Deep inside the recesses of Magdalena, pastry chef Emily Heleba stands at the restaurant’s kitchen counter pouring chocolate glaze over disks of frozen chocolate mousse. Once enrobed, the desserts, which sit atop layers of crispy cocoa dacquoise, will be decorated with filaments of gold leaf before they’re served to diners at the fine-dining restaurant at the heart of The Ivy Hotel, a circa-1890s Mt. Vernon mansion.

A Molteni stove—a black-enameled, brass-fitted behemoth made in France to Magdalena’s specifications—fills the center of the kitchen, a vat of stock bubbling away on a corner burner. Across from that stove, Heleba has an entire station at her disposal, as well as a designated refrigerator. That set-up is unusual in today’s restaurant kitchens, many of which don’t have a pastry chef, much less a dedicated pastry station.

A pastry chef, or pâtissier, is an integral part of a classic French kitchen brigade, responsible for all desserts as well as breads and baked goods, plus many batters, fillings, and doughs. But increasingly, due to financial constraints, restaurants have done away with many traditional kitchen positions, consolidating them or outsourcing the work.

When money is tight, the pastry chef is often the first to go, as it is a labor-intensive position that doesn’t bring in a lot of money (people often skip desserts). And high-quality desserts can be purchased from bakeries or private kitchens, as can breads and sweets. These days, pastry chefs are often as much of a luxury as the desserts themselves.

THESE DAYS, PASTRY CHEFS ARE OFTEN AS MUCH OF A LUXURY AS THE DESSERTS THEMSELVES.

The restaurants that can afford pastry chefs tend to be those that use them for more than just the desserts of one kitchen. That includes corporate restaurants that have one pastry chef who bakes desserts for a few restaurants out of one central kitchen or larger restaurants that have private dining rooms for events, such as weddings, birthday parties, and business meetings.

And then there are hotel restaurants like Magdalena, where the pastry chef is also responsible for events such as tea service and hotel breakfasts and gatherings.

“I feel very lucky to have found a place that wants a pastry chef,” says Heleba as she slices strawberries and adds them to profiteroles filled with diplomat cream (a mixture of pastry cream and whipped cream), which will join bite-size scones and tiny tea sandwiches presented on a two-tiered tea tray.

“When I was doing my job search out of school, pretty much every job listing was line cook, line cook,” she says. A graduate of Johnson & Wales, a preeminent culinary school in Rhode Island, she grew up in Ellicott City. “A lot of my chefs at school were very clear that it was going to be a struggle for us to find places where we’re needed and that we would most likely have to pick up savory skills as well along the way.”

At Magdalena, she’s part of an eight-member kitchen staff who serve the 65-seat restaurant, as well as doing events, serving high tea to hotel guests in the well-appointed (hand-painted walls, stained glass windows) lounge on the hotel’s second floor, and, as of this spring, outside diners as well.

Many of the teachers at Johnson & Wales, Heleba says, advised looking at hotels for work. “You’re doing bread, you’re doing desserts, you’re doing breakfast in some cases. There’s a need.”

But that advice applied mainly to big chain hotels like the Four Seasons, so she’s especially grateful to have found a position at a boutique hotel, where she can be part of a small kitchen and do more personalized work. “I feel like it’s so much more meaningful,” says Heleba.

Gunther & Co. in Brewers Hill doesn’t have a hotel to help finance the restaurant’s pastry program, but it does have private dining rooms as well as a huge main dining room in the space, the century-old boiler room of the Gunther Brewing Company.

Longtime pastry chef Jessica Banner has been at Gunther for seven and a half of the nine years it’s been operating, and her pastry program encompasses not only desserts, but breads—including the popular Parker House rolls—and hamburger buns, as well as much of the weekend brunch menu and integral parts of the event menus that fuel Gunther’s engines.

“I like the combination of science and comfort,” says Banner, who credits her grandmother, who worked as a dairy farmer in England, as part of the reason she felt drawn to pastry. A musical theater major in college, she went to the French Culinary Institute and trained in restaurants, including Wylie Dufresne’s legendary wd-50 in New York City.

Like Heleba, Banner feels lucky to have found her current position. When her last job ended after the restaurant closed, “I was like, ‘Oh gosh, what’s next?’” she says. “Because there are so few places that employ just a pastry chef.”

In Gunther’s large open kitchen, Banner whips meringue in a lime-green KitchenAid, then pipes it onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper for the Pavlovas she’ll serve that evening—gorgeous architectural desserts built of meringue, passion fruit coulis, coconut-milk cream, and roasted pineapple compote, crowned with golden disks of dehydrated pineapple.

“You’ll have small restaurants that don’t want to employ pastry chefs,” she continues. “They put some cook on the team in charge of, like crème brûlée or a chocolate thing and call it a day. Sure, you can make that work. But [dessert] is so important, it’s what you remember; you can really round out people’s experiences.”

Banner’s point underscores the difficulty of consolidating desserts and baking into the job of a restaurant staff without a pastry chef.

“They’re really two different animals, right? To be a chef and to be a pastry chef,” she says. “I don’t pretend for a minute that I can hop behind that line and break out the things that those people do. It’s really a science. You need the space and you need the hours.”

Pastry programs not only require specifically trained pastry cooks, but they also require, as Banner points out, space and time. Pastry chefs need prep time and oven space for baked goods, which is often at odds with what happens in the rest of the kitchen. Working with chocolate and other dessert ingredients can require cooler temperatures—the reason why bakeries often have specific colder rooms and marble countertops—while ovens need higher heat or convection settings for breads and pastries. Flour can migrate, which can be a concern for gluten-free guests.

And then there is the cost—not only of the pastry chef’s salary, but of ingredients like chocolate, butter, and eggs, not to mention gold leaf and high-quality fruit.

“IF YOU WANT TO BE A TOP RESTAURANT, YOU NEED HOMEMADE DESSERTS, YOU NEED A PASTRY CHEF.”

“The art of pastry is dying,” says Gunther co-owner Nancy Hart Trice, a former chef herself. She says when she moved back to Baltimore 20 years ago, many restaurants weren’t able to afford to keep pastry chefs. This has only gotten worse with the pandemic and inflation. “It was very important to Jerry [Trice, her husband and co-owner] and me that we figure out how to make it work, like making the bread and ice cream. We wanted everything to be from scratch, like having a brunch program that has homemade doughnuts. I think people can taste that,” Trice continues. “If you want to be a top restaurant, you need homemade desserts, you need a pastry chef.”

