Baltimore – Where to eat

[dwg]

I am going to be in Baltimore from December 2-6th and would appreciate any comments about places to eat. Based on this discussion thread I am thinking about Salt as worth the effort to get to (I will be staying at the Kimpton hotel downtown). As the postings on this thread are a bit old I was wondering if anyone has recent dining experience at Salt or has any other suggestions.

As far as what I am looking for: excellent food, not too complicated, not too pretentious. Also if possible a restaurant that would allow me to bring a special bottle of wine and charge me a corkage fee.

Edited November 8, 2011 by dwg (log)

[curls]

I have not been to Salt but would highly recommend Woodberry Kitchen and your hotel restaurant, the B&O American Brasserie.

I don't think you can bring your own wine to a Baltimore restaurant if they have a liquor license. (article on corkage in Maryland)

[dwg]

a quick follow up. Had an absolutely outstanding meal at Woodberry Kitchen. Great atmosphere, simple but fantastic food. Its a bit of a trip from downtown but absolutely worth it.

Salt was reasonably good but not at the level of Woodberry.

Also had a very good meal at the dinning room in the Four Seasons Hotel which was very nice.

[curls]

dwg, thanks for the reporting back! Sounds like you had a nice visit. Glad that you tried Woodberry Kitchen and enjoyed it.

[LizD518]

I was just at Woodberry Kitchen on Friday and had a great meal. A friend and I ordered a bunch of different items (BBQ Pulled Pork Flatbread, a salad, Tillman Island Crab Pot and the macaroni & cheese) to share and told the server to just bring them out as they were ready. Everything was perfectly timed and flowed one after another and the server was attentive without being intrusive. We had a 10pm reservation and never felt rushed - actually it was still relatively busy by 11:30 when we were leaving. I also had an outstanding cocktail - a whiskey smash made with rosemary, which inspired me to make it at home yesterday. Delicious!

[et alors]

I hope I got the right forum; was hard to tell.

I'll be in Baltimore in April for a conference, and I am seeking awesome eating opportunities. Conference is at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront but I'm willing to taxi it for eat well...

[DTBarton]

There's a lot of good food close by the waterfront Marriott. Three of Cindy Wolf's restaurants are right there within a few blocks. Charleston is the fanciest and priciest, but it's worth it. Prix Fixe menu, choose your number of courses http://www.charlestonrestaurant.com/ Cinghiale is more casual good Italian right near the hotel. Pazo is Mediterranean small plates in a cool old building (my favorite) http://www.pazorestaurant.com/index.cfm

Baltimore's Little Italy is a couple blocks north of the Marriott. Many restaurants. Aldo's http://www.aldositaly.com/ is fancy for Little Italy and very good. Plenty of old school red sauce places, I like Chiapparelli's, http://www.chiapparellis.com/ others will like someplace else.

For a real Baltimore experience, go to Attman's deli http://www.attmansdeli.com/ a few blocks north and east of the Marriott.

Great corned beef (much better than the pastrami) and knockwurst. Better if you can go at a slightly off hour like 10 AM or 3 PM, the line can be really long at lunch tme.

[weinoo]

There was a cool episode of Andrew Zimmern's show on last night, which was all about Baltimore. Looked like some fine places and some excellent Korean food.

Actually, last night was the original air date...

http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/bizarre-foods/episodes/baltimore-and-chesapeake-bay

[lancastermike]

A trip to Lexington market is a good thing. Faidley's crabcakes really are very good. There are other good things there as well.

We also like pazo though it is right on the edge of being overly pretentious. The Washington DC outfit Lebanese Tavernera has an outpost in Harbor East right by the marriot and they do a nice job as well.

Chaps does a good job with sandwiches as well and serves up Baltimore Pit Beef done correctly.

There are lots and lots of places in fells Point and I will let it up to others to reccomend them

Edited March 26, 2013 by lancastermike (log)

[Hassouni]

My picks, having gone to college there...

Helmand! Also Silk Road Bistro in Pikesville for astonishingly good Uzbek food. Nak Won (or some spelling variant) on 22nd (or thereabouts) and Charles for quality Korean. Alewife downtown for a staggeringly good burger (The Smokeburger).

[huiray]

The Inner Harbor in Baltimore has many decent places but be warned that it is somewhat touristy (of course).

