Baltimore Eat & Drink Guide

The Chesapeake Bay takes its name from a Native American phrase for "Great Shellfish Bay." So it's no wonder that Baltimore, nestled along the bay's north shore, developed a hometown cuisine dominated by crustaceans. The blue crab, in particular, has become a city staple. In Baltimore, you'll find moist crab meat stuffed inside Chinese dumplings, sprinkled over linguine and wrapped in fajitas. Perhaps the ultimate crab meat dish, and certainly the one Baltimore is most famous for, is the crab cake. You'll find these delightful crab meat patties served in scores of bars and restaurants all over the city.

Wherever you decide to go for crab cakes, there are a few terms you should be familiar with. The first is Market Price. Crabs are both seasonal and in short supply, and thus the price varies even during the prime crabbing months of June through September. You should also know the terms Special, Backfin, and Jumbo Lump. These are the three grades of crabmeat, and rank the size of the pieces from smallest to largest. All three grades have the same flavor, and crab cakes made with Special or Backfin are usually much less expensive than those made with Jumbo Lump.

Inner Harbor

Once you've sampled the local delicacy, you'll want to take on the rest of the city's culinary treats. A great place to start is the Inner Harbor, which is in many ways Baltimore's showpiece. This dockside expanse is home to numerous educational and tourist attractions, hotels, stores, and enough restaurants to allow you to dine-out happily for weeks. For fine dining, Fleming's is a Steakhouse and wine bar with plenty of labels, as well as seafood options, to choose from. Little Havana serves seafood as well but with a Spanish and Cuban touch. They also have space for parties and can provide catering. By far the best seafood restaurant in Inner Harbor is the famous McCormick& Schmick's .

Mount Vernon

Heading uptown from the Inner Harbor on North Charles Street, you'll soon come to the lovely neighborhood of Mount Vernon. Here, in the shadow of a 178-foot monument to George Washington , you'll find a number of great places to dine. Two more of the city's absolute best, The Brass Elephant and Tio Pepe are located here. Relative newcomers like Brewer's Art , which serves creative German-styled fare, also thrive here. Finally, it's also home to an array of fine ethnic restaurants such as Akbar , which serves Indian dishes.

Federal Hill

Just south of the Inner Harbor is Federal Hill. A touch funkier than Mount Vernon, it's also host to a wide range of places to eat and drink. Foremost among them are Matsuri , one of the city's many fine Japanese restaurants, and the One World Cafe , a bohemian-flavored coffeehouse that serves great food and offers lots of vegetarian and vegan choices. Finally, over on the bay side of the neighborhood, you'll find Joy America Cafe , a four-star restaurant atop the American Visionary Art Museum .

Little Italy

Just to the east of the Inner Harbor lies Little Italy, one of Baltimore's culinary treasures. At last count, this 12-block expanse was home to over 20 fine Italian restaurants. It's really not fair to name just a few, but Sabatino's , Aldo's and Della Notte provide fine examples of what the area offers.

Fells Point

On weekends, this maritime district is swarmed with college students and young professionals looking for fun in the area's many nightclubs, such as The Latin Place . The neighborhood is also a favorite haunt of Baltimore's bohemian folk, who frequent the area's coffee houses, like Ze Mean Bean , which serves Eastern European dishes and coffees amidst an atmosphere of books and music. Then there are those places like Bertha's , an illustrious seafood restaurant. There are also plenty of places to hear live music, including The Full Moon Saloon , which features blues music, and The Cat's Eye Pub , which features Irish music. And finally, it's also home to two of the towns best new four-star restaurants, The Black Olive and Kali's Court .

Canton

To the northeast of Fells Point is Canton, one of Baltimore's recently refurbished neighborhoods. Formerly an industrial area, it's now home to a number of upscale cocktail bars, such as The Gin Mill and The Cosmopolitan Bar & Grill . There are also several cozy, friendly neighborhood eateries, like Nacho Mama's and the Cosmopolitan Bar & Grill .

Many other great restaurants are scattered throughout the rest of Baltimore's many neighborhoods. The East Baltimore neighborhood of Greek Town is, as its name implies, host to many excellent Greek restaurants, Ikaros foremost among them. In the midtown neighborhood of Charles Village you'll find Niwana , a great Korean and Chinese eatery. Just to the north, in the Govans neighborhood, lies the marvelous Cafe Zen . To the west, Hampden is home to Cafe Hon . Up in the quiet neighborhood of Mount Washington, located in northwest Baltimore, you'll find several charming eateries including The Desert Cafe .

Indeed, you can count on always being able to find something good to eat, no matter where you go in Baltimore. And remember, when in doubt: order the crab cakes.