As part of her morning routine, Old Goucher resident Rebekah Horowitz starts most days with an eight-block walk to Sophomore Coffee.

“It’s such a nice community place to be,” she says. “The coffee is great and I love that [owner] Kris [Fulton] roasts his own coffee, but part of the reason I go is that my dog, Jacques, walks me there. He is also a very big fan of Sophomore.” (This may have something to do with the Milk-Bones they keep in a jar on the counter.) “If they’re closed for some reason, I have to fight him not to walk me there,” she says.

While Sophomore gets plenty of traffic, Horowitz—and her pit bull/dachshund mix—hold the honor of being the cafe’s top customers (this is a measurable metric thanks to a dining app that tracks customer frequency). Horowitz, who works remotely for a public health organization in D.C., sees Sophomore as not only part of her regular ritual but an extension of her wider world.

“The people who work there are lovely and a lot of them live in the neighborhood or close by, so you see people not just at the coffee shop, but at the pool or walking on the street,” she says. “One of the people who used to work there is even my dog sitter now.”

While Jacques always gets a dog treat, Horowitz has small seasonal fluctuations in her order: drip coffee with a splash of milk in the colder months, iced coffee in the warmer ones, and an ice cube in her hot coffee during transitional periods. Sometimes she gets her drinks to go, other times she sits and stays. Her canine GPS leads her there before 8 a.m. most weekdays and a bit later on weekends.

“They know what I’m going to order, and it’s ready for me right away,” say Horowitz. “And the staff knows about my work, they know when I’m out of town for a few days. If I go on vacation, they ask me how it was. Going to Sophomore just feels like I’m not only going and buying something but having a quick little catch-up with my friends—it’s a touchstone.”

In a city that’s fiercely dedicated to its sports teams, quirky traditions, and all things crab, Baltimore’s loyalty extends just as ardently to its coffeehouses, cafes, bars, and other eating and drinking establishments. And at a time when life feels increasingly isolated and automated, being a regular somewhere can offer something essential: a sense of belonging.

With repeated visits, a restaurant staff gets to know patrons’ predilections, drink orders, names of their children and grandchildren, anniversaries and birthdays, and details about their personal and professional lives.

Sophomore owner Kris Fulton first fell in love with hospitality because he liked the relational aspect of the business. In his first hospitality job at 19, he worked at the now-closed City Dock Coffee in Annapolis. The staff there was encouraged to adopt what they called “the Cheers mentality,” where, as the lyrics to the hit TV ’80s sitcom theme song say, “Everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.”

“The idea was that you should know 70 percent of your customers by name or drink order when they walked in,” says Fulton. “Sometimes you’d see people walking down the street coming toward you and present them with their drink before they even got to the register—it made their day.”

Being a regular also offers the opportunity for patrons to connect not only with staff but with one another.

“The fact that we are a small space works in our favor,” says Fulton. “When people take the time to sit and have a coffee here, they’re right next to each other. And if they start a conversation with me behind the counter, they’re basically having a conversation with the room. It’s exciting to see some of those connections happen.”

“GOING TO SOPHOMORE JUST FEELS LIKE I’M HAVING A QUICK LITTLE CATCH-UP WITH MY FRIENDS—IT’S A TOUCHSTONE.”

Coffeehouses as gathering spots is nothing new—the concept dates back as far back as the Ottoman Empire, where people of different social classes could gather for intellectual and often political debate. Taverns as meeting spots dates to ancient Greece and Rome, white-tablecloth restaurants first became hot spots in Paris in the 1700s, dive bars became hangouts in the late 1800s, and diners turned into social hubs after World War II.

Pretty much anywhere food or drink are served have long been places to gather. But wherever people flock, the reason is much the same: Being a regular gives patrons a sense of camaraderie, community, and connection.

Local coffee shop owner Dave Sherman, of Catalog Coffee in Hampden, has witnessed the bonds that form over freddo cappuccinos and sage lattes.

“We have a ton of people that use us as that third space,” he says, explaining how the coffee shop fills the need to congregate outside home or work (in this remote landscape, it sometimes is the office). “And they’re great customers. They come in and they’ll work on their laptop on our two-tops, and then as soon as we start to get busy, they’ll migrate over to our community table, often networking and just building more community. I’ve definitely seen some friendships form between staff and guests and then between the guests themselves—we’ve seen a couple of romantic connections happening, too.”

Gino Cardinale, co-owner of Tark’s Grill & Bar in Lutherville, says that creating connections is part and parcel of owning an eating establishment.

“Restaurants are not just a place to feed yourself and spend money,” he says. “When they’re working, they’re about connecting with people.”

As much as regulars love their roles in restaurants, restaurants need them, too. Regulars are, if you will, the bread and butter of every restaurant—the patrons who a place can reliably count on to fill seats (or barstools). Through thick and thin (to wit: the pandemic), regulars stay loyal to the brand.

“When you open a restaurant, you have to think past the sizzle of a grand opening and [attention] that you’re bound to get in the beginning,” says Cardinale. “If a restaurant doesn’t find a way to connect with its core community in the location that it’s in, they’re not going to make it long term—the flip side of that is that if you do, you can thrive for decades.”

WHEREVER PEOPLE FLOCK, THE REASON IS THE SAME: BEING A REGULAR GIVES PATRONS A SENSE OF CAMARADERIE, COMMUNITY, AND CONNECTION.

If there’s a formula for how to keep them coming, Cardinale seems to have figured it out.

“Running a restaurant is not always about reaching people who’ve never heard of you before, it’s really about connecting with those who already have,” he says. “There’s no better indicator that you’re doing something right in the restaurant business than when people come back time and again. At Tark’s, we have people who come for lunch, and then hours later, they come for dinner all on the same day—and that’s several days a week.”

For dedicated regulars like that, their favorite haunt isn’t just a place where everybody knows their name—it’s a place that feels like home.

About six months or so per year, some two to three nights a week whenever Hampden/Woodberry residents Melanie and Shawn McMahon are in town, they can be found standing—yes, standing—near the window at the zinc bar at Petit Louis Bistro.

The fact that the bar doesn’t have any seating doesn’t stop them from ordering food and drinks. Given that the McMahons both have desk jobs, they prefer to stand while they eat.

“We used to eat at a table but sometime after the pandemic, we planted ourselves in the corner of the bar and never left,” says Melanie with a laugh. “Now, we’re wearing a hole in that corner.”

The McMahons are diehard supporters of the Roland Park restaurant. They dine at Louis so frequently, they know the menu by heart, have befriended (and socialize with) certain staffers, and can cite chapter and verse of every  aspect of the place, including the daily specials and the names of nearly every person on staff.

