Twenty of the most pivotal events that shaped our community this year, in chronological order.

By Ron Cassie, Lauren Cohen, Janelle Erlichman Diamond, Christianna McCausland, Jane Marion, Amy Scattergood, Max Weiss, and Lydia Woolever

We love assembling our Year in Review because it allows us to really reflect on the slippery nature of time. Were cicadas this year? (Nope, that was 2021. This year we had the dreaded lanternfly.) Did that crazy Code Red air quality thing caused by Canadian wildfires happen in 2023? (As a matter of fact, it did!)

Compiling this list also allows us to consider both the wonderful—the Orioles were great! John Waters got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!—and the woeful. This was the year we lost beloved Orioles Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson (but not before we put him on the “Trailblazers” cover of our January issue alongside other local luminaries like Joyce Scott and Kurt Schmoke). And this was also the year that a mass shooting in Brooklyn killed two people and injured 28 others. (But, on a brighter note, the overall number of homicides were down significantly.)

All in all, assembling this list reminds us that a year, like a life, has a balance—there are highs and lows, triumphs and disappointments, laughter and tears.

Below are the 20 events that stood out the most.

Keith Davis Jr. Released 

After facing four trials on the same murder charge, and five trials overall surrounding the events of the same morning, Keith Davis Jr. was released from prison in January after more than seven years of incarceration. Davis, who never threatened police, was shot multiple times by Baltimore officers, and nearly died during his arrest. 

Newly elected City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates followed up on a campaign pledge by dismissing the charges against Davis in the controversial, long running prosecution. Then-City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby was held in contempt of court for violating a gag order in the case, and a judge also found a ”presumption of vindictiveness” in Mosby’s prosecution of Davis. She had intended to try Davis a fifth time on the same murder charge if re-elected. 

Inspired by his girlfriend and future wife’s tireless advocacy, Davis’ case became a rallying point for local criminal justice reform activists, eventually receiving national attention, as well amplification from leading Black Lives Matter voice DeRay McKesson. 

Wes Moore Sworn In as First Black Governor of Maryland

On January 18, Wes Moore stood in a blue suit before a podium at the State House in Annapolis and was sworn in as not only Maryland’s 63rd governor, but its first elected Black governor, and the nation’s third. Before thousands of attendees (including Oprah herself!), the 44-year-old Democrat and father-of-two took the oath of office using a Bible owned by Frederick Douglass. His running mate, former state delegate Aruna Miller, also became the first immigrant and first Asian American Lieutenant Governor elected in Maryland.

In their first six months, the administration raised the statewide minimum wage, enacted legislation to protect reproductive rights, launched a first-in-the-nation service year program for high school graduates, and revived hopes of the Red Line transportation project in Baltimore. “This journey has never been about making history,” Moore said that winter morning. “It is about marching forward. Today is not an indictment of the past. Today is a celebration of our collective future. Maryland, it’s time. Let’s lead and let’s do it together.”

BOPA Endures a Controversial Year

It started with a parade—or a lack thereof. The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA)—the city’s arts council, events producer, and film office—drew ire on Jan. 5 when then-CEO Donna Drew Sawyer announced that it was canceling the annual Martin Luther King Jr. parade, which had not been held since 2020 due to COVID-19. Faced with scrutiny, BOPA pointed fingers at the Mayor’s office, the Mayor’s office shifted blame back, and, ultimately, Mayor Brandon Scott publicly threatened to pull funding for BOPA (and not renew its contract, which is up in 2024) if Sawyer wasn’t removed.

She promptly resigned—and the Mayor’s office ended up planning and hosting the parade—but the back-and-forth sparked larger questions about city funds dedicated to BOPA, especially in the wake of continued cancellations of BOPA-led events like Artscape and the Baltimore Book Festival since COVID. 

Then, Artscape was mired in controversy before it even happened (it was planned for September this year) when a move by BOPA to trademark the festival was smacked down by the Baltimore City law department in May. The hits kept coming in August, when Hampdenfest organizers were denied an application to hold their neighborhood event on the same weekend as Artscape due to a lack of city resources—again, causing many to blame BOPA.

Artscape weekend turned out to be a bucket full of disappointment, literally, when heavy rain from Tropical Storm Ophelia caused a portion of the event to be canceled—although visitors were still able to enjoy new indoor exhibitions and a headlining performance by Grammy Award-winner DJ Pee. Wee.  

Asma Naeem Kicks Off Tenure as BMA Director with The Culture

When Asma Naeem was named the eleventh director of the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in January, she became the first person of color to assume the position at the city’s revered institution. Naeem, who was previously the BMA’s interim co-director, is known for diversifying collections and advocating to bring underrepresented artists into the conventional museum fold. She did just that by kicking off her tenure as director with the opening of The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century, which Naeem co-curated with the museum’s chief education officer Gamynne Guillotte. The groundbreaking exhibit marked the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop, highlighting more than 90 works (everything from painting and sculpture to fashion and audio) that showcased the genre’s influence on contemporary society.

CFG Arena Debuts with The Boss

When Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band sold out their show for the grand opening of Baltimore’s new and improved CFG Bank Arena (which originally opened in 1962 as the Baltimore Civic Center and was most recently Royal Farms Arena) on April 7, no one was surprised. Yes, The Boss was the draw, but everyone also wanted a peek at the 11-month, $250-million renovation that included an overhauled concourse, plus fresh suites, concessions, and seating.

Springsteen—who had the whole arena on their feet from “No Surrender”—played one long set followed by a seven-song encore. In the eight months since, CFG has also brought in acts like SZA, Janet Jackson, Dave Matthews Band, Eagles, Andrea Bocelli, Jonas Brothers, and Mariah Carey. Impressively, it came in at No. 10 on Billboard’s list of highest-grossing venues (with a capacity of 10-15,000) in the world in 2023.  

Lamar Jackson (Finally) Signs Stalled Ravens Contract

Lamar Jackson is having another MVP-caliber season and, as of this writing, has led the Ravens to a 10-3 record and the top of the AFC North. It’s hard to believe that there was a real chance he wasn’t going to be a Raven this year. Contract talks between the Ravens and their wildly talented (but vexingly injury prone) QB started, then stalled—and stayed stalled. A lot of the consternation was over the absurdly inflated, five-year, $230-million guaranteed contract the Cleveland Browns gave their QB, Deshaun Watson. After all, if Watson was worth that much, surely Jackson was worth more. (Thanks, Cleveland.) At one point, Jackson took to social media to request a trade. Various teams weighed the pros and cons of signing him. There was even a genuine fear the worst case scenario might occur—that Jackson would sit out the entire 2023 season.

Then, on April 27, Ravens GM Eric DeCosta pulled a rabbit out of his hat, agreeing to terms with Jackson on a five-year, $260-million contract. To help out his star QB, DeCosta also acquired a couple of talented wide receivers: high-profile free agent Odell Beckham Jr. and the electrifying Zay Flowers, whom the Ravens drafted with the 22nd pick. Jackson was happy. The Ravens were happy. And most of all, the fans were happy. Crisis averted!

Amidst Controversy, Church Bar Changes Hands—Then Closes

When Church Bar opened in Old Goucher in the fall of 2022, it aspired to change the way the hospitality industry treats its staff, particularly queer individuals, which is how many of those on staff identified. Founder Chelsea Gregoire, a former student of theology and established bartender, had a vision: to create a true community gathering space with higher hourly wages, educational enrichment opportunities, and an equitable tip pool system. With diners sitting in church pews and a menu that resembled a bible, the hip bar was many years in the making. But just as Esquire included Church on its 2023 list of best bars in America in June, the establishment was going up in flames. 

Gregoire, named Esquire’s Beverage Director of the Year in 2019, was on their way out, citing mental health struggles. All the while, former employees and vendors alleged that they were frequently paid late and had experienced a stressful work environment, while employees and investors were misled about finances. Gregoire wrote in an email that they were “heartbroken by the experience that some folks have had…at the business under my watch. This was absolutely not the aim, nor in line with the ethos of what I attempted to build.” 

Within a month of Gregoire’s departure, a new ownership group stepped in to start anew, but received backlash from some former staff who were still owed money. Ultimately, Church’s lofty goals were not tenable. On Sept. 3, the new owners, husband-and-wife  Kristin and Devon Potler, announced that Church Bar had closed for good. “We did not know the depths of pain that existed at Church Bar before we took over, and we pray those who are hurting can find healing,” the Potlers wrote. They also sought to “set the record straight,” saying they paid $15,000 in back wages before reopening the bar in June, “and more after.”

Baltimore Experiences Smoky Skies From Canadian Wildfires

A Code Red air quality alert dimmed the skies in June, making the city feel like the apocalypse was imminent. For much of a week, smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted down from Quebec—at one point, as many as 400 fires burned across Canada—to settle over Baltimore and much of Maryland, turning the sun blood-red and the sky the color of blown paper bags, making it impossible to tell what time of day it was without looking at the clock.

Officials warned residents to stay indoors and urged vulnerable folks to wear masks (again) because of the high particulate matter. Weeks before the Fourth of July, the whole city smelled like a bad barbecue. “It’s like walking around casinos back in the day,” Baltimore pulmonologist Dr. Jay Kirkham told The Sun. Fortunately, one of the region’s frequent thunderstorms eventually cleared the air, though the fires in Canada kept burning.

Legalized Cannabis Lights Up Maryland

On July 1, Maryland became the 20th state (plus Washington, D.C.) in the country to legalize adult-use cannabis, meaning anyone over 21 can now legally buy and even grow weed—and they have. From July to October of 2023, total combined monthly sales of adult-use and medical marijuana have ranged between $87 and $91 million. While there are still benefits to going the medical route, adult-use sales have been more than double that of the medicinal product. But lest we get carried away, it’s important to point out that it’s still illegal to smoke in many public places, parks for example. Additionally, driving under the influence can end in a DUI, and, as the drug is still illegal at the Federal level, it cannot be taken out of the state.

Brooklyn Mass Shooting Claims Lives of Two, Injures Dozens

It was supposed to be a food and festivity-filled block party celebrating Brooklyn Day. Instead, shots fired near South Baltimore’s Brooklyn Homes after midnight on July 2 left two people, Aaliyah Gonzales and Kylis Fagbemi, dead and 28 injured. It was a grim reminder that despite Baltimore flattening the curve on murders this year, 2023 still saw the largest shooting incident in the city’s history. According to police, at least ten different shooters could have been involved, and as of September 2023, law enforcement had made five arrests in connection with the shooting. In August, the Baltimore Police Department released a 173-page “after-action report,” which faulted police supervisors for taking a “hands-off approach” to intervening in the Brooklyn Day celebration. The report also recommended a series of leadership changes within the Baltimore Police Department.

The Spotted Lanternfly Moves in on Baltimore

We’d heard for a while about their impending arrival, but it wasn’t until this past fall that the spotted lanternfly emerged in full force throughout the Baltimore region. Seemingly out of nowhere, not unlike the 17-year cicadas, those dotted gauze-like wings with a splash of bright-red coloring were awkwardly ambling through the air, becoming an even more worrisome nuisance for residents, businesses, and the environmental community, who scrambled to contain their spread. First arriving in the state by way of Pennsylvania in 2018, the highly invasive, non-native insect has since expanded across 23 counties in Maryland, posing a potential detriment to more than 70 species of trees and grapevines—which they swarm for sap, sometimes by the thousands. With few known predators, the Department of Agriculture encouraged the public to squish, squash, and kill the bugs. But with estimated millions now living throughout the state, spotted lanternflies seem like a new autumn ritual that’s here to stay.

John Waters Gets Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

If they were to make a movie out of it, John Waters definitely wouldn’t direct it. It’s all too heartwarming, too uplifting, too much of a Horatio Alger success story. Indeed, if you had told young John Waters—the self-proclaimed “Pope of Trash,” and a much censored and feared director of hilarious, but intentionally shocking films—that he would one day have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he would’ve laughed you out of the room. But over the years, Waters’ reputation has softened from scandalous punk to beloved elder statesman (much to his chagrin) and on September 18, the impossible happened—Waters got his star and a corresponding exhibit at the Academy of Motion Pictures. 

“I’m so respectable I could puke!” Waters told The Guardian. But on that day, surrounded by friends, family, fans, and surviving Dreamlanders, he couldn’t help but to be moved. He even brought a picture of his late parents, who supported him (even if they didn’t get him) so they could be part of the ceremony. Still, at 77, the puckish auteur has a lot of mischief and mayhem left in him. “I’m closer to the gutter than ever!” he proclaimed, kneeling at his star.

Brooks Robinson Passes Away 

On September 26, the legendary Brooks Robinson, the man known as “Mr. Oriole,” passed away at 86. The beloved Robinson was appreciated by generations of O’s fans as much for his warmth and humanity as for his heroics on the diamond. In his honor a week later, several hundred Baltimore Orioles and Brooks Robinson fans turned out for the team’s public memorial for the Hall of Famer at Camden Yards—with the ceremony fittingly on the field near third base. Among the Hall of Famers paying homage was Cal Ripken Jr., who grew up idolizing Robinson as a role model. Ripken recalled making his debut start at Memorial Stadium at third base, saying he felt at the time like he was stepping on “sacred ground.” 

The Archdiocese of Baltimore Files for Bankruptcy

In April, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office revealed the disturbing results of its four-year investigation into history of child sexual abuse within the 200-year-old Archdiocese of Baltimore, the first Catholic diocese in America. Investigators on the case found 156 priests and other church figures accused of the “sexual abuse” and “physical torture” of more than 600 children and young adults throughout the past 80 years. According to the Attorney General’s Office, church officials systematically covered up and enabled the abuse through the end of the 20th century. 

The disclosure jumpstarted long-stalled efforts to reform Maryland’s statute of limitation for sex abuse lawsuits under the Maryland Child Victims Act. The newly passed bill was set to lift the age and time limits for survivors to sue churches, schools, and other institutions. But on Sept. 29, two days before the law was supposed to go into effect, the Archdiocese filed for bankruptcy, a move that attorneys and advocates say was made to limit its liability against potential damages and conserve its assets. The declaration of bankruptcy shifts the legal actions against the archdiocese from the state court system to federal bankruptcy court, where all claims are absorbed into one case as creditors. That means ongoing lawsuits against the diocese will be folded into the bankruptcy courts, considered a less transparent forum.

The Orioles Soar Into the Playoffs

Fan optimism in Baltimore is usually half-hearted, even ironic. “Next year!” we cry at the end of a typical dud of a season, as we drown our sorrows at the bar. But last year we really meant it. With the arrival of stud catcher Adley Rutschman, the Orioles had shown major promise in the second half of the 2022 season. They were clearly on the upswing—and reaching the playoffs seemed like a realistic goal. But no one thought they’d be this good. 

