This put up initially appeared within the October 14, 2023 version of Eater’s Journey publication, a spot for Eater’s editors and writers to share their suggestions for navigating the world’s most scrumptious locations. Subscribe now.
Each time I’m going again dwelling to Baltimore, one in every of my first stops is a no brainer: Locust Level, the peninsular neighborhood simply south of the town, homes quite a lot of hidden treasures. After a current crawl that terminated at Diamondback Brewery, my associates and I ambled right down to Himalayan Home to get pleasure from platters of succulent momos, the thin-skinned dumplings discovered all through the Himalayas typically full of hen, beef, goat, or greens and served with a spicy, ginger-and-chile-pepper-inflected dipping sauce. The restaurant serves scrumptious Indian fare, however its Nepalese specialties, that are extremely onerous to search out elsewhere all through the area, are to not be missed.
It’s a welcome reprieve, a second to benefit from the progress the town has made despite the fraught historical past that also looms giant to this present day. Appeal Metropolis has had an actual powerful time getting out of its personal manner. The lasting environmental, political, socio-economic, and cultural impacts that a long time of redlining and displacement proceed to have — not solely on Baltimore’s Black inhabitants however on the town as an entire — are omnipresent.
However Baltimoreans persist. You don’t must look onerous to see that the town is a beehive of innovation, the place constituents new and previous are collaborating to usher in a brighter future. And I’ve been capable of admire how deeply this deliberately inclusive perspective has been permeating the town’s restaurant scene with every return journey. In fact, I really like coming dwelling, however it’s a pleasure amplified by seeing most of the metropolis’s residents grapple with the historical past they’ve witnessed or inherited. Particularly if that appears like a extra expansive and scrumptious ingesting and eating scene.
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I can’t head dwelling to Baltimore with no go to to Mama’s on the Half Shell to slurp down a dozen Chincoteague oysters or get pleasure from a cup of chowder. From there, I’d go to the American Visionary Artwork Museum to browse its newest set up, or head to one in every of my favourite Greek wholesalers, Prima Meals, to fill up on imported olives and fresh-cut blocks of feta.
If I’m making dinner, a go to to Angels Ate Lemons for a bottle or two of pure wine is a should. If not, maybe I’m hitting its sibling restaurant Chachi’s for rotisserie hen paired with recent, vibrant sauces, crisp salads, schmaltzy potatoes, and rotating seasonal specials that all the time appear to completely epitomize the unstuffy, communal environment this group has labored so onerous to determine. Although any return journey would hardly be full with no meal at Little Donna’s, the place ice-cold martinis abound and dinner feels extra like pulling up a chair in chef Robbie Tutlewski’s childhood dwelling round family-style platters of schnitzel, plump pierogi, pickled greens, and thin-crust tavern pies.
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In fact, crabs are a should, even when for the nostalgia issue alone: I realized find out how to correctly decide a Chesapeake Bay blue crab earlier than my motor capabilities totally developed. Additionally, there’s one thing so satisfying about cracking open these vibrant red-orange claws, dunking the candy, luscious meat right into a ramekin of drawn butter, and washing all of it down with a chilly Natty Boh that may by no means get previous for me. Cantler’s Riverside Inn, a decades-only, family-owned restaurant about 25 minutes outdoors of the town is my go-to spot. However the space is flush with crab shacks, and the spots our group has rounded up won’t ever steer you improper. However, if you happen to’re much less inclined to get your fingers soiled, a jumbo lump crab cake or soft-shell sandwich will be the proper transfer for you. Or, select to start out your morning with one in every of Amanda Mack’s legendary crab hand pies. Imagine it or not, one of many sleeper hit soft-shell sandwiches within the metropolis comes from none aside from the concessions at Oriole Park, Camden Yards. Sadly, you’ll have to attend till subsequent 12 months to strive that one.
