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Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar: Though Little Italy surely isn’t lacking in pizza purveyors, this Canadian-based chain will soon provide another option upon opening in the neighborhood early next year. Taking over the former Vellegia’s Restaurant space on the corner of Pratt and Albemarle streets, which has sat vacant for nearly seven years, Boston’s will serve its signature gourmet pizzas, pastas, and burgers, alongside a lengthy list of game-day snacks. 829 E. Pratt St.

Primanti Bros.: This Pittsburgh-based chain unveiled its first Maryland location in Hagerstown last fall, and now, the brand is looking to expand throughout the Greater Baltimore area in 2017. The sandwich shop is in the midst of scouting locations everywhere from Westminster and Eldersburg to Columbia and Ellicott City. There’s also interest in Baltimore City, so it looks like we’re going to have to overlook the fact that the signature overstuffed sandwiches—famously topped with hefty portions of meat and a handful of French fries—are a Steelers fan-favorite.

NEWS

Tark’s Grill: Owners Gino Cardinale and Bruce Bodie of Mt. Vernon’s City Cafe recently announced that they will be taking over Green Spring Station stalwart Tark’s Grill this fall. Though no plans for the concept have been set in stone, the new owners intend to renovate the interior, create new food and craft cocktail menus, and introduce weekend brunch. 2360 W. Joppa Road, Ste. 116, Lutherville-Timonium, 410-583-8275

Raven Beer: Don’t be surprised if you spot the notorious Poe tap handle while bar hopping around South Carolina this summer. In partnership with South Carolina-based beer wholesaler Comer Distributing Company, this local brewery inspired by the works of Edgar Allen Poe has recently expanded its footprint to include the Palmetto State. Raven Beer is best known for its Tell Tale Heart IPA, Annabel Lee White, and malty Cask that was ranked the third best beer in the state by the Brewers Association of Maryland.

Holy Frijoles: After a fire broke out early Monday morning, owner Geoff Danek announced that this beloved Mexican restaurant on the Avenue in Hampden would be closed until further notice. Thankfully, no one was injured, but the blaze left a significant amount of smoke and water damage to the building’s interior. Local yoga studio AsanaRoots is hosting a donation-based yoga benefit at Roosevelt Park this Sunday in an effort to help fund the cost of repairs. There’s no word yet on the cause of the fire or the timeline for re-opening the restaurant. 908 W. 36th St., 410-235-2326

Corner Charcuterie Bar: Earlier this week, chef and owner Bernard Dehaene announced that he is putting his Hampden hotspot up for sale to pursue other projects. The neighborhood bar known for its sophisticated snacks and creative cocktails was born Corner BYOB in 2011 and expanded to include the property next door two years later. It is currently listed for $750,000. 850 W. 36th St., 443-869-5075

Foreman Wolf Hires New Pastry Chef: Foreman Wolf Restaurant Group recently brought on a new executive pastry chef to dream up desserts at Johnny’s, Pazo, and Petit Louis. Michael Brown, a native of South Africa, hails from the D.C. restaurant scene and plans to put his own seasonal spin on the restaurant’s classic pastries. At Petit Louis, be on the lookout for staples such as Opera Cake with almond sponge and hazelnut ganache and Grand Marnier chocolate mousse mini cakes. Multiple locations including 4800 Roland Ave., 410-366-9393

SHUT

Hamilton Bakery: After announcing plans to retire in a blog post penned earlier this week, Hamilton Bakery owner Ruben Hernandez will be closing his beloved Harford Road sweet shop. “This is an extremely difficult and emotional decision. So much so that I made the choice a few months ago but could only now bring myself to make the announcement,” Hernandez wrote. “In the end, the prospect of breaking 90 on a regular basis, getting in an RV and hitting the open road, and seeing my grandchildren more than once every couple of years was just too powerful.” Hernandez is currently in the process of meeting with potential buyers. Though the bakery’s last day of service will be Sunday, August 14, owners plan to continue selling their fresh-baked goodies throughout the end of the season at the Hamilton-Lauraville and Druid Hill farmers’ markets. 5414 Harford Road, 410-254-0797

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Among the many wine bars and upscale bistros in the Hampden ‘hood, Play Cafe will offer sophisticated kid-friendly food (read: bye-bye chicken nuggets) that will also appeal to adults.

“We’ll offer waffles and grilled cheese and really healthy and delicious salads and finger foods,” says Play Cafe owner Kathy Schott. “We’ll also have awesome lattes. It will be simple, but really delicious.”