“We’ve really developed relationships with the staff,” says Shawn. “The staff is the first thing that draws us here—everyone has been lovely to us from the first time we walked in the door and eating here always feels like coming home.”

In fact, when Shawn and Melanie are away for any extended time, or driving back from a long road trip, it’s often their first stop.

“The biggest testament to the place is that we don’t even drive home first when we’ve been away,” says Shawn. “We drive straight to Louis—that’s our welcome back.”

Even when they’re away, in fact, Louis is never far from their thoughts. “When we were in Paris, [maître d’hôtel] Patrick Del Valle arranged for us to have a meal at Chez l’ Ami Louis,” says Melanie. “That’s the restaurant that Petit Louis was based on.”

Fourteen years ago, when the McMahons started patronizing Louis, they first were lured by the wide-ranging French bistro fare.

“It started because we both work full-time and going out to dinner is often an easy solution after a long day of work,” says Melanie. “We have very different taste in food, so we agreed that whenever we couldn’t agree on what to have at home, we’d go to Petit Louis.”

In the early years that meant having dinner there once a week. These days, the legal marketing partner says it’s closer to three times a week and she and Shawn each have their favorite orders.

Shawn likes the salad verte and the Saturday night beef short rib special; Melanie gravitates to the steak tartare, a Monday night special, and the gravlax appetizer.  He drinks Tito’s with muddled lime, followed by a glass of Beaujolais or Côtes du Rhône; she gets a glass of Champagne or Pinot Noir. If friends join them, they’ll make an exception, grab a table, and order the whole roasted chicken.

“We’ve been eating there for so long, and know the menu so well, that Patrick has joked he’s going to give me the test he gives to new servers to see if I could pass,” says Melanie.

What motivates them to go there now has become something deeper. “For us, Petit Louis is not a just a place eat dinner,” says Melanie. “We’ve really developed relationships with the staff. Going there feels more like visiting family.”

Like the McMahons, John Groopman and his wife, Hilary, have formed deep friendships as dining devotees of La Cuchara in Hampden-Woodberry.*

“We have a standing Sunday night reservation there,” says Groopman, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “We can’t think of a better way to start the week.”

The married couple has been eating at the Basque-inspired restaurant ever since it opened in a historic mill in 2015.

“We’ve known [co-owners] Jake, Ben, and Amy for quite a while,” says Groopman. “We were there in the first or second week after they opened. In the early years, we’d sit at the bar and have pinxtos and we’d go not because we knew a lot about Basque Country cooking but because it was just a wonderful setting and we got to know a lot of people who work there—and we still do.”

Sunday also happens to be half-price wine night—never a bad thing—and they always sit at table 40 toward the back of the restaurant, near the heart of the flaming asador that’s loaded with grilled meat and seafood. The restaurant has also been woven into the fabric of their post-Thanksgiving tradition—they now dine with their whole extended family there.

Though they’ve eaten their way through most of the menu, John and Hilary have their favorite dishes, of course. “If Ben is making tuna-stuffed piquillo peppers, that’s an essential, the shrimp a la planxta and the mussels are always a winner, and the dayboat scallops are pretty good,” he says. “And we always order the chorizo Manchego pintxos.”

Being an insider has its advantages, too. “When the kitchen is experimenting, we get to taste stuff, too,” he says.  “And going to La Cuchara inspired us to visit San Sebastian and learn much about enjoying the wines of Spain.”

The Groopmans have gotten so close with the owners, they’ve even invited them to dinner in their own home, where they were the ones doing the cooking.

Like the Groopmans, Horowitz has found a sense of kindship thanks to her routine rounds.

“Kris and I do a lot of chatting inside and outside Sophomore,” she says. “We run in a lot of the same spaces and same circles.”

In November, Fulton was invited to celebrate Jacques’ “barkmitzvah.” Because Jacques is such a fixture, for a long time, he was even the Wi-Fi password for the cafe.

“People would stop me on the street and say hi to him because they recognized him from his picture on the sign with the coffee shop’s password,” says Horowitz, laughing.

Horowitz considers being a regular a vital part—and perk—of urban living.

“Having that routine is a special part of living in the city,” she says. “People talk a lot about how a city is anonymous, because so many people live there places like Sophomore remind us how much of a community we are living in. Baltimore’s a very livable city, so it’s a real opportunity to be in the big city, but not at all be anonymous.”

*Editor’s Note: As of online publication in early January, La Cuchara was closed indefinitely in the wake of a fire that originated in the building’s ventilation system. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Tojours L’amore

A love letter to Petit Louis Bistro.

Just before the world shut down, I was on assignment at Petit Louis. Although I’d eaten at the beloved Roland Park bistro for many years, it was my first time seeing the compact kitchen, whose “walk-in” refrigerator is located outside the building.

Housed in an 1897-era building, it had its limitations, for sure, but you’d certainly never know that from eating there. And now I had the urge to do so right away—that night, with the pandemic looming, as pressing a matter as any.

All around Baltimore in March 2020, restaurants were closing for who knew how long. So, I turned off my tape recorder, put down my reporter’s notebook, settled into a red velvet banquette, and placed my favorite order: a gin martini with olives, a mesclun salad, a plate of trout amandine, and a ramekin of crème brûlée for dessert.

With so much uncertainty, in the quiet of a near-empty dining room, sitting there somehow centered me. It was a last meal of sorts.

Louis is where I go when I need a reset. It’s where I celebrate most milestones—from birthday lunches to New Year’s Eve (with gratis glasses of Champagne at 6 p.m. as the clock turns to midnight in Paris). It’s where I went for steak frites with a dozen friends after my adult bat mitzvah. It’s where I watched my once-teenage, now-married son devour the signature roasted chicken for two—by himself.

In other words, Louis is my go-to, a place where I’m greeted with a cheek-to-cheek kiss and where the food is…well, chef’s kiss.

French food was a source of curiosity for me as a child. I was fascinated by Laroussse Gastronomique, the 1,098-page culinary bible that sat on my mother’s shelf, though I can’t recall her ever cooking anything in it.

Larousse made me something of an expert on its country’s storied cuisine, if only for the wrong reasons. I knew that rabbit, snails, and frog legs were a fixture of their diet—and that I wanted no part of it—though the onion soup and the pastel macarons sure captured my imagination.

Traveling to France for the first time after high school, I felt a mixture of fear and excitement. Though I was too young to appreciate it, a trip to Paris with my parents meant late-night dinners at the then-Michelin-starred Maxim’s and a field trip to the vaunted Paul Bocuse in Lyon, where our 10 p.m. reservation had me dreaming of sleep more than the St. Jacques coquilles I’d just ordered.

