Bourdain on Baltimore: My Thoughts

The short version:
Not the show I hoped to see, but (unfortunately) the show I expected to see.

The much, much longer version:
From the time I heard Anthony Bourdain was visiting Baltimore, I was concerned that the show would fail to capture the whole personality of the city. I'm sure everyone thinks this about their home, but to me Baltimore seems like an unusually difficult location to sum up in just a few words. The charm in "Charm City" comes from a quirky diversity, a great sense of humor and some serious resilience. That's a tough thing to capture quickly.

Back in January, when Bourdain first blogged about his visit to Baltimore, I had this to say:

So it sounds like he understands at least one part of the city. I'm sure it'll be a great show. And I know I shouldn't really complain until I see it, but I will anyway. How come Cleveland got the quirky, artsy, foodie edit, while Baltimore gets the "The Wire is real" edit?

I said that as someone who's a fan of The Wire. I don't pretend that what the show depicts doesn't exist. But it's only one part of the city.

My concern doubled when I heard that Baltimore would share an episode with Detroit and Buffalo. A) that's less time to delve into quirks and b) those three cities don't match. I've been to both Buffalo and Detroit. Detroit was one of the saddest places I've been and Buffalo is great except for the unrelenting cold. But the three cities don't naturally fit together.

Unfortunately, now that I've watched the episode, I see that my fears played out. After a quick perusal of the internet, I see that I'm not the only one who feels this way, either - there are tons of comments on Bourdain's blog that echo my sentiments.

In the interest of keeping it short(ish), here's where I think the episode got it wrong:

• Baltimore isn't a Rust Belt city, and the episode didn't even try to portray it as such. It wasn't about the disappearance of industry. To be fair, Bourdain's blog post addresses this issue. But it still got in my way.
• The Baltimore segment of the show only included individuals associated with The Wire. That's going to skew the edit no matter what. Plus, I couldn't help but think that there's at least one blue collar musician in Baltimore as entertaining as the Buffalo guy. And it was largely thanks to him that Buffalo got a good edit.
• That crab cake at Mo's was a travesty. So was the drink. Which Bourdain called "an indigenous beverage." It was blue. BLUE!
• I agree with one commenter's observation that there's a big dissonance between the show's dialogue about hope and improvement (Snoop specifically mentioned that the city is less dangerous now than it used to be) and the visuals (all boarded up row houses and run-down streets). Similarly, Bourdain gives a little lip service to John Waters, who's version of Baltimore is just as real and as entertaining as the one on The Wire, but doesn't back it up visually at all.

While I don't think it would've been interesting to just show Baltimore's nicer food scene - every city's got a Cindy Wolf, right? - many of my issues with the show could have been resolved with about one minute of b-roll showing the different areas of the city. The run-down west side plus a bit of Fells, downtown, Little Italy, Hampden, maybe a market, Hopkins and, say, Roland Park. Add some voice over addressing the importance of neighborhoods and the overarching quirkiness Baltimore offers and you've painted a much more honest picture of the city without masking the problems, but putting them in larger context.

All of this said, there were some things I liked about the episode. Both Snoop and Jay Landsman made it clear that Baltimore's their home because this is where they come from, and where their families and friends live. It's a hometown. That's very true. And the pride and humor that Bourdain references (though more clearly on his blog than in the episode) are real.

Also, though it glossed over in the episode, I thought it was interesting that all the food shown was, at its core, southern - lake trout, greens, pit beef. Add in the seafood and you've got something uniquely mid-Atlantic that really does belong to Maryland, but it was an interesting reminder that our culinary roots are southern.

Of course, that's just one more reason that the tie-in with cities like Buffalo and Detroit feels forced.

Overall, I'm sorry that the episode disappointed me, especially since I don't expect that we'll get a chance for a do-over. But, hey, you never know.

[Photo from the Travel Channel website.]

Update: Thanks to Andrew Green and Justin Fenton at the Sun for the links, and for two articles that capture both the problems and the hope in the city.

PSA: Baltimore's Taste of the Nation

Food - and for a good cause!

Via Dara at Dining Dish:

Baltimore’s Best Chefs and Restaurants Cook to End Childhood Hunger

Baltimore’s Taste of the Nation Presented by American Express ®,

to Take Place on June 2

[Baltimore, April 24] — With flavorful food and a passion for helping hungry children, Baltimore’s best chefs and restaurants will gather for Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation presented by American Express. Baltimore’s Taste of the Nation will raise critical funds needed to support Share Our Strength’s efforts to end childhood hunger in Baltimore and across America. This year’s event will take place on June 2 at the American Visionary Art Museum in Federal Hill, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm, with a VIP reception beginning at 6 pm.

More than 20 of the city’s finest restaurants will participate in the gastronomic event including Vin, Indigma, Pierpoint and Ixia. Guests will enjoy the city’s finest foods paired with beverages by Finlandia Vodka, Herradura Tequila, Woodford Reserve Bourbon and Southern Comfort.

This year’s event also offers something special for VIPs, including coveted seating, champagne, and surprise perks.

The area charities that will benefit from this year’s event include Baltimore’s Garden Harvest, Maryland Committee for Children, and Advocates for Children and Youth. Since its inception 20 years ago, Taste of the Nation has raised more than $70 million for organizations in the United States and abroad, including more than a quarter of million dollars in Baltimore alone.

Generous support from presenting sponsor American Express, national sponsors SYSCO Corporation and Food Network, Brown-Forman, S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water, the National Pork Board and OpenTable ensure that 100 percent of ticket proceeds go to Share Our Strength’s efforts to end childhood hunger in Baltimore.

With more than 12 million children facing hunger in America, and nearly 185,000 in the state of Maryland, Taste of the Nation events promote awareness of Share Our Strength’s efforts across the nation. The funds raised through Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation support the most effective organizations that feed hungry children, as well as advocates that are pursuing long-term solutions to the challenge of hunger, both locally and nationally.