And while parents linger over coffee and conversation, the cafe will also offer plenty of distraction for the tykes. “We will have an area with interactive play, dress up and blocks and all kinds of interactive activities for toddlers and kids through age eight,” says Schott of the concept.

In Schott’s case, necessity really was the mother of invention.

“My son is 2 ½ and after I had him, I realized how difficult it is to eat out with kids,” she says. “I got serious about it last winter when a friend and I were stuck inside with our toddlers and said to ourselves, ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to go somewhere for a latte or something to eat while our kids played?'”

Schott’s friend moved out of town, but fellow Hampden neighbor Ryan Sterner (who formerly managed the
One World Cafe and Holy Frijoles) decided to get in on the new business venture.

Sums up Schott, “Just because you’re a parent doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to eat out, too.”

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TruTV happened to be filming the pilot in Baltimore, swapping Holy Frijoles owner Geoff Danek with Frederick’s on Fleet part-owner Jim Saufley. So I channeled my inner Gail Simmons and made it down to Hampden on a freezing cold night. My partner-in-crime was Brian Michael Lawrence, editorial director at Sinclair Broadcasting Group. 

Clearly no one was ready for us when we got there. If you’ve ever been on the set of a TV show (or movie, I imagine), you can relate. Approximately 90 percent of your time is devoted to waiting around while the crew sets up shots or they film dozens of re-takes. So we ate dinner and had some cocktails while being occasionally interviewed for the TV show.

After a couple hours, we were driven down to Frederick’s on Fleet in Canton, which has since closed (that spot seems to be cursed). The same sort of hurry-up-and-wait activity took place, while we sampled more drinks and snacks, said some lines for the camera, and chatted with the show’s host, comedian Mo Mandel. Then we went home and that was it.

Fast-forward 10 months later when I get a text message saying that I was just on TV. Lo and behold, Barmageddon did get picked up and TruTV aired the pilot episode last night. 

Truth be told, the show is pretty terrible. The first episode sets very little context—viewers barely hear about Baltimore and hear nothing about the neighborhoods where these bars are located. All of the drama and antics between the bar owners is overly staged. The winning bar owner isn’t determined by creativity or innovative menu options, but merely by how much money he made that night.

At the end of the episode, Danek, Saufley, and host Mandel meet up at Broadway Diner to reveal the results. Turns out that Danek’s takeover of Frederick’s on Fleet was more successful because he made 125-percent more money than a typical night. 

Between Baltimore’s appearances on Bar Rescue, Kitchen Nightmares, and now Barmageddon, you know you’ve made it once you’ve lapped the reality-show circuit. You can view clips of Barmageddon here and the entire series premieres on December 3.

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Currently, Mexico is the world’s largest producer and exporter of limes, providing nearly 95 percent of U.S. supplies. Needless to say, this shortage is having drastic affects on area bars and restaurants, particularly those that specialize in Mexican fare.

“Yeah, we’re having a big problem right now. It’s very expensive,” says Nicholas H. Ramos V, who owns Arcos Restaurant and Rumba Bar in Upper Fells Point. “For Latinos, they drink all their Corona with lime. So we’ve had to get creative and use an orange or a grapefruit instead.” (Personally, the grapefruit sounds like a genius improvisation).

Not only have the prices been affected but, in turn, the quality of limes coming into wholesale stores like Restaurant Depot is suffering, as well.

“Our limes are ridiculous right now,” says Dean Etheridge, a bartender at Nacho Mama’s, which features tons of wedges in each of its hubcap margaritas. “The limes we’re getting in are so tiny, as small as grapes. We try to fresh-squeeze our margaritas, but it’s difficult with these tiny things. We’re laughing about it.”

While grape-sized limes do sound pretty laughable, the cost for restaurants—especially new ones—is no joke. Carrie Podles just opened Papi’s Tacos Joint and says they go through about three cases of limes a weekend.

“This is my luck that I would open a Mexican restaurant and limes would become scarce,” she says. “We are having to pick through them because most of the limes are damaged or small. Right now, we are only using limes as garnish [for tacos] and buying lime juice by the gallon for our in-house margarita mix.”

While many bars and restaurants are finding alternatives, some are holding strong, hoping this citrus shortage will improve with the warmer months.

“Prices have skyrocketed, but we’re still using them the same way you would expect,” says Holy Frijoles server Nick Jankowski. “We probably won’t substitute here because limes are kind of our thing.”

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