Spike Gjerde, the only Baltimore chef to have won the James Beard Foundation’s award for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, has always had a designated pastry chef at Woodberry Tavern, where he’s both chef and owner. Gjerde, in fact, started his career as a pastry chef; his first job was at Baltimore’s Pâtisserie Poupon.

“Pastry was always part of our mix,” says Gjerde. “For me, it wasn’t a question of whether we should have a pastry chef. Where it really makes sense for me, is if you have baking kind of baked into the kitchen approach.”

For Gjerde’s pastry chefs, this is feasible because they also bake for Artifact, the coffee shop down the road from Woodberry, which has a stellar menu that includes English muffins and biscuits as well as an elaborate breakfast and lunch menu. The pastry team contributes to Woodberry’s events, and is an integral part of the restaurant’s menu, not only for the desserts, like a spectacular baked Alaska (ginger cake, apricot ice cream, flamed at table), and a popular brunch, but elements of the savory side like the smoked oyster pie.

“I think that has a lot to do with me coming up in the pastry kitchen,” says Gjerde. “It’s definitely the scale that helps. If it was just one [restaurant], it would be a real stretch to have a pastry chef. What it comes down to with pastry is that it’s skilled labor that’s costly, as it should be, and so it’s hard to make it work.”

Getting creative is part of the program. At Foraged in Station North, that creativity is on display with pastry chef Josi Stewart’s desserts, but also with her hours: To go full-time, she also works the front of the house. Stewart, who is self-taught, bakes the bread as well as making desserts to pair with chef Chris Amendola’s seasonal menu, but she knew from the start that the restaurant wasn’t big enough to justify a full time pastry chef. She’d worked front-of-house before, though, and enjoys that aspect of the job, which allows her to speak with guests—some- times even about her desserts.

“Getting that one-on-one contact with the guests when they’re actually having the [dessert] is huge. A lot of people want to talk about it.”

Foraged makes its own ice creams and also has a prix-fixe menu that always includes a dessert, as well as a cocktail menu that can include small dessert items, like pairing prosecco with sorbet.

“Because of how seasonal things are and how often the menu changes, there would be no other way to do it,” Stewart says about having an in-house pastry chef, noting Amendola’s emphasis on hyper-seasonal and foraged ingredients.

Like Gjerde, Ammoora’s chef Matthew Milani was originally a pastry chef. The Syrian restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Federal Hill, which was named to The New York Times’ 50 Best Restaurants list in 2024, has a strong pastry program that encompasses a large dessert menu as well as house-made pita bread that is an essential part of the Levantine menu. That Milani started in pastry—he has a degree in pastry from Le Cordon Bleu in Lyon, France—helps maintain both the quality and focus of the dessert menu.

And those desserts are like nothing else in Baltimore. The asha bil asal is “a play on a pastry cream mouselline,” describes Milani, crowned with rose petals, pistachios, and a stunning thatch of delicate Arabic cotton candy; and the ruz bil karaz is a dessert of coconut rice pudding, confit sour cherries, and a coconut-caramel tuile. Then there’s the pastry kitchen’s masterpiece, a version of the TikTok sensation Dubai chocolate bar, with toasted knafeh, pistachio-tahini batter, white chocolate cremeux, chocolate ganache, caramel espresso, and crushed pistachios.

“I love the position; I wish they got more recognition,” says Milani of pastry chefs, as he takes a break in the restaurant’s foyer one weekday mid-afternoon. He just finished Baltimore’s Restaurant Week, when he and his staff made hundreds of Dubai chocolate bars. “It was the greatest and worst decision ever. I think everybody got covered in pistachios at some point, just trying to keep up,” he says.

“It doesn’t have to be a 15-tier wedding cake,” he says of a restaurant’s dessert menu. “A plated dessert can really go a long way.”

Restaurateur Tony Foreman says he values investing in a pastry program because he appreciates “the care, the intentional ‘I’m going to treat you better’ ethos that there is in pastry.”

What allows Foreman to have executive pastry chef Maiya Lonesome on staff, plus a three-person team supporting her, is that they make desserts for all five of his restaurants and do it all from the huge Harbor East production kitchen at Cinghiale. Lonesome has been with Foreman for three and a half years, having graduated from Johnson & Wales in pastry and worked in D.C. hotels before coming to Baltimore.

“Every holiday is always insanity,” says Lonesome of her job. “Five restaurants, easily over 400 covers per restaurant, and everybody gets dessert,” at least during those holidays. Not only is the high cost of ingredients an issue, says Lonesome, but even finding people trained to work in pastry is difficult these days.

“The pastry kitchen is the first to get cut,” says Lonesome. “I have friends who got out of the industry. Their biggest thing was feeling like they weren’t getting paid enough. The hours are grueling. The work can be really hard on your body. It’s not conducive to having a family. So that left us with a big gap going into the pandemic, and then that happened, and then the gap just widened more.”

Another issue, she says, is the availability of outsourced desserts. “The introduction of a lot of convenience products dug a little bit of a grave for some of the pastry chefs out there,” says Lonesome. It’s a common concern.

“In a lot of restaurants, the desserts are coming from elsewhere,” says Woodberry’s Gjerde. “You can get it from Sysco, like everything else. Take it out of the freezer, and who’s gonna be the wiser?”

“THE HOURS ARE GRUELING. THE WORK CAN BE REALLY HARD ON YOUR BODY. IT’S NOT CONDUCIVE TO HAVING A FAMILY.”

In Cinghiale’s kitchen, Lonesome places a tray of 40 individual chocolate cakes filled with chocolate Bavarian cream in the freezer. Once frozen, they’ll get topped with chocolate mirror glaze, then driven to Sparks for The Milton Inn, where they’ll be decorated with white-and black sesame tuilles for the chocolate gâteaux.

Lonesome, who usually comes into the kitchen in the early morning to make her desserts long before the dinner team arrives, expertly spreads an Earl Grey sponge cake onto parchment-lined trays. Nearby are sheet racks of cherry crostatas for Cinghiale and cookies for Johnny’s, Foreman’s Roland Park restaurant; one tray is stacked with blocks of butter like an architect’s stash of bricks. Taped to the side of the freezer is a series of production schedules as well as photos of wedding cakes: Lonesome and her team also bake for weddings and events.