Later that week, in the Latin Quarter, when my mother mistakenly ordered couscous with cheval—that’s horse meat—not even a trip to the famed Fauchon for a mug of chocolat chaud could keep me from swearing off French food just as my true culinary education was beginning.

But the years passed and along the way, my palate was awakened. After all, tastebuds change with life’s seasons: For me, it was pizza parlors, Jewish delis, and Chinese food as a kid; cheap pub grub, food trucks, and greasy spoons to nurse hangovers in college; neighborhood spots, food halls, and cafes while raising three children.

Now at 61, I’m looking for a place to sit with my family and friends over a glass of red wine and something to eat that’s delicious, homemade, and soul satisfying. And, yes, with my dad now gone and my mom waning at 91, to remind me of where I’ve been now that the photos have long faded.

This life’s journey has led me to Louis. With its chipped marble bistro tables, bordeaux velvet curtains, real Frenchmen and Frenchwomen on staff, and light that filters in through old leaded-glass windows, it casts a spell that still holds sway all these years later.

Maybe because it takes me right back to the City of Lights in 1981, when the world was ripe with possibility, and my life had more questions than answers—before I knew how it was all going to turn out, and that it would soon be my actual job to eat at a French bistro, of all things, and in Baltimore, of all places.

Gone is the girl who once feared foie gras. In her place is a wiser woman, someone who understands that when you’re in good hands, and with people you love, mostly anything coming out of the kitchen is worth eating. Especially at Louis.

This is one of five deeply personal Love Letters—reflections on restaurants that hold a special spot in our hearts—from our 2024 Best Restaurants list. View more of our picks, here.

Like all hospitality professionals, veteran restaurateurs Tony Foreman and Chef Cindy Wolf are grappling with the aftermath of the closing of their beloved restaurants during the pandemic.

While it’s been challenging, they have been making the best of the situation from their respective Roland Park homes. Foreman is reimagining the wine menu at Charleston and spending time with his family. Wolf is cooking up a storm in her state-of-the-art kitchen and doing ad-hoc cooking videos for her legions of fans.

Both are eagerly awaiting the day they can reopen Charleston, Cinghiale, and Bar Vasquez in Harbor East, as well as Petit Louis and Johnny’s in Roland Park.

“I believe that there will be restaurants that go out of business, and I feel sad about that,” says Wolf. “I have to do what I do, so somehow, some way, we will reopen. I don’t know if that’s pie in the sky, but I will not allow this to not happen—it has to happen.”

How are you?
Tony Foreman: There’s plenty of existential threat on the business and our livelihood as a family, but the sudden big chunk of family time and the chance to just prepare food for the people who are in my house and to just worry about homework, learning to ride the bike, do nature walks in a really wonderful neighborhood, and do stuff that we don’t ordinarily have time for has been really wonderful.

Cindy Wolf: I’m used to being alone, I’m just not used to being home alone for this many hours a day. I’m used to being at the restaurant 12 hours a day, so my home time is maybe an hour and then sleeping and going to work the next day. But thank goodness I have a beautiful home to live in and no one on our staff has gotten sick.

On the last night of service before the shutdown it just didn’t feel right. It was hushed—the laughter, the joy, the excitement, all of the good things about being in a restaurant were all sucked out of the room. —Cindy Wolf

What was that final night of service at the restaurants like?
TF: We had the very strong feeling the governor was going to shut us down. When he did, I was of two minds. The first thought was, ‘Let’s do something to generate income and at least keep some people working.’ We formulated a plan and immediately responded by having takeout for our guests on Monday and Tuesday.

I had a long conversation with [Petit Louis executive chef] Chris Scanga the day before. He was concerned about being the guy who would go to work and take the virus home to his family—that hit home with me. I slept on it and thought, ‘In good conscience, can I ask these people to come to work when this thing is still ramping up?’ We don’t know what it is or how bad it’s going to be. Are we contributing to it just by doing a to-go business in the name of keeping people employed? I called Cindy and she agreed.

What was the last night of service at Charleston like specifically?
CW: When I saw my waiters in the dining room wearing gloves and my runners wearing gloves and [maître d’] Peter [Keck] walking around—he wasn’t doing anything but sanitizing doorknobs—I was like, ‘This is just not right. This is a restaurant.’ Of course, it should be sanitary, but this is heartbreaking for me to see my waiters walking around with gloves and being scared to walk to tables. I was like, ‘What are we doing? Why are we open? This is not how you operate a restaurant.’ From my kitchen, I can see into the dining room and it just didn’t feel right. It was hushed—the laughter, the joy, the excitement, all of the good things about being in a restaurant were all sucked out of the room.

My ability to fry things in whatever cast iron is lying around has been rehomed from my great grandmother Annie Ross’s kitchen—she was Miss North Carolina 1910. —Tony Foreman

What kinds of things have you been cooking at home?
TF: [My 6-year-old daughter], Del, loves fish and so does my wife, Katie. Two nights a week we have some kind of fish. We got really beautiful yellowfin tuna through work and a nice Scottish salmon. When asparagus are around it’s easy—it’s salmon and asparagus. I also made a fried chicken sandwich for Del. It was super tasty with sprouts and crunchy veggies piled on it. My ability to fry things in whatever cast iron is lying around has been rehomed from my great grandmother Annie Ross’s kitchen—she was Miss North Carolina 1910.

Chef Wolf, from the looks of Instagram, it seems like you’re making a lot of great meals at home.
CW: I love food, even if I’m just cooking for myself. If I have leftovers, I give them to someone who works for me. It makes me happy. When we had a sense that something bad was about to happen, I bought chicken and we broke it down and put it on our freezer in small packages at Charleston. I went to the grocery store and, for the first time in my life, I bought frozen vegetables.

What I have dictates what I cook. My farm in Ohio is just starting out. The salesperson sent me an email saying, ‘We want to send you a box as a gift.’ It was filled with radishes, potatoes, microgreens, and baby parsnips. That really improved my home cooking. In the beginning of this, I ate a lot of chicken. I had some Brabander, it’s an incredible piece of cheese. I brought home a duck breast from Charleston and made magret and ate that for three days. I also got a delivery from Eddie’s. I told them I wanted rack of lamb but didn’t want them to French [cut] it. The meat between the bones on the rack, when left on and roasted properly, is the best part of the rack meat. Between the bones can be so tender and has so much fat surrounding it.

You’ve been posting lots of cooking videos. Why did you decide to make them?
CW: I want to share. I want to teach. I teach every day at work. I’ve always wanted to have my own cooking show.