With Rutschman continuing his excellent play and leadership, closer Félix Bautista looking like the second coming of Mariano Rivera, and the emergence of future Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson as a true superstar, the Orioles started to win—and they never stopped. They ended the season with a glittering 101-63 record, the second best in all of baseball, and tops in the American League. They also had an enormous amount of fun along the way—implementing the Bird Bath, both on and off the field; wearing goofy matching outfits; and unveiling the most epic walk-on ritual in the MLB (Bautista’s flashing lights and Omar whistle). 

Alas, they ran into a juggernaut—future World Series champions Texas Rangers—in the ALDS and went out with something of a whimper, but it was an incredibly fun season that we wouldn’t trade for the world. And this year, when we say, “Next year!” we really mean it.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith Come to Baltimore

On October 18, the never-ending saga that is the marriage of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith made a surprising detour in Charm City. Pinkett-Smith, a Baltimore native, was in town to promote her book, Worthy. She stopped by her alma mater, the Baltimore School for the Arts, with her daughter, Willow Smith, in tow. (With apologies to Pinkett-Smith, the students were perhaps a bit more excited to see the 23-year-old “Meet Me At Our Spot” singer than the actress and Emmy-award-winning Red Table Talk host.) Then, that night, attendees at the reading and conversation at the Enoch Pratt Free Library got the biggest surprise of all: an unannounced appearance by Will Smith, and the rest of the family—including Willow’s brother, Jaden, and Smith’s son, Trey, from a previous marriage.

So, is the famously combustible couple together? Are they separated? Exes with benefits? Soulmates without a label? Nobody knows for sure. At the library, according to CBS News, Will Smith called their partnership a “sloppy public experiment in unconditional love.”

Linden Heights Blaze Prompts Baltimore Fire Department to Enact New Protocols

When a fire engulfed a set of rowhomes in Northwest Baltimore on October 19, Baltimore City firefighters did what they always do—went into the inferno. Only this time, two did not make it out. The death of Rodney Pitts III was announced by fire officials shortly after the Linden Heights blaze, while Lt. Dillon Rinaldo (posthumously promoted to captain) died later. The tragedy prompted the Baltimore Fire Department to issue a directive in November setting strict regulations for when firefighters can enter a burning building. The new protocols build on those put in place after the death of three other firefighters (and the serious injury of a fourth) when a vacant building collapsed during a blaze in 2022.

Harborplace Renovation Plans Revealed

For years, the same question has crossed many Baltimoreans’ minds when making their way across the Inner Harbor by car, water taxi, or on foot via the waterfront promenade: When are we going to see a revitalized Harborplace? After previous failed overhauls and years in receivership, the wheels finally began to turn this year. Local developer MCB Real Estate finalized its acquisition of the development in June, and used feedback from its community engagement sessions throughout the year to dream up preliminary plans that were released to the public on Oct. 30.

With input from a handful of local design firms, the plans call for the demolition of the twin pavilions to make way for three new commercial and retail buildings, a 900-unit residential tower, nearly five acres of waterfront park and public gathering space, and a brand new 2,000-seat amphitheater. With permitting and zoning on the horizon, we’re likely years away from seeing any of this surface, but developers have vowed to activate the pavilions with temporary tenants (they currently house businesses like Crust by Mack and Matriarch Coffee) while they await demolition. 

Former City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby Found Guilty of Perjury

In November, the first of two federal cases against former City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby concluded with convictions on two counts of perjury. In January 2022, the Department of Justice indicted Baltimore’s top prosecutor, accusing her of lying about experiencing COVID-19 financial hardship to take $90,000 from her city retirement savings account under a provision of the federal CARES Act. She had received her full salary of $247,955 in 2020, when she used the withdrawals to buy two Florida homes worth roughly $1 million. Mosby, who lost her bid for a third term a year earlier, faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for each of the two counts of perjury. However, anything approaching a maximum sentence is far from likely.

In the second case, DOJ prosecutors allege Mosby misled mortgage lenders by failing to disclose a $45,000 IRS tax lien on her mortgage applications. They also allege that she claimed one of the properties, an eight-bedroom house near Disney World, was a second home—when she had already hired a property management company to handle its rental use. 

Baltimore City’s Homicide Rate Sees Significant Decrease

For the first time since 2018, Baltimore’s homicide rate is on track to remain below 300. As of this writing, the Baltimore Police Department reports 263 murders in 2023, which is certainly nothing to be proud of. But the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) estimates that both homicides and nonfatal shootings have decreased significantly, more than a combined 25 percent, in the last year. Some attribute the dip to MONSE’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy, while others point to crackdowns by new City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, as well as initiatives by community organizations like Safe Streets and Baltimore Peace Movement. With a continued focus on violence-prevention work, here’s hoping these metrics continue tracking in the right direction in 2024.

Twenty of the most pivotal events in Baltimore this year, in chronological order.

By Ron Cassie, Christianna McCausland, Lauren Cohen, Janelle Erlichman Diamond, Grace Hebron, Jane Marion, Amy Scattergood, Max Weiss, and Lydia Woolever

Illustration by Kam Arroyo

In 2022, two years after COVID-19 first reared its ugly head, we finally started to feel like ourselves again. With more than 70 percent of the city vaccinated, masks came off, arts institutions resumed regular programming, bars and restaurants saw an uptick in reservations (we even saw some new, fast-favorites emerge), and annual community events came back with a bang. Of course, like every year, there was some drama and heartbreak, too. (More on that later.) But through it all, our quirky, proud, resilient hometown stuck together—as it always does.

Here are the highlights that shaped the city this year, as compiled by our editors.

H&S Bakery Gives Away Free Bread in I-95 Gridlock

In perhaps one of the most heartwarming stories of the year—which made national headlines—Fells Point’s H&S Bakery made Baltimore proud when truck driver Ron Hill gave away 500 split-top wheat loaves to fellow motorists stuck overnight on I-95 between Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia due to severe ice and snow conditions. Other Good Samaritans included Ellicott City native Casey Holihan and her husband, John Noe, who collaborated with H&S and helped Hill distribute the bread to hungry passengers in need. “It proves there is goodness in the world,” H&S co-owner Chuck Paterakis told us in January. “I just wish we could have supplied them some butter or peanut butter, too.”

Penn Station Renovation Begins

After decades of discussion surrounding the future of Baltimore’s Penn Station, scaffolding went up this February and kicked off the at-least $75-million redevelopment of the 112-year-old train hub. Led by local real-estate heavyweights Beatty Development Group and Cross Street Partners, the multi-year project includes the currently underway restoration and preservation of the historic “headhouse,” from maintaining the Beaux Arts building’s architectural details to reimagining its interior space for new restaurants and retail. It will also shepherd the future expansion onto the drab Lanvale Street parking lot north of the Amtrak tracks, where a new state-of-the-art concourse will be constructed for train travel and public use in 2025. So far, the future of the station’s Male/Female statue is yet to be determined, but the project has implications beyond its immediate location, rippling out into the surrounding neighborhoods that make up Station North.

New Arts Leaders Emerge in Baltimore

Change is good, right? We hope so, because Charm City saw a lot of it this year when it came to our arts scene. Jenenne Whitfield took over in September at the American Visionary Art Museum for founder Rebecca Hoffberger, who retired in March. Over at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Jonathon Heyward will begin a five-year contract next month as music director. The 29-year-old, who replaces departing Marin Alsop, is the first person of color to be the orchestra’s director in its 106-year history. Gregory S. Smith was appointed to be the executive director at Creative Alliance, and Baltimore Center Stage named Adam Frank as managing director. Hopefully 2023 is when we hear who the Baltimore Museum of Art, which announced the resignation of Christopher Bedford after five-and-a-half years in February, will select as their new director.

We Own This City  Premieres

Twenty years after The Wire debuted, David Simon came back with another HBO series that took on the dark side of Baltimore—this time exploring the dirty cops who planted evidence, padded their own pockets, and carelessly ruined lives. Filmed entirely in Baltimore, with a bunch of native extras and leads—our own menschy Josh Charles as a sadistic cop, say it ain’t so!—the six-part miniseries, based on the book of the same name by journalist Justin Fenton, focused on the exploits of the notorious Gun Trace Task Force. Jon Bernthal gave a particularly explosive performance as cocky alpha cop Det. Wayne Jenkins. (And nailed the Baltimore accent, hon.) And local scribe D. Watkins wrote an episode and was deeply involved in the production. Some saw the critically acclaimed series as a bit of a corrective for The Wire, which depicted the cops in a much more flattering light.

Iconic Local Establishments Close Their Doors

For all of the new, exciting food and beverage joints we welcomed this year (among them: The Royal Blue, Church Bar, Marta, Kajiken, and Little Donna’s) we also said goodbye to some longstanding favorites. After 30 years, Cafe Hon—soon to be transformed into a new concept by Foreman Wolf Restaurant Group—shuttered its doors on the Avenue in Hampden in April. The Midway Bar—the only non-strip-club bar on The Block, which was a known haven for the community’s dancers, doormen, servers, and shift workers for decades—cracked open its last cans of Boh in July. And Bertha’s, the green-painted community stalwart on Broadway Square, will soon serve its final batch of mussels and host its last live performance. “It was time,” second-generation Bertha’s owner Andy Norris told us after the announcement of the bar going up for sale in October. “We feel fulfilled, and now we’re able to pursue other things. Change is good.” Thanks for the memories. 

Celebrities Praise Our Food Traditions

Fom Old Bay-covered crabs to pit beef sandwiches, it doesn’t get much tastier than Charm City cuisine. And this year, famous folks (finally) took notice. For instance, it was love at first sight when Cravings cookbook author Chrissy Teigen sampled her first lemon-peppermint stick. (“Holy shit this is so good!” she wrote on Instagram.) Homegrown actor Josh Charles also made us proud when he whipped up a classic egg custard snowball for Jimmy Fallon on air. And actress Melanie Griffith even shouted us out when she was made aware of the bar named after her in Hampden. (Owners Allison Crowley and Hannah Spangler added “Melanie’s” to the name of the historic Griffith’s Tavern when they took it over in February.) “Well..who knew!” Griffith wrote on Instagram. “I am honored to have this tavern, in the city my father’s family hails from, named after me. It looks like a destination where one can have ‘a good ass time!’”

The Baltimore Banner  Launches

Thirty-six years after The Baltimore News-American folded and 27 years after The Evening Sun set permanently, Baltimore is once again a two daily newspaper town. But there’s a catch: This new one, The Baltimore Banner, is 100-percent digital and a nonprofit. Stewart Bainum, who fronts The Banner’s ownership group, the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, had made some attempts to buy The Sun, in vain. So, in June of this year, he and his partners took matters into their own hands, launching their own publication, and poaching many of The Sun’s most high-profile journalists along the way—including Justin Fenton, Liz Bowie, and Tim Prudente. A creature of the digital age, The Banner is a bit looser than The Sun, utilizing TikTok videos, Instagram Reels, and podcasts, but they’ve already broken some big stories, including a report on the infighting among the Angelos sons for eventual control of the Orioles. Will Baltimoreans make the newspaper part of their daily habit—and support it enough to keep it in the black? Only time will tell. But we sure like the sound of being a two-newspaper town again.

BSO Names Jonathon Heyward as New Music Director

Somewhere in the halls of the Joseph Meyerhoff symphony, there sit a giant pair of shoes left behind by Maestra Marin Alsop, who announced her retirement from the top post at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in early 2020. But soon, they will be filled by a somewhat familiar face, when her replacement, Jonathon Heyward, takes over as the 106-year-old orchestra’s 13th music director, starting in the fall. The 29-year-old South Carolina native performed with his future colleagues in three performances this past spring, and when he takes over, he will be the first conductor of color in the BSO’s history and the only African-American conductor currently leading a major U.S. symphony orchestra—not to mention the youngest, by decades. His resume includes study at the Boston Conservatory of Music, as well as posts at the Boston Opera Collaborative, Royal Academy of Music in London, and National Symphony Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Catch him in Baltimore this May, when he will be conducting two weekends of performances.

Timothy Reynolds Killed in Squeegee Incident

Timothy Reynolds of Hampden, a 48-year-old Johns Hopkins University-trained engineer and married father of three, was shot and killed near the Inner Harbor after leaving his car and confronting a group of squeegee workers with a baseball bat in July. A 15-year-old, who was 14 on the bright summer’s day of the tragedy, was soon indicted on a first-degree murder charge. A Circuit Court for Baltimore City judge denied a request from the teen’s attorneys to have the murder case transferred to juvenile court in exchange for a guilty plea to manslaughter.

The O’s Are Fun Again

The 2022 Orioles weren’t just “entertaining cellar-dwellers,” as we dubbed them last year. They were legitimately good—in the pennant race until September—and the fans returned en masse to cheer them on. Much of this improvement can be attributed to their phenomenal young catcher, Adley Rutschman, who brought all the tools to the table (bat, glove, baseball IQ), including some ineffable ones—like an enthusiasm for the game that permeated the team.

But he wasn’t the only exciting youngster. Flame-throwing closer Felix Bautista (nicknamed “the Mountain”) walked out of the bullpen to the strains of Omar’s whistle from The Wire, endearing himself to O’s fans for life. Third baseman Gunnar Henderson has potential to be a superstar—and not just because of his luxurious blond mane. He has a knack for the dramatic, hitting a key home run in just his second major league at-bat. And the longer tenured players—sluggers Ryan Mountcastle and Anthony Santander; the speedy Cedric Mullins and Jorge Mateo—more than did their part. 

The only bummer? We traded fan favorite Trey Mancini to Houston, putting O’s fans in the unfamiliar position of rooting for the Astros to win the World Series. The team—and Trey—came through. Can we have him back now?

Johns Hopkins Moves Forward with Private Police Force

Ever since Johns Hopkins University proposed hiring its own armed police force in 2018, pushback and protests from students and the community alike have followed. Amid nationwide protests over police brutality following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020, plans were temporarily halted. University officials announced they would use the down time to update campus safety measures, improve partnerships with the city, and allow legislators to pass statewide reforms. Of course, many universities nationally and locally (Towson, Loyola, Coppin State, Morgan State) have their own force, but the idea of armed cops on a private campus in the center of a majority-Black city—where relationships with law enforcement are already fraught—has raised controversy and concern about over-policing, racial profiling, and police brutality. 

The university has attempted to allay fears by agreeing to several measures, including complying with the city’s consent degree, wearing body cameras, and only tackling minor crimes, such as breaking and entering and theft (while the BPD would handle investigations of more serious crimes, such as rape or murder). In early December, at long last, after a two-month period for public and Baltimore City Council review, as well as several town halls, JHU finalized a memorandum of understanding with the Baltimore Police Department. This was the latest, and likely the last, step in a protracted process of forming a force to bolster campus safety. Next up: The university has moved toward developing departmental policy and procedures, as well as recruiting and training officers.

