EAT

April 10-12: Easter and Passover Carryout Meals

Locations, times, and prices vary.

It’s safe to say that this Easter and Passover weekend will look and feel different than any other.
Although more family celebrations will take place via Zoom and Facetime than around the dinner table this year, that’s no reason to forego tradition, which always starts and ends with food. Plan your weekend menu using our guide to local eateries that are offering carryout and delivery specials on everything from “Seder Containers” and matzo ball soup to deviled eggs and “Easter Egg” ice cream in honor of these springtime holidays.

DRINK

April 10-12: Booze To Go

Locations, times, and prices vary.

When Gov. Larry Hogan passed the March executive order to allow alcohol delivery and takeout sales from restaurants, bars, and other hospitality establishments amid the coronavirus pandemic, Marylanders breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Since then, tons of local spots have gotten creative with their to-go booze options, including Mr. Nice Guy Cocktail’s Tiger King-themed menu, Wet City’s signature slushies by Blinky, and Nepenthe Brewing Co.’s at-home brewing supplies. Order “essential supplies” for this weekend using our easy-access guide to Baltimore-based breweries, liquor stores, and eateries, and support your favorite small businesses when they need it the most.

SEE

April 12: Virtual Drag Brunch

12:30 p.m. facebook.com/bookmakerscocktailclub.

If there’s anyone who can transition a popular weekly drag brunch into a Facebook Live performance filled with top-notch performers, raffles, and more than a few breakfast cocktails, it’s Brooklyn Heights. This Sunday, instead of snagging a seat at Bookmaker’s Cocktail Club, pull up the Federal Hill bar’s Facebook page to watch some of Baltimore’s best drag performers sashay for the camera. Make a donation and enter to win raffle prizes to support local queens like Iyana Deschanel, Jasmine Blue, and Bambi Necole Ferrah, and count down the days until we can throw dollar bills at our favorite performers in person.

HEAR

April 10: Mary Prankster

8 p.m. wtmd.org.

Live music doesn’t come to a halt just because we can’t hear our favorite acts play in concert halls or venues right now. Instead, we can listen to up-and-coming musicians play from the comfort of their own living rooms, thanks to WTMD’s new Cabin Fever Concerts video series. This Friday, visit the Towson radio station’s Facebook page to watch a livestream performance by local singer-songwriter Mary Prankster, featuring an hour of intimate solo acoustics. Tune in to hear the reigning WTMD Artist of the Year play fan-favorite songs like “Local Honey” and “Rock n Roll Degenerate,” and mark your calendars for upcoming livestream spots by the likes of Letitia VanSant and Emily Wolfe.

DO

April 10: Fells Point Community Blood Drive

Su Casa Furniture, 901 S. Bond Street. 12:30-6 p.m. Free.

As local and regional hospitals face an emergency blood shortage in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Fells Point businesses and neighbors are coming together to host a community-sponsored blood drive. If you’re able to donate blood, register with the Red Cross and then visit the temporary station at Su Casa Furniture, which is volunteering its closed store to the cause. After making your donation, enter for the chance to win gift certificates to neighborhood staple Kooper’s Tavern.

We’ve all been doing a lot of cooking lately. So why not celebrate the spring holidays by giving yourself a break from the kitchen prep and cleanup? (And relish the opportunity to support local restaurants, while you’re at it.) Though family celebrations will undoubtedly be a bit different this year, there are plenty of spots whipping up holiday dishes that maintain tradition. Here are some of the local options to choose from:

Baltimore Chef Shop: Continuing its take-home dinners, this Hampden cooking school is offering an Easter package featuring baked ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, and lemon pound cake. The dinner serves two people, and orders need to be placed by 8 p.m. the night before pickup. They can be placed on the school’s website and picked up on Saturday and Sunday from 3-5 p.m. Customers can add on the hot cross buns make-at-home kit for another traditional Easter recipe. A portion of all proceeds will be donated this week to support Johns Hopkins hospitals.

The Charmery: The Charmery in Hampden and Towson will be celebrating both holidays with “Easter Egg” ice cream pies and pints, and pints of its signature “Matzah Brittle” flavor for Passover. Pies are priced at $30 and pints at $10, with $1 from each item purchased set aside to benefit employees.