Any cooking tips for those of us staring blankly into our pantry wondering what’s for dinner?
CW: Reach into the past. All cultures have peasant cooking—all of these old rice and bean dishes. Make things with flour like empanadas—which are made with flour, fat, and water—or pasta. Learn how to make pasta if you can get your hands on flour. Get an inexpensive hand-rolling pasta machine on Amazon. Or boil a potato, mash it, and add ground beef and any spices you like—saffron, chili powder, cayenne, salt, pepper—and add an egg. It’s as good cold as it is hot. Look for old world recipes from French cooking, Mexican cooking, American food, Spanish, and Middle Eastern. Many of those dishes slow cook on the back of stove all day long and make the house smell great.

What will be on the menu at Charleston when you return?
CW: Every day I write things down for the menu, but it’s so seasonal. I have almost an entire notebook filled with either a piece of an idea or something that inspired me. I’ve been hanging out a lot with chef [Paul] Bocuse, I have a lot of his cookbooks, and Anne Willan. I just keep writing, but I don’t know when we are opening. It makes me happy to be with the cookbooks and at least have the ideas. One or two days before we open, when I bring food product in is when we will make the final decisions. I also know people will want the lobster soup and fried oysters—it won’t be a 100-percent new menu because I am here to make people happy.

Will you make changes to any of the other menus?
TF: We are working on a very different presentation and interpretation of the wine list in the cellar at Charleston—now is a chance to do it. We’re going to think about the different restaurants—each one has a pretty pure truth that it’s chasing. I want to make sure that we are as true to those things as we can be. We have the percolation time and I’m going to use it.

What do you miss about being in the restaurants?
TF: The way that our guests rely on the solidity and the care of our team from back door to front door—whether they know that or not. I like that, not just being dependable but being a dependably good piece of people’s lives in a complicated and stressful world. To know that you can go somewhere and you’re going to feel cared for.

Smaller very hand-crafted, curated, and cultivated experiences will be less and less and the attraction to creating those things is going to be less and less—there’s just too much risk. —Tony Foreman

Will restaurants survive?
TF: They are going to be changed. Things will continue to tilt in favor of chains and larger scale places. Smaller very hand-crafted, curated, and cultivated experiences will be less and less and the attraction to creating those things is going to be less and less—there’s just too much risk.

What are you looking forward to when you reopen?
TF: I’m looking forward to that first family meal with our staff. I’ve already told them I will make them a nice supper before we open and I will bring them wine from my cellar, and we will have a nice time.

I walk into that empty restaurant and it’s hard. I miss my guys. [Daytime prep cook] Hubaldo has worked for me since we’ve had Savannah—that’s 23 years. I will not walk into Charleston again until I can start to operate that restaurant again. It’s my life. —Cindy Wolf

Chef Wolf, I’ve seen from Instagram that you’ve been back to Charleston a few times.
CW: In the beginning, I went a few times. I did a bit of repair work—someone who works for us had an opportunity to make a little bit of money, so I went down there. Prior to that, I went in a few times in the first few weeks because I wanted to make sure everything was okay. Also, in those first few weeks, we still had some food left. I went four or five times when we were distributing the food. We did a huge distribution to staff the day we closed.

After being in the restaurant just yesterday, my question was, ‘When do we move forward and how do we move forward?’ It’s killing me. I will not walk into Charleston ever again until I can start to operate that restaurant again. It’s my life. I’ve wanted to do this since I was a kid. All I do is think about food. I’m at work many hours a day. When I’m not there, I’m thinking about food. When I go on vacation, I go to eat food. I eat in some of the best restaurants in France and have a glass or two of Champagne at lunch. A walk at lunch and then back to dinner—I live for that. Getting to immerse myself is so inspiring to me.

I walk into that empty restaurant and it’s hard, and I miss my guys. Hubaldo has worked for me since we’ve had Savannah—that’s 23 years. He’s my daytime prep cook. I am thankful every single day for what I do. I look at him and say, ‘Can you believe what we do?’

Why do we need restaurants?
CW: We need restaurants like Petit Louis and all the little neighborhood restaurants. We need places like Charleston so we can dress up and celebrate our anniversary, even if people need to save their coins to go to those restaurants once in a lifetime. I’m certain that whenever we reopen, our waiters will have to wear masks and gloves, which I can’t stand, but if that’s what it takes to open so be it. We can’t live without restaurants.

OPEN

Fishnet: Summer temperatures always tend to put us in the mood for seafood, and this new destination inside Mount Vernon Marketplace has everything you need to quell your cravings. The College Park staple recently debuted its second location inside the food hall, and its hosting an official grand opening party on July 12 from 4-7 p.m. to celebrate. The menu offers locally caught fish dishes including fried salmon croquettes, tempura-battered catfish and chips, and Baja fish wraps with citrus slaw and garlic sour cream. There are also nods to chef/owner Ferhat Yalçin’s upbringing in Istanbul, where fisherman grill their catch and make it into a sandwich within minutes of pulling it from the sea. Yalçin’s versions of the delicacy—called “Balik Ekmek” in Turkish—include a Faroe Island-grilled salmon sandwich and a local catfish version topped with baby greens and tomatoes.

COMING SOON

Walker’s Tap & Table: Downtown diners (and Hippodrome theatregoers) may remember chef Chad Wells’ innovative dishes at Alewife. During his six-year stint at the now-closed beer bar, Wells became known for his wild boar sliders and pork belly mac-and- cheese fries—which were featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. He later moved on to work with the Columbia-based Victoria Restaurant Group, and now, Wells is attached to a new project in his native Howard County. He’s set to head up the kitchen at Walker’s Tap & Table, a seasonal spot slated to open this fall. The menu will feature farm-to-fork fare and scratch-made pizzas fired in the restaurant’s own brick oven. The eatery joins newer concepts including The Turn House and The Brewer’s Art Tavern in the Howard County dining scene.

NEWS

Ekiben Gives Back: We’d be remiss without giving a shout out to the food scene’s favorite steamed bun superheroes this week. Ekiben owners Steve Chu and Ephrem Abebe recently set up shop at the abandoned Old Town Mall in East Baltimore to serve free Neighborhood Bird sandwiches (Taiwanese curry fried chicken thigh topped with spicy sambal mayo, pickles, and fresh herbs) to those in need, as well as passersby. The goodwill initiative is one of many that the Korean fusion restaurant has organized to bolster its mission of giving back to the community. One recent effort has included running a pop-up with Cocina Luchadoras’ Rosalyn Vera after she was the victim of a hate crime.