She first got interested in cooking in her eighth-grade home-ec class and decided to be a pastry chef while still in high school. “I wanted to do wedding cakes; I wanted to do chocolates and sugar.”

Back in Magdalena’s kitchen, Heleba turns her attention to a tray of banana slices, which she brûlées with a Home Depot-sized torch before tweezing them alongside rectangles of banana cake.

Under her expert touch, the cakes are outfitted with toffee ice cream, espresso crumbles, and shards of house-made toffee, then showered with Maldon salt for the finished banoffee desserts.

“I feel sad when I go to a restaurant and they have this beautiful menu with all these fresh ingredients and techniques, and then at the end there’s these same four desserts that you could get anywhere,” she says, spooning the ice cream into perfect oval-shaped quenelles. “I think you should end a meal with a reflection of what you’ve just enjoyed.”

In the Everything Old is New Again Department, Parker House rolls—those fantastic fluffy dough balls dating back to Boston’s Parker House Hotel in the 1870s—are cropping up on area menus. From Loch Bar in Harbor East to Bunny’s Buckets & Bubbles in Fells Point, these carb creations are giving ordinary dinner rolls a serious run for their money.

Jessica Banner, the pastry chef at Gunther & Co. in Brewers Hill, has been making various versions of Parker House rolls for the past decade or so.

“I’ve made them in every restaurant I’ve ever worked in,” says Banner. “Over time, I’ve adapted the recipe—I just think they’re the perfect roll. I love enriched bread—give me brioche, give me challah, give me Parker House rolls.”

The type that Banner bakes has more butter than the original recipe.

“I add butter, butter, butter,” says the pastry chef, who makes 400 rolls a week. In addition to adding softened butter to the basic recipe of flour, sugar, salt, eggs, yeast, and milk, the bread gets brushed in melted butter several times during the process, including a final butter bath with a sprinkle of Maldon salt just before they’re brought—four to an order—to the table (where they’re served with butter on the side, of course).

And Banner’s rolls stand tall, while the traditional versions have a flatter oval shape that gets folded in half before baking.

The pastry chef’s rolls differ in one other way from those invented more than a century ago. “Legend has it that the chef was in a rush, so he angrily threw the tray of rolls in the oven,” says Banner. “The lore is that that’s how they got a little dented shape on top.”

Banner stays true to the form but achieves it in a different way.

“I roll them into little balls, take a bench scraper, and make a little dent on top of each one to get that characteristic shape,” she says. “I am not angrily throwing them into the oven.”

Summery Salad w/ Champagne Vinaigrette

Jerry Trice, Gunther & Co.

Who doesn’t love a great salad, especially when the temperatures soar? This salad features a veritable garden of seasonal vegetables and pairs perfectly with grilled shrimp or Maryland lump crabmeat. Think of it as an effortless main course.

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces green beans
2 ears of corn
8 slices of bacon, roughly chopped
1⁄2 cucumber, English or Kirby
1⁄8 red onion, small
1-2 heirloom tomatoes
2 heads Bibb lettuce
1⁄4 ounce fresh chives
4 ounces chèvre, room temperature

DIRECTIONS

1. Blanch green beans in heavily salted boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Shock in ice water bath.

2. Repeat with corn on the cob. Once chilled remove from water.

3. Dry corn and cut from cob.

4. Towel dry green beans and cut to 1-inch lengths. Render chopped bacon over medium heat until crispy and drain on paper towels. Halve cucumber, remove seeds and cut into 1⁄4-inch half moons. Slice onion. Quarter tomatoes into wedges, season with salt and pepper. Cut chives into 1⁄4-inch lengths.

FOR CHAMPAGNE VINAIGRETTE

Add 1 diced shallot and 1⁄2 cup Champagne vinegar to bowl. Season with salt and black pepper. Allow to macerate for 30 minutes. Strain vinegar from shallots into blender. Reserve shallots. Add 11⁄2 tbsp. Dijon to vinegar and blend. Slowly add 11⁄2 cups canola oil to emulsify. Set aside. Add reserved shallots and salt and pepper, as needed.

Serves four.

Pea Soup w/Crème Fraîche

Ashish Alfred, Duck Duck Goose

Nothing says summer like this gorgeous green soup. “I love this recipe for a few reasons, but mainly because its a dead simple stunner—the little black dress of soups in my opinion,” says Alfred. “It’s important to take your time so you get that beautiful bright green color and taste, taste, taste.”

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 shallots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped white parts of a large leek, sliced thinly
2 medium Idaho potatoes peeled and diced small (hold these in a bowl of water until you’re ready to use them
or they’ll turn brown)
4 1⁄2 cups vegetable stock (low-sodium or unsalted)
1 pound frozen peas
Kosher salt and white pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Blanch peas in rapidy boiling water just until the turn bright green and then immediately strain them and put them into a bowl of ice water. It’s important to have your strainer and the ice water ready before hand.
2. Add the oil, butter, shallots and garlic to a large saucepan and sauté over low heat for 6-7 minutes until the shallots and garlic are soft.
3. Add the leek, cook for an additional
3 minutes before adding diced potatoes and sautéing for 7-8 minutes.
4. Add stock and increase heat to medium, cook until potatoes are tender.
5. Add blanched peas, simmer for
2 minutes, turn off heat and season with salt and white pepper.
6. Blend everything in pot until its smooth (add a few ice cubes as you’re blending, it will help hold the color) and then pass it through a fine mesh sieve.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and spoon over whipped crème fraîche. Serves eight.

Zero-Proof Watermelon Crush

Ashish Alfred, Duck Duck Goose

As a sober chef, Ashish Alred is always looking for ways to create alcohol-free drinks that are as enticing as any boozy cocktail. This watermelon crush is juicy, thirst-quenching, and oh-so-easy on the eyes. Be sure to buy a seedless watermelon to make your job easier. Cheers!

INGREDIENTS
5 one-inch “chunks” of watermelon
4 ounces Seedlip citrus
1 ounce simple syrup
7-8 mint leaves
1 ounce lemon juice
Ginger beer
1 sprig of mint for garnish

DIRECTIONS
1. Cut watermelon into chunks.
2. Muddle watermelon and mint in shaker.
3. Add everything but the ginger beer.
4. Stir well.
5. Pour the mixture so its just a little over halfway up your glass.
6. Top with ice and a little ginger beer.
7. Garnish with the mint sprig.
8. Enjoy!