Tickets for Taste of the Nation Baltimore are $75 for general admission and $125 for VIP admission, and can be purchased by calling 1-877-26-Taste or visiting www.tasteofthenation.org. Tables and event sponsorship opportunities are available.

About Share Our Strength®
Share Our Strength is a national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry. We weave together a net of community groups, activists and food programs to catch children at risk of hunger, and surround them with nutritious food where they live, learn and play. We work with the culinary industry to create engaging, pioneering programs like Taste of the Nation, Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale®, Share Our Strength’s Operation Frontline® and Share Our Strength’s A Tasteful Pursuit®. For more information, please visit www.strength.org.

What's Wrong with the Baltimore Food Scene?

This isn't a rhetorical question. It's also not one of those questions that I pose because I already know the answer, and I just want to write about it and seem smart.

No, I'm asking it very seriously.

More specifically, what I wonder is: why doesn't the Baltimore food and restaurant scene get more attention nationally?

I've been thinking around this for six or so months now, but my curiosity really came to a head just the other day, as I was finishing up my read of the February issue of Food & Wine. The magazine includes a quick article on the Superbowl party plans of Cleveland chef Michael Symon. I've heard a lot about Cleveland lately, and it's sort of surprising (Bourdain even visited last season).

I've also been hearing a lot about other smallish markets, like Richmond and Raleigh-Durham. Attention to cities like Portland and Seattle doesn't surprise me, considering their cultural climates. But Cleveland and Richmond? They just don't strike me as natural foodie cities.

So what is it that sets those places apart from Baltimore? Especially Cleveland - I think of them as somewhat similar. They both seem like working class towns in the midst of a renaissance.

Except for college, I've spent my whole life in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. I don't know much else. Obviously, I understand the difference between the food scene in DC and the one in Baltimore. But Baltimore's food and restaurant culture seems to me like it's very similar to the rest of the city: smallish but quirky and kind of cool. Comfortable in its own skin as a smaller alternative to nearby DC, Philly and even New York.

But I'm not sure that the rest of the country sees Baltimore the same way - if at all. I know we're on the radar in terms of other cultural aspects - between David Simon/Ed Burns, John Waters, and Barry Levinson, we can obviously hold our own, film-wise. We're obviously a creative town.

So, at the risk of sounding Seinfeldian, what's the deal with the food world? Do we not deserve the same level of national attention that, say, Cleveland gets? Is Baltimore really just not up to par in terms of quality or creativity?

Or do we just have a PR problem on our hands?

Or, alternatively, am I wrong? IS Baltimore getting the kind of national attention I think it deserves?

Trendy Monday: Baltimore, Again

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a couple of major national press mentions of the Baltimore food scene, speculating that we might actually be getting some of the recognition the city deserves for its interesting and diverse food community.

Last night, I came across a couple of things that may explain some of the newfound (and very warranted) attention. Sometimes it takes me a long time to finish a magazine, as is the case with this month's Baltimore Magazine. It's the Best of Baltimore issue (look for my name in the contributors list!) and in addition to the usual BoB stuff, includes an article on the tourism and marketing efforts of BACVA Pres and CEO Tom Noonan.

By all accounts, Noonan is a creative and capable tourism professional, and it sounds like Baltimore's lucky to have him. What caught my eye in the article were the several mentions of "the city's thriving restaurant scene". In fact, the Baltimore Mag article opens with a discussion of a recent event hosted by Noonan. He traveled to NYC, taking with him some of the stars of the local restaurant scene (Spike Gjerde and Timothy Dean) and cooked a meal for a bunch of food and travel writers. The event resulted in at least one article that's already in print: a Michael Schulman Talk of the Town piece in the New Yorker. Not exactly shabby placement.

Based on the New Yorker article, I'd say that Noonan and crew did a good job conveying Baltimore's quirky and fun personality. We're lucky to have John Waters, of course - invoking his name paints such a crystal clear picture of what this city's about. I'm glad, though, that the people in charge of marketing the city aren't stopping and starting with the Waters iconography...and that they're tapping into the food world to flesh out Baltimore's story.

As I've said before, it's about time that we get this sort of credit.

The Wire Is Back. But Do They Ever Eat?

The Wire is the best show ever to be on television in the history of television and the future of television. Best best best. Ever ever ever.

Could there be a less controversial statement? Or an insight shared by more members of the media and commenters on even slightly intellectual TV sites? Mind you, I'm not disagreeing - I think the show is amazing and powerful and sometimes too much for me to even watch. Occasionally, and especially during season four, I've had to take a break mid-show to read Best Week Ever or something, relying on Cooper to catch me up on the action once the show's over.

Living in Baltimore certainly doesn't make the show's message any less powerful. Scenes are shot outside my old office building downtown - one day on my way to lunch, I ripped my skirt on a generator and the production manager immediately rectified the situation. Baltimore is a complicated and still very segregated city, and the Baltimore I live in mostly feels very far away from what I see on TV. But it's really not.

I recognize not only the street names, but also thinly veiled characters (it surprises me that I haven't read more national media comparisons between Carcetti and O'Malley). I've met someone who has a character on the show (as in, I met the real person the character is based on - they use her real name and everything). My only real gripe with the show is that there's only been one cop character (season two's Major Valchek) with a dead-on Baltimore accent.

Apparently, at last night's Baltimore premiere, held at the Senator Theater (maybe 10 minutes from my house), creator David Simon vaguely reassured Mayor Sheila Dixon that she shouldn't be offended by any of the shows characters, saying, "this season is no less fictional than anything else we've ever done." Call me cynical, but I'm pretty sure he was hedging. The show defies the traditional break between fiction and non. Simon knows that.