E. Coli Breaks Out in West Baltimore

Labor Day weekend brought residents of Sandtown-Winchester and Harlem Park not block parties and barbecues, but an E. coli outbreak. For five hot and humid days, the historically underserved communities in West Baltimore (and some parts of Baltimore County) sweltered under a boil water advisory while city officials scrambled to understand the contamination. The Department of Public Works reported in late September that the E. coli presence was caused when a series of catastrophic infrastructure failures led to decreased chlorination levels in the water system. While no one was made sick, the episode underscored—not for the first time—the potentially devastating impacts of the city’s aged, crumbling infrastructure systems.

Adnan Syed is Freed

It had been more than 20 years since Adnan Syed was found guilty in the Baltimore Circuit Court of first-degree murder in the killing of Hae Min Lee—his ex-girlfriend and classmate at Woodlawn High School. (The case rose to national prominence thanks to the true-crime podcast Serial.) Syed had long maintained his innocence, and in 2016, a judge ordered a new trial, only to have the state’s highest court reverse that decision. But in September of this year, a judge granted prosecutors’ request to vacate his conviction in light of newly acquired evidence not previously turned over to defense attorneys. And by October, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby dropped charges against Syed, declaring that “the case is over” and that he had been “wrongly convicted.” As of press time, the Appellate Court of Maryland announced it will hear oral arguments in early February about whether the hearing that led to Syed being freed was held correctly. Lee’s brother asserts that he did not receive proper notice of the hearing, and was denied the right to be heard, a violation of crime victims’ rights.

Public Markets and Food Halls Flourish

When Lexington Market, the flagship of Baltimore’s storied public market system, opened its doors again in October, after a long and expensive rebuild, it didn’t take long for the lines to form again. When it’s finally completed next summer, 48 vendors—about half new merchants, half legacy, many of whom are multi-generational—will load the impressive new complex at the city’s center—where the community has been gathering for more than 200 years. And Lexington is just part of Baltimore’s reinvigorated system of public markets and food halls. The Mill on North, West Baltimore’s first food hall, will open in the spring with an all-Black vendor lineup.

Wes Moore Elected as Maryland’s First Black Governor; Other Election Results Break Barriers

Baltimorean, best-selling author, Rhodes Scholar, veteran, former investment banker, and nonprofit CEO Wes Moore became the third Black-elected governor in U.S. history this year. But he was also just one of several barrier-breaking statewide officials elected to office. Baltimore state delegate Brooke Lierman will become the first woman to serve as state comptroller. Former two-term lieutenant governor and three-term Democratic congressman Anthony Brown is set to become the state’s first Black attorney general. Former state delegate Aruna Miller will also become the first-ever Indian American Lt. Governor.

Weed Wins: Marylanders Vote to Legalize Recreational Marijuana 

The people have spoken, and they want to legally buy weed. Sixty-seven percent of voters said “yes” to Question 4 on the November ballot, making Maryland the 20th state (and the District of Columbia) to legalize a drug the Feds still classify as a Schedule I substance. Come July 1, 2023, adults 21 and older can possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis and grow up to two plants. But much of the regulation around legalization—including a framework for retail sales—has yet to be worked out. Lawmakers must also wrestle with how to ensure the industry is not plagued with the racial inequities that have dogged medical cannabis in the state since its rollout in 2014, as well as how to execute the expungement mandated by a companion bill that will wipe criminal records where possession of cannabis was the only charge. 

Turnstile Becomes Baltimore’s Next Big Thing

There might be no Baltimore band since Future Islands who has had such a meteoric rise as Turnstile did this year, perhaps setting the new record for local artist success. The circa-2010 hardcore punk band has risen from rough-and-tumble clubs like The Sidebar and Charm City Arts Space to The Tonight Show, NPR’s Tiny Desk, and now three Grammy nominations—with their third LP, Glow On, catapulting the band’s eclectically metal sound and charismatically moshpity stage presence onto the national, and global, stage. We especially love how they brought other homegrown favorites along for the ride, with Ellicott City’s Snail Mail and the city’s JPEGMAFIA joining as opening acts on their fall tour. Meanwhile, they’ll be sharing the stage during the Blink 182 reunion shows this spring. Get acquainted by listening to new tracks like “Mystery” and “Underwater Boi.”

Iconic News Anchors Retire

This was the year that some of Baltimore’s best-loved—and most-enduring—broadcasters retired from the tube, their combined years on air dating back to a time before there was even TV! From top anchor Stan Stovall (a 52-year veteran) and ace investigative reporter Jayne Miller (47 years) at WBAL-TV to meteorologist Bob “Sunshine Kid” Turk over at WJZ (nearly 50 years), morning, noon, and night will never be the same again without this holy trinity of trusted and familiar faces. “It has been an absolute privilege to be a part of your life,” Tweeted Turk. “Just like the weather, the wind can move us in different directions.” We certainly hope that one of those directions takes them across the Bay Bridge to a lounge chair on a beach. 

Report Names 158 Catholic Priests Accused of Abuse

After a four-year investigation, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office’s long-awaited report named 158 Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse, including 43 priests who had never been publicly identified by the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The state inquiry into the dark history of child sexual abuse by local clergy members documented more than 600 victims of sexual abuse. Meanwhile, the full report, including the names of the priests, has not been made public, but has remained sealed under state grand jury law. The effort to release the full report continues to be fought in court, with the Archdiocese funding lawyers trying to kept the grand jury proceedings under seal.

Fire Chief Resigns After Flames Break Out in Southwest Baltimore and Abell

Two major fires broke out this year in Baltimore. In January, flames engulfed a South Stricker Street rowhome that partially collapsed as a result, trapping six firefighters. Three were killed, two were rescued, and one was hospitalized after sustaining major injuries. In June, three injuries occurred after an Abell home displaying Pride decor was set ablaze in what appeared to be a hate crime. Earlier this month, following the release of a report on January’s fatal flames—which offered suggestions to prevent a similar tragedy—Baltimore Fire Chief Niles Ford swiftly resigned.

Twenty of the most pivotal events in Baltimore this year, in chronological order.

By Ron Cassie, Christianna McCausland, Lauren Cohen, Janelle Erlichman Diamond, Grace Hebron, Jane Marion, Ethan McLeod, Amy Scattergood, Max Weiss, and Lydia Woolever 

In some ways, thanks to COVID-19, the year 2021 just felt like one long extension of 2020. (Those days and months really do begin to blur together, don’t they?) But while we know it didn’t always feel that way, things actually did get better. For starters, we’re vaxxed now (right? right?) And—at least until Omicron reared its ugly head—we were continuing to emerge from our COVID cocoon. Museums and theater came back, restaurants reopened, and sporting events were once again filled with cheering fans.

Last year’s Year in Review had a fair amount of doom and gloom—how could it not? But this year, there’s room for silliness (McCormick’s Director of Taco Relations, anyone?) We love doing these lists because they remind us of all we’ve been through in a single year—the good, the bad, the swarm of bugs that emerged from hibernation and just wouldn’t shut up. But the best part is, we all got through it together.

Local Artist Gives Baltimore Salt Boxes a Makeover

We had no idea how much we needed salt box art, until December 2020 when visionary Juliet Ames—best known for her broken plate jewelry—transformed a sorry salt box at the corner of Roland and 36th Street. Snow was in the forecast and restaurants were facing their second shutdown in the wake of COVID-19. “Morale was low, and I thought the neighborhood would enjoy a little art,” she recalls. She wasn’t sure how the Baltimore City Department of Transportation would respond (they loved it) and if it would just be a one-and-done. Instead, she created a Salt Box revolution. Since then, 76 artists have left their mark on 200 yellow boxes around the city—you can find them all here—with each one more clever, more Baltimore, and more iconic than the next. (The project even inspired a Salt Box Snowday wintertime sour from Charm City Meadworks!) 

Mayor Brandon Scott Goes Viral 

When Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott paused, midway through a news conference about COVID-19 regulations in January 2020, to call out “Shorty, pull ya mask up, man,” his admonishment was as casual as his greeting. Duane “Shorty” Davis wasn’t just any heckler, but a local activist, well-known as much for feeding the homeless, raising awareness about mass incarceration, creating protest art—and running an estimable barbecue stand—as for interrupting politicians. The call-out circulated faster than a plate of ribs, moving from video clip to social media hashtag. Eventually, it became a Baltimore City Health Department PSA, slogan-bearing merch, and—maybe most fittingly—a Bmore Club-inspired remix.

Baltimore Safe Streets Leader Dante Barksdale Shot and Killed

The entire city grieved when the respected and well-known Baltimore Safe Streets leader Dante Barksdale was shot and killed on a Sunday morning at the start of the year. An arrest was made in May in the murder of the 46-year-old Barksdale, who’d put his own life on the line for the past dozen years in effort to reduce gun violence, but his death presaged another tragic year in our ongoing homicide epidemic. In 2021, for seventh straight year, the city witnessed more than 300 homicides.

Ekiben Owners Drive to Vermont to Cook for Customer With a Terminal Illness

There’s hospitality, and then there’s Ekiben owners Steve Chu and Ephrem Abebe—who took it to the next level when they drove six hours from Baltimore to Vermont to cater to the cravings of a dying customer. When they got to her home, the business partners set up a fryer out of the back of their truck to make her a batch of their beloved tempura broccoli (and some spicy tofu, too.) Talk about customer service.

FBI Investigates Marilyn and Nick Mosby 

In March, two years after the FBI raided City Hall and the home of former Mayor Catherine Pugh, the FBI was once again inside City Hall—this time delivering a subpoena to City Council President Nick Mosby, who remains the subject of a federal tax investigation with his wife, City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. Neither of the Mosby’s have been charged with a crime to date—and they may never be—but the controversies surrounding the couple’s taxes and finances have had a chilling effect on civic problem solving.

Cicadas Make Once-Every-17-Year Appearance in Baltimore

A natural wonder made its debut across the state of Maryland this May when millions of cicadas crawled out of the ground as part of the Brood X life cycle that takes place every 17 years. “This is the Super Bowl for cicada researchers,” said University of Maryland professor emeritus of entomology Michael Raupp, who we interviewed about the insect invasion. In parts of Baltimore City and County, the air was filled with the ever-present hum of their love songs, and sometimes, the bugs themselves, as they haphazardly made way to treetops to find a mate. It caused a bit of a conundrum for restaurants, who had moved their operations outdoors in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. And then, just like that, they were gone, not to return again until 2038.

Orioles Are Most Entertaining Cellar Dwellers Ever

The Orioles finished the 2021 campaign with a 52-110 record, tied for the worst in the league. (Pour one out for our fellow sufferers, the Arizona Diamondbacks.) By every objective metric, they stank. And they should’ve been unwatchable. And yet, they weren’t. It starts, of course, with Comeback Player of the Year Trey Mancini, who beat cancer to start at first base for the Orioles. When Trey first set foot on the grass at Camden Yards, after taking a year off for his treatment, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. To cap it off, he absolutely shined in this year’s Homerun Derby, coming in second, and making sure all of America fell in love with him, just like we do.

Then, there was rookie Ryan Mountcastle, who came in sixth in the Rookie of the Year vote (he should’ve been way higher) and whose majestic swing is going to be a pleasure to watch at Camden Yards for years to come. There was the heart-in-your-mouth thrill of lefty John Means’ no hitter on May 7, just the tenth in Orioles history. That guy is an absolute stud. And finally, there was the thrill of watching a new star emerge out of nowhere—Cedric Mullins, our speedy center fielder, who steals bases, hits for average and power, and is coveted by every other team in the league. But he’s ours! The future is bright, Birdland. (No, really this time.)

The Sun  Smolders and The Banner  Ignites

Baltimore’s newspaper of record has suffered for years from layoffs, buyouts, and pay cuts as corporate owners have relentlessly trimmed costs. Sadly, 2021 was no exception. A renewed push to bring The Sun under local control for the first time since 1986 gained steam early on, as Maryland hotel magnate Stewart Bainum sought to acquire the paper and local affiliates via a nonprofit entity. But his plan fell through, and in May, hedge fund Alden Global Capital swallowed up what’s left of The Sun in a $633 million takeover of Tribune Publishing. More buyouts ensued after the deal closed.

Bainum’s admirable effort wasn’t fruitless, however. Per an October announcement, he’s putting $50 million behind The Baltimore Banner, a nonprofit digital news startup with plans to hire some 50 reporters and sell 100,000 subscriptions in its first five years. The outlet has already tapped leadership from The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal and plans to launch in 2022.

Demolition Begins on Perkins Homes

The demolition of the historic Perkins Homes housing project in Southeast Baltimore started this summer, making way for the city’s plan to redevelop the site’s 244 acres. The demolition of the 1940s-build homes, and relocation of some 600 families, is part of the city’s and Beatty Development’s $1 billion, mixed-use initiative known as the Perkins, Somerset, Oldtown Transformation Plan. Ultimately, more than 900 market-rate apartments and more than 550 affordable units are projected to be in place when the project is complete.

Domino Sugars Gets a Facelift

This March, an outcry could be heard across Baltimore when the beloved Domino Sugars sign was removed from its perch along the Inner Harbor, where it had presided over the city skyline for the last 70 years. Luckily, by early July, those massive letters returned to Locust Point, albeit a little changed, with the old 4,440 feet of neon lighting replaced by more sustainable, state-of-the-art LEDs, thanks to the Baltimore-based Gable Company. First illuminated in 1951, the original beacon had been crafted by the Artkraft Strauss Co., which made many famous signs in New York, from Times Square to Radio City Music Hall. Some pieces made their way to Second Chance, the nonprofit reclaim store and job training center, while the dot in the “i” now lives on at the nearby Baltimore Museum of Industry.

AVAM Founder Rebecca Hoffberger Announces Retirement

The hard-hit local arts scene turned a bittersweet corner on July 19, when AVAM’s founder and lead curator Rebecca Alban Hoffberger announced that she would step down in 2022 after nearly 30 years spent as director of the idolized Key Highway museum. The institute—which has earned the 69-year-old widespread status as “the P. T. Barnum of the outsider art world”—was derived in the mid ‘80s, when Hoffberger, who had spent time everywhere from Mexico to Paris before circling back to Baltimore, was working as development director of Sinai Hospital’s “People Encouraging People” program. The AVAM opened to the public back in 1995, and has since housed 26 of the trailblazer’s thematic exhibitions. Hoffberger’s final showcase, “Healing and the Art of Compassion (and the Lack Thereof!),” which focuses on fostering a positive society, runs through September 2022.