Cuban Flan with Blueberry Reduction

Jerry Pellegrino, Schola

Chef Jerry Pellegrino says he’s obsessed with making—and eating—this Cuban flan. “It differs from the Spanish version by adding cream cheese to the custard,” he says. “This makes it a little bit more dense but also much more forgiving in the oven. Garnish with some fruit and a dollop of whipped cream and it’s a lovely summertime dessert.”

INGREDIENTS
3⁄4 cup sugar

1 8-ounce cream cheese bar

6 eggs

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 12-ounce can evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dash of cinnamon

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
1. In a saucepan, set over medium heat, caramelize sugar until golden brown and quickly pour into a 9-inch cake pan, making sure it covers the bottom. Let cool.
2. In a large bowl, soften cream cheese with the back of a large slotted spoon until creamy and smooth.
3. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Wait until well combined before adding an additional egg. When mixture thins, you can switch over to a whisk. Whisk in remaining ingredients and pour into cake pan.
4. Set the an in a water bath and bake in a 350 Farenheit oven until set in the center but still jiggly, about 40 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and remove from water bath. Cool to room temperature.
6. Run a knife around the edge of the an. Place a large plate over the an and carefully invert the cake pan allowing the an to drop onto the plate.
7. Garnish with your favorite fruits, a mint sprig, or whipped cream.

FOR TOPPING
Bring one cup of frozen blueberries, 1-2 tbsp. sugar, and 1⁄4 cup of water to boil. As soon as it boils, turn to low heat and simmer. Reduce until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Drizzle across flan. Serves eight.

OPEN

Trinacria Cafe: Mt. Vernon locals no longer need to flock to Trinacria’s flagship on West Paca Street to get their fix of overstuffed sandwiches, antipasti, and old-school Italian pastas. After an eight-month hiatus (owner Vince Fava abruptly closed the shop with little explanation back in March), the Centre Street location across from Mount Vernon Marketplace has made its return to the neighborhood. Operating in soft-opening mode this weekend, the spot is expected to be officially back up and running next week featuring all of its signatures. Look out for plump chicken parm subs, filling red-sauce dishes, and, of course, plenty of wine pairings.

NEWS

Esquire Praises Baltimore in Best New Restaurants List: The national acclaim keeps on coming for the Charm City dining scene. Earlier this week, Esquire released its picks for the 21 Best New Restaurants in America, and, not surprisingly, a few familiar names were included on the list. Le Comptoir du Vin—which was also ranked among Bon Appetit magazine’s national selections this year—came in at No. 18, with shoutouts given to its house-baked sourdough and celery salad with pistachios and dates. Additionally, industry veteran Chelsea Gregoire, general manager at True Chesapeake Oyster Co., was named Beverage Director of the Year for her top-notch bartending programs and her “generous-spirited approach to inclusiveness,” according to food and drinks editor Jeff Gordinier. And we’d be remiss without mentioning Enrique Limardo, former executive chef of Alma Cocina Latina, whose new Washington, D.C. hotspot Seven Reasons took the No. 1 spot on Esquire’s list.

DuClaw’s Sour Me Unicorn Farts Returning This Summer: In perhaps the most clever promotional campaign we’ve seen in quite some time, DuClaw Brewing and Diablo Doughnuts recently announced that their collaborative ale, Sour Me Unicorn Farts, will be back on shelves and taps in June 2020. Taking inspiration from Lizzo’s viral Instagram in a Skittles-filled bathtub, head brewer Brandon Stanko and Diablo owner Michael Roslan climbed into a tub filled with Fruity Pebbles in the middle of Graffiti Alley to plug the return of the glittered sour—which is brewed with mashed fruity cereal. Inspired by the local LGBTQ community, the beer is part of DuClaw’s “Sour Me” series and gets its name from Diablo’s cereal-crusted rainbow doughnut. We’re looking forward to its return just in time for the city’s annual Pride festivities this summer.

EPICUREAN EVENTS

11/16: Tire Shop Pop-Up: Burn and Churn BBQ Part II

Bark BBQ is setting up shop inside the former home of Parts & Labor in Remington yet again for this afternoon pop-up highlighting smoked brisket, al pastor pork belly, spare ribs, beef ribs, and scrumptious sides. To wash down all of the eats, there will be plenty of Diamondback beers, as well as seasonal cocktails from the shop’s neighbors at R. Bar. The pop-up is part of a recurring series aimed at activating the space while the property managers at Seawall Development continue their search for a permanent tenant.

11/19: Make Your Own Genever Class at Gunther & Co.

Learn the ins and outs of Genever—a predecessor to gin that is ultra-popular in the Netherlands—at this DIY cocktail class with Frederick-based McClintock Distilling. Settle in at Gunther & Co. to learn about the production process, make your own custom gin blend, and snack on light bites throughout the evening. In addition to a bottle of whiskey and your own botanical jar, the $45 price of admission also includes a complimentary cocktail.

SHUT

Points South Latin Kitchen: Though details are still unknown, this Fells Point destination lauded for its traditional South American dishes and recurring Sunday drag brunches remains closed. Brooklyn Heights, the host of the weekly shows in the restaurant’s downstairs bar, confirmed to Baltimore last week that the restaurant had shuttered suddenly earlier this month. Luckily, with the help of Points South co-owner and managing partner Bryson Keens, Brooklyn has found a new home for the Sunday performances at Bookmakers Cocktail Club in Federal Hill. There’s no word yet on what will become of Thames Street spot, but, rest assured, the show will go on. As Keens told Brooklyn: “It’s not the end [of the brunch]. It’s just the end of an era.”

Earlier this month, celebrity chefs Éric Ripert and José Andrés took to Instagram to officially declare June 25—the birthday of late chef and famed world traveler Anthony Bourdain—as a day to commemorate the legacy that their friend left behind.

In their video message, the duo urged chefs, colleagues, diners, and supporters of Bourdain’s work from around the world to toast the food documentarian on his birthday, “anywhere you want, with anyone you want.” Locally, the food community is coming together to celebrate Bourdain’s life with food inspired by his adventures, and meaningful discussions about how his philosophies can live on.