This week, both the internet and traditional media have been overflowing with praise for the show. In the Washington Post, Tom Shales paints a glowing, if gritty, picture of what's to come in this final season (with one comment that skates a little close to a spoiler for me. I'm not 100% sure I know who he says dies, but I have a really good guess. I'd rather not know if I'm right.) Slate reprints Jacob Weisberg's early season four analysis of the show, as well as an interview with David Simon from the end of the last season. On The House Next Door, Josh Shelov extolls The Wire's oft-praised literary qualities. Alan Sepinwall focuses on the show's black humor - necessary to counteract Baltimore's bleak landscape. At Pajiba, reviewers and commenters alike are gushing with praise for season four (and offering a nice summary for those who want to get back up to speed) and pretty much foaming at the mouth for season five.

The Baltimore Sun, featured prominently in season five and David Simon's old workplace, plays it safe by focusing coverage on the event of the premiere, rather than the show itself. Interesting and a little disappointing, but I'll hold out hope that the coverage improves.

So...best show on television, capable of inspiring breathless middle school-style gushing from respectable veteran TV journalists. But this is a food blog. Really.

So, on the show, where is the food?

Baltimore is a food city. We eat. A lot. We all do - food knows no class in this city (unlike, well, pretty much everything else). We all love crabs.

But in The Wire...no food. Beer, definitely - the bar is as much a player in some scenes as the corner is in others. And occasionally there's a diner or an awkward evening meal at home, but it's really never about the food. Only the setting.

I'm not complaining, though. Just because I'm into food doesn't mean I think it has to be shoved into every movie and TV show I watch. In fact, I think it's lack of inclusion is just as telling as any focus on food would be.

The characters of The Wire are humanized, and we see them in relationships. But the show -the circumstances, the relationships, the setting, the people - it's not warm. Food would make it warmer. And that would be wrong.

Is a post about the absence of food still actually a post about food?

I don't know, but regardless, I wanted to post about the show. After all, it is the Best. Show. EVERRRRRR.

UPDATE: I'm verbose this morning. I take this a little further with a Wire/Sopranos comparison.

B&O American Brasserie Open

There's not a lot of encouraging news in the restaurant world these days, especially not here in Baltimore. Between the closing of favorites like Ixia and the recent "Baltimore=The Wire" episode of No Reservations, Baltimore food lovers are smarting a little bit.

Maybe that's why the opening of B&O American Brasserie (410-692-6172, 2 North Charles Street, adjacent to the new Hotel Monaco) is garnering so much attention. For weeks, local food writers have been buzzing about the restaurant, which as of yesterday is open for breakfast and dinner (it will also be open for lunch starting August 17th).

The menu is of the local, fresh, American sort - lots of seasonal ingredients, a raw bar and a great cocktail menu. I haven't eaten there yet, but based on what I've heard, the space is cool and the food is tasty.

All of that is great for Baltimoreans who love food, of course, but what I'm really excited about is a little more personal. I'm excited about the chef.

Chef E. Michael Reidt is a CIA grad and was named a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2001, when he was cooking Brazilian-inspired food at Bomboa in Boston. In the years since, he's helmed several restaurants in central and southern California and he's gotten press in a bunch of foodie and mainstream publications. He's a chef with national buzz behind him and that is, I think, exactly what Baltimore needs.

Not to take away from the rest of the chefs in town -we've got some excellent people weilding knives around town. But Baltimore is a hometown kind of place, which is mostly a good thing, but it can also be limiting. Sometimes you need somebody from the outside to raise the profile of a city. It might not be fair to the chefs who have been turning out creative, quality food in Baltimore for years, but Reidt's arrival has the potential to change the national perception of the Baltimore food scene.

And that, really, is a fantastic thing for everybody.

[Photo of Chef E. Michael Reidt courtesy of B&O American Brasserie.]

The Sweet Satisfaction of Food Shopping

Today I met my friend Ellen for lunch downtown, at a little bookshop/cafe called Clayton & Company Fine Books (we go there for the atmosphere: the food's just about the definition of mediocre, but the space is fantastic). Knowing that I'd be heading downtown today, I decided to make a big trip of it (all 10 miles of driving), and go to Cross Street Market after lunch. I'd justify the trip by making oyster stew for dinner tonight.

Lunch was a bagel and chai - as I said, really nothing special, though it was nice to catch up with Ellen. After lunch, though, was quite a treat.

Cross Street is in Federal Hill, an historic neighborhood in the southern part of Baltimore city. It's full of cute shops and restaurants and old buildings with architecture that can only be described as charming:


fed hill 1
Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

Side streets are cobblestone, houses are lovingly preserved, and there's a great park in the middle of the neighborhood. Really, the area's bright spots are enough to give Baltimore a good name:


fed hill 2
Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

Federal Hill is also a prime example of one of the reasons why I think Baltimore's a great city. Even the most gentrified neighborhoods (and Federal Hill is nothing if not gentrified - narrow row houses there regulary cost upwards of half a million dollars) retain some of the working class character of the city. New and trendy restaurants sit next door to groceries that have been in business for over half a century. Investment bankers are neighborly with Baltimore Hons living in the houses they grew up in. There's something reassuring about that. It's nice to know that the city won't ever change...that much.

Cross Street Market is a Baltimore institution in and of itself. Open and operating since 1846, the market sits in the square between Federal Hill's main drags, Charles and Light Streets and, appropriately enough, East and West Cross Streets. Parking is a little annoying, but there's a garage a few blocks away on West Street, and the walk is nice enough.

Entering Cross Street from Charles Street, I was immediately greeted by a throng of people eating (and drinking) their lunches:


cross street 3
Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

The seafood is good here, and if beer only comes in plastic cups, trust me, nobody minds. On Friday afternoons, especially during the winter, this end of the market is a great place for happy hour. That is, if you like your happy hours packed with young financial types, soggy with cheap beer and accompanied by raw oysters. Everybody who goes smells a little fishy come 7 pm, but agrees that the experience is a quintessentially Baltimore one.

