the bill with more than 60 beers available, including an extensive list of German varieties. For authenticity’s sake (and to make it way more fun), the beers come in half-liter, liter, and two-, three-, or four-liter “das boot” glasses. The pairing wouldn’t be complete without pork or veal sausages from local Binkert’s German Meat Products, served properly with sauerkraut and house-cut fries. 1542 Light St., 443-708-8854

Blue Pit BBQ & Whiskey Bar

While Blue Pit certainly has perfected its barbecue and whiskey selections, the general vibe (especially outside and upstairs) reminds us of a traditional German beer hall. Enjoy a smoked Union Anthem bratwurst, choose from some 50 craft beers, and sit at a communal picnic table to clink drinks with strangers. 1601 Union Ave., 443-948-5590

Snake Hill

How fitting that Snake Hill is across the street from the building that once housed legendary German restaurant Haussner’s. Though there isn’t quite as much art on the walls, Snake Hill pays homage by serving sausage from local makers like Polock Johnny’s and Fat City Craft Meat Co. Innovative toppings result in Vietnamese, Italian, and Peruvian-inspired offerings. Plus, the beer list always feels current and creative. 418 S. Clinton St., 410-469-9003

Brew House No. 16

Though there’s a full menu at this Mount Vernon firehouse-turned-brewpub, the sausage is always a good bet. We love the apple-walnut chicken or the house-made Thuringer-style pork served on a pretzel roll with sauerkraut and sweet hot mustard. Wash it down with a house beer (bonus: owner Ian Hummel studied brewing in Germany) or a crisp Hofbräu München wheat. 831 N. Calvert St., 410-659-4084

Alma Cocina Latina

Walk into this light-filled spot in the Can Company in Canton, and a jungle of plants bursts forth in bloom, while the sound of salsa sets the mood. Don’t feel like you’re in Baltimore? Owner Irena Stein envisioned this refuge from the ordinary and plucked chef Enrique Limardo from her native Venezuela to bring a taste of her motherland to our ’hood. Sidle up to the arepa bar for corn-flour patties bursting with salty ham and caramelized plantains, and imagine that you’re in a lush Latin American locale. Or savor a superb ceviche and feel like you’re on a beach along the Caribbean coast. 2400 Boston St., 667-212-4273

Brown Rice

We love the make-your-own approach, and this rice-bowl emporium brings Eastern flavors to the mix—from spicy, garlicky beef bulgogi to piquant kimchi. Start with a base—which runs the gamut from jasmine rice to kale salad—then pick a protein, and top it off with a variety of veggies. (Pimp your rice with the radish kimchi and shiitake mushrooms.) Add a sauce and, perhaps, a runny egg, to truly branch out your bowl. Two locations including 2404 N. Charles St., 667-303-3256

Ariana Kabob Grill

Never underestimate the power of fare from a food court. At this no-frills spot inside Charles Plaza, the meat is manna. From juicy, sunset-hued chicken kebabs to unexpectedly tender gyro meat, these Middle Eastern flavors awaken the palate with spices that rise on the tongue before being cooled by rice rife with carrots and raisins and a side of tzatziki. 222 N. Charles St., 443-858-1045

Cuba de Ayer

Yes, it’s easier than ever to fly to Cuba from Baltimore these days, but this Latin comfort-food spot (though a bit of a drive) is the next best thing. Consider the succulent oxtail stew and melt-in-your-mouth roast pork known here as pernil. But if you do one thing, order the camarones en aguacate appetizer: shrimp atop an avocado throne drenched in white wine, garlic, and butter. 15446 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, 301-476-9622

Taps Fill Station

From its name to its practice, Taps Fill Station in Mt. Vernon Marketplace has simplified the way we drink. All of Taps’ liquid lovelies are available in draft form, including beer, wine, cider, mead, nitro cold-brew coffee, and even olive oil. The bar makes everything feel more hip. (Our coffee looks and drinks a bit more like a Guinness here.) Plus, everything is available in flights (4-ounce pours of beer and 2-ounce portions for everything else), so we can sample instead of having to commit. Even the simple red-and-white color scheme, with bulbous lights imploring us to “taste,” “order,” and “relax,” forces us to sit back and enjoy the moment. 520 Park Ave., 484-998-8277

Bookmakers Cocktail Club

Bookmakers is always up on the newest cocktail trends, so it’s no surprise that it’s the only bar in the world with Chartreuse Episcopale on draft. The spirit is a fusion of green and yellow Charteuse, a French liqueur with notes of mint (green) and saffron (yellow). The elixir is 47.5-percent ABV and, even just in 1.4-ounce portions, it gives you a very special buzz. 31 E. Cross St., 443-438-4039