“It’s just like they said on social media—you have to do something,” says Jerry Trice, co-owner and executive chef of Gunther & Co. in Brewers Hill. “Don’t let the day pass without acknowledging it.”

Trice is participating in Bourdain Day the best way he knows how: He and his team are preparing a special a la carte menu featuring global delicacies influenced by Bourdain’s shows No Reservations and Parts Unknown. Among them will be classic steak frites, chicken yakitori with chilled noodles and pork broth, a bone marrow-topped baguette with a salad of shaved shallots and lemon juice, and lamb barbacoa tacos paired with cold cans of Tecate with lime.

“He spoke the truth,” Trice says of Bourdain, who took his own life last summer. “He got people thinking about how you have to travel and eat food with complete strangers who speak a different language. To quote José Andrés, ‘We need a bigger table, not a higher fence.’”

Global cuisine will also be on the menu at a Bourdain Day event happening at the Maryland Food Bank (MFB). As part of its 40-year anniversary celebration, the Halethorpe facility is hosting an open discussion that will link Bourdain’s ethos to its mission to eradicate hunger.

“One thing that stands out about his work is that food is a great equalizer in so many ways,” says Jo-Ann Enwezor, campaigns manager for MFB. “It’s very cultural. People share meals and recipes as a way of bringing everyone together. We felt it was natural to have an event on Bourdain Day to talk about some of his philosophies around shared meals and breaking barriers.”

Following the discussion, attendees will snack on risotto-stuffed mushroom caps, asparagus and asiago phyllo, and ahi tuna crostini prepared by young chefs with MFB’s FoodWorks program—a 12-week intensive that allows cooks to prepare food for those in need, while also training to join the culinary workforce. Attendees will also have an opportunity to honor Bourdain’s charitable spirit by helping to sort donated food at the MFB.

“Awareness is a big part of the goal,” Enwezor says. “I’m looking forward to being in conversation and building a community with people we haven’t before.”

For Trice’s part, he hopes that his dishes can spark larger conversations, not only about the mark Bourdain left on the world, but also about the issues surrounding mental health in the service industry. One year later, many are still grappling with the chef’s death. David Simon, creator of The Wire and all-around Baltimore champion, recently started a Twitter chain about how tough it’s been to process the loss.

Overall, chefs hope that the day re-enforces the important lessons that Bourdain taught the world. Perhaps one of the most important—to use travel as a means of understanding cultures different than your own.

“He loathed special orders,” Trice says. “If you deconstruct a dish and treat the menu as a list of ingredients, you’re not really understanding what the dish is about. Those are the same people he regarded as tourists, rather than travelers. Travelers will leave the hotel for dinner. You have to stumble the streets at night in different countries to really explore.”

When it comes to knife skills, it’s easy to tell the pros from the neophytes. And that’s because, whether your knife is made of Japanese carbon steel or German stainless, there’s a lot to know—from chopping herbs without bruising them to mastering the art of the julienne to knowing how to hasselback potatoes.

But it doesn’t take a diploma from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York to learn how to cut with surgical precision. The experts say that it all begins with buying the right knife. Gunther & Co. executive chef-owner Jerry Trice says to “forget the brand and buy what feels comfortable in your hand—the best knife is the one you’re comfortable sharpening and holding.”

Chef David Bruno, who teaches basic knife skills at the CIA, echoes that sentiment: “I’m often asked, ‘What’s the best knife?’” he says. “The best knife is a sharp knife. It’s not the knife that does the job. It’s the person holding it.”

Learning proper technique is a critical component of cooking and can actually impact taste. “The food is consumed first with the eyes,” says Trice, a graduate of the CIA. “And you will have irregular cooking times because the potatoes or your carrots or leeks will be overcooked or al dente if they’re not evenly cut.”

Think of a knife as an extension of your hand, and remember that respect for this kitchen tool is key. Says Cunningham’s executive chef Jay Rohling: “There’s an old saying in Japan that when you pick up your knife, part of your soul goes into it.”

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Knife Tips

A knife can be the ultimate taskmaster, but only if you’re using it properly. Remember, a knife can go from work-horse to weapon in an instant. “We have a lot of Band-Aids in class,” says Bruno. Here are some tips on using the right knife for the right job.

CHEF’S KNIFE
This versatile knife has a more pronounced curve at the tip. A chef’s knife is good for slicing meat and chopping vegetables.

PARING KNIFE
This knife has a short blade that’s great for detail work like peeling small fruits or vegetables and creating garnishes.

SERRATED KNIFE
The serrated blade is about eight to 10 inches long. It cuts cleanly through fruits and vegetables and slices items like bagels and loaves of bread without tearing them.

BONING KNIFE
A boning knife’s flexibility is designed to reach into small spaces to help detach meat from the bone and is used for beef, chicken, and fish.

CLEAVER
The cleaver, though often featured in slash-and-gash horror films, is nothing more than a rectangular knife with a thick, ultra-sharp, heavy blade that narrows to a sharp edge.

OPEN

AJ’s on Hanover: Delia Foley’s owners Andrew Carter and Jesse Selke are looking forward to debuting this new neighborhood hangout just across the street from their Irish pub in Federal Hill. The duo has spent the last few months transforming the former South Hanover Street home of Bluegrass Tavern into a brand new concept with rehabbed bars, floors, and fixtures. They plan to open the doors for the first time this Saturday, October 27. The menu helmed by chef Allysa Storms—formerly of Button, now closed for the season in Canton—features elevated pub fare like a Scotch egg cobb salad, flash-fried Brussels sprouts, and bourbon chicken with a cauliflower mash. All dishes will be complimented by a robust bar program featuring craft cocktails and local beer from the likes of Diamondback Beer and Key Brewing. 1500 S.Hanover St.

The Back Yard: Bartenders Lara Sumerson and Mike Cavanagh, who both formerly worked at The Elephant in Mt. Vernon, have breathed new life into the decades-old Patrick’s of Pratt Street space in Hollins Market. Last month, the bar officially debuted as The Back Yard—a neighborhood pub offering eats, drinks, and plenty of flat screens for game-day watch parties. Expect to see local and regional draft beers, a lengthy wine list, and snacks ranging from colorful charcuterie boards to the bar’s signature tinned fish imported from as far as Spain and Portugal. 131 S. Schroeder St.