Today, however, I wasn't in the market for Miller Lite. I was on a quest for oysters. But first, I walked my way up and down the market, just because I like to look at produce and flowers - and this market has a lot of flowers:


cross street 1
Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

As a side note, Baltimore residents are usually really nice people. Just after I took the picture above, the lady who was walking towards me (pictured) stopped me, smiling, and said, "I hope you got me in that picture." She seemed so genuinely happy...and sort of sassy. She totally made me smile, too.

A minute later, I found my oyster source, a stall with a wide variety of super fresh, beautiful seafood, and a friendly family behind the counter:


cross street 2
Originally uploaded by Kit Pollard.

Goods in hand, I could've walked right out of the market. Instead, I browsed for just a few more minutes, taking in the crazy variety of stalls. It's not everyday I see produce next to seafood next to a cell phone, pager and hair dryer store. Not even joking. But they all seemed to do a booming business, which can only be good news.

Oysters in hand and window shopping urges sated, I packed myself back into the car and started home. That's when I remembered I still needed cream and celery salt and a few other items for my big oyster stew experiment. Not willing to ruin the day's shopping high with a side trip to our ugly and crowded and disorganized Giant, I decided to splurge, and off to Whole Foods I went.

It was on my way home, I rationalized, plus, how nice would it be to support their corporate decision to use 100% wind power? Very nice. Nearly $30 later, I escaped with everything I needed (which, OK, would've cost maybe $15 at Giant), plus a lovely goat cheese and leek quiche that we'll have for lunch tomorrow. I have no willpower. But when faced with vibrant colors and clean wood floors and artisinal cheese and a friendly staff, it's all I can do not to pass out from sheer exhilaration. I considered myself lucky to have bought only one item not on my list.

And thus, my big shopping day came to an end. Tomorrow: the oyster stew experiment that triggered it all.

M&G in Baltimore Magazine

The June issue of Baltimore Magazine is on the stands now, touting (as the cover says), "101 Things to Eat, See & do Before You Die." In Baltimore, of course. Blog lovers will be especially interested in number 79. I know I was:

79. Local foodies appreciate Baltimore Snacker, a humorous, often-updated look at food and drink around the city. Also worth a mention are Mango & Ginger and Dining Dish.

I agree -and I am also a big fan of John (Baltimore Snacker) and Dara (Dining Dish). Thanks, Baltimore Mag!

Trendy Monday: Baltimore, Finally?

Somebody at Cinghiale deserves a raise. Specifically, the PR person. Not only was their wine list included in a Food & Wine "best of" list a few months back, the restaurant has two appetizers featured in a "favorites" feature in September's Bon Appetit.

That's great press for not only the restaurant, but the city, too. I've heard some grumbly complaints about the food at Cinghiale (I haven't been) but the impression I've gotten is that the people doing the whining expected something much more Italian-American traditional than Cinghiale offers. Since we're Baltimore's not exactly short on red sauce places, but so far has been somewhat short on restaurants that get the city national food press, I have to believe that the upscale-and-interesting menu was a good choice.

So I had all of this in mind when I read this post on Suzanne Loudermilk's Baltimore Mag blog. I'm not a giant fan of Tim Zagat, but it's still nice to hear somebody influential say what I've thought for a while: Baltimore's food scene is just as interesting as other cities, but we get lost in the shuffle because of our size. I'm always comparing our scene to Cleveland's - we're a similar size and have similar cultural roots, but we get none of their great press. I'm wondering now if that has something to do with location. Cleveland's sort of all by itself out there, while we're sandwiched in between DC and Philadelphia, two great food cities that are, themselves, overshadowed by proximity to NYC.

Either way, maybe, thanks to the Wolf/Foreman combo and Tim Zagat (not to mention all the other restaurateurs who are willing to gamble on Baltimore's willingness to take risks), Baltimore might be approaching its day in the spotlight.

Going On Around Town

Now that fall is here, things have really kicked into high gear, socially. There are a handful of events coming up locally that are worth some attention (in order of occurrence):

Local Birthdays
First up, this fall The Oregon Grille is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a special running from September 4th through November 9th. Spend $50 and you'll either get another $15 free or you can choose to receive a complimentary bottle of cabernet or chardonnay (I'd go with the wine, but that's just me.) I have to admit, until I got this press release, I didn't realize that The Oregon Grille was only 15. That's a long time for a restaurant, of course, but the place has the gravitas of a restaurant that's been around for decades and decades.

Share Our Strength
This Thursday, September 13th, Top Chef alum/Frederick chef superstar Bryan Voltaggio, along with a crew of visiting chefs, is hosting the third annual No Kid Hungry Dinner to raise funds for Share Our Strength, a nonprofit with a goal of ending childhood hunger. The dinner will take place at Voltaggio's flagship restaurant, Volt. While it's not cheap - tickets are $750 per person for the dinner and $95 for the cocktail reception only - the cause is a good one and the chef lineup is impressive, including Baltimore wonderchef Spike Gjerde, Bryan's brother Michael (of Top Chef fame...and also famous for his LA restaurant ink.), Eric Ziebold of CityZen, Erik Bruner-Yang of Toki Underground, and, perhaps most exciting, Matt Orlando of NOMA in Copenhagen (which just might be the most celebrated restaurant in the world these days).

You can find more details about the event, including how to buy tickets, here.

As an aside, Cooper and Dixon and I spent yesterday walking around Frederick with Cooper's cousin, Sarah, who has lived there for over ten years. I'd never spent much time there before - but what a cute town!