The Milton Inn is Saved

It’s always sad to see a restaurant close, but when The Milton Inn became a casualty of the pandemic, it was particularly sad to think that this legendary Sparks spot inside a circa 1741 historic fieldstone building was gone for good. Enter Foreman Wolf Restaurant Group, which purchased the place, giving it new life in the form of a French hunting lodge. The stunning renovation is replete with European paintings, taxidermy, and velvet and leather upholstery. We love a happy ending. 

The PGA Spotlight Shines on Caves Valley

The Baltimore area’s first PGA Tour event in 59 years did not disappoint. Just ask any of the more than 100,000 people who flocked to Owings Mills’ Caves Valley Golf Club over a steamy five-day stretch in August. The BMW Championship’s last day stole the show with a thrilling six-hole overtime showdown between winner Patrick Cantlay and runner-up Bryson DeChambeau—though the week also featured four intense rounds of golf with the world’s 70 top golfers, plus a star-studded pro-am tournament with Olympian Michael Phelps, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, and others competing.

Overall it was a boon for the region, generating $23 million in local spending and drawing an international sports spotlight after a year of large events being thwarted by COVID-19. “When you do the retrospective on it,” Caves Valley club chairman Steve Fader said in August, “I think we’re going to say, ‘All the things we hoped for, we got.’”

Hoehn’s Bakery Closes After 94 Years

A bakery is often the soul of a neighborhood, as well as its anchor for those who love baked goods, so the September closing of Hoehn’s Bakery was a gut punch to Highlandtown—and Baltimore at large. Open since 1927 on the corner of Bank and South Conkling Streets, the bakery was still owned by the family who founded it to serve East Baltimore’s German immigrant families. Founder William Hoehn installed the massive brick hearth oven—in the back of a former dentist’s office—that was still in use when the bakery finally closed, nearly a century later. For much of the last 50 years, third-generation owner Sharon Hoehn Hooper, William’s granddaughter, was there in an apron to greet customers who came to buy the peach cake, crullers, apple doughnuts, and other items, many made from the same recipes that William brought with him from Germany. 

McCormick Hires a Director of Taco Relations

Publicity stunt? Sure. Galaxy brain marketing strategy? No doubt. But you know what else the Director of Taco Relations position at McCormick was? A real job. On July 14, local spice behemoth McCormick put a job listing on their website for this coveted position. (Tasks included: “Keep tabs on taco trends” and “Unify all taco lovers.”) The job, while limited in scope (it’s a six-month gig), also included a real salary: 100 grand. That can buy a lot of tacos! The listing, needless to say, went viral. In the end, the coveted position went to El Paso, Texas “content creator” Jo Luna. As Baltimore boosters, we’re slightly insulted that the gig went to an out-of-towner. Now just wait until McCormick creates a Director of Crab Cake Relations. It will be game over, people!

President ​​Biden Visits Baltimore

It was a full house—fully vaccinated and masked, that is—when President Joe Biden hosted a CNN Town Hall at downtown playhouse Center Stage on October 21. The 90-minute event was moderated by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and marked Biden’s first visit to Baltimore, a city that voted overwhelmingly in his favor, since he became president. With the lingering pandemic as a backdrop, the president stumped for his Build Back Better plan, answering questions about the nearly $2 trillion spending package. Much in the Build Back Better plan, including affordable health and childcare and initiatives to fight climate change, is near and dear to Baltimoreans. It was a pivotal moment in Biden’s nascent presidency, as the final framework of Build Back Better was announced just days later. 

John Waters Unveils Genderless Bathrooms at the BMA

We know hometown hero John Waters as the comptroller of all things cutting edge. And in a private ceremony on October 27, the “filth elder” and filmmaker was true to form when he unveiled the Baltimore Museum of Art’s first all-gender bathrooms. To help debut the icon’s self-titular addition to the Charles Village institute—which opened to the public on Dec. 12, along with the museum’s Ruth R. Marder Center for Matisse Studies—was Waters’ longtime friend and trans rights activist Elizabeth Coffey. 

Redeveloped Rash Field Debuts at the Inner Harbor

What would Jake Owen think of Mayor Brandon Scott’s skateboarding moves? Sadly, we’ll never know. Owen passed away in a car accident in 2011 caused by a distracted driver. But his family found a fitting memorial for the five-year-old who loved to skate. Jake’s Skate Park opened in November as part of a larger, $16 million revitalization of Rash Field. Funds for the skatepark were raised this year through an online auction of painted skateboards, and the mayor was on hand to open the facility and try some moves. Now, boarders have legal space for 360s and rail slides—a fitting legacy for a boy who knew how to thrash. Plus, families can enjoy Rash Field’s new Adventure Park playground, updated walking paths, rain gardens, lines of planters filled with native plants and trees, and a soon-to-open cafe.

Jerrell Gibbs Paints Official Portrait of Elijah Cummings

In December, the Baltimore Museum of Art unveiled the official portrait of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings, which will be on view at the BMA through January 9, 2022 before being displayed at its permanent home in the U.S. Capitol. After a long process to find the right artist, Cummings’ widow Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, along with a committee of BMA and community leaders, chose West Baltimore native Jerrell Gibbs, best known for his work painting Black life and identity. In what Rockeymoore Cummings calls a “timeless masterpiece,” Gibbs captures the commanding spirit of the sorely missed Baltimore leader and civil rights advocate, who passed away due to ongoing health challenges in October 2019. “Working on a painting of such great importance meant so much to me,” Gibbs said in a statement. “I hope I made Elijah proud.” 

COVID-19: And it Goes On and On and On

What a decade this past year has been. The early 2021 Hunger Games-esque hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment slowly gave way to a less frenetic but still emotional time slot for adults at mass vaccination sites like M&T Bank Stadium, Six Flags, and the Maryland State Fairgrounds. In May, those ages 12 and up were able to get their vaccinations, and just this past fall, kids aged 5 to 12 had their turn—this time with lots of balloon animals, stickers, and fanfare. Adults also got boosted. School started in-person in late August, with a Maryland state school board mask mandate in place and constant barrage of “COVID Community Notice” emails from principals coming anywhere from once a week to several times a day. Along the way, we’ve been cheered on by @BMore_Healthy, the Baltimore City Health Department’s Twitter account that is hella informative, brutally honest, and funny with a side of sass. As of press time, Omicron was sweeping the country, and Governor Hogan had tested positive with a breakthrough case.

Every year, we’re seriously impressed by the amount of artistic talent in Baltimore, and 2019 was no different, with top-notch music coming out of the city—making its way onto both the local and national stage. It also felt like a year where the musical community came into its own. No, Rolling Stone didn’t name us the best music city in America again (not that we need that recognition to know that we are), but there were numerous moments of reckoning, if you will. Rising artists finally got their due. Established acts performed epic homecoming shows. Hallowed institutions wrestled with their futures. There were both losses of legends and celebrations of lifetimes, and each reminded us of the great impact this city has had, and continues to have, on the musical form. Here, we round up some of the most memorable moments of 2019. And we recommend keeping your ears perked for all that is to come in 2020.

Ethel Ennis passes away.
This past February, Baltimore’s “First Lady of Jazz” passed away at age 86. During the late 1950s and 1960s, the West Baltimore singer recorded for major labels, toured Europe, headlined the Newport Jazz Festival, and performed regularly with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Duke Ellington. As a child, she learned to play piano at the Ames United Methodist Church in Sandtown-Winchester and later became a mainstay at the Red Fox on Pennsylvania Avenue. Disillusioned by the music industry, Ennis ultimately eschewed national stardom and returned to Baltimore for a more simple life, where she performed until her later years. Her mark on the greater musical world remains.

Dan Deacon performs with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
It felt like fate had somewhat of a hand in the moment when Dan Deacon first took to the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall stage with members of the BSO this spring. At the time, the orchestra was in the midst of a contentious contract dispute that would eventually lead to a summer-long lockout of the musicians by the organization’s management (see below), while the electronic artist—15 years after moving to Baltimore and forever changing the local music scene—was quietly working on a new record about overcoming doubt, and reckoning with age and death and time. For a few hours, the two iconic musical acts, seemingly from opposite of the sonic spectrum, though Deacon studied composition in college, came together for a night that would become a gift to the city. The musicians filled the halls with hope, as concertgoers got out of their seats, ran down the aisles, and started an impromptu dance party in front of the venerable stage.

Abdu Ali releases FIYAH!!!.
Over the last several years, few musicians have been as influential and integral to the Baltimore music scene as Abdu Ali. From the glory days of their all-inclusive, underground Kahlon dance party at The Crown to national coverage by the likes of The New York Times, The New Yorker, and NPR more recently, the avant-garde rapper has helped put Baltimore’s DIY culture on the map, remaining deeply rooted to their hometown city along the way. This spring, the release of their studio debut, FIYAH!!!, took their artistry to a new level, fusing hip-hop and Baltimore Club music with jazz and punk. The record and its release solidified Ali’s star power with a full-band lineup, led to a sold-out show at the Ottobar, and helped them nab a well-deserved “Artist of the Year” award from City Hall.

André De Shields wins his first Tony.
As a cherry on top of a 50-year acting career, 73-year-old Charm City native André De Shields took home his first Tony Award in June, winning best featured actor in a musical for his performance of the god Hermes in Hadestown. De Shields grew up in West Baltimore, one of 11 children, and graduated from City College before moving from regional theater to Broadway. He would go on to gain renown for his roles in shows like The Wiz and The Full Monty. A few weeks after the Tonys, he was also presented with a mayoral salute and key to the city by Mayor Jack Young. “This is what you get when you blow them out of the water,” he said during his acceptance speech, showing the crowd his Tony. “I did it the only way you could—the Baltimore way.”

Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon slays on American Idol.
If you don’t watch American Idol, you might have missed, in our opinion, one of the most special stories of the television show’s history. If you do watch American Idol, you’ve already been a Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon fan for months. The Catonsville singer-songwriter placed sixth in the competition, wowing judges and viewers with his sensational falsetto, his original song “Almost Heaven,” and his backstory, the son of a Baptist pastor who discovered he was gay at age nine. This fall, Harmon released his debut album and this winter, graduated from Towson University, where he studied vocal performance.

Beach House gets sentimental at the Hippodrome.
In June, dream-pop duo Beach House returned to the city for their first big hometown performance since the Windjammer music festival at Pier Six in 2015. Taking over the hallowed stage of the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, singer Victoria LeGrand and guitarist Alex Scally put on a powerful show to promote their latest album, 7, with some old favorites thrown in along the way. Typically stoic performers, they both spoke sentimentally about the city, even referencing the Orioles. Opening acts were also must-see sets by Dan Deacon and Future Islands’ William Cashion.

The Ottobar persists and, as The Windup Space closes, Rituals opens in its stead.
Two big changes took place at local music venues this year, with the announcement of sales and closures stirring fear for a scene that already lamented a dearth of creative space. But a few months after the Ottobar announced that its longtime owners were selling the business, it was revealed that longtime bar manager Tecla Tesnau would be taking over the Remington rock club in late summer, keeping it in local hands, and it seems that little has changed. And just weeks after word surfaced that The Windup Space would be closing its doors, news broke that the location would be reopened as Rituals, a bar and venue that would keep the same all-inclusive, DIY tradition alive and well, allowing the arts community to let out a collective sigh of relief. There, lineups have included local favorites like Lower Dens, Eze Jackson, and Chiffon.

TT The Artist pays homage to Baltimore Club.
This summer, TT The Artist made her directorial debut with the sneak peek premiere of her upcoming music documentary, Dark City: Beneath The Beat. Despite relocating to Los Angeles, the beloved rapper has long been a fierce advocate of, and an active participant in, the city’s hometown musical genre, Baltimore Club—the story of which she tells in her unique, colorful film. Featuring cameos and music by fellow local artists such as DDm, Eze Jackson, Mighty Mark, and Rufus Roundtree, it now enters the finishing-touch and fundraising stages in hopes of joining the festival circuit in 2020.

DDm drops Beautiful Gowns.
This summer, DDm released his debut full-length album, Beautiful Gowns, which, unsurprisingly, turned out to be one of the most fun, infectious records to come out of Baltimore this year. That’s thanks to the pure showmanship of the city-born rapper who has brought bravado, wit, humor, and heart to his music and live performances across the city for years, from the local battle rap circuit through his Bond St. District duo and now in his solo career. A year after his planned debut, Soundtrack To A Shopping Mall, was nixed, these 13 tracks stood testament to DDm’s determination and dauntless creativity. Self-released, locally produced, and spread without the help of local radio, singles like “He Say She Say” and “Pull Up”garnered thousands of listens on Spotify and views on YouTube all on their own. We personally love the bright, buoyant ballads of “Hooray” and “Forever 21.”

Future Islands rocks out at Union Collective.
In early September, thousands of Baltimore City music lovers packed into the parking lot of Union Collective for a night to remember by local dream-pop darlings Future Islands. Much like their impromptu Hampdenfest performance in 2014, the band’s free live show took place outside as the sun set, featuring both new material off their upcoming album and fan favorites like “Seasons” and “Balance,” with frontman Sam Herring’s mercurial dance moves out in full force. Opening acts included Baltimore artists Smoke Bellow, Joy Postell, and DJs Jason Willett and Jay Buim, and the brewery’s neighbor, The Charmery, sold three Future Islands-themed flavors of ice cream to support city non-profits.

The BSO survives a tumultuous year.
It was a long, strange trip around the sun for the century-old Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: ongoing contract negotiations that tumbled into labor disputes, the cancellation of the summer season, a highly publicized lockout of the musicians by BSO management, followed by months of player protests outside the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. But this fall, both parties reached a one-year agreement that resulted in the meeting of many players’ demands and the on-time opening of the fall schedule. The organization has also since launched their newly formed vision committee and brought in outside help from arts-org “turnaround king” Michael Kaiser, so things are looking up. (Except for maestra Marin Alsop hinting at her departure.)

JPEGMAFIA continues to soar.
It’s been another big year for JPEGMAFIA. The alternative rap artist, known as Peggy, toured the U.S., to many sold-out crowds. He performed at the likes of Afro Punk, Firefly, and Coachella, where rolling stone called his set one of the best of the festival. He opened for big-name acts like Vince Staples and Flume. He garnered national press and profiles by the likes of Billboard, The Guardian, and Paper. And this fall, he released his latest album, All My Heroes Are Cornballs, to national acclaim— a colorful, cacophonous collage that takes us on a trip into his beautiful, manic, often NSFW dream world. All the while, even though he has since relocated to L.A., Peggy always gave love back to Baltimore, his former city, selling out two nights at the Ottobar, hopping on Abdu Ali’s latest record, and bringing fellow rising local rapper Butch Dawson along on his tour. For that, for as long as we can, we’ll continue to claim him as our own.