NEWS

Southside Diner: There are big changes on the horizon for this reliable spot tucked in the Southside Marketplace shopping center off of Fort Avenue in Riverside. A few weeks back, brothers Nick and Steve Karvounis announced that they would be opening a new burger spinoff inside the renovated Cross Street Market next year. In addition to that new project, the family-owned diner will also be expanding with a second location at the Rotunda in Hampden in the coming months. Since its debut in 2012, the diner has become a go-to for breakfast platters, burgers, and and other classic diner fare. The spot will add even more diversity to the Rotunda’s food offerings, which already include The Local Fry, MOD Pizza, and Moby Dick House of Kebab. 711 W. 40th St.

EPICUREAN EVENTS

10/28: Maryland Food Truck Week Finale Festival
Throughout the past week, dozens of local kitchens-on-wheels have been roaming the streets in celebration of Maryland Food Truck Week. The festivities will culminate this weekend with a full-blown foodie fest at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Bring the whole family to enjoy live music, trick-or-treating activities, and, of course a lengthy lineup of local food trucks. Favorites expected to post up at the museum’s waterfront lot include The London Chippy, Smoking Swine, The Green Bowl, GoGanics, Pasta La Vista, Bistro Lunchbox, and Quinn’s Ice. A portion of all tips and proceeds will be donated to There Goes My Hero, an organization committed to supporting those impacted by blood cancer. 1415 Key Highway, 12-5 p.m.

10/31: Julia Child-Influenced Dinner and Discussion
If Halloween really isn’t your thing, make your way to Gunther & Co. to spend the evening feasting on five courses inspired by the cooking style of late culinary queen Julia Child. Chef/owner Jerry Trice will serve his homage to the chef while diners listen in on memories and stories from Child’s former assistant, Stephanie Hersh, who will also attend the intimate dinner. Optional wine pairings will be available for an additional $20. 3650 Toone St. 7-9 p.m. 443-869-6874. $75-109.

11/5: Vida Guest Bartender Series Benefiting No Kid Hungry
Starting in November, the first Monday evening of every month will feature a cocktail-filled celebration at Vida Taco Bar in Harbor Point. The spot is launching a guest bartending series that invites some of the city’s top mixologists to take over the bar in support of No Kid Hungry. The first installment next month will spotlight tiki and tequila drinks from local favorite Aaron Joseph and Ezra Allen of the Sagamore Pendry Hotel. A $5 cover will be charged at the door with proceeds benefiting No Kid Hungry’s Chefs Cycle program. 1401 Point St. 7-11 p.m. 443-835-3474. $5.

SHUT

Brio Tuscan Grille: On the heels of the closure of M&S Grill earlier this month, yet another Inner Harbor spot is also making plans to shutter its doors for good. According to the Baltimore Business Journal (BBJ), Ohio-based chain Brio Tuscan Grille is planning to close on November 4. An employee told the BBJ that part of the reason behind the closure was lagging sales due to “ongoing safety concerns downtown.” There is no word yet on what will become of the 250-seat restaurant at Calvert and Pratt streets, or the former M&S Grill space. The closures come at a transformative time for the Harborplace development, which is currently undergoing renovations and lost longtime tenants The Fudgery, Five Guys, and Noodles & Co. in 2018. 100 E. Pratt St. 410-637-3440

CH-CH CHANGES

Pitango Bakery + Cafe: There will soon be more room to breathe at this waterfront cafe on South Ann Street in Fells Point. (Not to be confused with its accompanying gelato shop on South Broadway.) Management recently acquired the vacant retail space next door, and got to work transforming the former frame shop into an expanded dining room that will double the eatery’s capacity with nearly 40 additional seats. The expansion will also allow for the cafe’s outdoor patio to extend down the sidewalk. “When we’re busy, so many of our customers don’t have anywhere to sit and end up sitting on the curb outside,” says manager Khaled Awad. “Adding more seats is our biggest priority right now.” There is talk of launching a more refined Italian dinner concept in the space down the line, but, for now, Awad is looking forward to being able to accommodate more diners at the cafe—which is known for its coffees, pastries, and deli sandwiches on house-baked breads. The expanded space is slated to debut next week. “We’ve been moving at the speed of light to make sure we’re ready for spring and summer,” he says. “It’s really great to see how Baltimore has embraced our style. It’s not the cheapest food in the world, but the quality is there.” 903 S. Ann St., 443-676-6447

(RE) OPEN

Bmore Licks: Patterson Park locals will be happy to hear that this corner ice cream shop is returning from its winter hiatus this week. The spot closed temporarily earlier this year so that management could make a few interior upgrades and train new staff, but it will officially reopen for the season at noon on Friday, April 6. To thank the community for its patience, Bmore Licks is giving away free hard-shell ice cream cones in flavors like cotton candy, peanut butter, and blue raspberry from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, April 5 while supplies last. 2437 Eastern Ave., 410-732-5425

COMING SOON

Duck Duck Goose: Chef Ashish Alfred is opening a second location of his acclaimed Bethesda restaurant in Fells Point this summer. The French brasserie—named the best restaurant in the state by Southern Living magazine last year—will set up shop on South Broadway in the former home of 8 Ball Bar & Grill, which closed for good last week. Though the restaurant will mimic the Parisian flair of its flagship, Alfred says that the Charm City iteration won’t be a carbon copy. “The location and layout offer so many new opportunities,” he said in a press release. Alfred plans to play up the waterfront location and cater to the nightlife crowd with an expanded selection of small plates (think charcuterie, beef tartare, and charred cabbage) and cocktails. The chef originally planned to open inside the old Bad Decisions space at 1928 Fleet Street. Those plans later fell through, but a new restaurant called Baltimore Built Bistro (B3) is now in the process of taking over the corner bar. Stay tuned for more updates. 814 South Broadway

Karma Farm: Beatty Development’s Harbor Point project just got even more sustainable. The flourishing peninsula on the border of Fells Point and Harbor East already boasts Sandlot—a seasonal island oasis from local sustainability champion Spike Gjerde. And now, the group is bringing on Monkton’s Karma Farm to cultivate the land surrounding the Sandlot site. Starting this month, farmers will begin installing two hoop houses and a hydroponic unit that will grow crops for Sandlot’s kitchen, as well as many other area restaurants. Karma Farm will also offer a retail stand for locals to purchase its vegetables while visiting the waterfront hangout this summer. Be on the lookout for tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, and squash throughout the summer, as well as leafy greens, herbs, and hearty root vegetables in the winter. 1000 Wills St.

