OPEN

Bon Fresco: This homegrown coffee-and-carb chain—which has shops scattered everywhere from Columbia to Beltsville—opened its first Baltimore location in the Inner Harbor last week. Dooby’s owner Phil Han, whose father-in-law founded the chain in 2008, is spearheading the new shop between Pratt and Lombard streets. His team will follow Bon Fresco’s recipes, highlighting stuffed sandwiches on house-baked ciabatta rolls. (Standouts include the Tuscan Chicken with grilled veggies and famous London Broil topped with red onions and dijonaise.) In addition, the cafe offers breakfast sandwiches, salads, soups, DIY grain bowls, house pastries, and tons of coffee drinks.

Bentley’s Restaurant, Bar, and Lounge: Adding to Charm City’s recent jazz renaissance is this new restaurant and live music venue in Mt. Vernon. On the heels of Keystone Korner’s debut in Harbor East, Bentley’s is now officially open on Antique Row—offering a comfort food menu and weekly jazz, soul, and R&B performances. Diners can tap their feet along to the live soundtrack while enjoying dishes such as beef brisket in a red-wine demi glace, filet mignon topped with crabmeat, and crispy skin salmon with sweet potato mash. Bar snacks include Old Bay wings, peach-glazed shrimp, and Baja fish tacos.

DAYTIME DINING:

Noona’s: Speaking of Han, his pizza spot in Bolton Hill is now open for lunch. As MICA students and faculty return to the neighborhood for the fall semester, the restaurant is now open at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Friday. To accommodate those with limited lunch breaks, Noona’s will feature pub-style service during the day (diners pay at the bar and have their food brought to them) with featured dishes including the house burger, a tomato and mozzarella sandwich, and a farro grain bowl with soft boiled egg and late-summer herbs and veggies.

Topside: Hotel Revival’s rooftop restaurant is also launching daytime service this fall. Beginning Thursday, September 19, Topside will open from 7-10:30 a.m. for breakfast and then reopen from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for lunch. Executive chef Scott Hines’ breakfast menu will include egg white frittatas and grilled French toast with chantilly cream, while the lunch lineup will feature classic Maryland crab soup and an ancient grains salad with pickled fennel. The first day of the new service just so happens to coincide with Moveable Feast’s Dining Out for Life fundraiser, which donates 25 percent of proceeds from participating restaurants to feeding locals in need.

COMING SOON

Roll Ice Cream & Coffee: Great news for sweet tooth fiends in Mt. Vernon. Highlandtown staple Roll Ice Cream & Coffee is bringing its customizable confections to the neighborhood with a new stall at Mount Vernon Marketplace. Opening on Saturday, August 31, the spot will offer its made-to-order treats that freeze a liquid ice cream base on a subzero plate before mixing in toppings and rolling it up in a cup or waffle taco. Although add-ins can be mixed and matched, co-owners Jason Werner and Jessica Reyes also offer house creations like the popular “Couch Surfer”—which tops a chocolate base with potato chips and caramel popcorn. In keeping with the local feel, the owners also collaborate with area purveyors like Wight Tea Co. and Ceremony Coffee to create their matcha and coffee flavors. Stop by the grand opening from 2-6 p.m. this weekend to sample signature ice cream concoctions and coffee drinks offered exclusively for the grand opening.

Heritage Smokehouse: Industry insiders know George Marsh as the former head chef and butcher at Parts & Labor in Remington, where he specialized in whole-animal butchery and supplied cuts to sister restaurants (including Woodberry Kitchen) and customers in the retail shop up front. “A lot of people are uncomfortable if their meat doesn’t come in a little shrink-wrapped Styrofoam thing,” Marsh told us back in 2016. “I want people to connect with it, see it, get used to it, get comfortable with it. Everyone’s gotten so desensitized to what meat is and what it looks like.” Now, the chef is bringing those philosophies to a new spot of his own. Slated to open in the former home of Murphy’s Bar in Govans by the end of the year, the York Road restaurant will offer smoked meats, locally sourced sides, and a family-friendly setting with arcade games.

EPICUREAN EVENTS

8/30-9/1: Water Song Pop-Up at R. House
Head to R. House sometime during the long Labor Day weekend to get a taste of Yunnan, China by way of Remington. Water Song will be setting up shop in the food hall’s rotating pop-up stall to serve authentic Mixian rice noodles in a tasty broth with pickled mustard greens, a touch of meat, and lots of chili oil.

SHUT:

Minnow: Last weekend, brothers Ben and Jake Lefenfeld served their last orders of crab toast and crispy tofu at this nautical-themed restaurant in Riverside. Open since May 2017, the La Cuchara sister-spot became known for its fish dishes and weekend drag brunches. Although regulars are sad to see Minnow go, the owners aren’t going anywhere. They recently decided it was time for a change and are planning to reopen the restaurant as a new concept called The Hot Dry this weekend. Stay tuned for more details and an exclusive interview with the Lefenfeld brothers on our Local Flavor Live podcast.