Morgan State’s marching band leads the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The holidays came early this year when it was announced that Morgan State University’s Magnificent Marching Machine would be leading the iconic procession of marching bands in the 93rd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, making MSU the first of Maryland’s historically black colleges to perform in the parade’s history. Ahead of a giant Snoopy balloon, the college band, led by band leader Melvin Miles Jr., marched triumphantly in blue and white uniforms for nearly three miles from the Upper West Side, around Central Park, and down to the famed namesake department store on Herald Square. Millions of viewers watched from the city streets and on their television sets at home.

A star is born in Maggie Rogers.
In the 12 months of 2019, Eastern Shore native Maggie Rogers released a debut album via Capitol Records, starred as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, sold out her U.S. tour, performed at the likes of Coachella, attended the Met Gala, and garnered her first Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. While still a student at NYU, the singer-songwriter got her first taste of fame serendipitously, when a video of Pharrell Williams going ga-ga for one of her songs went viral. But everything that came next, and all that lies ahead, has undoubtedly been the result of her own talent and star staying power.

Check out our Spotify playlist below for Lydia’s Top 30 songs of 2019.

As I work on this list of my favorite films of 2019, I’m also, of course, reflecting on the best films of the decade. And I can’t shake the stubborn belief that no less than three (!) films from this year will make my decade’s Top 10 list. Yes, I worry about recency bias: If there’s one thing I’ve learned looking back over my “Best of the Year” lists from years past it’s that not every film withstood the test of time, even in my own mind. It’s fascinating which films seemed vital at the time but have since faded in my estimation, either because they seem hopelessly outdated (Precious or Birdman, for example) or because other films simply have more resonance, a stronger and more lingering artistic pull.

That being said, I feel somewhat confident that my three favorite films of this year will withstand the test of time. Two are directed by incontrovertible masters, who seem to be taking stock of their own lives, reflecting on the work they’ve done and why they’ve done it. The third is an audacious masterpiece from one of the most exciting rising directors on the planet.

So let’s get to it. And watch this space in the weeks to come to see if my Top 3 here ultimately did land on my Best of the Decade.

(A few of the capsule reviews below contain excerpts from my earlier reviews of those films)

1. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Tarantino has made cathartic revisionist history where the good guys win before—his Inglorious Basterds took on Hitler and the Third Reich; Django Unchained enacted bloody (and bloody good) revenge on slave owners. Compared to those films, the Manson Murders might seem like small potatoes, but we can see how they loomed large for young Quentin, who was six years old and living in California when the murders occurred. They were, no doubt, a terrifying bogeyman, a nightmarish scenario for a child to worry about at night, but they were probably doubly resonant for young Tarantino because they intersected with what would become his life’s passion—film (one of the victims was Sharon Tate, a rising starlet and the wife of film director Roman Polanski). And it’s Tarantino’s genius that he managed to see those murders in the context of a culture war. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is, more than anything else, about the shift from the morally straightforward Westerns and war flicks of the 50s and early 60s to the morally murky auteurist films of the late 60s and 70s. His lead character, actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) was a natural fit for those sturdier, squarer times and is having a hard time adjusting to the new cinematic landscape. Dalton desperately wants the approval of the likes of Polanski, who happens to be his neighbor. He’s aided, at all times, by his trusty sidekick, the impossibly cool and laidback stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), a role that will probably win Pitt his first Oscar. The film, bathed in a kind of golden light and accented by iconic neon signage and gleaming American cars, is gorgeous—vintage Hollywood has never looked more enticing. The Manson murders are hardly central to the story but they loom over the film like a specter.
My review.

2. The Irishman

Scorsese is joined by two of his favorite collaborators—Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci (whom he lured out of semi-retirement)—and throws in no less than Al Pacino in his film about the war waged between teamster Jimmy Hoffa and the New Jersey mafia. Even more so than Tarantino, Scorsese is in self-reflection mode here, reckoning with his own past, his history of making great films about not-so-great men. The Irishman is filled with colorful characters and all the bluster, humor, and violence you’d expect from a Scorsese film, but it moves beyond the glory days to ask: When it is all over, what are left with? Old men, filled with regret, forgotten by time, enfeebled by age, fading into irrelevance. Of course, with a film this vital, this deeply felt, this elegiac, Scorsese proves that his own star will never dim.
My review.

3. Parasite

Can you be both deeply cynical and humanist at the same time? Bong Joon Ho demonstrates both tendencies in this wickedly funny (and grim) satire. The film takes a classic upstairs/downstairs scenario and turns it on its head. The wealthy Park family are not terrible people, but their noblesse oblige comes with a heaping side order of classist disgust. And the loveable family of grifters who worm their way into the Park mansion? They’re willing to take down anyone who stands in the way of their new windfall. The film, while stylish and almost extravagantly entertaining, also forces us to interrogate our own biases and assumptions.
My review.

4. Portrait of a Lady on Fire

If the Female Gaze had an official film it would be this one, by French director Céline Sciamma. In the rugged countryside of 18^th century France, the fearless Marianne (Noémie Merlant) has been hired to paint a portrait of Heloise (Adèle Haènel), who is to be married off to an Italian count she’s never met. But since Heloise wants neither the marriage nor the portrait, Marianne must work surreptitiously, befriending Heloise and stealing furtive glances and sketches when her new friend isn’t looking. Heloise is angry, and with good reason. She loves music and literature and her freedom—she has no desire to be anyone’s wife. As for Marianne, a gifted artist, she must toil as a female in a field whose methodology and themes are completely defined by men. The film imagines a radical alternate reality of sorts where women’s anger is able to be fully expressed and rituals central to their lives (abortions for example) are considered valid artistic subjects. Beautiful, bruising, and sensuous, the film—like Greta Gerwig’s great adaptation of Little Women which almost made this list—allows us to contemplate a better world where women are given bodily autonomy and artistic freedom.
Baltimore opening date: TBD

5. Uncut Gems

I can’t get this meshuggeneh film out of my head. It’s honestly a nightmare—a nervous breakdown of a movie that never allows you to catch your breath. But it’s mesmerizing. Adam Sandler, in his best performance yet (I say this as a person who thinks Sandler is a great actor) plays a Jewish merchant in New York’s famous Diamond District who is also a gambling addict. More importantly, he’s addicted to the hustler’s life, even as it destroys him. The Safdie Brothers film him like a shark that needs to keep moving to stay alive. The film is sweaty, twitchy, disturbing, and utterly wonderful.
Opens Christmas day.

6. Marriage Story

As Tolstoy said, “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” So it is with divorces and Noah Baumbach shines a light on a particular divorce (not his own! he swears!) that will slowly break your heart. Actress Nicole (Scarlett Johannson) and director Charlie (Adam Driver) want to do things amicably, including sharing the custody of their son. Then she ends up in California (he’s in New York) and gets seduced by a shark of a lawyer (Laura Dern) who encourages her to lean in. He hires a shark of his own (Ray Liotta). They both seem baffled, swept up by all the unexpected ugliness. A film about how two good people who once truly loved each other can be separated by physical and emotional gulfs. The two leads are remarkable.
My full review.

7. Jojo Rabbit

In most films, Nazis are the cold, brutal men. In Taika Waititi’s equal parts funny and tragic Jojo Rabbit, they are sometimes that, but more often ridiculous, bored, and/or clueless. This is the sly genius of a film that highlights what has recently become an uncomfortable truth: “Nazis, they’re just like us!” Our young Hitler-worshipping hero (Roman Griffin Davis) is shielded from the ugliness of Nazism by his own resistance-minded mother (Scarlett Johansson) who believes that his ignorance protects him. The imaginary Hitler friend Jojo conjures (Waititi) is a mostly loveable buffoon who encourages him to be brave and resolute. Things get complicated when Jojo discovers the Jewish girl his mother is sheltering in the attic and develops real feelings for her. Sometimes, losing one’s innocence means confronting man’s capacity for evil. Among its many other virtues, Jojo Rabbit contains the best deployment of an F-Bomb ever wielded in a family-friendly film.
My review.

8. Honeyland

I’ve never seen anything like it. Directors Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov takes us deep into a remote Macedonian village where our middle-aged heroine, Hatidze, collects honey from bees and tends to her ailing mother. She is a simple woman who lives in complete harmony with her bees, until a family of nomads moves in next door. At first she enjoys their company—there are playful, rough-and-tumble children running about the hills and adults to talk to—but the father starts harvestings bees as well, only he is less eco-friendly than Hatidze is. While the bees never sting Hatidze, the father, who also recruits his children to help, is constantly getting stung. (In one sad scene, a baby gets stung in the face; in another, a little girl is seen sitting forlornly with a bee-sting-swollen eye; the middle son, who resents his father, often refuses to help.) The father is exploiting the bees—and the land—and taking away Hatidze’s livelihood, but can we truly blame him? He has nearly 10 mouths to feed. Honeyland is an uncommonly beautiful film, as we watch Hatidze traipse through the fields and mountains, often backlit and basking in her peaceful solitude. This kind of access to and deep examination of the lives of people we’d otherwise never meet is one of the reasons I love cinema. I’ll never forgot this unruly and rambunctious and resilient family of nomad children. But mostly I’ll never forget the heartbreaking grace and kindness of Hatidze.
Available to rent on Amazon Prime.

9. The Souvenir

We’ve all had bad boyfriends or girlfriends who nonetheless had an outsized influence on our lives. Joanna Hogg’s gorgeously-crafted film, set in the early 80s, is about a particularly bad boyfriend—condescending, withholding, an addict—who nonetheless had a certain Byronic glamour and who, quite possibly, helped our aspiring-filmmaker heroine become a better artist. With Honor Swinton Byrne (Tilda’s kid) as the young filmmaker and Tom Burke as the louche, disaffected man she can’t stay away from. Good news for all: Tilda Swinton is also on hand, playing the devoted mother who helplessly watches her daughter’s toxic relationship play out.

10. 1917

In WWI, two British foot soldiers—hungry, tired, and hopeful that the war will soon end—are abruptly given a near impossible assignment: to travel through “No Man’s Land” to the front lines to warn 1,600 British troops that they’re about to walk into a German trap. The mission is personal for one of the two soldiers (Dean-Charles Chapman)—his lieutenant brother is among the men about to fall prey to the trap. The other one (George McKay) is just a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Off they go, the two of them—so young, babies really—scared, but brave, chatting idly to keep their morale up. Sam Mendes’ film, convincingly shot to create the illusion that it’s all one long take, works as both an adventure and buddy film. It’s thrilling, ravishing, and, at times, achingly sad.
Opens Christmas Day

11. The Last Black Man in San Francisco

Joe Talbot’s beautiful film aims for something mythic—and achieves it. In San Francisco, a young black man named Jimmie (Jimmie Falls, who also co-wrote the story, loosely based on his own life) obsessively tends to a Victorian townhouse that isn’t his. He paints the trim, plants flowers in the window ledges—much to the consternation of the white couple that resides in it. You see, he says the house was built by his grandfather; he has a special connection to it. The film follows what happens when the white couple leaves and Jimmie and his courtly, quietly observant best friend (Jonathan Majors) squat in the house. They are men out of time—two gentle artists struggling to live in a world that is too expensive, too uncaring, too unjust to lift them up.

12. Knives Out

This film is a total blast. Director Rian Johnson does an updated take on an Agatha Christie style murder mystery, employing a goodly amount of meta humor and some of the best actors in the biz, clearly having the time of their lives. When the mystery writing patriarch (Christopher Plummer) of a large family dies by unlikely suicide, everyone is a suspect, including the rascally grandson (Chris Evans), the grasping in-law (Toni Colette), and the sad sack, underachieving son (Michael Shannon). And what to make of the patriarch’s special relationship with his beautiful immigrant caregiver (Ana de Armas)? With Daniel Craig as the larger-than-life detective with a thick-as-molasses drawl, and Jamie Lee Curtis as quite possibly the only competent family member left.
My review.

[Honorable mention to Ready or Not, a fun horror/thriller also featuring a satirical murder mystery in a creepy old house that would make a nifty double feature with Knives Out.]

13. Us

Jordan Peele defies the sophomore slump with this chilling and thought-provoking thriller. A family goes to their beach house, looks out the window and see a horrifying simulacrum of themselves—only feral, dressed in red jumpsuits, with rictus grins, and holding knives. It becomes clear that this family of doppelgangers, who live underground, wants to kill and replace them. Lupita Nyong’o gives one of the best performances of the year as both the frenzied doppelganger and the ferocious mother who will do anything to protect her family and retain her own status as one who lives in the light.
My review.

14. Hustlers

It’s J-Lo’s world, we just live in it. Lopez gives a balls-out, “I’m a star, get out of my way” performance as aging stripper Ramona, who takes wide-eyed newcomer Destiny (Constance Wu) under her wing, and eventually recruits her in a scheme to scam money from Wall Street jerks. Lorene Scafaria’s film borrows heavily from Goodfellas (hey, good choice) but has a giddy, sister-power language and rhythm of its own. It’s a crime caper, but even more so, it’s a celebration of female friendship, badassery, and resilience.
My review.

15. The Farewell

There’s a lot of gentle humor and a deep reservoir of empathy in this film about a Chinese-American family who travel to China to be with their aging grandmother (Zhao Shuzhen). But there’s one catch: They know she’s dying of cancer, she doesn’t. This fact shocks and offends granddaughter Billi (Awkwafina), who has a particularly close relationship with her “Nai Nai” and believes she is deserving of the truth. One of the things that makes The Farewell so winning is that Billi’s belief system, which often mirrors our own, is challenged along the way. She begins to understand why the family doesn’t tell Nai Nai about her illness—that they are shouldering the burden of grief and fear for her. The Farewell is loosely based on writer director Lulu Wang’s own family and it shows: The specificity of detail, the complete avoidance of cliché, and the deep immersion in family ritual makes this film really come to life. Awkwafina is great in her first (semi) dramatic role, but the breakout is Zhao Shuzhen, who plays Nai Nai with an irresistible amount of warmth, playfulness, and wisdom.

My review

Honorable Mention: Little Women, Midsommar, Pain and Glory, Toy Story 4, Waves.

Perhaps it’s because this particular bar reviewer isn’t getting any younger, but we sure appreciated this year’s national trend toward lower-proof spirits, session beers, and health-conscious cocktail ingredients. While the stresses of 2018 did still inspire us to throw a few back, it was nice that our mornings after weren’t quite as harsh.

Baltimore also saw the rise of natural wines and welcomed the opening of some outside-of-the-box bars and breweries this year. In no particular order, here were 10 of our favorite ways to imbibe in 2018.

Aperol Spritz at Little Bird Coffee Bar
We dare you to find anything more refreshing than sipping an Aperol Spritz on the terrace of the newly opened Little Bird Coffee Bar in Hampden. From the owners of the cocktail gurus at Bluebird just upstairs, this cafe is quaint and charming in all the right places. Our absolute favorite part is the menu of spritzes (a welcome trend at other bars and restaurants), which come in Aperol, Campari, Cynar, and Elderflower varieties—simply a balanced ratio of each base spirit mixed with crisp Primaterra Prosecco, club soda, and an orange twist. Ah, total relaxation.