The Corner Pantry: Mt. Washington favorite The Corner Pantry is offering a variety of Easter and Passover staples for curbside pickup or carryout. The full menu can be seen on its website, with items including grilled lamb chops, boulangere potatoes, deviled eggs, and hot cross buns. Options are subject to change based on availability. Orders can be placed online and picked up either at The Corner Pantry between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. or at The French Paradox in Stevenson Village between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Four Seasons Hotel: The Four Seasons Hotel will be celebrating Easter with a brunch takeout menu. Customers can choose their choice of an appetizer, salad, entre, side, and dessert to enjoy. A few featured menu items include crab deviled eggs, honey glazed ham, and whipped mashed potatoes. Orders can be called in at 410-223-1366, and are taken daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. All orders must be placed by 11 p.m. on April 11, and curbside pickup is between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on April 12 at the front drive. Brunch is $89 for two, $149 for four, and $189 for six. The best part? For every meal purchased, the Four Seasons will provide a complimentary Easter meal to a Baltimore first responder.

The Gourmet Girls: Celebrate with this Owings Mills cafe and caterer, which has you covered for both holidays. Passover specials include “Seder Containters” that can be customized with options including roasted chicken, roasted brisket, matzo ball soup, Passover rolls, and chocolate-dipped macaroons. For Easter, indulge in turkey, ham, salads, desserts, and all the fixins’. Carryout orders can be placed by calling 410-581-4914.

La Cuchara: La Cuchara is making Easter easy with its special Easter experience meal. With a two-person minimum, diners can enjoy deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, artisan bread, braised lamb shoulder, and coconut cake for $49 per person. Customers can also add a bottle of wine from the restaurant’s extensive list to the order. Orders must be placed at least 48 hours in advance, and picked up on Saturday, April 11 between 3 and 5 p.m. To place an order, the staff asks that you email and indicate the size of your party, payment method, and any dietary restrictions.

Lenny’s Deli: In addition to its full menu, this Owings Mills institution is offering Passover specialties including homemade chopped liver, matzo ball soup, roasted chicken, and brisket with brown gravy. Order at least 24 hours in advance by calling 410-363-3353.

Orto: This Station North hotspot is celebrating Passover with cookies that are available for preorder for the holiday. The coconut macaroons and amaretti cookies with salted caramel buttercream are available in orders of 12 per type for $15. Cookie carryout begins at 3 p.m. on April 8 and orders can be placed via email. Orto will also be offering Easter dinner family packs for 2 to 10 people, in addition to its regular carryout menu. Easter dinners can be pre-ordered via email and picked up on April 12 between 1 and 6 p.m. Menu items include an arugula and pea salad, torta pasqualina, roasted leg of lamb, and pastiera for dessert.

This past weekend we did a Zoom run-through with my dad, teaching him how to “share his screen” for the 14 guests tuning in tomorrow night for the first night of Passover.

“Poppy’s Passover PowerPoint Presentation” came through loud and clear. (Now mind you this presentation existed pre-pandemic, but it’s never been shown via a remote conferencing app.)

If you don’t know, Passover is a pretty major Jewish holiday. It commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. As the story goes: The Israelites left Egypt in such haste, they could not wait for their bread dough to rise; hence matzo.

Every year we gather over two nights for our Seder, which highlights four cups of wine, matzo, bitter herbs, gefilte fish, matzo ball soup, brisket and potato kugel. But the biggest highlight is the friends and family stuffed around the table (not quite Unorthodox level, but close.)

At the Passover Seder every year we ask the Four Questions, including: “Why is tonight different from all other nights?” This year, where do we even begin?

But as we’ve learned throughout the last few weeks (generations), you adapt. The other day a delivery showed up at my door—an accompaniment to the PowerPoint.

It was quickly dubbed “Passover In a Box.” My parents had filled the huge package with matzo, a Haggadah (the text recited at the Seder), fruit flavored jelly slices (love or hate them), Afikomen—pieces broken off from matzo during a Seder and hidden for the kids to find—and plague masks. You know your typical “hail,” “boils,” “darkness,” and “frogs” disguises to be worn while the 10 plagues—a pivotal part of the Seder—are recited.

This year will certainly be different. So I turned to Rabbi Jessy Dressin, director of national social action organization Repair the World Baltimore. Dressin has put together a “Zeder” (that’s a Zoom Seder) for her own family that she has graciously shared with us.

“I’m going to start by being honest,” says Dressin, adding that missing in-person Passover this year with her brand new baby nephew hurts. “I really felt a deep sadness and loss,” she explains. Her 15-page Zeder was a consolation prize.

“I still wanted to do something for my family,” says Dressin. But as a well-known community rabbi, in so many circles, she wanted to do something for the masses, too. People kept asking her. “What are you doing? No really, what are you doing.”