Dining Out for Life
And finally, Baltimore's annual Dining Out for Life evening is coming up on September 20th. Dining Out for Life raises money for Moveable Feast, a nonprofit that helps care for Marylanders with HIV/AIDS. It's very simple: Just go eat at a participating restaurant on September 20th and the restaurant will donate a portion of their proceeds (20% to 50%) to Moveable Feast. All you have to do is eat.

I will caution you, though: Make reservations. We often go to Clementine for DOFL - they're one of the places that donates 50% - and it is always packed.

Another note: Because Gertrude's is closed for a private event on Thursday the 20th, they will participate on Friday the 21st. Which means that really, you could dine out for life twice next week.

For more information, click here, and to see a list of participating restaurants, including their level of participation, click here.

UPDATE: ONE MORE EVENT!

Slow Food Baltimore's 2nd Annual Urban Food and Farm Fair
After posting this, I got an email from Slow Food Baltimore about the Urban Food and Farm Fair at Real Food Farm (2801 St. Lo Drive in Clifton Park) this coming Saturday, September 15th.

Hosted in conjunction with The Farm Alliance of Baltimore City and Civic Workls' Real Food Farms, the fair will have bands, kids' activities, tours, food, and a speech by the mayor. It runs from 2 to 5 (rain or shine) and is free! It's celebrating and promoting urban farming and local foods in Baltimore - sounds fun and also a great cause.

For more information, click here.

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

Not-So-Trendy Monday: Baltimore, Sadly

This is part of what Anthony Bourdain has to say about his recent (last week) visit to Baltimore, and the show that will be built around that trip:

I don't know what the Chamber of Commerce will think of the Baltimore segment—or the city fathers of the other cities [Detroit and Buffalo] we're visiting on what we're referring to privately as the "Rust Belt" show, but I can tell you that I am already a big fan of pit beef, the wonders of "lake trout" (neither trout—nor from a lake as it turns out), and the heavy but wonderful, vodka soaked charms of Detroit Polish food and Macedonian pastries. And I wonder what my Russian friend and sidekick, Zamir is making of all this, the bombed out, half deserted inner cities, the abandoned Ford plant, the funny, tough-as-nails hard working people we're meeting whose jobs are either gone or under threat. I told Zamir I'd show him America and that's what I'm doing.

There is—in spite of it all—a fierce pride, a toughness—and a uniquely American sense of dark humor, shared by everybody we've met, that's given me an uncharacteristic sense of optimism.

OK...so it sounds like he understands at least one part of the city. I'm sure it'll be a great show. And I know I shouldn't really complain until I see it, but I will anyway. How come Cleveland got the quirky, artsy, foodie edit, while Baltimore gets the "The Wire is real" edit?

I fear that this won't much help Baltimore get on the map as a city with an inspiring food scene.

Who Could Be Baltimore's Jamie Oliver?

Dixon woke up at 5 this morning and even though he went back to sleep until 6, I stayed up and, somewhat inexplicably, brainstormed about how the food community could help Baltimore fix some of its social problems. (I say "inexplicably" because this is so far from the kind of thing I usually think about that I can't even really figure out how my thought path got there.)

Social problems are, obviously, a major issue and deeply ingrained, spread across multiple institutions, as neatly demonstrated by the institutional shift of each season of The Wire. No one program or idea could possibly fix these generations-old issues, but every little bit helps, right?

If The Wire is to be believed, and I think it is, a core piece of Baltimore's troubles stems from the vicious cycle of drug dealing and lack of visible opportunity available to the young black men in certain Baltimore neighborhoods.

So here's my thought: why hasn't some enterprising and influential chef or restaurant group (Foreman & Wolf: I'm looking at you) follow Jamie Oliver's lead? His restaurant-reality TV-social program experiment, Fifteen, has been a success. The original London restaurant is popular and, by all accounts, great, and three additional Fifteen locations have opened up. More importantly for the communities, the Foundation that owns the restaurants raises a lot of money every year that it uses to invest in the kids who work in the restaurants. The Foundation has just published a report on how the program has impacted the lives of these kids over the past five years. The short answer is: it's been very positive. Experience, a way out, an alternative - the restaurant deals in a very public sort of hope.

I can't think of any reason why this wouldn't work in Baltimore, as long as it had the right champion.

Restaurant Review: Miss Shirley's

I have a new favorite restaurant in Baltimore - and it's not even open for dinner. Plus, it's located in an old Hair Cuttery building. Oh, and it doesn't take reservations (which I usually HATE.)

Somehow, though, I'm able to overlook all of Miss Shirley's drawbacks. I've made the not-very-long trek down to the Roland Park/Loyola area for brunch the past two Sundays and I've spent this week, so far, trying to think of a way to convince Cooper that we should go out to breakfast again this weekend. It's that good.

Miss Shirley's is on Cold Spring Lane just across the street from Alonso's and Loco Hombre (which I happen to think serves the best salsa in Baltimore) - the three restaurants share the neighborhood, a tiny, tiny parking lot, and an owner. Its space was, until fairly recently, a Hair Cuttery, and the shape of the building belies that fact. Otherwise, however, the decor is warm and sort of charmingly Restoration Hardware-retro with lots of old black and white photos of Baltimore and fresh flowers on every table.

The lack of reservations is definitely the biggest drawback to Miss Shirley's, especially since it is perpetually busy. The past two Sundays, though, have been beautiful, making the wait itself not so tough. My first visit was with Alicia and Jen - we managed to talk ourselves straight through a twenty minute wait while sitting in the heated tent that serves as a makeshift foyer for the restaurant. And this week, Cooper and I took a 15 minute walk around the neighborhood after we put our name in, so we barely sat at all.