Epoch Rye by Baltimore Spirits Company
Okay, granted, this does not qualify as a low-proof spirit, but we had to give a shout to Baltimore Spirits Company for finally releasing its whiskey (and a few other distillations to follow) after it had been aging in American oak barrels since 2015. As with many whiskies, it turns out it was worth the wait since Epoch has a perfect balance of spicy rye notes like clove, cinnamon, and tropical fruit with the sweeter flavors of vanilla and honey imparted from the barrels. This was made all the better inside the distillery’s new tasting room at Union Collective, which opened its doors in September.

Gose O’s by DuClaw Brewing
This past year, thanks to the addition of brewing legend Ernie Igot (formerly of Peabody Heights), DuClaw Brewing in Rosedale has been putting out some of its tastiest beers since it was founded in 1996. (Be sure to check out the “Sour Me” series in peach, mojito, and dry-hopped versions or its recent barrel-aged Retribution releases.) But the latest iteration of Gose O’s—released in time for Orioles season—had even crisper notes of cantaloupe and sea salt, making it the perfect accompaniment to a summer game, no matter the score.

Midori Highball from Regal Beagle
One of our favorite new bar additions of the year, Regal Beagle opened its doors in Canton at the beginning of May and we soon wondered how we lived for so long without its vintage, tiki vibes. Inspired by the Three’s Company era, the bar has a distinct late ’70s/early ’80s feel and the fun and colorful cocktails reflect that. One of our initial favorites was the Midori Highball with with Nikka Japanese gin, Green Chartreuse, yuzu juice, fresh honeydew, and salt. We love a good liquid time machine.

Duck Season Old Fashioned at Wit & Wisdom
It is with a bittersweet palate that we recognize how Wit & Wisdom has revolutionized the Baltimore cocktail scene since it opened in the Four Seasons hotel in 2011. Though the bar will pour its last drink on December 31, Wit is going out with a bang as newly hired Gina Netisingha brought the program to an entirely new level this year. Take the Duck Season Old Fashioned in which Four Roses Yellow Label Bourbon was carefully infused with duck fat and rosemary to give it an incredibly silky texture and finished off with simple additions of sugar and bitters. Classic, just how we’ll remember the place itself.

Hello by Wet City
This Mt. Vernon bar has been a go-to place to try experimental beer styles since it opened a couple years back. But this year, finally, we were able to see what the Sullivan brothers could do with their own, newly built brewery system. Wet City’s first release, aptly dubbed Hello, was a perfect example of how a popular New England-style IPA should be: tropical pineapple on the nose, thick in body from flaked oats and barley, and super piney and citrusy tasting notes. We were sure glad to be introduced to this one.

Autumn Cider by Old Line Spirits
This was also the year that Baltimore welcomed its first bar inside a distillery, as Old Line Spirits opened The Ready Room at its Highlandtown facility. The bar menu was clever and made use of Old Line’s single-malt scotch and aged Caribbean rum, but we were particularly excited about this autumn cider by bar director Steve Lamb. A combination of the American Single Malt Whiskey, apple cider, chai tea, cinnamon, star anise, clove, and lemon, the cocktail was cozy and felt like our official drink of fall.

Chrysalis by Monument City Brewing
While Monument City is known more for its classic beer styles like rye IPA and brown ale, the brewers went a bit outside the box with the purple-hued Chrysalis. Brewed in collaboration with veteran organic food producer Hex Ferments, they used the company’s butterfly-lime kombucha to create the 3.5 percent (!) gose. The butterfly pea flower gave the beer its unique color and tart, refreshing flavor. We love how this brew got us to think about beer in a whole new way.

Pétillant-Natural Piquette by Old Westminster Winery
In 2018, we learned all about the versatility and funky flavors of natural wine, thanks to the opening of Fadensonnen, a wine bar and beer garden in Old Goucher. One of the best (and local!) varieties we tried at the bar was the Pétillant-Natural Piquette by Old Westminster Winery, which is spritzy, lower in alcohol, and a natural byproduct of the sustainable winemaking program out in Western Maryland. And, damn, if it isn’t juicy, refreshing, and beautiful in color. You’ll surely want more than one glass.

Keeper Stout (Nitro) by Checkerspot Brewing
The long-awaited Checkerspot Brewing Company debuted in South Baltimore this year and we were stoked to try their home-brew recipes on a larger scale. Known for its genre-defying styles and unique, local ingredients, Checkerspot kept us on our toes with every new release. Most recently, the Keeper Stout on nitro, a beer that’s fortified with crab shells from J.M. Clayton Seafood Company in Cambridge, has been the most satisfying winter pour.

PressBox’s second annual Best Of Baltimore Sports highlights the Sportspersons of the Year and more than 60 honorees celebrating the top sports people, performances and moments of 2018.

Who made the cut as the best upset, newcomer, surprise and more? Find out at PressBoxOnline.com/BestOf

This was the year that I ate my way around the world—without having to leave Baltimore where global cuisine continues to soar in this city. From France to Japan to Peru to Spain to England to India (and America, too!), these are my picks for best bites of 2018.

Pan con Tomate at La Cuchara
Think of this dish as a Basque Country take on pizza—grilled bread brushed with high-quality Spanish olive oil and topped with crushed tomatoes and garlic and a sprinkle of flaky fleur de sel. You can pick from a variety of mouth-watering toppings like boquerones (white anchovies) or Spanish olives. I like mine topped with near-transparent sheets of hand-carved, melt-in-your-mouth Ibérico ham.

Robata Prawns at Azumi
There’s nothing quite like the robata prawns at this Harbor East sushi emporium. Earlier this year, the staff took a trip to the Land of the Rising Sun and brought back new ideas to refresh the already excellent menu swimming with some of the highest quality seafood in the city. The Robata prawns—think Japanese barbecue cooked over hot charcoal—are one example. The shellfish, sourced from the waters of the Pacific, is sweet and spicy, and nearly lobster-like in size. When the meat was gone, I shamelessly sucked on the shells.

Grilled Cheese Spiked at Artifact Coffee
It may seem strange to single out an item that graces every children’s menu in America, but if that’s what you’re thinking, then you’ve never tried the grilled cheese at Artifact. The sharp cheddar cheese oozes into every nook and cranny of the buttery house-made potato bread, but what really makes it is the fact that the sandwich comes “spiked” (a no-so-subtle reference to co-owner and James Beard Award-winning chef Spike Gjerde) with onions and house-made pickles. Kids will like it, but it’s also a grilled cheese that any adult would love. I’m among them.

Ceviche at Puerto 511
Having spent eight days eating ceviche night and day (and day and night) in Peru last August, I feel like I’m practically a certified ceviche specialist. The charming Puerto 511, run by Peruvian-born chef Jose Victorio Alarcon and his wife, features three types of ceviche—and you can’t go wrong with any of them, though I favor the one listed on the menu as “Clasico,” which is advertised as: Best ceviche in Balitmore ever.” Anywhere else, that might sound like hyperbole, but here it’s the total truth. This ceviche has all the hallmarks of authenticity: kernels of oversized Andean corn, hunks of glazed sweet potato, and leche de tigre (tiger’s milk), the citrus-based marinade used to cure the seafood, and, of course, piles of fabulous fish.

Chicken for Two at Chez Hugo
The Italians have their pasta, the Greeks have their lamb, and the French have their chicken. Steve Monnier’s take, the poulet roti au foin pour deux—or the whole roasted chicken for two—entails a painstaking six-day process. The process begins with marinating the meat for many hours, slow-roasting the bird on a bed of hay, and cooking different cuts in the oven to make sure that every part of the bird is prepared just so. The result: A bird that’s juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and perfect from breast to thigh. As they say, Rome—or Paris, in this case—wasn’t built in a day.

Beef Wellington at Gordon Ramsay Steak
The Michelin-starred celebrity chef brings his signature dish to Gordon Ramsay Steak inside the Horseshoe Casino. Believe the hype—the chateaubriand is slathered with Dijon mustard and stuffed with duxelles and chestnut mushrooms, then wrapped in a blanket of transcendent puff pastry that could just as well be considered dessert for dinner.

Goa fish at Ananda
Pretty much anything you point to on the menu at this romantic Fulton restaurant is a winning dish, but the whole pan-fried fish off the coast of the Subcontinent is coated in roasted garlic, tamarind, and scallions. It bursts with flavor and spice.

Macarons from Sacré Sucré
There’s no such thing as a bad cookie, but the exquisite gems at this new Fells Point bakery rival anything I’ve eaten in Paris. Unlike most macarons, which are made with buttercream or artificial flavoring, these treasures are packed with fresh fruit. Try the fig or the raspberry and count it as your fruit serving for the day.

Fried Chicken at Rye Street Tavern
If I’m going to commit to fried chicken, it had better be great. This dish, served with a pickle spear and a biscuit, lives it up to the hype. To perfect his recipe, chef Andrew Carmellini traveled to the country’s best chicken shacks and came up with this version. Consider spicing it up by ordering the chicken fried with Old Bay.

Salmon at Neopol Savory Smokery
This Belvedere Market purveyor features fish that is smoking delicious. Neopol highlights house-smoked Scottish salmon with a variety of wet and dry rubs, from candied ginger and dried cranberry to cracked peppercorn and green tea. I’ve tried them all. My favorite is the Herbs de Provence spice rub that adds a note of savoriness to the sweetness of the salmon.

We traveled to Appalachia to sit inside the last honky-tonk bar in Winchester, Virginia, and took a ride back in time to learn about Maryland’s rich history in music. We were mesmerized by the timeless mystique of mermaids and disheartened by the dire state of the Chesapeake Bay. We got perspective into our city’s history, through stories of the 1968 riots after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, the Baltimore Uprising of 2015, and the aftermath of both.

And we did this all through books that were penned by Baltimore authors.

We pored over poetry, novels, art books, children’s books, collected essays, memoirs, and handbooks, all of which provided insight into understanding our world and ourselves. Here are our top picks for the must-read books of the 2018. (Spoiler alert: in the case of Michael Northrup’s book, it’s a must-see.)

I Wrote This Book Because I Love You
Tim Kreider (Simon & Schuster)

It’s no surprise that when he’s not writing for The New York Times, Tim Kreider is also a cartoonist (many in Baltimore may know him for his dark-humor comic strip “The Pain—When Will It End?,” which ran for 12 years in City Paper). The Baltimore native’s second collection of essays is chock full of laugh-out-loud moments, mostly at his own expense, as he puts his love life on display with stark honesty. Like the time he briefly dated a prostitute (er, fetish model), or when he followed a girl to the circus and posed as her husband, or when he tracked down the psychologist who tested him as a child for the renowned Strange Situation study that’s used to predict attachment issues into adulthood. All the while, he’s discovered a thing or two. Kreider isn’t solely a humorist—he’s also part philosopher, part psychologist, part poet. Paired with his depth of insight into the human condition and startlingly sharp observations, this intimate collection is as hilarious as it is poignant, as it explores what it means to love and be loved—even if it’s love shared with your 19-year-old cat.

Hummingbirds in the Trenches
Kondwani Fidel (self-published)

Kondwani Fidel’s raw, brutal, and unabashedly honest account of growing up in Baltimore and losing family and friends to murder, drugs, and gang violence is painful to read but also refreshing, uncompromising in its integrity to tell the truth as he sees it. There’s a sensitivity and a fire to the voice of this 25 year old, who has already traveled the country and world to give lectures and readings. His new collection of memoir-esque essays, one-liners, conversation excerpts, and rhythmic poetry—referred to as “The Tracklist” in the table of contents—encompasses the writer’s ruminations and research. Here, he reflects on the repercussions of slavery and systemic racism in America: the toxic lead paint study on black youth; kids suffering in public schools without air conditioning or heat; and general poverty, depression (including his own), suicide, drugs, and blood on the streets of East Baltimore. If you’re not aware of what growing up in a rough neighborhood is like—what it’s like to be a hummingbird in the trenches—this book will pry your eyes wide open.

Clock Dance
Anne Tyler (Knoff)

In Anne Tyler’s latest novel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Baltimore author explores the passage of time and how pivotal moments come to define us. In blocks of narrative that skip ahead 10 to 20 years at a time, she tells the story of a rather ordinary character, Willa Drake, whom we meet as a daughter, wife, and mother of adult children who longs to be a grandmother. We see her through love and loss, from childhood into retirement—and we watch as she evolves (albeit slowly). It’s Tyler’s graceful prose and solid narrative, peppered with her subtle sense of humor, that makes this book a joy to read. Whether it’s Willa’s straight-and-narrow, slightly miserable second husband; her sardonic little sister; or the badass, motorcycle-riding neighbor in leather pants, these characters come to life off the page, another one of Tyler’s gifts.

Dream Away
Michael E. Northrup (Stanley/Barker)

In this limited-edition art book, Baltimore’s Michael E. Northrup presents a series of 66 photographs of his now ex-wife that revolve around femininity, revealing the girl in the woman and the woman in the girl. These portraits also serve as a love story and an intimate look into the photographer’s own life. “As for the subject matter, we met in 1976, married in 1978, and divorced 1988,” Northrup says succinctly. We see her life—and body—change as she goes from lover to mother, from casually smoking cigarettes and skinny dipping to donning a bare-bummed baby over her shoulder and modeling breast pumps. Black-and-white images are juxtaposed with color, giving a sense of reflection on past times. With Northrup’s imaginative experiments with shadow, strategically placed objects, and curated poses, the moments-in-time feel of a family album is elevated to fine art.

Liza Jane & the Dragon
Laura Lippman (Black Sheep/Akashic Books)

The New York Times best-selling author Laura Lippman’s foray into the arena of children’s literature is delightful and yet manages to maintain the author’s quirky sense of humor. In this tale, a little girl named Liza Jane fires her parents and hires a dragon to take their place . . . until she realizes the dragon has only one tactic for solving problems: breathing fire. Late to school? Set the secretary’s desk on fire. Pizza delivery man got delayed? A fiery blast to his car. The picture book is illustrated by Maryland painter Kate Samworth, who brings the characters to life and gives us visual clues for reading this story in a broader context. While this story is a fun romp through what might be the occasional daydream of many children, it also serves as a political allegory. The dragon has a familiar blond mane that swoops between his two horns.