A silver lining in this is the “generational torch that nobody expected to be passed this year,” says Dressin. The—let’s be honest—young guest who usually shows up with the bottle of horseradish or a kosher-for-Passover dessert to Bubbe’s is suddenly taking over as the Nachshon—the Seder leader. The keeper of the Zoom now holds the power.

The connection between the holiday and the global pandemic is not lost on Dressin. There was angst and uncertainty and “layers upon layers of challenges,” she says—referring to the story of Passover.

“There were plagues happening all around them, sickness and hardship and barriers,” she says. “They were constantly worrying, ‘How long is this going to be?’”

Sounds familiar. But, of course, Dressin brings it back to hope, faith, and rituals. (She’s a rabbi after all.) “I’m seeing people look for comfort in sources of tradition,” she says. That means, have the Seder.

For Dressin, it also means cooking her paternal grandmother’s chicken soup and maternal grandmother’s potato kugel—even if it’s just for Dressin and her husband. Those smells are “all part of the three-dimensional experience of Passover that’s being forced into a two-dimensional point of connection.”

But Dressin says that’s good enough—dayenu—and people need to hear that from their rabbi. “Good enough is okay.”

Above all, Dressin’s Zeder leans into the pandemic while still embracing the customs of Passover. “Yes, the space between us is scary. It is odd and at odds, an area unoccupied where all things exist,” it reads. “But the space between us is also liminal, a threshold between old and new. And so, in this space anything is possible: to grow without gathering, to connect without congregating, and to create without convening.”

If hosting Thanksgiving and Christmas felt like enough to fill your holiday entertaining quota for a while, the spring feasts are a great time to give yourself a break. Thanks to the local dining scene, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the holiday without having to fire up the oven. As always, a number of area restaurants are hosting bountiful brunches on Easter Sunday, and local caterers are offering Passover platters for those looking to lighten their load for this year’s seder. Whether you’re hoping to make a reservation or order unleavened eats to take home, here are a few suggestions.

Easter Brunches

Cosima: Say ‘Buona Pasqua’ with the Sicilian specialties at this picturesque spot overlooking the Jones Falls in Hampden. Chef Donna Crivello will be offering an a la carte menu of corn pancakes, beet-cured salmon, poached-egg polenta, slow-roasted pork belly, pancetta pizza, and berries topped with whipped mascarpone. 3000 Falls Rd. 443-708-7352

Four Seasons Baltimore: Although this will be the first Easter since Wit & Wisdom closed inside the Four Seasons Baltimore, the Harbor East hotel is still celebrating with a brunch blowout in its Cobalt Ballroom. Bring the kids for live music, a massive egg hunt, and the chance to grab a selfie with the Easter Bunny. The buffet-style brunch will highlight prime rib, carved ham, raw bar eats, a gelato station, and DIY s’mores. 400 International Circle. $45-110. 410-576-5800

Gunther & Co.: Spend the spring Sunday in the presence of the living green wall at this Brewers Hill beauty. Chef Jerry Trice is preparing a two-course fixed menu including dishes like crispy Thai-barbecue pork belly, spring avocado salad, brown sugar-glazed banana pound cake, crab and goat cheese quiche, and an everything-seasoned smoked salmon flatbread. 3650 Toone St. $28. 443-869-6874

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La Cuchara: Celebrate the spring growing season with the farm-to-fork fare at this Basque-inspired hotspot in Woodberry’s Meadow Mill. Chef Ben Lefenfeld will be whipping up a three-course feast with dishes including patatas bravas, saffron shrimp with tomato and fennel, house-smoked salmon with pumpernickel and crème fraîche, skirt steak with scallions, and a chocolate caramel ice cream sandwich. At La Cuchara’s sister-restaurant Minnow in Riverside, enjoy a fixed menu that highlights shrimp ceviche, avocado toast, spinach omelettes, crispy chicken and biscuits, and a sweet berry trifle. 3600 Clipper Mill Rd. 443-708-3838

Lord Baltimore Hotel: Seasonal staples will fill the buffet at this downtown celebration. Look out for leek and asparagus-filled garden omelets, roasted chicken with spring onion jus, herb-crusted lamb in a mint glaze, and an assortment of house-made desserts. Before digging in, let the little ones run free in the kid-friendly egg hunt that kicks off at 12:30 p.m. 20 W. Baltimore St. $15-38. 410-539-8400

