Stuff They Love: Mobtown Fermentation on Dovecote Cafe

Gorgeous frittata photo courtesy of Dovecote Cafe

This is the first in a new series of posts called "Stuff They Love." For each post, I talk to someone doing something cool in Baltimore – and find out what they think is cool.

Baltimore is filled with people making the most of whatever they're passionate about, from cookies to art to woodworking. It's an exciting time to be here – and every time I hear about something new that's happening, I'm even more thrilled to be a part of this city.

For this first post, I talked to Adam Bufano, Sergio Malarin and Sidharth Sharma, the guys behind Mobtown Fermentation, the Baltimore City company that makes Wild Kombucha. Mobtown has earned tons of fans for its locally brewed, flavored kombuchas, which are sold in cafes, markets and yoga studios all over the area.

The Mobtown guys get fired up about what they do – and about what they see when they're out and about in the city. One of their new favorite spots – the place they chose to highlight – is Dovecote Café, which opened last month in Reservoir Hill.

"They have made an awesome little cafe in the heart of a residential neighborhood in Baltimore," says Sid Sharma. "They have an incredibly fun environment and kind staff." 

Aisha Pew, who came to Baltimore by way of Brooklyn, New York and Oakland, California, co-owns the café and runs the front of house. Her mom and uncle do the cooking – and have already earned a boatload of fans from Reservoir Hill and beyond. Pies, breads, muffins, frittatas…they all look fabulous. The pecan pie, Sharma says, is "to die for."

And, of course, there's coffee, which is sourced from a variety of roasters, including some local companies, like D.C.'s Café LosSuenos.

The Mobtown Fermentation guys love the café's atmosphere and that the Dovecote team goes out of its way to promote other local businesses. Dovecote sells Wild Kombucha and other good local stuff, like the awesome W00T! Granola and candles by Letta Moore's Knits, Soy and Metal.

Dovecote is also all about the art, with local artists on the walls and the work of featured authors in the cafe – and the spirit of art is just kind of in the air. Last weekend, the café hosted its first #ArtistsShouldntStarve event, bringing together the community and the artists featured on the walls of the café. Right now, the walls are covered in work by Stephen Towns and Jonathan Brickous and the featured writers are Michelle Antoinette Nelson (aka LOVE the poet), author of Black Marks on White Paper and Nia Johnson, author of LesB Inn. On Sunday, Dovecote's artists packed the house with an enthusiastic crowd.

A great café is more than just a place to grab coffee. It's a community hub – a place to gather and share and that has a personality of its own. The Dovecote crew gets that - and the Mobtown Fermentation guys love it.

Wild Kombucha/Mobtown Fermentation, mobtownfermentation@gmail.com

Dovecote Café, 2501 Madison Avenue, Reservoir Hill, 443-961-8677