Sundays Makes its Return: Two years ago, fans of Dooby’s in Mt. Vernon were delighted to learn that owner Phil Han would be opening a doughnut spinoff inside Cross Street Market in Federal Hill. Though the pop-up stall was short lived (it closed after the renovation efforts at the market began), it made its marks with chocolate-topped Berger Cookie and New York bagel-flavored doughnuts. This weekend, Sundays is making its return with a one-day pop-up at Han’s Fat Tiger bar in Broadway Market. Starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 13, the team will serve Boston Cream, Coconut Espresso, and Blueberry Ginger Meringue doughnuts until sell out. Pair the fried favorites with Fat Tiger’s signature coffee drinks and egg sandwiches for a fulfilling—and filling—mid-morning meal.

EPICUREAN EVENTS

7/14: Bastille Day at Petit Louis Bistro

There’s no better place to celebrate France’s Fourth of July than this Roland Park French bistro. At Petit Louis’ annual bash, enjoy wine, cheese, live music, commemorative t-shirts, and plenty of berets and mustaches to go around. Tickets are $49 and include the special menu, as well as two drinks.

7/14: No-Fun Brunch

Don’t let the name deter you. This booze-free, plant-based brunch is designed for families to enjoy something a little more holistic on their Sunday off. Head to Vent Coffee Roasters to enjoy CBD-infused coffee and health-focused drinks from Baltimore’s own “health-tender” Amie Ward. Of course, there will also be a full-blown brunch menu to pair with the drinks. Chefs from Tom Cat’s Kitchen will prepare vegan dishes such as jackfruit-and-potato hash, Wisconsin grits with crispy onions, watermelon salad with marinated tofu, and maple plantains.

TO 7/31: Crustacean Invasion at Mt. Washington Tavern
To commemorate Maryland’s signature summer dish, this Mt. Washington haunt has created an entire crab-inspired menu running through July. The à la carte list includes a crab and avocado stack, a crabmeat grilled cheese, classic Chicken Chesapeake, crab imperial, and a crab and parmesan-crusted rockfish filet. Grab a drink and head up to the top-level bar to get the full summer experience.

Walk through the doors of pretty much any restaurant these days and you’re sure to spot menu items in sweeping curlicues and block-like shading on chalkboards behind the bar. Or perhaps folding chalkboards greet you on the sidewalk as you come in, hoping to titillate your taste buds with the specials of the day.

Woodberry Kitchen server Serina Hoff takes the art form a step further. For nearly five years, she has transformed chalkboards into menu masterpieces. Working mostly on slate and using chalkboard paint and acrylics that yield a thick, painterly stroke, she has created Monet-style sunsets, likenesses of Parisian cafes, even a graphic show of support for France after the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack.

Though she has always loved art, and was especially drawn to lettering during her childhood in California, the self-trained Hoff didn’t realize her talents until she was working as a server at Petit Louis Bistro, following a move to Baltimore after college.

“I remember the day we got the chalkboards,” Hoff says. “I knew I could be ornate and really give life to those boards, and one day, they needed to be changed and I was around—that’s when it started.”

At first, Hoff simply wrote the menu, but soon branched out to explore themes culturally related to France, using as inspiration iconic French artworks and old-fashioned advertisements depicting scenes of Victorian cafe life. Her works—which could take up to five hours to complete—took on a painterly quality that had patrons raving. “One customer used to show me his phone and the background was one of my boards,” she says. “They became like pieces of art.”

Hoff moved on from Louis to serving stints at Sticky Rice, where she continued to script and paint menu boards, and Cinghiale. And, these days, while Woodberry does not need her slate services (their menus are strictly printed on paper), she’s currently beautifying the boards at Hampden’s Blue Pit BBQ & Whiskey Bar, one of her favorite places to visit when she’s not on the clock.

Ironically, one of the best parts of chalk painting, Hoff says, is knowing that her work won’t last. “I usually erase it myself, because I absolutely love the impermanence,” she says. “I think that’s when you’re allowed to do your best work. When you know that something is impermanent, you’re letting go.”

OPEN

The Civil: From its gold interior accents to its gold-encrusted “24K wings,” the touches at this new Mt. Vernon spot exude elegance. The restaurant premiered last weekend in the building at 518 North Charles Street, which formerly operated as the famed Louie’s Bookstore Cafe before transitioning into Ware House 518 and G.A.Y. Lounge. Now, The Civil offers New American brunch and dinner dishes, live DJ entertainment, and a private VIP dining section on its mezzanine level. Menu highlights include lemon-pepper cauliflower bites, drunken chicken and waffles, banana pudding-flavored French toast, and Cajun fettuccine alfredo with shrimp and smoked sausage. A craft cocktail list includes sweet sips like strawberry mules and Southern peach sangria by the pitcher. 518 N. Charles St. 443-682-8792

Plantbar: It’s no secret that plant-based options are on the rise, and this week, Belvedere Square’s one-stop-shop for vegan, paleo, and gluten-free snacks expanded to yet another new neighborhood. On the heels of opening at Harbor Point last year, Plantbar debuted a third eatery on the ground floor of The Porter apartment building in Brewers Hill earlier this week. Tenants and locals alike will be able to indulge in the shop’s array of wellness elixirs, fresh-pressed juices, bottled liquids, smoothies, and acai bowls. Among the fan-favorites is the X Factor smoothie, which incorporates almond butter, cacao, avocado, and medicinal mushrooms. 3700 Toone St. 410-646-8196

Mobtown Brewing: Plantbar isn’t the only big opening happening in Brewers Hill this week. This new brewery is also celebrating its official debut in the neighborhood on Friday, April 26. Fittingly named after one of Baltimore’s many monikers, Mobtown takes inspiration from the area’s brewing culture (the neighborhood was formerly home to the National Brewing Company) and also makes use of locally sourced ingredients. The 6,000-square-foot facility and taproom will produce signature releases including the Silver Dollar saison, Calvera American IPA, and the 41 Year Lapse—an American pale ale that Mobtown has deemed the first beer to come out of Brewers Hill in the 41 years since Natty Boh operations moved out of state. Sample the beers, tour the space, and enjoy eats from Wild Thyme Baltimore at the kid-and-dog-friendly grand opening party on Friday. 4015 Foster Ave. Ste. 400, 667-309-3653

COMING SOON

Bodhi Corner: Good news for Thai fans in South Baltimore. The owners of Khun Nine Thai in Mt. Vernon and Bodhi Corner in Hampden are bringing their authentic delicacies to Light Street this summer. According to SouthBMore.com, Bodhi is planning to open in the former home of Liv2Eat and In Bloom—the adjoining concepts formerly run by husband-and-wife team Kevin Perry and Cecilia Benalcazar—and offer a menu similar to its sister restaurants. Be on the lookout for favorite dishes including steamed dumplings, “drunken” noodles, spicy curries, baked duck, and vegetarian mock meats. While the Bodhi Corner in Hampden is BYOB, the new spinoff plans to serve beer and wine. 1444 Light St.