The Milton Inn: Easter is a great time to experience this fine-dining destination inside a historic fieldstone building in Sparks. This three-course meal will offer baked half pink grapefruit, crab meat omelettes, challah French toast, wild mushroom phyllo, and a crispy-skin salmon florentine with parmesan risotto. 14833 York Rd., Sparks. $26-52. 410-771-4366

The Manor Tavern: There’s no better way to celebrate spring than with the farm-to-fork fare at this Monkton community spot, which uses ingredients grown in its own gardens. In keeping with tradition, the tavern will offer two brunch and dinner seatings on Easter Sunday. Bottomless brunch options will include fruit salad, applewood-smoked bacon, and brown sugar-glazed ham, while dinner dishes will range from crab tortellini to roasted lamb with orzo salad. 15819 Old York Rd., Monkton. $18.95-44.95. 410-771-8155

The Owl Bar: This dimly lit speakeasy inside the Belvedere Hotel will have a brighter feel on Easter Sunday. Sip bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys before partaking in annual adult egg hunt. (Of course, kids are also welcome.) Unwind from the fun with endless eats including Canadian bacon, muffins, pastries, breakfast potatoes, hand-carved roasted turkey and prime rib, and an omelette station with all the fixins’. 1 E. Chase St. $29. 410-347-0888

Sagamore Pendry: Forget the chocolate. The egg hunt at this swanky hotel on the Fells Point waterfront will give kids age 12 and under the chance to win luxe prizes for mom and dad. Three of the hidden eggs will include free pool passes, dinner for two at the hotel’s Rec Pier Chop House, and a complimentary one-night stay. In addition to the hunt, Rec Pier will host a special brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. featuring blue crab benedicts, ricotta pancakes, and a brunch spaghetti dish with poached egg and sausage. 1715 Thames St. 443-552-1400

Sweet 27 Cafe & Bakery: Bring the whole family to this Remington staple for a buffet that fuses its signature multicultural dishes with mid-morning classics. Fill your plate with eats ranging from pancakes and bacon to jerk chicken and goat curry. In keeping with the restaurant’s holistic mantra, there will also be plenty of vegan and vegetarian fare (think spicy scrambled tofu and lentil-quinoa chili) to go around. 123 W. 27th St. $7-20. 410-464-7211

Topside: Make your way up to the 14th floor of Hotel Revival in Mt. Vernon for a brunch buffet with a side of panoramic views. Take in the (hopefully) sunny skyline while feasting on house-made pastries and eats from a massive seafood display. 612 Cathedral St. $15-50. 410-727-7101

The Turn House: Throw on your Sunday best and head to this New American spot on the Hobbits Glen Golf Course in Columbia. The elegant clubhouse restaurant will be offering complimentary glasses of champagne to pair with its all-you-can-eat spread. Highlights will include a ham carving station, fresh-baked biscuits, a cheese display, raw oysters, and a yogurt parfait bar with fruit and granola. 11130 Willow Bottom Drive., Columbia. $25-50. 410-740-2096

Catered Seders

Balducci’s: Whether you’re in need of matzo balls or macaroons, this cafe and caterer on the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus has got you covered. In addition to traditional beef brisket, the market offers outside-of-the-box Passover dishes including parmesan-crusted artichokes and a matzo lasagna layered with sauteed spinach and ricotta. 1800 Orleans St. 443-687-7659

The Classic Catering People: Flourless desserts can feel daunting to make by yourself. Luckily, the chefs at this Owings Mills kitchen are whipping up kosher-for-Passover pine nut rolls, coconut custard pies, espresso truffles, and chocolate matzo brittle with dried cherries and pecans. Aside from the desserts, Classic Catering is also known for its holiday sides, salads, starters, and entrees ranging from glazed corned beef to potato-crusted Atlantic cod. 99 Painters Mill Rd., Owings Mills. 410-356-1666.

Eddie’s of Roland Park: Spice up your seder with the cauliflower pilaf, roasted Brussels sprouts, matzo stuffing, roasted chicken, and famous stuffed cabbage from this mainstay market. To end the meal on a sweet note, add Eddie’s Passover apple cake, chocolate chip mandel bread, flourless chocolate brownies, or almond macaroons to your order. Multiple locations including 5113 Roland Ave. 410-323-3656

Gourmet Again: This Pikesville market has thrown a few new recipes onto its holiday menu this year, including savory chicken matzo blintzes. Of course, there are also traditional staples such as grilled spring lamb racks, crispy fingerling potatoes, sweet-glazed carrots, and house-made chopped liver. 3717 Old Court Rd., Pikesville. 410-484-9393