OPEN

Clean Juice: Located just a stone’s throw from CrossFit, REV Cycle Studio, and the Under Armour Performance Center, this new Locust Point juice bar has already become a favorite for post-workout fuel. Now open at McHenry Row, the first Maryland location of the North Carolina-based chain was brought to the neighborhood by former NFL safety (and Under Armour intern) Anthony Walters. He and his wife, Kaitlyn, offer a variety of juices, smoothies, açaí bowls, and signature toasts topped with everything from avocado to almond butter. Taking a Friends approach, the organic menu lists smoothie options like “The So Basic One” (almond milk, banana, maple syrup, and strawberries) and “The Coffee One,” mixing cold brew coffee with banana, dates, and almond milk. 1702 Whetstone Way.

Michael’s Cafe White Marsh: This decades-old Timonium staple known for its crab cakes, Crushes, live music, and spacious outdoor patio recently widened its footprint to White Marsh. The second location officially opened inside the Greenleigh at Crossroads development off White Marsh Boulevard last month. At about half the size of its flagship, the new space offers a slightly scaled back menu, but diners can still expect the same crab soup, colorful salads, raw oysters, prime cuts of meat, and jumbo lump crab cakes that have been passed down in owner Michael Dellis’ family for four generations. Similar to the original, the new Michael’s is also equipped with a fully stocked bar (everything from local beer and cocktails to an extensive list of rye and Irish whiskies) and plenty of flat screens for game-watching. 720 Concourse Circle, Middle River. 410-335-5370

COMING SOON

The Civil: An elegant dining destination is taking shape in the former home of Warehouse 518 in Mt. Vernon, which briefly operated as G.A.Y. Lounge until the fall of 2017 when co-owners Robert Gay and Joshua Persing closed amid landlord disputes. Come spring, the building at 518 North Charles Street will debut as The Civil, a renovated concept featuring craft cocktails, New American brunch and dinner dishes, live DJ sets, and private VIP spaces on its mezzanine level. The renovation yields stylish upgrades such as refinished original wood floors, glass chandeliers, sleek black furniture, and pops of gold throughout. 518 N. Charles St.

Bentley’s: On the heels of Dear Globe Coffee opening on Antique Row in Mt. Vernon last summer, this new jazz club is also readying for a debut on the 800 block of North Howard Street. The former home of Cooker’s Music Bistro is being revamped by cousins Glenda Laws, Mark Bynum, and Glenn Bydume, along with their family friend Maurice Stokes. According to Baltimore Fishbowl, the vision is for the spot to be a modernized version of their family’s neighborhood bar from “back in the day.” Opening this spring, the full bar and restaurant will focus on fare with Southern, Asian, and Latino influences downstairs, and a lounge and bar for live music performances upstairs. 885-889 N. Howard St.

Refocused: Since New America closed its doors last year, its former diner aesthetic (regulars remember the checkered floors, counter seating, and local artwork) has been replaced with repurposed woods, earthy gray tones, and ring-shaped light fixtures. The cafe space on North Eutaw Street is being converted into Refocused, a plant-based palace from local owner Jerel Jefferies. Although the restaurant isn’t expected to open its doors until March, it will host a preview night on February 16 to coincide with the the this year’s Vegan Restaurant Week. Jefferies, who won the inaugural Vegan Mac-and-Cheese Smackdown in 2016, plans to serve vegan sandwiches, wraps, salads, burgers, and, of course, his dairy-free spin on the classic oven-baked mac and cheese. 429 N. Eutaw St.

EPICUREAN EVENTS

3/1: Mardi Gras Masquerade
Mark your calendar for this festive Mardi Gras celebration benefiting the Living Classrooms Foundation’s BUGS Program—an after-school initiative which teaches students a combination of cooking, gardening, STEM, and creative arts. The New Orleans-inspired fundraiser at Ampersea in Fells Point will highlight creole cuisine, boozy hurricanes, raffles, live music by DJ Impulse and Black Dandelion, and desserts crafted by the restaurant’s executive chef Casey Williams. 1417 Thames St. 7-11 p.m. $70

3/4: Cocina con Amor Pop-Up at Ekiben
In a heartfelt message posted to social media earlier this week, the owners of Ekiben expressed their support for Fells Point neighbor Cocina Luchadoras—whose owner Rosalyn Vera received arson and personal death threats last week because of a political poster hanging inside her restaurant. “The Ekiben family wants to put this out there: Threats of violence against businesses who choose to express themselves genuinely and honestly will not fly here,” the post reads. “Not in Baltimore; not in our neighborhood.” To celebrate the diversity of the community, Vera and Ekiben chef Steve Chu are teaming up to host a one-time-only lunch pop-up that fuses the flavors of both restaurants. The event at Ekiben will run from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on March 4. “Ekiben is honest and quirky and creative in a way that we believe is uniquely Baltimorean,” the post reads. “This is because Baltimoreans recognize realness and authenticity over everything. And because Baltimoreans recognize the value in our differences.” 1622 Eastern Ave.