New Tenants Headed to Cross Street Market: Another week, another Cross Street Market update. As the first three tenants get ready to open in the renovated property next month, developers at the Federal Hill market have announced even more local concepts rounding out its roster. Navy veteran-turned-food truck champion Joey Vanoni will sling his footlong “Monster Slices” and at brick-oven pizza stall Pizza di Joey, which will be equipped with its own takeout window for late-night slices. In addition, Pennsylvania-based chain Gangster Vegan Organics will offer plant-based smoothies, juices, wellness shots, salads and its popular “Swizz Beets” burgers with cashew nacho cheese on dehydrated bread.

Another great addition: The team from Old Line Spirits in Highlandtown has collaborated with the market to debut a cocktail and wine bar in the space. The 30-seat bar will be a go-to for sipping cocktails made with Old Line’s award-winning whiskies and rums (think everything from classic to frozen cocktails and Crushes), while also exploring a lineup of local beer and wine. “It seemed like a really natural fit for us to collaborate with the market,” Old Line co-founder Arch Watkins tells us. “We’re big fans of the Maryland beer, wine, and spirits industries, and this is going to be a great way to showcase all of that.” 1065 S. Charles St.

EPICUREAN EVENTS

4/28: Guinness Beer Dinner Supporting Maryland Food Bank
Halethorpe neighbors Guinness Open Gate Brewery and the Maryland Food Bank (MFB) are teaming up to host this five-course beer dinner at the brewery, which will benefit the nonprofit’s culinary training program. Enjoy passed appetizers during a welcoming “beer hour” before settling on the tented patio for dinner. Prepared by executive chefs Kevin McCarthy of Guinness and Manny Robinson of MFB, the spring-inspired menu will feature charcuterie paired with Guinness Blonde, petite tender roasted filet served alongside Guinness milk stout, and strawberry cheesecake paired with Guinness’ Foreign Extra Stout. 5001 Washington Blvd., Halethorpe. 6:30 p.m. $75

4/28: April in Paris
Head to Roland Park for the return of this annual springtime festival at Petit Louis Bistro, where guests can expect plenty of French flair like bright balloons and staff outfitted in Parisian berets. Admission to the all-ages festival includes two drinks and a buffet spread showcasing charcuterie, grilled meats, and classic pastries for dessert. 4800 Roland Ave. 410-366-9393. 12-3 p.m. $29-49

SHUT

Della Rose’s Local Tavern: The Bel Air community is reeling from the loss of this neighborhood staple—and Washington Capitals hub—owned by husband-and-wife team Tony and Linda Della Rose. The owners posted a heartfelt message to Facebook earlier this week announcing the closure of their two-year-old spot. “We took a bad deal out of emotions,” the message reads. “This is the only reason we are closing the doors.” Tony goes on to share some of his favorite memories of the tavern’s run, including charity nights for schools and youth leagues, live music performances, tailgates, and, of course, watching the Caps raise the Stanley Cup. “We just ask whenever you think of Della Rose’s, just put a smile on your face,” he writes. “It was a great two years.” Della Rose’s Avenue Tavern in White Marsh, operated by Tony’s brother Joe, is still going strong.

Move over, Ravens and Orioles, a new bird is taking Baltimore by storm: the chicken. Although chicken might not be a beloved Birdland mascot, it’s certainly a rising star on menus throughout the city. For years, culinary gurus such as Anthony Bourdain have rolled their eyes at the original white meat, labeling it tasteless and forgettable, but Charm City chefs have recently taken advantage of chicken’s endless versatility to create memorable dishes.

“The way chefs look at chicken has changed quite a bit, and it’s much more sophisticated today,” says Linwood Dame, co-owner and chef of Linwoods. “There are so many different ways to work with chicken, but it’s difficult to get right, so you’ve got to do it well.”

If there’s one place chicken is consistently cooked to perfection, it’s France, where the bird has been a cornerstone in the kitchen for generations. Luckily for all of us across the Atlantic, French transplants such as Steve Monnier, the executive chef at Chez Hugo, offer to-die-for chicken dishes.

One of Chez Hugo’s most popular plates is the poulet roti au foin pour deux, or the whole roasted chicken for two.
For Monnier and his team, serving such a dish is a painstaking, six-day process that includes carefully selecting chickens from local farms, marinating the meat for hours, slow-roasting the bird on a bed of hay to give the dish a true farm-to-table feel, and cooking different cuts in the oven to make sure every bite is tender and flavorful before reconstructing the pieces to compose a whole bird.

“It seems simple, but you have to make sure the meat is juicy and the skin is crispy,” says Monnier. “This takes a lot of technique.” It’s a far cry from the overlooked poultry of the past, and restaurants throughout Baltimore are offering more and more chicken dishes that soar miles above expectations.

Roasted Half Chicken

The Brewer’s Art
At this Mt. Vernon restaurant, a pan-roasted breast is accompanied by a confit leg and thigh. A watermelon salad, pistachios, and salsa verde provide counterpoints to the richness of the meat.

Poulet Grillé

Petit Louis Bistro
The whole roasted bird for two is a star at this Roland Park staple, but its lighter chicken fare—succulent grilled breast served over fingerling potatoes, with grilled red onions and zucchini and a drizzle of pistou sauce—is just as delicious.

AC’s Famous Fried Chicken

Rye Street Tavern
At this upscale Chesapeake-style spot, ordering the fried chicken—crispy, golden-brown, and packed with flavor—is a no-brainer. On the other hand, choosing between the Southern style, served with buttermilk biscuits and whiskey pickles, or the spicy Jerked version, plated with charred pineapple and Hawaiian rolls, is quite the challenge.

Korean Fried Chicken Breast

Jazz + Soju
In classic Korean technique, this chicken is twice-fried in soybean oil, leaving tender meat covered in a light, crispy shell. This Riverside kitchen’s signature dish melts in your mouth and is tossed with one of two sauces: soy garlic or spicy.