And if the wait is the drawback, it's the food that's the draw. Miss Shirley's is only open for breakfast and lunch, but it's amazing what the chef does with those two meals. On my first visit, we all had lunch - I had a simple grilled cheese and tomato sandwich, served on challah bread with a bowl of nicely ripe fresh fruit. Nothing complicated, but the sandwich was served with an amazing fresh salsa accompaniment and was, basically, everything you might hope for in a grilled cheese.

Still, though, as I left the restaurant, I eyed the other diners' meals and was a little disappointed in my selection. Not because it wasn't delicious...but because I am a little obsessed with dessert for breakfast and Miss Shirley's does that very well. So this past Sunday, my plan was to order the coconut and cream cheese french toast. I didn't, though. The menu got in the way.

The menu at Miss Shirley's is comprehensive. Not quite as comprehensive as your run-of-the-mill Jersey turnpike diner, but substantial enough to fill two sides of an 11x17 sheet - with small print. I ended up with one of the seasonal selections - challah french toast served with lemon poppyseed cream and blueberries.

And it was amazing. The cream was lemony but had a tinge of sweetness - heavy, slightly whipped cream is rarely so refreshing. At first glance I was disappointed that I wasn't served more blueberries, but as it turns out, the chef knows more than I do. I had one or two berries per bite. Perfect.

Cooper had a gigantic seafood omelette with huge chunks of crabmeat. I know, I know. It was Asian crab. But still. It's breakfast.

We also split an order of the savory grits. The Baltimore Sun reviewer I linked to at the top wasn't into the grits - but he admits that he's a purist. Me, not so much. And we both thought they were fantastic - bacony and cheesey and creamy and lightened up just a big with chopped tomatoes. Highly recommended, if you like that sort of thing.

And while the food is the main attraction, the service is pretty decent, too. Nothing special, but it certainly doesn't detract from the experience. Despite the line of waiting diners outside, those lucky enough to be seated never feel rushed.

Verdict: The only question is, what will I order next week? Maybe the German apple pancakes. They smell great. Or the Belgian waffles with espresso cream. Or maybe I will get to the coconut cream cheese. So many reasons to go back...

UPDATE: I've been reminded by reader Julie and a friend of mine that Miss Shirley's does have it's not-so-perfect dishes, too. Namely, the biscuits and gravy. Apparently they are not particularly subtle or sublime. So avoid them.

However, I still stand by my overall recommendation. Possibly even more so now: last Sunday, Cooper and I had brunch with his parents. Unfortunately, the wait at Miss Shirley's was a full hour, so we tried Loco Hombre. It's just across the street and does have the same owner...but definitely not the same chef. The brunch wasn't bad, but it was no Miss Shirley's. And despite the nearly empty restaurant, the service was horrendous. Not the worst ever experience overall, but certainly not great, either.

ADDED: Urbanspoon's Miss Shirley's page:

The Local-Global Pendulum Meets Southern Cuisine

A couple weeks ago, my whole family got together at my parents' house to celebrate my dad's birthday. We were talking about food (because what else do you talk about?) when the conversation descended into a  "Who's on first?" style mess. My sister-in-law asked me if I'd ever been to Charleston, commenting that after reading the recent Washington Post article about Woodberry Kitchen, she got the impression that WK is a lot like Husk.

I haven't been to Husk, or to Charleston, but I had read the article and, based on what I've heard about Husk, I told Cail I thought she was right. Then my mom chimed in with a confusing comment about a neighbor who doesn't really care for Charleston because she thinks the food is "too rich" and my brother expressed surprise that I'd never been to Charleston - but I was sure he knew I hadn't been there.

As it turns out, he did know I'd never visited Charleston - the city. Cail and I were talking about the Holy City, while my mom and brother were talking about Cindy Wolf's famously fancy and, yes, rich, restaurant here in Baltimore. (Though I haven't actually been there, either.)

All that talk about Charleston and Husk and low country flavors in Baltimore - topped off by a late-night viewing of Shag - got me thinking. These days, Southern cooking is on quite a pedestal. And Southern flavors are steeped in so much history that it's easy to forget that not so long ago, regional cooking - in the South or anyplace else - wasn't exactly front-page news.

Back in the early days of M&G, I wrote a handful of posts lamenting the demise of regional cuisine (most notably here and here). The first post I wrote was triggered by my sister's college graduation dinner at the Southern Inn in Lexington, Virginia...which, despite its name, was not very southern at all. The dinner was OK, but I was disappointed that it lacked any regional distinction. I could've eaten the same dinner in California, New York, or the Midwest.

I wasn't the only person concerned back then, either. A year after my post,  an essay by Salma Abdelnour called, "The Insidious Rise of Cosmo-Cuisine," appeared in the May 2007 issue of Food & Wine. Abdelnour observed that the best chefs of the day lacked a culinary connection to their hometowns, with menus borrowing from cities all over the world, but not necessarily from their own backyards. That essay got a lot of attention; it also appeared in Best Food Writing 2007.

At that time, eating locally was a hot topic - "locavore" was the OED word of the year for 2007 - but that was more about where to buy ingredients vs. flavor profiles. In those days, the most celebrated food in the world was coming out of Spain (specifically, out of Ferran Adria's head), but it wasn't lauded for its Spanishness so much as its edginess. Technique was king. Top Chef viewers were talking about Hung's knife skills and Blais' wild ideas and careful execution, but not nearly as much about how their backgrounds might have influenced their cooking choices. Local food was on the rise, from a logistical standpoint, but from a creative perspective, we were all thinking global.

And then something shifted.

Today, El Bulli is no more and the Top Chef judges have seen waves of regionally-focused cheftestants. The Southern Inn, which inspired my first post on the subject, touts fried chicken and country ham all over its menu. And Charleston's Husk, described on its own website as "a celebration of Southern ingredients," is widely considered the country's best restaurant.