EPICUREAN EVENTS:

4/7: Spring Brunch Debut at The Charles
This weekend, chef Corey Pastor is launching a new brunch menu at The Charles in Federal Hill. The seasonal selections will have a Southern vibe, with options including Kentucky mac and cheese, grilled cheese avocado toast, soft shell crab eggs benedict, and classic biscuits and gravy topped with a fried chicken thigh. To sweeten the deal, the bar also offers bottomless mimosas, Bloody Marys, Orange Crushes, and sangria during brunch. 1110 S. Charles St., 410-727-2333

4/10: Chef’s Cycle Fundraiser at Gunther & Co.
Seven local chefs are heading to Gunther & Co. in Brewer’s Hill next week for this second-annual tasting event benefitting national hunger-prevention organization No Kid Hungry. Diners are invited to sample bites from Gunther chefs Jerry Trice and Jessica Banner, as well as visiting chefs including La Cuchara’s Ben Lefenfeld, The Food Market’s Chad Gauss, Cosima’s Donna Crivello, Mark Levy of Magdalena, Scott Hines of B&O American Brasserie, Jay Rohlfing of Cunningham’s, and Josh Brown of Vida Taco Bar. There will also be a silent auction, and special spirit tastings from the likes of Sagamore Spirit Rye, Tito’s Vodka, and Barr Hill Gin. A portion of all proceeds will support the Gunther owners in the upcoming Chef’s Cycle fundraiser—a three-day, 300-mile bike ride around Northern California that aims to raise $2.4 million to end childhood hunger. 3650 Toone St., 6-9 p.m., $75, 443-869-6874

4/11: Little Sesame Pop-Up at Artifact Coffee
D.C. diners might be familiar with Little Sesame, the hummus purveyor that previously operated a cozy subterranean shop near Dupont Circle. The eatery is now preparing to debut in a much larger brick-and-mortar on L Street downtown. In celebration of the grand opening, owners Nick Wiseman and Ronen Tenne are taking a road trip up the East Coast in a retro Volkswagen food truck. They’re stopping at Artifact Coffee in Hampden next week for a special collaboration dinner featuring their signature hummus bowls served with Artifact’s house-baked bread. The event marks the first installment of Artifact’s monthly “Bowl and a Beer” series, which will pair a la carte dishes from guest chefs with local beers. Future dinners will welcome Ida B’s Table in May, and Hersh’s Pizza & Drinks in June. 1500 Union Ave., 6 p.m., 410-235-1881

SHUT (FOR NOW)

Mussel Bar & Grille: Due to the ongoing construction and clogged roads in Harbor East, this seafood spot from chef Robert Wiedmaier has decided to take some time off. The restaurant, known for its craft beer selection and pots of locally sourced mussels, opened on Lancaster Street three years ago. Management is planning to reopen once construction wraps up in April 2019. “We have loved being a part of the Baltimore food and drink scene and getting to know our great neighbors in Harbor East,” reads a statement. “We cannot wait to return and serve you, and please know that when we do, we intend to woo you all over again.” 

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

As if we needed even more reasons to love summer in the city, Baltimore Restaurant Week is returning July 28-August 6—allowing locals to get their foodie fix at a handful of different dining destinations without breaking the bank. Nearly 90 spots are on board for the 10-day deal, which offers special prix-fixe menus priced between $12-20 for lunch and $20-35 for dinner. 

Chefs and restaurateurs have already begun taking inventory of ingredients, testing dishes, and perfecting their menus in preparation for the annual event, which is celebrating its 12th run this summer. Although Foreman Wolf Restaurant Group co-owner Tony Foreman has been participating since the beginning, he says that it isn’t difficult for his team to keep things fresh.

“We work so seasonally that, whenever restaurant week comes, every menu is naturally different,” says Foreman, who operates city mainstays Charleston, Cinghiale, Petit Louis Bistro, and Johnny’s, as well as the recently rebranded Bar Vasquez. “It might be very early for tomatoes one year, or a spectacular year for zucchini another. Whatever’s good, we cook it.”

Above all, Foreman says that the most beneficial part of partaking in the promotion is bringing in new faces, with the hope that diners will make his restaurants a year-round destination. 

“It gives them a good snapshot of how we do things,” he says. “There’s such a great energy that comes from attracting new people.”

In an effort to help break down all of the options, we’ve come up with a few suggestions for which spots to hit this year—whether you’re searching for drink deals, brunch bites, al fresco dining, or, simply, more bang for your buck.

New kid on the block: Bar Vasquez
Foreman Wolf launched this beef-centric Argentinian hotspot in the former Pazo space last fall, rebranding the interior to include elements like Brazilian tiger wood furniture, golden stenciling, and lush greenery meant to mimic the landscape of Argentina. To celebrate its first-ever summer restaurant week, chef Mario Cano Cataláan has prepared a special three-course dinner menu featuring house-made spaghetti with roasted cherry tomato sauce, hanger steak with chimichurri for two, Chicken a la Plancha with white beans and kale, and a roasted pineapple almond tart for dessert. 1425 Aliceanna St., $35, 410-534-7296

Best outdoor dining: The Oregon Grille
Be sure to have your camera ready for an al fresco meal at this Hunt Valley haunt. Located in the heart of Maryland’s horse country, the restaurant has become a gathering spot for the  local Hunt Cup crowd and destination diners alike. The spacious outdoor courtyard, with its thriving greenery and picturesque garden fountains, makes for a particularly elegant evening. Throughout Restaurant Week, snag one of the coveted seats under the stars to enjoy a $35, three-course dinner showcasing classics like clams casino, crab cakes, bacon-wrapped salmon, braised beef short ribs, and baked apple pie. 1201 Shawan Road, Hunt Valley, $20-35, 410-771-0505