OPEN

LB Skybar: With warmer temperatures (thankfully) on the horizon, it’s a great time to celebrate the return of this rooftop hangout on the 19th floor of the Lord Baltimore Hotel downtown. LB Skybar will officially reopen for the season on Friday, April 27, offering a new indoor lounge and an expanded food and drink lineup. Now boasting an additional 75 seats, the bar with panoramic views of the city skyline is introducing a fresh menu of sophisticated snacks including corn and crab fritters, Korean pork belly bites, Wagyu beef sliders with bacon jam, lettuce wraps, and a shareable hummus platter with pita and veggies. The beverage program will highlight craft beers, local spirits, and happy hour deals Wednesday through Friday from 4-7 p.m. 20 W. Baltimore St., 410-539-8400.

COMING SOON

GDL Italian by Giada: Celebrity chef Giada de Laurentiis is putting the final touches on her new restaurant inside Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, which will serve its first tables on Tuesday, May 22. The 180-seat trattoria will draw inspiration from the chef’s Roman roots, while also making use of ingredients from local purveyors like Roseda Farms and Stone Mill Bakery. GDL will offer meatballs, prime cuts of beef, seafood dishes like crab arancini, and even a large antipasto workstation where diners can see their charcuterie, cheeses, and pastas being prepared. “I always want the food front and center,” De Laurentiis told us on a recent tour. “The best way to draw people in is smell and sight—I want them to be able to smell it from the casino floor.” The second-floor space, which previously housed Mexican concept Johnny Sanchez, will feature delicate fabrics, red and yellow hues, interior greenery, and rose gold countertops when it debuts next month. 1525 Russell St. 

Looney’s Pub Perry Hall: Looney’s owner Bill Larney has already gained a loyal following with four locations of his fan-favorite sports bar scattered everywhere from Canton to College Park. And now, Larney is bringing a new iteration to Perry Hall. Set to open this fall, the spot will take over the former home of The Harp on Belair Road and offer live music, a raw bar, 100 television screens, and an updated menu of its signature pub grub. Stay tuned for updates. 8706 Bel Air Rd.

Union Craft Brewing Sets Grand Opening Date: Union Collective will be gradually unveiling vendors of its 138,000-square-foot makerspace (including The Charmery, Vent Coffee Roasters, and Huckle’s Hot Sauce) throughout the spring. But the actual brewery announced an official grand opening date for Saturday, July 28. To celebrate the debut—as well as Union’s sixth birthday—the brewery is throwing an all-out bash featuring its favorite releases, eats from the collective’s vendors, and live music by local legends J. Roddy Walston and The Business. Tickets are on sale now. 1700 W. 41st St. 

EPICUREAN EVENTS

4/29: April in Paris
Petit Louis Bistro’s annual springtime festival returns to Roland Park this weekend with plenty of French flair. Guests can look forward to outdoor grilling, classic pastries, live music, and staff fittingly uniformed in striped shirts and Parisian berets. Admission to the all-ages festival includes two drinks, and a buffet-style spread showcasing charcuterie, grilled meats, poached shrimp, grilled zucchini, and a selection of cookies and cakes. 4800 Roland Ave., 410-366-9393, 12-3 p.m., $29-49

4/29: Brew for the Feast: Brunch Edition
Grab a group and head to Union Craft Brewing for this doughnut-themed beer brunch featuring treats from Donut Stop Believin’, Sundays, Full Circle Artisan Palace, Vent Coffee Roasters, Woodberry Kitchen, Wit & Wisdom, The Brewer’s Art, and more. Of course, there will also be plenty of beer and beer-mosas to go around. To make the deal even sweeter, all proceeds will benefit Moveable Feast—which provides home-delivered meals to Marylanders living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses. Union Craft Brewing, 1700 Union Ave., Ste. D., 11 a.m.- 3 p.m., $25-30. 

SHUT

Ó Flynn’s Crab & Cask House: On the heels of the closures of Ryan’s Daughter in Belvedere Square and The Life of Reilly in Butchers Hill, yet another one of Baltimore’s Irish pubs is shutting its doors. Owner Liam Flynn, formerly of Liam Flynn’s Ale House in Station North, took to Facebook last week to announce that he would be closing Ó Flynn’s Crab & Cask House in the Brooklyn area of South Baltimore. “Yes my loves, sadly it is true,” the post reads. “We will be closing at the end of the month.” Flynn recently told The Sun that the bar wasn’t generating enough revenue to sustain the building’s rent. To celebrate its run, Ó Flynn’s will be hosting a handful of closing week events including its final drag brunch on Sunday, April 29 from 1-4 p.m. 3432 S. Hanover St., 410-355-9040.

CH-CH CHANGES

Lupa: This weekend will be the last for Columbia diners to feast on coq au vin and croque monsieur at Petit Louis Bistro on the Kittamaqundi lakefront. After four years in business, owners Tony Foreman and chef Cindy Wolf have decided to transform the restaurant into a casual Roman trattoria named Lupa, which translates to “she-wolf” in Italian. In just a few weeks, the space will yield a new interior by local designer Katie DeStefano, as well as a fresh menu featuring Northern Italian cuisine. “It just feels like the right time to change things up,” Foreman said, in a statement. “Roman food is one of my favorite things in the entire world. I’m so excited to do something that is so close to my heart.” (No need to worry, city dwellers. There are no changes to report about the Petit Louis flagship in Roland Park.) 10215 Wincopin Circle, Columbia, 410-964-9999

LB Bakery: Downtown diners will be happy to hear that LB Bakery inside the Lord Baltimore Hotel has expanded its weekday breakfast and lunch offerings. In addition to the regular grab-and-go items, the cafe now features a new menu with dishes like a Scottish smoked salmon bagel, garden omelet, crab cake sandwich, fish and chips, and crispy Buffalo or Old Bay chicken wings. 20 W. Baltimore St., 410-539-8400

Urban Deli: Federal Hill locals have been making this cozy café a destination for morning coffee and hangover breakfast sandwiches since it opened on Light Street in the spring of 2016. Now, the eatery from longtime neighborhood resident Laura McCormack is relocating to larger digs a few blocks north. Expected to debut in March, the new Urban Deli location will take over the former home of Wok & Roll at 1025 Light Street, and serve an array of paninis, soups, salads, baked goods, and local Towson Hot Bagels. According to reports by The Sun, the former Urban Deli space is being converted by its next-door neighbors at In Bloom. Husband-and-wife owners Kevin Perry and Cecilia Benalcazar are opening their own deli in the space, offering sandwiches, smoothies, coffee, and grab and go pantry items. 1448 Light St.