Before and After Loss: A Neurologist’s Perspective on Loss, Grief and Our Brain
Lisa M. Shulman, MD (Johns Hopkins University Press)

This poetic and insightful, if heartbreaking, memoir from neurologist Lisa M. Schulman stems from her own bereavement of her late husband, Bill Weiner, former chair of neurology at the University of Maryland, as she chronicles his diagnosis and eventual succumbing to cancer. His journal entries, her recorded dreams, and photos of meals they shared add a personal touch to the book that illustrates their love for one another, while interspersed quotes from philosophers, mystics, poets, and psychotherapists offer wisdom on death, dying, and grieving. Combined with the latest scientific studies in traumatic brain injury and holistic approaches to healing, Schulman has created a unique book that touches on all aspects of the process of grieving—the psychological, physiological, and overlap between neurology and psychiatry. Ultimately, Shulman points out that whether brain injury is caused by physical or emotional trauma, it results in similar long-term effects—and also that post-traumatic stress can become post-traumatic growth, with the right tools. In short, it could prove to be an invaluable aid to counselors, psychotherapists, and medical doctors, as well as anyone moving through grief toward wholeness.

A Memory of the Future
Elizabeth Spires (W.W. Norton & Company)

In this new poetry collection, Spires seems to channel Rumi or Buddha or both. The poems feel like prayers, and in some cases koans—each unique but all with a timeless, spiritual quality. To say they’re Zen-like would be both literal and figurative; references to Zen Buddhism are strewn throughout Spires’ work, and her verses unfold like meditations. The Goucher College professor of English possesses the rare gift to present lovely, solemn passages with a light touch and deft use of metaphor while simultaneously feeding her readers profound and heady truths. These little nuggets of wisdom come like offerings placed on an altar, quietly, with grace and intention.

Homeplace
John Lingan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Homeplace is an honest, bittersweet, and at times humorous look at small-town America through the lens of Winchester, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley. Lingan, who grew up in Catonsville and has written for Oxford American and New York Times Magazine, examines Patsy Cline’s hometown and its longtime resident Jim McCoy, the honky-tonk owner who discovered her (and who continued to smoke, drink, and make music well into his 80s). What we ultimately see is a town in the midst of an identity crisis—from a slow-paced, Southern area known for its apple production to a burgeoning suburb of new establishments that have attracted an influx of urbanites from Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. But the book also feels like a travelogue at times—clearly the observations of an out-of-towner with a voice of his own. His four years of researching and writing it is evident, as he reveals the town’s (and neighboring towns’) quirks while bringing into focus a broader, nostalgic story of a vanishing way of life, as factory farms, opioids, big-box stores, and even music streaming services swallow up what once was.

The Chesapeake in Focus: Transforming the Natural World
Tom Pelton (Johns Hopkins University Press)

Pelton, one the country’s leading environmental journalists, offers us a wealth of knowledge about the Chesapeake Bay, collected from his more than two decades of reporting on this ecological, cultural, and historical treasure (you may also know him from his show Environment in Focus on WYPR). His book is part history of the bay’s watershed region, part political history of its preservation, and, to a lesser extent, part personal history, as Pelton draws gorgeous imagery of scenes he’s experienced as an avid kayaker on the bay’s waters and tributaries. In total, he paints a compelling portrait of what it is he wants to preserve. Divided into four sections (The Waters, The People, The Wildlife, and The Policies), the book covers a lot of ground, from Baltimore’s sewage issues to the over-harvesting of wild oysters. The highlight, perhaps, comes toward the end, when Pelton proposes 10 realistic steps for bay restoration. We should listen to him.

Every year in review for 2017 has a tinge of exhaustion, WTF happened, and a need for self-healing. So while imbibing seems like an obvious stress cure, I also found some other through-lines besides alcohol in my drink choices this year. There have been a lot of soothing honey and herbaceous notes, some much-needed coffee flavors (did I mention I was tired?), and a lot of Maryland firsts, which, in particular, have put a welcome and positive spin on this past year. 

Handsome Devil at The Bluebird Cocktail Room
This past May, the top floor of 3602 Hickory Avenue was transformed into a beautiful, European-style bistro. With a name inspired by a Charles Bukowski poem, the literary theme is everywhere at The Bluebird Cocktail Room—especially on the drink menu that is laid out in chapters. I recently tried the new selection of winter drinks (which is phenomenal), and was so happy to see the Handsome Devil still available. With honey gin, wildflower honey, amaro, and activated charcoal (good for a hangover!), this black cocktail is as balanced and botanical as it is beautiful in appearance.

Love Potion #8 at Minnow
There are some serious magic tricks going on at Minnow, the restaurant from the owners of La Cuchara that opened up in Riverside this year. Take the bar’s Toddies for Two, which uses a vacuum siphon to infuse a traditional toddy with rosemary and citrus. Or the smoky and ethereal Love Potion #8, in which Wint & Lila pure grain vodka, elderflower, and a house-made tea-based liqueur made with spearmint and peppermint all gets poured over dry ice for dramatic effect. But, beyond the bells and whistles, the proof is in the flavors and Minnow’s cocktail menu is full of some of the most herbaceous and exciting ones around. 

Dust Rings from Union Craft Brewing and Stillwater Artisanal
Brewed to commemorate the 9th annual Baltimore Beer Week, Dust Rings was created by two local powerhouses. The double dry-hopped sour ale took advantage of lupulin, a concentrated hop powder that beer nerds were going crazy for in 2017. Because of its density, lupulin bursts with zesty flavors and funky hop notes—and those notes really came through in Dust Rings, which poured a hazy yellow color and tasted of sour lemon, melon, and pine. This one was best enjoyed straight from the source at Union Craft or at sour mecca Wet City in Mt. Vernon.

Guinness Hazy IPA #1 from Old Gate Brewery & Barrel House
Another exciting development in the beer world was Guinness opening its first U.S. brewery in 60 years right near Halethorpe. Though the main campus, tasting room, and shop won’t be open until summer 2018, diehard Dublin fans got a preview of what the brewers are putting out when the test taproom opened in October. So far, I’ve loved working my way through the Golden Series and seeing how each iteration differs, but my favorite Guinness variety brewed in Maryland is the Hazy IPA #1, packed with juicy flavors of grapefruit and pineapple. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year.

Seeds & Skins from Old Westminster Winery
Speaking of firsts, Old Westminster Winery became the first of its kind in the tri-state area to produce wine in a can. The Western Maryland operation debuted its first three creations in Baltimore at Parts & Labor and, while there’s a time an a place for the fizzy chardonnay and and the full-bodied cab franc, I was immediately drawn to Seeds & Skins, a skin-fermented pinot gris that pours a slight amber hue. The brief contact between the grape’s skin and juices during fermenting adds to its color, gives it more body, and explains its description as a “rosé for fall.”

Banana Old Fashioned at The Point in Towson
I know, I know. Why mess with a classic? I, too, was skeptical when I first saw this on the menu at The Point’s newest location on York Road in Towson. What was encouraging, however, was that The Point house-infuses its Jameson with banana so you don’t have to worry much about overly sweet flavors or additives in some other flavored liquors. Plus, the addition of walnut bitters, Angostura, and citrus added a sweet and earthy body to the drink. It was as cozy as a warm loaf of banana bread straight out of the oven.

Annabel Tea at R. Bar
When R. House opened just over a year ago, the food hall’s main focus, of course, was the cuisine. But now its central, square-shaped R. Bar has really hit its stride, creating innovative and thoughtful menu options utilizing its best source: the food hall’s vendors. Take a cocktail from its fall, Edgar Allan Poe-themed menu called the Annabel Tea combining Rittenhouse Rye, amaro, lime, bitters, and chai tea from corner stall Ground & Griddled. Look out for other ingredients like wasabi from Hilo and apple brandy from Baltimore Whiskey Company. 

Baltamaro at Baltimore Whiskey Company
While we’re talking about them, the Baltimore Whiskey Company has been up to quite a lot. We gave them a nod for “Best Boozy Parties” and the distillery is making nice progress on its barrel-aged whiskey. For the past two years, they’ve also been developing three lines of amari (bitter Italian liqueur) and launched them a few weeks ago. The three lines consist of a Fernet-style, a Szechuan-peppercorn, and a coffee-flavored amaro. I got a sneak peek of the Szechuan-peppercorn earlier this year and, while it’s certainly an outside-of-the-box take on the traditional liqueur of the Amalfi coast, I loved the bold smoky and spicy notes. Plus, shoutouts for amazing branding!

It goes without saying that the biggest entertainment story of the year was the #MeToo movement and how it took down—and continues to take down—some of the most powerful men in Hollywood. Kevin Spacey was replaced, at the eleventh hour, by Christopher Plummer in Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World (a film I’ve yet to see) and, for his efforts—which he apparently did without breaking a sweat—Plummer was rewarded with a Golden Globe nomination. Louis C.K.’s I Love You, Daddy was yanked by its studio shortly before its release (I’ve seen it; trust me, you’re not missing much). The seemingly endless Harvey Weinstein stories continue to be stomach churning—and show that he wasn’t just an alleged sexual abuser and predator, but a man who wielded his enormous power to blacklist and intimidate intelligent actresses, including Salma Hayak, Mira Sorvino, and Ashley Judd.

And of course, the less said about Dustin Hoffman, the better.

But let’s focus on the positive: 2017 was also a great year for film—with unusually good blockbusters (Thor: Ragnorak, The Last Jedi, and my beloved Wonder Woman), all sorts of interesting and weird art films, many of which you’ll see on my list, and some solid old-school cinema from the likes of Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg. For me, the biggest surprise of the year was how much Netflix continues to emerge as a powerhouse: Two Netflix films are in my Top 10; one receives honorable mention. Looking at my list, I don’t see any coherent theme, which is actually kind of cool. Film can be so many different things—and can move us so many different ways. The films below were the ones that moved me the most.

*Most of the blurbs are partially excerpted from my previous reviews. 
**As of press time, I had not yet seen Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Phantom Thread. 

1. Call Me By Your Name
Master sensualist Luca Guadagnino brings us this ravishing film about the exquisite agony of first love. In Northern Italy, a bookish young man named Elio (Timothee Chalamet) becomes obsessed with Oliver (Armie Hammer), the rakish graduate student staying with his family for the summer. The two young men trade barbs and try to impress each other until they eventually succumb to their desire. All the while, Elio’s intellectual parents watch, with concern for their son mixed with jealousy, because is there anything more heady than young love? 

As he did so well in A Bigger Splash, Guadagnino draws us into this bourgeois-bohemian life: the lazy days spent reading and playing music, sunbathing by the lake, eating al fresco, drinking wine and smoking cigarettes (so many cigarettes). As I watched the film, I’m not sure what I was longing for more: A passionate romance like the kind shared by Elio and Oliver; or a shabby chic summer house in the Italian countryside. (Spoiler alert: It’s the vacation house.) Michael Stuhlbarg, as Elio’s father, empathically delivers the film’s climactic monologue, where he tells his son to lean into his emotions, even the messy stuff. And young Chalamet, bringing all of Elio’s smarts, self-loathing, and romantic rapture to life, gives a performance for the ages.

2. The Florida Project
By all accounts, 6-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), the heroine of Sean Baker’s remarkable The Florida Project, should not be having a happy childhood. She lives with her young mother, Halley (Bria Vinaite) in a seedy motel in the shadow of Disney World. Halley is a dope smoker, a petty thief, a hustler, selling perfume knockoffs and anything else she can swipe on the streets. And yet Moonee is happy. She sees the series of motels as her own personal playground, with best friends—also children of broken families and poverty—as her co-conspirators. They run around freely, breaking into abandoned rooms and buildings; scamming for free ice cream at the local soft serve; spitting on cars in the parking lot to see who has the best aim—all done with an incredible sense of mischief and discovery and fun. Brooklynn Prince, the young actress who plays Moonee, is an absolute find—naturally funny and impish with an impeccable sense of comic timing. One of the best things about Moonee—and Baker’s film in general—is that she is actually funny, not just “kids say the darndest things” funny. The film is enormously respectful of her personhood.

3. Mudbound
Something about Dee Rees’ epic Mudbound is so elemental, so deeply humane, so steeped in the soil and sins of the South, that it already feels like a work of great American cinema. The story is deceptively simple: Two families, one black and one white, share a muddy slog of a farm in the early ’40s south. The white family, while poor, owns the farm. The black family are sharecroppers. They both have young men who go to war. Jamie (Garrett Hedlund) is handsome with a quicksilver charisma. Ronsel (Jason Mitchell) is a devoted son and brother; he bears the extra burden of knowing how much his family needs him to work the farm. The film is narrated, in a kind of sing-song near poetry, by many of the characters, primarily the women. The matriarch of the black family is Florence (Mary J. Blige), a midwife and paragon of unsentimental strength.  Laura (Carey Mulligan), married to the solid, unglamorous Henry (Jason Clarke) dutifully endures this life she never asked for. The performances, top to bottom, are unfussy, clear-eyed, and note-perfect. Particular props to Blige, who gives such a confident, understated performance, you’d think she was a canny screen veteran. And Garrett Hedlund and Jason Mitchell will absolutely wreck you.

4. Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan’s stunning WWII saga is an injection of pure cinema: It’s filled with arresting images which it uses to stir, to terrify, and at times to nearly overwhelm its audience. During World War II, thousands of Allied soldiers—the majority of whom were British—were stranded on the shores of Dunkirk, France and surrounded by Nazis, who could easily pick them off from the skies. Their only hope is to be rescued—by fighter pilots and, in a remarkable true twist, by everyday fishermen, who brave the journey across the English channel save them. The story, told by Nolan on three surfaces—land, sea, and air—is, in many ways, about the simple honor of surviving—and, of course, about the stiff upper lip and indomitable pluck of those regular British seamen, embodied perfectly here by the ever-wonderful Mark Rylance. On land, Nolan gives us the single most memorable cinematic image of the year: Overhead, a German bomber approaches, and the allied troops—all 400,000 of them—duck in a kind of harrowing and beautiful choreography of doom, their helmets providing only illusory cover against the assault that’s about to come.

5. Okja
South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho may be a vegetarian, but I can only assume he is a cinematic omnivore, influenced by B-movies, Spielberg, Kurosawa, Miyazaki, Kubrick, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and everything in between. His own cinematic vision is a wonderful mishmash of these styles—sentimental yet edgy; dreamy yet caustic. In this film, a line of superpigs are being bred as a potential future food source. When 13-year-old villager Mija (adorably poker-faced Ahn Seo Hyun) finds out the fate of her beloved pig, Okja, she embarks upon an adventure to save him—first to Seoul, then New York, eventually teaming up with a renegade group of animal activists called ALF led by the true believer, Jay (Paul Dano). Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal ham it up wonderfully as the villains from the multinational corporation hoping to the breed (and eat) Mija’s pig. As for the computer animation, it’s stunning. Okja, in all her snouty, wrinkly enormity, feels as real as the mutt currently farting and snoring at your feet.