Beverage pairings: Sobo Café
Last summer, restaurant week organizers made it a priority to encourage eateries to add alcohol pairings to their menus, and Sobo Cafe has willingly obliged. This year, the Federal Hill bistro will offer a $25, three-course dinner menu paired with a la carte beer and wine flights ($11-13), and a seasonal watermelon Crush mixed with muddled watermelon, lime juice, mint, simple syrup, and pinot grigio for $8. Sample the drinks while taking your pick from dishes including cold honeydew soup, spinach pie, seared salmon with quinoa, Korean chicken-fried steak, and a s’mores-flavored frozen fudge pop. 6 W. Cross St., $25, 410-752-1518

Vegetarian-friendly options: Encantada
It’s finally time to cross this whimsical wonderland on the top floor of the American Visionary Art Museum off of your local restaurant bucket list. Marvel in the colorful décor while indulging in the restaurant’s locally sourced plates. In keeping with its wholesome philosophy, Encantada has added a selection of meatless meals to its lunch, brunch, and dinner menus to be featured throughout the week. Start things off with an order of Buffalo cauliflower before moving on to a black bean burger, veggie grilled cheese with eggplant, or mushroom taco sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and cilantro. 800 Key Highway, $20, 410-752-1000

Brunch bites: Gunther & Co.
The praise keeps on coming for this Brewers Hill beauty, which is celebrating its second summer restaurant week this year. This time around, the modern spot is offering a two-course weekend brunch menu for $20. Whether you’re nursing a hangover, or simply in need of some mid-morning fuel, request a table with a good view of the living green wall to enjoy dishes like citrus-poppyseed pound cake, jalapeño corn fritters, banana brioche French toast, and a pulled pork flatbread topped with fried eggs and salsa verde. 3650 Toone St., 443-869-6874

Best bargain: The Elephant

If you’re feeling fancy, head to Mt. Vernon to settle at a table inside this famed 19th-century mansion—which boasts dangling crystal chandeliers, original teak woodwork, classic Lockwood de Forest wood carvings, and a menu of globally-inspired cuisine. An entrée at The Elephant could easily cost upward of $30 on a regular night, but its restaurant week menu offers a sampling of three courses for $35. Dishes to look forward to include summer shrimp noodles, Maryland crab dip, ricotta gnocchi, braised lamb tacos, peppers stuffed with beef and saffron rice, and a bourbon-nectarine sundae. 924 N. Charles St., 443-447-7878

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.

What elevates a restaurant from good to great? A great restaurant gets your attention from the moment you step inside and continues to captivate through to the very last morsel of the meal. Case in point: Gunther & Co., a staggeringly spectacular space set inside the century-old boiler room of the Gunther Brewing Company. Co-owned by Jerry Trice and his fiancée, Nancy Hart, the new Modern American spot (open for lunch, brunch, and dinner) delivers from beginning to end.

Inside the two-level dining room, the ceiling soars and exposed steel beams, old beer bottles, and a vintage conveyor belt recall the building’s brewery beginnings. So, too, does a stunning staircase that leads patrons past mechanical gauges strung like a necklace across a sky-high living wall. The only downside to the sprawling 250-seat spot (which includes a bar, a gorgeous patio, and an ample seating area near the open kitchen) is that the vast space can feel empty even when it’s plenty packed. My advice? Go with a boisterous group of your own to add to the merriment.

Trice, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, describes Gunther’s fare as “globally influenced, locally spun,” which is a way of saying that menu items such as the grilled leg of lamb served with Thai eggplant, Israeli couscous, and cucumber-mint raita form a veritable polyglot on your plate. There are plenty of well-executed standard staples, too—such as a burger, and salad options topped with various forms of protein.

Over the course of several visits, we discovered several signature standouts, including a flatbread and green garbanzo hummus. (Apparently, green garbanzos have more nutrition than their beige brethren.) The flatbread resembled pieces of pita bread torn into jagged triangles, crisp and slick with roasted garlic and za’atar (a blend of herbs, sesame seeds, and salt). The accompanying hummus mixed with Greek yogurt and preserved lemon paired beautifully with the bread. Eager to enjoy the last of summer’s bounty, we ordered the heirloom tomato salad tossed with herbed goat cheese and dressed with oil and sherry vinegar. It was simple and satisfying. On another visit, fried green tomatoes with corn squash relish and jalapeño crème fraîche added some Southern sass to a lineup that’s heavy on Asian influences.

As for the entrees, there’s a reason that the Thai seafood hot pot is used in all the promotional pictures of this place. Yes, hot pots are trending, but this one is particularly noteworthy—a steaming clay crock filled with pungent morsels of mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops, and fish floating in lemon grass and coconut milk, and accompanied by a side of sticky rice. “The soul of the chef is in the soup,” said our server as she placed it on the table. We had to agree.

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Duck Confit & Scallion Spring Rolls
The duck confit and scallion spring rolls starter is a great go-to. The spicy and sweet chili dipping sauce highlights the flavors of the filling.

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Equally soul-satisfying was the wood-oven-roasted chicken. Anyone who thinks poultry is pedestrian will be won over. Marinated in brine, vacuum packed for several hours to seal in the moisture, then roasted in the wood oven, the bird was fantastically crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. And the roasted okra, corn, fingerling potatoes, and onion rings that appeared on the plate were worthy costars. Also on order was a grilled hanger steak sitting atop a swoosh of chimichurri sauce and sided by sautéed Swiss chard and a pile of nicely salted house malt fries. It was tasty enough, though not in the same league as the other entrees.

Even if you don’t normally order the sweet stuff, don’t stop at dessert. Pastry chef Aja Cage, formerly of Fleet Street Kitchen and Salt, has a penchant for combining savory and sweet. On our visits, that included a pine-nut tart served with rosemary-ricotta ice cream; a bowl of sweet-corn ice cream; and an almond cake served with pistachio ice cream and garnished with a candied basil leaf plucked straight from Gunther’s garden.

While a minor quibble, there were small errors in service. On our first trip, the culprit was an overly eager busboy who prematurely cleared plates we weren’t ready to relinquish. On another go-round, our otherwise seasoned server forgot the coffee we ordered at the end of the meal. Then again, by the time we dug into the final footnotes, so had we.

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GUNTHER & Co. 3650 Toone St., 443-869-6874.
HOURS Mon.-Thu. 11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m., Fri. 11:30 a.m.-12:30 a.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. CUISINE New American. PRICES Appetizers: $6-15; entrees: $10-32; desserts: $8. ATMOSPHERE Factory chic.