For Baltimore foodies — let’s face it, that’s most of us — the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is the most wonderful time of the year. With its vibrant cultural mosaic, Baltimore offers a gastronomical trip around the world, a culinary journey that celebrates holiday food from Jamaican oxtails to Jewish latkes. Here are a few places to discover the time-honored and delicious holiday delicacies that reflect Baltimore’s many ethnic cuisines.
Jamaican Me Crazy and Hungry for Jerk Chicken and Rum Cake
“When it comes to Christmas celebrations, the Jamaican holiday menu varies from house to house and may include oxtails, jerk chicken, curried goat, roast beef, chicken dishes, and peas and rice, but the things you’ll find on most Jamaican tables are sorrel, rum cake and fruitcake,” said Orlando Bowman, a manager at Island Quizine, a Jamaican restaurant with four local locations in Towson, Reisterstown, Windsor Mill and Woodlawn.
Bowman said the restaurants prepare for increased orders of sorrel, the sweet, gingery drink made from the blossoms of the hibiscus plant; Jamaican Black Cake or rum cake, the decadent, traditional Caribbean holiday dessert made with dried fruit soaked in rum for months or up to a year; and fruitcake, another boozy confection with prunes, cherries, raisins, currants, sultanas and candied citrus peel. And for turkey lovers, Bowman said Island Quizine also offers the traditional American holiday dish with a Jamaican twist: jerk turkey.
Tamales: The Only Wrapped Gift You Need this Season
Tamales, dating back as early as 8000 to 5000 BC in Mesoamerica, is a traditional Mexican dish enjoyed across Latin America and considered a sacred food eaten on special occasions like Christmas. Tamales are made of masa, a dough made from corn and lard, and filled with meat, cheese, fruit, or vegetables, wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves, and slow-cooked with steam until firm.
Until recently, tamales were scarce in Baltimore, but with the growing Latine population in the city and the expanding Mexican, Honduran, and Guatemalan food scene, the tamale game in town has vastly improved. Our Mexican-American source tells us the best place to get tamales locally is Tortilleria Sinaloa at 1716 Eastern Avenue in Fells Point. In fact, the words “hands-down best” were used for this recommendation to describe the tamales. But here is a word of caution: They sell out fast. If you want enough to feed a crowd, order well in advance. Like today.
Latkes and Matzo Ball Soup
Attman’s Delicatessen, a Baltimore fixture at 1019 E. Lombard Street, also known as Corned Beef Row, offers traditional homemade comfort foods throughout the year, such as piled-high corn beef and pastrami sandwiches, soups, and more, but during the holidays, it’s all about the potato latkes (pancakes) and Bubbie’s Matzo Ball Soup.
“We can’t keep enough made,” joked David Bush, who retired from the restaurant but was brought back to help. “We run out and have to make more,” Bush said of the holiday favorites. In addition to soup and latkes, you can find other ala carte items at the Baltimore deli and full meals at the Potomac location.
Feast of the Seven Fishes
The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American celebration of Christmas Eve that stems from the Italian tradition of eating lean until the feast of Christmas Day. The typical meal may include some combination of anchovies, whiting, lobster, sardines, baccalà (dried salt cod), smelts, eels, squid, octopus, shrimp, mussels, and clams. Several local restaurants observe the Feast of the Seven Fishes, including Sally O’s at 3531 Gough Street in Patterson Park, which is close to selling out but still offering a seven-course, price-fixed menu celebration on Christmas Eve eve, December 23, from 6-11 p.m., for $95 per person. Cinghiale, at 822 Lancaster Street in Harbor East, also observes the feast. For $89, Cinghiale includes in its feast an antipasti course, a main course of Maine lobster, and a second course of pan-roasted halibut, along with a dessert.
Stuffed Grape Leaves
Sami Tabet calls it like he sees it. If you go to his restaurant, Byblos Lebanese Cuisine, a Middle Eastern restaurant at 1033 Light Street in Federal Hill, looking exclusively for stuffed grape leaves and they are all out, either find something else on the menu like one of their substantial spinach pies, cabbage rolls or kibbeh or just come back the next day. “I am 100% Lebanese, and I am 100% sure the best grape leaves, cabbage rolls, hummus spinach pies, and kibbeh are at Byblos,” said one of the restaurant’s patrons.
Grape leaves stuffed with a mixture of rice, ground meat, onions and spices, and kibbeh, made from ground meat (often lamb or beef) and mixed with bulgur, onions and spices, are signature Lebanese holiday staples. Tabet is proudest of the grape leaves because of the process he uses for his stuffed grape leaves and why the restaurant sells out of them.
“People like us because our grape leaves are not pickled or frozen like they do at other places,” Tabet said of the restaurant he runs with his wife, Hala.
Noche Buena, a Filipino Tradition
Christmas dinner in the Philippines is a sumptuous feast enjoyed on Christmas Eve, including pork, pasta, fried spring rolls called lumpia and fruit salad. Mama Rosa Grill at 3321 Annapolis Road near Cherry Hill, with another location in Middle River, serves up authentic Filipino dishes with a robust catering menu with Filipino holiday favorites.
It’s All Greek, and it’s All Good
Baltimore is home to one of the largest Greek-American communities in the country and is fortunate to have many Greek restaurants in the area to enjoy traditional Greek fare. The Christmas items likely found on a Greek table include Christopsomo (Christ’s Bread), prepared on Christmas Eve, adorned with a cross, designs or the initials of Jesus Christ. This sweet bread is enriched with spices, nuts, and dried fruits. Spanakopita and Tiropita are savory pastries often served as appetizers or part of the main meal. Spanakopita is made with layers of phyllo pastry filled with spinach, feta cheese, onions, and herbs, while Tiropita contains a filling of mostly feta cheese mixed with eggs and herbs. Melomakarona and Kourabiedes are the traditional Greek Christmas cookies. Melomakarona are honey-dipped spiced cookies made with flour, olive oil, honey and nuts; Kourabiedes are buttery shortbread cookies covered in powdered sugar and usually contain almonds.
In Baltimore, Samos Restaurant, 600 Oldham Street in Greektown, delivers authentic Greek fare. With an extensive catering menu, it is also where you go when you are responsible for bringing an entree to the holiday party, and you want to impress the guests. But call soon: the best dishes require 24 – 48-hour advance ordering.
Hold the Meat, Please
Why should meat lovers have all the fun? The Land of Kush at 840 N. Eutaw St., Baltimore, serves up vegan and vegetarian soul food so good you won’t even miss the meat. Everything on the menu is 100% plant-based. The restaurant is serving up its special holiday favorites: unturkey, mashed potatoes with vegan butter and green beans. These specially prepared items go with the restaurant’s regular sides, like collard greens, coconut cabbage, and deep-fried black-eyed pea fritters.
We are Having Chinese Food for Christmas: Hello, NiHao
Maybe you observe Christmas or not, or just don’t want to be in kitchen if you do celebrate. Canton’s NiHao restaurant will be offering a carryout/catering package on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. NiHao’s James Beard-awarded chef, Peter Chang, will offer a Peking duck feast featuring some of the restaurant’s classics. Prices of the dinner range from $98 for a table of two to three to $148 for a table of five to six.
Tell us about the cultural foods you enjoy over the holidays (and where to find them in Baltimore!) in the comments.