NEWS

Ouzo Bay and Loch Bar Head South: Beginning next fall, Baltimore locals will be able to get a little taste of home while visiting H-Town. Atlas Restaurant Group recently announced that it will soon be expanding its Harbor East concepts Ouzo Bay and Loch Bar to the luxe River Oaks retail district (think shops like Cartier, Dior, and Harry Winston) in Houston, Texas. The new spots will both mimic their flagships, with Ouzo Bay’s signature Mediterranean flair and Loch Bar’s token seafood menu and lengthy whiskey list. 4444 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas.

EPICUREAN EVENTS

2/1: Mashin’ It Up: A Cider Dinner with Hersh’s and Minnow
In honor of this week’s CiderCon festivities, South Baltimore hotspots Hersh’s and Minnow are teaming up to offer diners a collaborative four-course menu paired with imported ciders from as far as the Basque Country and Normandy. Josh Hershkovitz of Hersh’s and Minnow chef Drew Lesoveck present dishes such as a warm octopus salad with spicy pickled garlic, oyster mushroom and prosciutto croquettes, merluza (a cod-like fish often used in Spanish cooking) served with chorizo focaccia and braised fennel, and a brown sugar molasses cake with cider-poached oranges. Minnow, 2 E. Wells St., 6 p.m., $82, 443-759-6537

2/3: Ice Cream for Breakfast at The Charmery
One morning per year, the team at The Charmery in Hampden opens its doors early to serve its customers sweet treats for breakfast. This weekend, break the rules and indulge in witty flavors including red velvet pancakes, cornflakes and milk, and biscuits and gravy. Plus, there will be Belgian waffles cooked to order, cold brew coffee milkshakes, and a special “Cereal Bowl” special filled with five baby scoops of your choosing. 801 W. 36th St., 10 a.m., 410-814-0493

SHUT

Tavern on the Hill: On the heels of multiple closures throughout the city, Mt. Vernon’s Tavern on the Hill recently announced that it will be shuttering its doors for good on Sunday, February 4. Owner Lee Cohen opened the pub in 2013, and it has since become a favorite for diners in search of all-day breakfast, weekly dinner deals, wine and whiskey tastings, and a sunny patio for dining al fresco. “We want to take this time to thank everyone who made the Tavern a great neighborhood bar and kept us alive for five years,” reads a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page. To show its gratitude throughout closing weekend, the bar will offer customer appreciation specials including 20 percent off of your check on Friday, half-priced cocktails on Saturday, and all-day food and drink deals on Sunday. 900 Cathedral St., 410-230-5400

Purple Macarons at Petit Louis Bistro
Executive pastry chef Michael Brown has been hard at work, churning out these flaky macarons in preparation for football season at Petit Louis. Each one is hand-filled with a special purple cream, and features a hand-sketched Ravens logo on top. Pick up a dozen at the restaurant, or call ahead to order a custom purple macaron tower to throw a new dessert into the mix at your next viewing party or tailgate. Multiple locations including 4800 Roland Ave., 410-366-9393

Stalking Horse’s Purple Slushies
While navigating your way around the seas of purple jerseys in Federal Hill on a gameday, head to this Cross Street watering hole to sip one of its signature boozy slushies. “The Raven,” the bar’s frosty, grape vodka-flavored concoction, is a staple at Stalking Horse during football season. Trust us—the brain freeze is worth it. 26 E. Cross St., 410-244-6722

“Quarterback Crunch” Cupcake at IcedGems Baking
This beloved sweet shop habitually fills its display cases with purple velvet cupcakes and Ravens-themed sugar cookies once preseason hits. But one of its hottest purple-inspired treats is pastry chef Christine Richardson’s “quarterback crunch” cupcake—chocolate cake topped with a swirl of vanilla buttercream, lavender sprinkles, and a mini Nestle’s Crunch bar. Visit the bakery in Reisterstown or catch IcedGems’s cupcake truck on the road to snag one this season. 213 Main Street, Reisterstown, 443-690-7056

Purple bagels at THB Bagels & Deli
Though those mind-altering rainbow bagels have been taking over Instagram lately, we prefer ours in a simple shade of purple. At Towson Hot Bagels, the return of the Ravens means starting your Purple Friday with one of these beauties—whether topped with bacon and eggs or classic cream cheese. Multiple locations including 16 Alleghany Ave., Towson, 410-337-0006

The Raven Roll at Ruby 8 Noodle Bar
As an ode to the city, this sushi spot inside Horseshoe Casino—which recently debuted a second location at McHenry Row in Locust Point—features a “Raven Roll” on its menu. Though there’s nothing purple about it, the specialty roll is filled with lobster and avocado, and topped with hefty mounds of spicy lump crab meat. Multiple locations including 1525 Russell St., 443-931-4580

Baltimore BBQ’s Black Raven Sauce
Baltimore BBQ Company co-founders Adam Rosenblatt and Don Fisher teamed up with local roaster Baltimore Coffee and Tea Company to create their all-natural Black Raven barbecue sauce—a dark mixture fusing brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, and ancho chili powder with Baltimore Coffee and Tea’s signature Black Raven coffee blend. Grab a bottle at the Towson Farmers’ Market, or from more than 200 local grocery stores including Eddie’s, Graul’s, and Whole Foods Market.

Wit & Wisdom

Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, 200 International Dr., 410-576-5800.

Acclaimed pastry chef Dyan Ng may have moved on, but the restaurant hasn’t
missed a beat with its sweet endings.

Editor’s pick: “The Baltimore Bar,” with caramel, chocolate mousse, peanut ganache, a brownie, peanuts, and Maldon sea salt.

Blue Hill Tavern

938 S. Conkling St., 443-388-9363.

The
Brewers Hill restaurant, in the glow of the Natty Boh sign, ends its
American continental meals with choices like a Key lime Napoleon, a
fudge-brownie sundae, and a yummy version of baklava (layered BHTlava).

Editor’s pick: Brioche bread pudding with caramel, sous-vide apples, and vanilla ice cream.

Petit Louis Bistro

4800 Roland Ave., 410-366-9393.

The
Roland Park bistro stays true to its French roots from start to finish
with offerings like pot de crème au chocolat and profiterole à la
pistache.

Editor’s pick: The foret noire, a classic Black Forest cake with almond crumble and cherry meringue.

Woodberry Kitchen

2010 Clipper Park Rd., No. 126, 410-464-8000.

Chef/co-owner
Spike Gjerde adheres to his locavore ethos whether he’s working with
free-range chickens, homegrown spuds, or farm-fresh milk. House-made
desserts include bourbon pecan pie with buttermilk sherbet, apple pie
with maple custard, and fresh cream ice cream.

Editor’s pick: The sour cherry and plum pie with brown butter buckwheat streusel, tarragon ice cream, and dulce de leche.