While everyone loves their grandmother’s cooking, these nonnas, abuelas, and bubbes have lately been a great source of chef inspiration at local restaurants.

John Shields, chef-owner of Gertrude’s Chesapeake Kitchen at the Baltimore Museum of Art, serves the very same crab cakes he learned to make from his grandma, Gertie. At Little Donna’s in Upper Fells, chef-owner Robbie Tutlewski’s grandmother, Donna Wranich, taught him to make the pierogies, pies, and palacinkes (Serbian pancakes) that now appear on the menu of the restaurant named after her. The granny trend is also in full force at Cosima, where chef Donna Crivello’s menu is an homage to her Sicilian grandmother, Cosima, for whom the Woodberry restaurant is named.

“We’d go to nonna’s house every Sunday for dinner,” says Crivello. “One time, I peeked inside her bedroom—and there was the bed covered with a white sheet. On that sheet were all her perfectly round ravioli dusted with flour—and that’s what we had for dinner.”

While Crivello prefers to rest her ravioli, pictured above, on sheet trays, the recipe is essentially unchanged. “I don’t know what was in her dough—likely egg and flour—which is what I do,” says Crivello, “but the filling was ricotta. I keep it simple, the way she did it. I stick to the basics, starting with flour and eggs for the dough and a filling of ricotta and egg, plus Pecorino cheese or Parm and parsley.”

Sadly, Cosima passed away long ago, so the chef can only guess what she might think of her granddaughter’s culinary shrine.

“She would be honored to know that we named the restaurant after her and are still talking about her,” says Crivello with a laugh. “But she might say, ‘That’s not the way I do it.’”

OPEN

Café Dear Leon: Canton locals have fallen for this new coffee-and-pastry spot that opened earlier this month in the former home of Holy Crepe Cafe on O’Donnell Square. From the wooden benches and countertops to the almond croissants and oat pecan chocolate chip cookies, everything is made by the owners from scratch. Named after co-owner Min Kim’s son, Leon, the bright and airy shop offers a coffee and tea program with blends sourced from Ceremony Coffee Roasters, as well as morning pastries, house-made granola bars, loaf cakes, and traditional Japanese egg sandwiches.

Snow Cone Sisters: Perhaps one of the most creative COVID-19 pivot projects we’ve seen yet comes from chef John Shields and his team at Gertrude’s Chesapeake Kitchen at the Baltimore Museum of Art. While the museum is still closed, last week, curators debuted a mobile audio tour for visitors to browse its exterior buildings, sculptures, and exhibits. And to ensure audiences have a spot to grab some sustenance while taking in the works, Gertrude’s is launching an outdoor snack kiosk on Saturday, August 15. Snow Cone Sisters—aptly named after the BMA’s famous Cone Collection of early to mid-20th century works gifted by sisters Etta and Claribel Cone—will be open Tuesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to dusk, serving gourmet hot dogs and kielbasa on housemade milk bread rolls and, of course, the namesake snow cones. Cool off with flavors such as Tutti Frutti, birthday cake, chocolate-covered cherry, and Key Lime pie. Gertrude’s is also open for outdoor dining and carryout if you’d like to enjoy a more filling meal on the grounds or grab one on your way home.

Hungry Like the Wolfe: Cleverly named after its location on South Wolfe Street, this new pop-up from former Fork & Wrench chefs Cyrus Keefer and Adam Scanlon has taken over the Red Star in Fells Point. Available for outdoor dining and carryout, the menu of riffs on classic tavern fare makes use of produce from Monkton’s Karma Farm. Highlights include a cherry tomato and sourdough salad with fresh basil, maple-sriracha fried chicken wings, a Juicy Lucy burger stuffed with bleu cheese, and a French bread pizza topped with mushrooms and gruyere.

Cafe 1908: This seafood-centric spot has received a warm welcome from the Mt. Vernon neighborhood, thanks to its drool-worthy crab cakes, lobster rolls, seafood salad wraps, turkey burgers, and vegan options. The longtime caterer now offers daily specials—expect mix-and-match cauliflower, shrimp, jerk chicken, or fish tacos on Tuesdays, for example—out of its new permanent storefront at 7 W. Preston St.

The Periodic Table Restaurant & Bar: If you’re in search of an al fresco spot to try in Howard County, add this new Columbia restaurant to your list. Equipped with distanced outdoor tables, as well as indoor seating, the restaurant off of Centre Park Drive is officially open with a menu of seasonal cocktails, local beers (look out for the likes of Diamondback Beer and Denizens Brewing Co.), small plates, and burgers. Plus, hearty main dishes include Gochujang-glazed pork belly and grilled swordfish with lump crab and Thai basil cream.