6. Get Out
In Jordan Peele’s excellent horror-cum-satire, he takes a lowkey nightmare—a black man having to endure his white girlfriend’s performatively “woke” parents—and turns it into an actual horror of body snatching and would-be eugenics. The genius of the film is watching our hero, Chris (an excellent Daniel Kaluuya) realize these are not the microaggressions as usual. With Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener as the super attentive parents, Allison Williams as the breezy post-racial cool girl, Lakeith Stanfield as a zombified black man barely clinging to his humanity, and the wonderful (and criminally overlooked) Betty Gabriel as the eerily submissive maid.

7. Beach Rats
With It Felt Like Love and now Beach Rats, Eliza Hittman has arguably become our greatest chronicler of teenage ennui. It’s summer in Brooklyn and Frankie (Harris Dickinson) spends his long, listless days getting high with his buddies on the beach and his nights prowling the internet looking for older men to hook up with. He’s still deeply in the closet—to his friends, to his mother, even to himself—and he hopes against hope that the feelings will go away. A flirty, pretty girl (Madeline Weinstein) falls for him and he begins to date her—both as an alibi to his friends and to try to will himself to be straight. Meanwhile, his father has just died of cancer, giving him something of a built-in excuse for his moodiness. In a way, the film is about the battle for Frankie’s soul—will he succumb to his friends’ toxic masculinity or will he be true to his own delicate heart? And Dickinson—a Brit!—is extraordinary in his film debut. He plays Frankie as sad and still and wary, with just a barely discernible yearning to be truly seen and understood.

8. Personal Shopper
The beauty of Kristen Stewart—well, aside from her literal beauty, that is—is that she can do almost nothing on camera and still be arresting. I think this is partly because of all the fascinating contradictions she embodies: both feminine and masculine, aloof and inviting, fragile and tough. In Personal Shopper, her second collaboration with French writer/director Olivier Assayas, she plays Maureen, an artist and would-be medium who is also a personal shopper for a spoiled celebutante. Maureen’s twin brother Lewis recently died of a rare heart defect and, thanks to a pact the two shared, she expects him to contact her from the beyond. One day, Maureen is sitting on a bus when she gets a text message from an unknown number. The texter seems to be omniscient—it knows where Maureen is going and claims it’s watching her—and encourages Maureen to ask it questions. “Are you alive?” Maureen asks, chillingly. On Twitter, I noted that Personal Shopper was the most French horror film I’d ever seen (it’s mostly in English, with the occasional French subtitle) and this is because of its obsession with fashion and surfaces, its languid rhythms, and its comfort with ambiguity. The film is largely about loss—how we can essentially haunt ourselves through grief.

9. Ingrid Goes West
Ingrid Goes West focuses on an especially au courant obsession—Instagram,
that little corner of the social media universe where we post images of
perfectly pedicured toes on sandy beaches, cute corgis in hats, and
crave-worthy waffles. But for Instagram to work there has to be a yin and yang:
both the person who curates an idealized version of themselves and the person
who buys into that persona, hook, line, and sinker. Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza) falls
into the latter category. Early in the film, she drives to southern California
to meet and attempt to ingratiate herself into the life of her current
Instagram obsession: boho-chic social media influencer Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth
Olsen). Director Matt Spicer has obviously spent a lot of time lurking on
Instagram pages and he gets the lingo, the forced fun, the desperate attempt to
seem like you’re not desperate. The message of Ingrid Goes West is a fairly standard one—people
aren’t what they seem on social media. But the execution is spot-on. The cast
is stellar. Plaza makes Ingrid’s unhinged desperation both a little scary and a
lot heartbreaking. As for Olsen, she’s the perfect foil—utterly believable as a
self-styled So-Cal princess.

10. A Ghost Story
It’s hard to quantify the
audacity it took for David Lowery to make this film. It’s a ghost story, a
haunting meditation on life, loss, and mankind’s place in the universe, that
features a man under a sheet with the eye holes poked out. Yes, the ghost of
the title is your last minute Halloween costume from when you were a kid—and
somehow, improbably, that’s part of the film’s poignancy. When the film starts,
we meet a married couple, played by Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara—called C and
M in the credits. 

As a couple, they have a natural physical intimacy, a nearly
wordless simpatico. And then, there’s a car crash and C dies. M goes to ID the
body; she’s not histrionic, just slow and sad, in keeping with the film’s
rhythms. After, C gets up from the gurney in the morgue, the sheet draped over
him, the eyeholes poked out, and follows her home. Mostly, he just stands
there, useless, sad, silent. Time passes, because that’s what time does. M
leaves the house, but C is stuck there. The film is almost defiantly slow. But
your patience will be more than rewarded. A
Ghost Story has images, ideas, a deep reservoir of sadness about
life, death, and grief, that will stay with me for a while. It unsettled me,
deeply, and rocked me way out of my comfort zone. More films should do that.

11. Battle of the Sexes
A perfectly timed film: In the midst of the women’s lib movement, tennis player Billy Jean King (Emma Stone) breaks away from the patriarchal ATP and forms a free-wheeling, all female tennis league of her own, while also taking tentative steps toward coming out of the closet. Meanwhile, professional irritant Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell), a former pro, several years her senior, challenges her to an exhibition tennis match, to once and for all prove the athletic dominance of men. She has no choice but to agree. The final showdown—about so much more than sports—had my audience on the edge of its seat and cheering lustily for the feminist hero to beat the two-bit conman. 

12. The Post 
Just as Spotlight showed how dangerously close the Archdiocese was to The Boston Globe, The Post shows how chummy the D.C. press corps can be with politicians and political operatives they covered. Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), who inherited The Washington Post from her late husband (who, in turn, had inherited it from her father), was as much socialite as newspaper woman, until she is forced to make the most crucial decision of her life. On the eve of her newspaper going public, and to the mortification of her advisors and investors, she agrees—egged on by her tenacious editor Bill Bradlee (Tom Hanks)—to print the Pentagon Papers, the leaked documents proving that the government long-knew the Vietnam War was unwinnable. Helmed by the great Steven Spielberg, The Post is, of course, a snappy newspaper-intrigue movie, filled with last-minute scoops and hush-hush meetings. But watching Streep as Graham come into her own, find her voice as a journalist, a woman, and a moral leader, provides the film’s greatest thrills.   

13. The Lost City of Z 
James Gray’s has directed the most overlooked film of the year—a true story of obsession and near madness in pursuit of an important archeological and sociological truth. Early in the 20th century, reluctant British cartographer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) goes deep in the Amazonian jungle and finds what he believes to be evidence of an ancient, civilized society. The problem is, no one believes him. He keeps returning to the jungle—risking his life, sullying his already fragile reputation, and abandoning his family for long stretches of time. The Brits, of course, can’t stomach the idea that brown people may have been civilized before they were, which makes Fawcett’s journey as righteous as it is wildly impractical.  With shades of Apocalypse Now and Mosquito Coast, this film deserves its place among the best of the man’s-obsessive-quest genre. 

14. The Disaster Artist
James Franco’s comedy about the making of the worst film of all time is both a riveting portrait of a singular weirdo and a sneaky celebration of movie-making and the American dream. As Wiseau, Franco is hilarious and oddly touching, especially in the scenes he shares with Tommy’s increasingly disenchanted best friend (played by Franco’s real-life brother, Dave Franco).

15. Step
The sneaky genius of Amanda Lipitz’s documentary Step is how it manages to tell an important story—about how hard it is to thrive academically when your home life is chaotic and how it takes a village to nurture and support under-served children—in the form of a triumphant “Big Game” narrative. Yes, the Step team at the Baltimore Leadership Academy for Girls has an all-important competition at the end, just like what you might see at the end of a film like Pitch Perfect or Remember the Titans. But the story is really about these girls—the first graduating class of the academy whose goal is to send every student to college—and the amazing group of Baltimore women who raised them.

16. The Big Sick
One of the funniest, warmest, and most closely observed films of the year essentially tells two love stories: The one between Pakistani stand-up comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his grad-student girlfriend Emily (Zoe Kazan) and the one between Kumail and Emily’s squabbling parents (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano) when Emily has a major health scare and is put in a medically induced coma. Based on the unlikely true story of Nanjiani and co-writer Emily Gordon’s own courtship and marriage, the film has lots to say about love, family, and faith. It also has a true generosity of spirit—the characters, flawed as they may be, are all completely endearing. 

17. Baby Driver
Edgar Wright’s wildly inventive and entertaining film—part winking heist flick, part musical—about a reluctant getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) who moves, drives, and lives to the beat of his own soundtrack is a pure rush of cinematic adrenaline.  

18. Wonder Woman
While so many super hero films feel like they were created in a boardroom, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman vibrates with passion and authenticity and life. It wears its influences on its sleeve—a little Raiders of the Lost Ark here, a little Wizard of Oz there—but manages to be its own special triumph. The now-legendary No Man’s Land scene, where Diana/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) ignores the protests of her cohort Steve (Chris Pine) and leaps boldly into the battlefield to save a village is the “f**k yeah!” moment of the year.  
 

19. My Cousin Rachel 
I call this one Gothic Lite. It has all the elements of the genre: a mysterious death, a desiccated mansion in the hills, a forbidden romance. But it’s remarkably light on its feet—and quite funny. It would work best at a midnight screening, so the crowd can scream “nooooo!” as our dimwitted young hero (Sam Clafin) gets slowly sucked in by the wiles of the mysterious woman he’s convinced killed his cousin. But the film, which will keep you guessing until the end, defies the tropes of the genre at every turn, and provides a perfect showcase for Rachel Weisz’s beguiling charms. 

20. The Lovers
 A middle-aged couple, played delectably by Debra Winger and Tracy Letts, are each having extramarital affairs. They sneak around, creating elaborate stories about working late and overdue drinks with friends, but all of that is unnecessary—they’ve stopped seeing each other. Then, one day, they watch an old movie and drink wine together on the couch—by their tentative behavior you can tell they haven’t done this in ages. A few days later, they wake up, face-to-face to bed and accidentally kiss each other. Soon, they are cheating on their lovers—with each other. Azazel Jacobs’ film is drolly funny and insightful about the ways marriages ebb and flow. The film would be higher on my list were it not for a bizarre sequence involving the couple’s rage-filled son. But it’s refreshing to see a film that takes the desires and inner lives of 50somethings so seriously.

Runners Up: Blade Runner: 2049; Colossal; Dawson City: Frozen Time; Girls Trip; Lady Bird; The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected); Motherland; Nocturama; Only the Brave; Rat Film. 

To say that I made more reservations this year than meals at home would be an understatement. I worked my way through countless crab houses, taquerias, vegetarian spots, and restaurants of every conceivable kind from chop houses to soul food spots to New American bistros. From Cockeysville to Federal Hill to Fulton, I slurped squid ink pasta, raw oysters, and matzoh ball soup, devoured plates of steak and baskets fried chicken with Old Bay—and I loved it all. 

There’s a reason why comfort foods ranked high on my greatest hits list this year. When I think back on 2017, it was a year to remember, mostly for the wrong reasons between the #MeToo movement, post-election fallout, record-setting gun violence, and natural disasters, to name a few. In times of trouble, nothing soothes like breaking bread with friends and family. Here are the foods that satisfied my soul.

S’oupe a L’Oignon Gratinée at Petit Louis Bistro
The onion soup at Petit Louis is hardly a new find, but a recent visit to this Roland Park bistro reminds me why it’s considered a classic. On a chilly fall night, I enjoyed an order of this soothing soup rife with onions, spiked with sherry, and a raft of cheese blanketing the top. Think of this as French penicillin in a crock. 

Salmon Tikka Masala at Royal Taj
Baltimore is blessed with many great Indian restaurants, but The Royal Taj in Howard County was a new discovery for me, as was a fragrant dish of salmon tikka masala, which our server suggested. The masala sauce—with a touch of cream and a vivid smoky tomato flavor—was more delicate than the usual fare, allowing the seafood to really shine. 

Eggplant Parmesan at Tagliata
Sometimes you just want the simple comforts of a red-sauce dish at a time when the classics have given way to one too many servings of beets and kale. Enter the eggplant Parm at this new Harbor East stunner. This rendition is comprised of a soul-satisfying version of top-flight ingredients including house-made mozzarella, a stellar tomato sauce, a crispy crust of eggs, breadcrumbs, and Parm that oozes, appealingly, over the copper gratin dish it’s served in.  

Maryland Rockfish at Rye Street Tavern
The Maryland rockfish at Rye Street Tavern puts a mid-Atlantic spin on southern shrimp and grits. A fat, just-caught piece of our state fish is paired with shrimp, tomatoes, and grits for a beautifully balanced dish that offers hints of sweetness and smoke. I’m not alone in my adoration—Under Armour CEO, and Rye Street owner, Kevin Plank orders this dish as a regular part of his repertoire when he dines here. You’d be wise to make it yours.  

The Green Chile Burger at Dylan’s Oyster Cellar
Ordinarily, I’d say that any burger in a sea of seafood, including some of the best-shucked oysters in the city, is a throwaway item for only the most recalcitrant carnivore at the table. But if I said that while supping at Dylan’s Oyster Cellar, I’d be wrong. The burger arrives cooked to order on a bun that strikes the right balance between squishy and sturdy. The meat is of high-quality, and the whole affair is topped with nothing more than some green chile and so-called “special sauce” that more than lives up to its name. 

Tacos at Cocina Luchadoras 
This sweet new spot in Upper Fells does everything right from the lovely agua fresca for a hot summer’s day to the house-made mole sauce to some of the best tortilla chips in town. Every inch of the tacos—from the tortilla to the chorizo—are handmade here (and topped with homegrown microgreens), many of them by owner Rosayln Vera’s mother, Margarita. 

The Pastrami Reuben at The Essen Room
Surprising to say, but Pikesville badly needed a Jewish deli, and it arrived just in time as my craving for corned beef, kreplach, potato knishes, and the Eastern European foods of my heritage kicked in. The pièce de résistance is the pastrami reuben—towering high onto well-seeded rye with three inches of meat, some sauerkraut, and a dollop of spicy mustard and Russian dressing. You will not be able to eat a whole in a single sitting.

Crab Cake at Woodberry Kitchen
In Baltimore, a crab cake is as ubiquitous as a burger on area menus, and as long as they’re made with Maryland meat (in season) and from the Gulf (out of season), they’re always good. But Woodberry Kitchen takes it to the next level with their six-ounce cakes (a mixture of lump and backfin) made with nothing more than fish pepper, oil, and egg. The simplicity of the dish, in combination with the purity of the ingredients, is what makes this shine.

Bread Pudding at Ida B’s Table
If you’re going to eat dessert, make your calories count. The bread pudding at this new downtown soul food spot is worth every spoonful. Made by co-owner Tonya Thomas, it’s drizzled with crème Anglaise and topped with cloud-like sorghum whipped cream. I try not to eat my emotions, but this cures everything that ails me.