Seven Mile Market: This famous kosher grocer offers a pages-long Passover menu that covers all of the classics—from gefilte fish to tzimmes. Seven Mile also offers 10 different sweet-and-savory kugels, and featured proteins include pastrami, pepper steak, teriyaki chicken, beef marsala, and mango salsa salmon. 201 Reisterstown Rd., Pikesville. 410-653-2000

Even in the calm and comfort of her own Pikesville kitchen, Diane
Macklin is in perpetual motion. She makes coffee with her new single-cup
Keurig brewer, throws open the doors of a cabinet to show off her
Indian spices, rifles through a recipe notebook to share her favorite
dishes, and quickly pulls items out of her refrigerator.

She has no qualms about showing off the homemade, basil-infused
vodka, which she proceeds to serve (at least on this weekday) well
before noon. “I’m on my fourth cup of coffee,” explains Macklin, more
commonly known as “Downtown Diane.” “That’s why I’m so revved up.”

But truth be told, the diminutive dynamo (“barely 5 feet,” she
giggles) is always on the go. She’s an entertainment, food, and travel
reporter, who dishes on hot happenings in and around Baltimore on her
website downtowndiane.net (she has more than 4,900 followers on Twitter)
and does a gig with 105.7 radio on the Norris & Davis Show.

When she isn’t out and about, though, she can most often be found in
her homey kitchen, whipping up cauliflower curry stew for her daughter,
Jessica, 20, and meatloaf for her husband, Larry, and son, Josh, 18.

Preparing family holiday favorites, such as apple kugel (see recipe),
is also part of her repertoire. “I found this recipe on a cooking
website a few years ago,” says Macklin. “I wanted something to add to
the Passover table that was a little bit sweet. Since you can’t eat
noodles on Passover, I decided to substitute farfel [broken pieces of
matzo] for noodles. It’s not your typical kugel, but my guests have
always loved it.”

Macklin’s sunlit kitchen—stocked with cookbooks (Roy Yamaguchi,
Rachael Ray, and Gertrude’s John Shields among them), a wine rack, and
ample seating for family and friends—is the hub and the heart of the
home. “I’ve thought about redoing this kitchen,” she says, “but I love
the light and the white, and I really use this kitchen. I have a friend
with a two-million-dollar house who doesn’t know how to turn on her
oven, and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’”

The all-white kitchen is also a perfect backdrop for the colorful
Macklin who was named funniest girl at both Pikesville Middle and
Pikesville High schools. “I am the only girl in the family, and I have
two brothers,” says Macklin. “I was always around my brothers’ friends
and had to be outgoing.”

Radio personality Steve Rouse can attest to her persona. “Diane is a
cross between Joan Rivers and Mother Teresa,” says Rouse, who helped her
get started in radio. “Pretty crazy and very giving and caring, all at
the same time.”

Macklin has always been a foodie. “Ever since high school, I’ve
worked for almost every restaurant in Baltimore,” she says. “At various
times, I worked at Lee’s Ice Cream, Sizzler (“I quit after the first
night because they told me to clean the dining room,” she says,
laughing.), Miller’s Deli, and York Steak House. “My favorite was
Lee’s,” says Macklin. “I still make an amazing milkshake because of
working there.”

As a mass communications major at Towson University, Macklin interned
with radio and TV personality Eddie Applefeld, who was then marketing
director of Lexington Market. “I was in charge of leading the school
groups and teaching them about the different types of foods sold there,
including tripe and pig’s feet,” says Macklin, who went on to become a
marketing director for a Baltimore-area Domino’s Pizza franchise at age
23.

Although Macklin takes frequent cooking classes (at Roy’s and Chef’s
Expressions, for example), her own taste buds have been her greatest
guide.

“The secret to being a good cook,” says Macklin, “is putting your own
touch on a recipe. If something calls for a certain amount of an
ingredient, do it according to your own taste. That’s key. In the
kitchen, you have to be fearless.”

Passover Apple Kugel

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups matzo farfel
• 4-6 apples (preferably Granny Smith), peeled and diced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons margarine, melted
• Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a medium-sized pot half full of
water and bring to boil. Add farfel and cover. After five minutes, when
farfel has softened, drain.

In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients, adding cinnamon to
taste. (She likes to add cinnamon to the mixture and then sprinkle more
on top before baking as well.)

Add the drained farfel to the mixture. Mix well and pour into a baking dish. Bake for one hour.

Serves 8 to 10.