NEWS

The Urban Oyster: Loyalists were heartbroken when chef Jasmine Norton announced that she would be closing her brick-and-mortar restaurant at McHenry Row in Locust Point last month. But luckily, the chef assured this wasn’t the last we’d see of her. And as she continues her search for another permanent home, Norton will be operating out of the Hyatt Baltimore Inner Harbor just a few miles away. Beginning August 20, fans will be able to enjoy The Urban Oyster’s signature oysters, tacos, sandwiches, and fried seafood baskets for curbside carryout and delivery via Grubhub and Doordash.

EPICUREAN EVENTS

8/14: Courtyard Cocktails with Cane Collective

If you haven’t had the chance to stop by Old Line Spirits’ new outdoor courtyard in Highlandtown, now’s your chance. Aaron Joseph of Cane Collective is taking over the bar this Friday night to showcase refreshing summer cocktails that fuse his handcrafted mixers with Old Line’s whiskey, rum, and brand new vodka. Cane Collective’s Tropical Green Orchard mixer (green apple syrup, lime, and Wight tropical tea), for example, pairs perfectly with the distillery’s single malt whiskey. Plus, Ekiben will be on site slinging steamed buns and rice bowls to accompany all of the drinks.

As dawn breaks over 32nd Street on Saturday mornings, Waverly Farmers’ Market vendors set up their booths and prepare to greet the wave of early risers in search of gourmet goods. Though the market sees plenty of new faces from week to week, one patron guaranteed to be there is restaurateur John Shields.

“He’s there every Saturday morning,” says Joan Norman of One Straw Farm in White Hall. “Those are my earliest memories of him. He would come at 7 a.m. and go shopping. And he still does, it hasn’t changed in 15 years.”

As an acclaimed chef, author, and television personality, Shields has become a local celebrity at the market, where he collects the week’s produce for his restaurant Gertrude’s—newly renamed Gertrude’s Chesapeake Kitchen—inside The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA).

“Going to the Waverly market with him is like walking the streets with the Godfather,” says Gertrude’s executive chef Doug Wetzel, who has worked at the restaurant for 11 years. “People are always coming up to say hi and pay their respects.”

Making use of local crops (including chard, cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers from Norman at One Straw Farm) has been an essential part of Gertrude’s mission since it opened in 1998. Norman credits Shields as being one of the earliest founders of the farm-to-table movement in Baltimore.

“John was doing it for the benefit of his customers,” she says. “He was very proud of Maryland and the heritage of the food that we had here, and he shares that love through his restaurant.”

Now, as it celebrates its 20-year anniversary, Gertrude’s sustainable mantra is still alive and well—though Shields and Wetzel are also making it a priority to change with the times with a revamped menu.

To celebrate the milestone, the spot is hosting a sold-out anniversary party next week featuring live storytelling by its fans including BMA director Chris Bedford, MacArthur genius Joyce Scott, and our own Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.

Additionally, the team will be rolling out a new fall menu inspired by Shields’ latest cookbook The New Chesapeake Kitchen, which compiles healthy recipes that are also environmentally conscious.

“We need to have a whole new look at the way we eat. A lot of the fish that we used to have in the bay aren’t here,” Shields tells us. “Some of the protein is so precious that we can’t eat it the way we used to. Then we have some species that weren’t here before. We have to take a snapshot of now.”

New items will include a crab-artichoke poutine; all-crab cakes that make use of backfin, claw, and jumbo meat; and a take on classic Baltimore coddies that mix potato with salted Blue Channel catfish—an invasive species that eats crab eggs.

“We’re adding a bunch of plant-focused meals,” Wetzel says. “But also really cherishing the Chesapeake classics and making sure we sell what we know everyone likes.”

Throughout the years, weddings and social events on Gertrude’s picturesque patio, which overlooks the BMA Sculpture Garden, have also become popular with the younger generation.

“It’s really a testament to what John started here,” Wetzel says. “We helped showcase some of these recipes that got lost in the history of Chesapeake cuisine, and I think the younger kids like knowing about the older stuff. They seem to like knowing about the history of rockfish imperial and single-fried oysters.”

Norman says that, in addition to the food (she credits Gertrude’s brunch as one of the best she has ever had), the restaurant’s charm lies in its inviting atmosphere.

“There’s a light, happy vibe that is always there—not intrusive or overwhelming,” she says. “It’s a happy place, kind of like John Shields himself.”

For his part, Wetzel has always appreciated that Gertrude’s has broken the mold of the typical museum restaurant, attracting both art and food enthusiasts alike.

“It’s funny. When I first learned it was a museum restaurant, I didn’t want to apply,” Wetzel says. “But I don’t feel like we’re a restaurant in a museum, really. You have this preconceived idea of what that is and then you come here and you’re like, ‘Oh shit. This is just really good food.’”