Barcocina

Barcocina not only boasts modern twists on Mexican food but also a modern way to pour drinks. With two taps for cocktails and four for wine, the bar features concoctions like the house margarita and Barcocina Lemonade with cucumber-lime vodka, cucumber liqueur, jalapeño simple syrup, lemon juice, and club soda. We can’t think of a more perfect pairing for Barcocina’s picturesque water view. 1629 Thames St., 410-563-8800

Liquid Lib’s

This bar, adjacent to Liberatore’s in a Timonium business park, may not seem like much at first. But buy a wine card (in increments of $10) and peruse its selections of 16 self-pouring taps in the corner. Organized with white wines and clear liquors on the left and reds and darks on the right, the system allows guests to pour to their hearts’ content. 9515 Deereco Road, Timonium, 410-666-8466

Iron Rooster

Although Iron Rooster serves lunch and dinner options, the focus is all-day breakfast, and the brunch offerings encompass everything from brûléed ruby-red grapefruit and breakfast tacos to various Benedicts, as well as biscuits and gravy. Wet your whistle with a Bloody Mary (garnished with pickled asparagus, bacon, an olive, and Old Bay around the rim, it’s a meal unto itself). Then design your own breakfast scramble or order the fried chicken and cornmeal waffles smothered in gravy. Get a refill on your coffee. Sit. Stay. The day is young. Two locations, including 3721 Boston St., 410-762-2100

Bistro Rx

Bistro Rx adds just enough inventiveness to rise-and-shine classics to keep things interesting for repeat customers. The shrimp and grits is a go-to, but if we could only order one dish, we’d choose the breakfast flatbread, topped with bacon, chorizo, tasso ham, white cheddar, and a pile of scrambled eggs. It’s perfect for sharing—in person or on Instagram. 2901 E. Baltimore St., 410-276-0820

Weekend brunch at Ejji Ramen includes this noodle bowl with bacon and corn broth plus sausage, applewood-smoked bacon, a poached egg, tamago (mini omelet squares), and corn.

Ejji Ramen

The Japanese practically invented the one-dish meal, and the Breakfast Ramen Bowl at Ejji Ramen carries on this proud tradition. On weekends, snag a stool at the Belvedere Square Market and order this noodle bowl boasting bacon and corn broth plus sausage, applewood-smoked bacon, a poached egg, tamago (mini omelet squares), and corn. If this doesn’t start your day off right, nothing will. 529 E. Belvedere Ave., 410-435-8688

Dovecote Cafe

This artsy Reservoir Hill cafe makes everything in house, so the rotating weekend brunch menu is understandably compact. That said, what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. Recent choices ranged from crab mac and cheese to an exquisite mixed-berry fruit tart that elicited instant ordering envy from nearby noshers. 2501 Madison Ave., #1F, 443-961-8677

Mt. Vernon Marketplace

There’s a beauty in not having to be a committed consumer when we shop here. Do we want pork dumplings at Pinch, Skinny Dippers at The Local Oyster, or a latte at Ceremony Coffee? (Duh—we want it all.) And while here, we might as well browse the trendy togs at The Tomboy Shop, pick up a dozen eggs at Fresh Mondays, and grab specialty salt from Juniper Culinary Apothecary. 520 Park Ave., 888-897-8859

Belvedere Square Market

This Govans marketplace on the site of a onetime peach orchard offers soup (at Atwater’s) to nuts (Pure Chocolate by Jinji)—and everything in between, like artisanal cheese and kombucha. Have guests to impress? Head here for aged strips from Ceriello or just the right rosé from Grand Cru. 529 E. Belvedere Ave., 410-464-9773

Modern Cook Shop

What do you get when you cross a neighborhood gourmet grocer, a coffee bar, and an upscale New American establishment with a concisely curated menu on which every item is first-rate? Andy Gruver’s thoroughly modern Modern Cook Shop, of course. With all the restaurant openings of late, it’s hard to break new ground, but Modern Cook Shop is a trailblazer. 901 S. Wolfe St., 443-627-8032

Baby’s on Fire

Listening to music has been scientifically proved to enhance diner enjoyment, so it makes perfect sense that a coffee bar cafe combined with a record store would hit a high note. The fare (paninis, salads, espresso drinks) doesn’t miss a beat and the vinyl selections for sale (Led Zeppelin, John Coltrane) are a total time warp. 1010 Morton St., 443-885-9892