What happened? Something natural and cyclical, I think - though I don't know that we're experiencing a resurgence of American regionalism so much as a burst of interest in Southern flavors in particular. Here on M&G, the first mention of Charleston - which seems to be at the heart of this Southern food revival - was in April of 2009, when I wrote about Elle Decor's profile of the city.

In July of that year, the Baltimore episode of No Reservations aired and one of the show's (few) bright spots was Bourdain's smart identification of Baltimore's southern culinary roots, on display via lake trout and pit beef.

In November 2009, I considered pimento cheese super trendy and the following month, I sang praises for Kevin Gillespie's mission to cook food that "has a sense of place" (that place being, of course, the South). A rise in Southern flavor profiles was one of my predictions for 2010. By May 2011, when Garden & Gun (which launched in April 2007) won the National Magazine Award, the Southern revival was so firmly in place on a national level, the magazine could launch a semi-regular blog all about finding the South in New York City.

A few days after my father's birthday dinner, Alicia gave me a magazine her parents picked up on a recent trip to Charleston (Alicia's dad, Big G, is a Citadel alum). The magazine, called The Local Palate, bills itself as covering "food culture of the South," though it's mostly about food in Charleston vs. the region as a whole. Either way, its mere existence goes to show that regionalism is alive and well, at least in certain pockets of the country. The cover refers to "The Second Coming of Southern Cuisine" and on the inside, one of the most intriguing pieces, "Southern Revival" by architectural historian W. Barksdale Maynard, carries the lofty subtitle, "Living in the Golden Age of Southern Cuisine."

I can't find the article anywhere online (the rest of the issue is here) and that's really a shame because Maynard does an excellent job tracking the peaks and valleys of popularity experienced by Southern cuisine. His conclusion is that, "the long decline is over: traditional Dixie cuisine is back," and he quotes revered Southern food historian/champion John T. Edge, poo-pooing those who fret that the South has grown less "Southern" thanks to homogenization and Northern migration. Edge insists, "That concern is cyclical and maybe even permanent, this notion that Southern food is in peril." In other words, every generation worries, but the world keeps on spinning.

I suppose I should take those words to heart, too. After all, it was only five or six years ago that I was dramatically mourning regional cooking. And look where we are now: regional cooking, in the South at least, has risen again.

Good Ideas: Maryland Farm to Table

About a month ago, while I was writing my review of Bandito's in Federal Hill, I had a nice chat with Chef Cyrus Keefer (he's at Birroteca now, but was instrumental in developing Bandito's short but very good menu).

Keefer mentioned that Banditos was sourcing their ingredients from Maryland Farm to Table, a relatively new food hub that connects local farmers with restaurateurs via website. The site is the brainchild of Jeff Smith, the guy who used to be the chef-owner of The Chameleon Cafe on Harford Road.

Under Smith's management, Chameleon Cafe developed a reputation for fantastic food and a strong commitment to local and seasonal products. So when he was ready to move on to something else - something that would allow him to spend a little more time at home with his daughters (they're eight and four) - it made sense for him to use his expertise to boost the local food scene in Baltimore.

The concept of the food hub isn't brand new, but Maryland Farm to Table is one of the first (if not the very first) to gain traction in Baltimore. Over the phone, Smith told me he came up with the idea - a website connecting chefs and farmers - on his own, but once he started doing online research, "it already existed all over the country. So it was in my head, but once I realized it was already happening, I knew it must work."

He started his version on a shoestring, putting a couple of walk-in refrigerators in his house in Lauraville, and working with an old friend who's a web designer to create the website. He's trying to be careful about managing growth, too - after ten years in the restaurant industry, Smith understands that growing too rapidly isn't always good for business. "I've been kind of holding back, so I can work through things. I'm learning through doing it," he told me. "I didn't want to screw things up and get behind."

Right now, he says about 45 chefs use the site and eight of them use it on a regular basis. He's in the black and he's growing at a reasonable pace.

On a regular day, Maryland Farm to Table has sixty or seventy items available to order and nearly everything is produced within fifty miles of Baltimore. Chefs place orders by Monday at midnight for Wednesday delivery and Smith acts as the go-between - the farmers deliver the goods to him on Tuesday and he distributes them to the restaurants on Wednesday.

Putting himself in the middle was a smart decision. As a former chef, Smith understands the challenges of working directly with farmers. The one-day buffer gives him (and the chefs) room to shuffle menus or find new suppliers if the farmer doesn't come through with a complete order. And after years of dealing directly with farmers, Smith has no problem offering feedback (down to "this arugula is too big").

It's "not as exciting as being a chef," he admits. But the regular hours are golden - Smith gets to spend more time with his kids this way.

Plus, chefs like Keefer agree that it's important work and a great thing for Baltimore's food community.

Hopefully soon the website will be good for other communities, too.

"I'm letting it evolve into it's own thing," Smith explained. "I'm hoping it's a model that can be copied all over the country. That farmers with little money can get the whole thing started. They can be the hub manager and delivery people."

And all over the country, people will be eating better, easier.

Going on around Town

It may snow this weekend (ridiculous), but Baltimore's social schedule rages on, like it's actually springtime and people want to leave their houses to go do stuff. My inbox has been filling up lately, which means it's time for a "going on around town" post.