Since you're staying at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront you will be close to Little Italy as some here have basically conveyed to you. Amongst the restaurants there, AVOID Ciao Bella. There is a lovely bakery (Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop) in Little Italy which has quite nice stuff and would also afford you a "late night" dessert & cappucino soirée. (It's quite popular too)

On the waterfront just around the corner from you both Cingiale (modern Italian) and Charleston (American) are very good but will not be inexpensive.

How long will you be there? Will you have a car?

The good Pit Beef places (by definition IMO "Pit Beef" only means the sort you get in Baltimore) are not anywhere near downtown B'more. Chaps (mentioned on this thread) (...aannnd right next to a strip joint with a REALLY HIGH sign) is out on the Eastern periphery of town, for example. Other places for good Pit Beef will need a car.

Lexington Market (also mentioned here) is on the Western side of the downtown area and can be, uhh, colorful. DO NOT wave your cell phone in the air [it has been known in the past for folks passing by to literally snatch your phone out of your hands and disappear into the crowd] or be careless about your personal effects (or your car, in the parking lot there). If you're in luck, you might also see a drug deal or a gun transaction go down within your eyeshot. ;-). I can't say I'm too fond of Faidley's Crab Cakes - even the premium ones (there are a few grades available). They're fine, and pretty good,but not the "best" around, IMO, notwithstanding their extravagant claims to fame and their signage attesting to same which are more than a decade old. (Their "Maryland Crab Soup" is another utter dud, BTW) Nevertheless, the Market is a very interesting place to wander through. Just be aware of your surroundings.

[huiray]

BTW crab season in B'more/Maryland opens only on April 1 so depending on when you are in town the "blue crabs" you may get in restaurants (and crab cakes etc) may still be stuff from Texas or the Carolinas or elsewhere (frozen E/SE Asian etc crabmeat). You might get some local soft shell crabs early...you should ask clearly about where the crabs on the menu are from, if that is of importance to you.

[theminx]

Pick up a copy of the Food Lovers' Guide to Baltimore, a new publication from Globe Pequot, for a slew of recommendations for area dining.

[huiray]

Good to see you here, theminx. Didn't know you were a participant here too.

[DTBarton]

Another market option that's not quite the undertaking that Lexington Market is is the Cross Street Market in Federal Hill.

http://www.bpmarkets.com/crs1.html A fun Baltimore experence in a gentrified neighborhood. Very good happy hour scene with lots of food and drinks to try.

Edited April 2, 2013 by DTBarton (log)

[et alors]

Wow, thanks! About ot get on a plane and I am psyched! Will share any findings.....

[theminx]

Good to see you here, theminx. Didn't know you were a participant here too.

Considering how infrequently I post here, I would hardly call me a "participant."

et alors - how was the trip?

Edited April 15, 2013 by theminx (log)

[Chris Hennes]

Anyone have Baltimore food suggestions for the unadventurous and budget-minded traveler? I'll be there with family in a few weeks and am of course tasked with finding a few places to eat. Various family members have various food preferences, so the broader the menu the better.

[curls]

Will you have a car? What section(s) of Baltimore will you be in?

[Chris Hennes]

Yes, we'll have cars: staying at the airport, so bonus points for the south side of town, but time spent in the car is time I don't have to think up something else to do .

[weinoo]

Faidley's.

And Zimmern did a show about Baltimore this season...evidently, quite an amazing Korean population with lots of great eats...I'm dying to get to some of these!

[Chris Hennes]

Yeah, we'll probably do Faidley's for lunch one day, since I imagine that anyone not interested in crabcakes can find something else in the market. Alas, Korean is definitely not going to fly with this crowd. Anyplace with good pizza? Or a not-horrible low-end seafood place?

[weinoo]

I'm pretty sure Zimmern covered a wide range of stuff other than Korean.

Bunch of places here.

Lexington Market looks nice.

[Chris Hennes]

I'm pretty sure Zimmern covered a wide range of stuff other than Korean.

I'm just emphasizing that this isn't a "foodies travel to Baltimore in search of culinary adventure" kind of trip. Price-to-performance ratio is key here, as is menu diversity.

[curls]

Bill Batemans is a local chain with good food and a varied menu. Need to look at a map of the BWI area and get back to you with other suggestions.