Alma Cocina Latina, the new Venezuelan restaurant in Canton’s Can Company, roared out of the gate after opening in late April and quickly amassed a serious following among food critics and diners. I’m not surprised. Alma is the brainchild of Caracas-born Irena Stein, the elegant genius behind two wildly popular eateries on The Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus—Azafrán and Alkimia—that transformed the way faculty and students think about “institutional” fare. I first tasted Stein’s inventive global cuisine years ago at an academic event she’d catered solo, and, like everybody there, was stunned to find vibrant multicolored shots of chilled summer soups in place of the usual warmed-over pigs in a blanket. Her charm offensive against the industrial food complex easily won hearts all over campus. With Alma, she brings her vivacious can-do spirit and ferocious talents to the general population at a restaurant that focuses on the cuisine of her native land. The result is a smashing success.

Alma—that’s “soul” in Spanish—is a clean, white space judiciously dotted with greens, a neutral canvas for Stein’s brightly colored kitchen creations. A cocktail bar on one side turns out variants of popular Latin cocktails, like the Pisco de María, a dusky, mellow version of the Peruvian pisco sour. On the other side of the space, diners line the small exhibition-style kitchen to watch chefs prepare, among other South American specialties, numerous iterations on the traditional Venezualan “sandwich,” the arepa.

Arepas—thick flatbreads fashioned from ground maize—are staples of Venezuelan and Columbian street food. But in Venezuela, they take these densely delectable grilled rounds and stuff them with various fillings, turning them into a “yummy, amazing experience,” as our waitress enthusiastically explained. Alma devotes an entire menu to arepas, and indeed, after sampling a few, I understood what our waitress meant. The various fillings of shredded, mashed, or ground meats, seafood, and beans provide a lovely textural contrast to the crunchy arepas. Like many of the plates here, they’re often enlivened by the lush sweetness of plantains or enrobed in queso blanco. The meltingly delicious Luis Brito’s pig arepa was my favorite, dripping with pulled pork, avocado purée, and tomato mojo, but the beach pisillo (something like a refined tuna salad), an entirely different taste experience featuring finely minced skate, avocado, and aji dulce, a sweet red pepper similar to pimento, was a close second. These things are hearty and messy, so I recommend you order one or two (or three) to deconstruct and share.

Alma is a clean, white space, a neutral canvas for Stein’s brightly colored kitchen creations.

Other eminently shareable plates my group loved include a selection from the antojos (“whims” or “cravings”) and acompañantes: crispy chicken wings gilded with spicy pineapple-guava sauce, yuca fries with cilantro mojo for dipping. Of the three versions of ceviche, we preferred the pesca del día, which, on the night we tried it, was a snowy mound of diced, mild fluke sparked with bright tendrils of microgreens and bathed in tiger’s milk, the traditional lime marinade used to cure raw fish. The spicy tomato marinade in the ceviche vuelve a la vida was addictive, but it overwhelmed the delicate flavors of the shellfish.

Along with the numerous small plates, you’ll find a good selection of salads dressed in tropical flavors like tangerine and tamarind, as well as a trio of soups (black bean, fish, cream of squash). With all this bounty to share, it seemed almost superfluous to order one of the three entrée-sized platos calientes, but when we spied the pescao frito being delivered to another table, we couldn’t resist. A whole dorade, crisp-fried and accompanied by tostones and tropical slaw, proved to be all it promised—firm-fleshed and sweet, it had us picking every last bit from the bones.

Similarly, we were tempted by the menu of postres (desserts) and gave in to a pedestrian-sounding vanilla rice pudding recommended by our helpful young waitress. It was anything but ordinary. Studded with Amarena—those deeply rich Italian cherries that usually grace designer cocktails—and enriched by puréed bananas caramelized with tangerine and South American coffee, it was spectacularly good. Other offerings—among them a rum-soaked coconut cake and mango goat-cheese cake—we’ll save for next time.

The only negative at this fresh newcomer is the noise level, which is deafening. I say that as someone who can stand a fair amount of din. When the place was packed (which it seemed to be all the time), we longed for a little acoustic relief—afterward, our throats were sore from the necessary shouting. Still, we wouldn’t let it keep us from the considerable allure of Alma. Like its dynamo of a proprietress, this place is simply irresistible.

ALMA COCINA LATINA 2400 Boston St., 667-212-4273.
HOURS Sun. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Mon.-Wed. 5-10 p.m., Thurs.-Fri. 5-11 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-11 p.m. CUISINE Latin. ATMOSPHERE Eco-chic.
PRICES Small plates and sandwiches: $4-18; entrees: $12-35; desserts: $8-10.50.