Some of Baltimore’s leading dining mavens offer their recommendations for Charm City’s eateries.
The following are some of the hot restaurants and dishes around town, from an informal social media survey
“We just had two wonderful dining experiences that we can share. The Rusty Scupper — went for our anniversary. Tuna carpaccio was delicious. Not overly dressed. The ahi was cold and fresh. Also enjoyed the grilled octopus. Fork tender. Served with a taste of hummus. Service brigade was attentive, swift but not intrusive. It was pricy but we weren’t disappointed and thought it was worth every dollar.
“The second was Ryleigh’s Oyster in Timonium. Happy hour oysters were salty, briny, and icy cold for $1 each. Cocktails were generous. Service was welcoming. Loved the grilled seafood salad served with jalapeno dressing. Huge serving and the calamari, crab and shrimp were abundant.” —Jan Wilson, executive director of The Red Devils Inc. (and Sue Ruby)
“The Beaumont — easily the best (and my favorite) restaurant in Catonsville. Top-notch bar program, a variety of excellent steak options and a burger to die for.” —Dustin Sugar-Moore, marketing director at I.M.P.
“Pho Van on Route 40 in Catonsville has the best pho (pronounced FUH) broth and marinated (also referred to as lacquered or glazed/coated) quail.” —Dara Bunjon, The Food Enthusiast, Jmore
“Limoncello — squid ink pasta with seafood. Sobo Café — pita sandwiches and brussels sprouts. Tio Pepe — Tios salad and soft-shell crab almondine.” —Emily Amster Goren
“La Barrita polenta with wild mushroom sauce and fettuccine with short rib ragu. Little Donna’s pierogies with lobster and tavern pie pizza.” —Terry Kabik Reamer
“We go to True Chesapeake a lot and love their blue crab and bone marrow appetizer, their blue crab mac and cheese, and of course all the oysters. And if I see the pizza cape sante (scallops, pancetta, pesto) at Cosima, I MUST have it.
“Speaking of pizza, the Woodland (mushroom) Detroit-style pizza at Underground Pizza Co. is fabulous. Also, Alonso’s has the best burger in Baltimore.” —Kathy Patterson
“O’Leary’s Seafood in Annapolis. The whole fish — dorade. The crab risotto was excellent.” —Cathy Abbott
“Charleston — cornmeal fried oysters. If I can choose the menu for my ‘last supper,’ it will be three plates of these. Embarrassingly, I am salivating just thinking about them right now.” —Amy Goldberg Lester
“Petit Louis for the salad verte (so simple and so damned good) and duck confite. Omg…heaven.” —David Imre
You can bake these no-flour, no-white sugar blueberry muffins from Elite Jakob in a regular muffin tin or as bite-size mini muffins.
Dara Bunjon talks with culinary content creator, food stylist and photographer Kristen Hess, host of The Artful Gourmet podcast.
When the Jews were exiled during the Spanish Inquisition, they fled far and wide, bringing their love of eggplant with them.
The ban on American booze, which came in response to the the Trump administration's tariffs against Canada, has “created a meaningful opening” for other kosher holiday wines.