So here's what's up:

• B&O Brasserie's new chef, Thomas Dunklin, has launched his new menu. Since the announced departure of Chef Reidt last fall, the restaurant has stuck with the old menu. But now spring is here, which means it's ideal time to start fresh. Unfortunately, Cooper and I can't make it to dinner there anytime soon, but if my FB friends are to be trusted (I think they are), the new food is pretty great. Especially the red velvet doughnuts. What could be bad about that? For descriptions and photos of some of Chef Dunklin's new dishes, check out B&O's Facebook page. The food looks really lovely and I'm sure it tastes at least as good as it looks.
• On the more casual end of the food spectrum, the Mt. Washington Tavern is hosting a very family friendly grilled cheese cookoff from 2 to 4 PM on Sunday, April 10th. Several of Baltimore's own celeb chefs will be throwing down alongside several "regular" people (the "regular" winner will take home $200, a $25 gift card to the Tavern and a t-shirt). If you're interested in being one of those home cooks, you have until April 1st to enter (click the above link for more info). Tickets for the event are $10, which includes grilled cheese and a complimentary drink, plus lots of cool stuff for kids. And best of all, all proceeds go to Moveable Feast.
• On Thursday, March 31st, Spike Gjerde (of Woodberry Kitchen fame, as if I had to mention that) will join other Baltimore community leaders to host INVOLVE: A Conversation about Localism and Community Responsibility. The event is part of Wide Angle Youth Media's annual "Who Are You? Youth Media Festival" gallery exhibit, which showcases artwork made by over 300 kids from Baltimore. The event takes place from 9 to 10:30 AM at CENTERSTAGE. Tickets are $25 and include a breakfast courtesy of Woodberry Kitchen (and they do have a nice breakfast!).

Lots to do these days!

Stuff They Love: Kinderhook Snacks on Golden West

Just about a year ago, I had the very sweet opportunity to write about Katie Horn and Marie Stratton, the ladies behind Baltimore's Kinderhook Snacks.

If you haven't had the snacks, you should. They're so good - my favorite are the macaroons - and it's a bonus that Horn and Stratton are super, super nice.

When I asked them to talk to me about something they love in Baltimore, they had a million glowing things to say about the food, beer and - most importantly - the staff at Golden West in Hampden.

Golden West has been a part of the Hampden community for years and people love it for a lot of reasons. For Horn and Stratton, it's a port in the storm when they get busy. "Since we started Kinderhook, we've had so many long days and late nights in the kitchen, after which we are needing a good beer and good food. Golden West has been our most favorite place to go in these seemingly dire situations and the staff there continually lifts our spirits," they say.

"They recommend great beers, they don't judge us when we finish off an entire Green Chili Cheeseburger and fries (in fact, they congratulate us) and they always seem to know when we need a shot of tequila."

The Kinderhook ladies love that not only does the GW bar staff feed them burgers and tequila, they also have interesting creative pursuits of their own. David Spelce is one of their favorite bartenders, they say, and "a wildly talented artist."

And Edan Perrigo, Stratton and Horn's former Charles Village neighbor, works behind the bar and is also part of Great American Canyon Band, a Baltimore indie-folk band releasing a new album this spring. The band has already released one video from the new album, which I'm sharing (with permission from them) here:



This is some of what I love most about Baltimore. It's the kind of place where you can find a home at a restaurant because you like the food...then discover that the people behind the bar are talented artists and musicians and great bartenders. And you never know - maybe the people on the stools next to yours make great snacks, too.

Super Bowl Strategies: NOLA-Inspired

Have you heard that this Sunday is the Super Bowl? And that the Ravens are playing?

If you're in Baltimore, you have.

If you're having a Super Bowl party, there are a few different tacks you can take. There's the purple and black party. The Baltimore-inspired party. The standard Super Bowl snacks party.

And then there's the route I'm taking: the New Orleans party.

New Orleans food is legendary - and with good reason. It's full of amazing seafood and fantastic spices.

It's also, upon close examination, not so different from Baltimore cuisine.

Both cities are located next to the sea, which means both cuisines are seafood-heavy. Not necessarily the same creatures from the sea, but seafood nonetheless.

NOLA has creole and Cajun seasonings; Baltimore has Old Bay.

I talked with several local chefs who have New Orleans roots, or training, for today's Sun. On Sunday, I'll be making some of the recipes those chefs shared with me - and there are a lot of recipes. I don't think I've ever met a more enthusiastic group of chefs - each one was so happy to talk with me (even though at least one of them is a die-hard Saints fan).

Tomorrow and Friday I'll write about some of the other approaches to Super Bowl entertaining. This year, there's so much to celebrate.

Going on around Town

It's still fall, so things around Baltimore are still busy, busy, busy. Unfortunately, since I was so busy last week, I missed announcing a ton of great stuff that took place last weekend. I don't want that to happen again this week - so here it goes (click on the links for more information about each event):

• Beer: Right now it's Baltimore Beer Week and there's a lot going on for that. Of course, if I was still in a position to go out on a regular basis, I'd be posting up at Elliott's Pour House for the week.
• Winey: Apparently it's wine season. Boordy is having its annual Autumn WineFest every Sunday in October from 1 to 5 PM. Plus, the Maryland Autumn Wine Festival is taking place next weekend, the 16th and 17th in Salisbury and the 2010 Reggae Wine Festival is on at Linganore in Mt. Airy the same weekend. Lots of choices!
• Pink: Throughout October, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Sullivan's Steakhouse is offering a special "Palate in the Pink" menu - three courses for $39.95, $5 of which will be donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Last year the restaurant raised $170,000 for the foundation, which is pretty great.
• Bivalves: Next week is the first annual Downtown Baltimore Oyster Week - a concept that I am firmly, firmly behind. Sixteen restaurants are participating this year, offering tons of different oyster dishes.
• Famous: On October 21st, the Celebrity Chef Tour, benefiting the James Beard Foundation, will be at the restaurant in the Baltimore Renaissance Hotel. The celebrities involved include, among others, Jennifer Carroll, who was one of my favorite Top Chef contestants ever.
• Sustainable: The next "Fresh Thoughts" dinner at the National Aquarium will take place on November 16. The focus of the Fresh Thoughts series is on sustainable seafood (perfect for the Aquarium, right?) and the chef on November 16th is Tamesha Warren, of Top Chef fame.

So what are you going to do?