If you’re a fan of outdoor parties and beer–both local and international–this is an especially good week for you. Baltimore restaurants and other businesses have a bunch of fun dinners and other celebrations planned throughout the week.
Here’s a look at what’s coming up:
Openings and announcements
Retired Ravens great Ray Lewis is back in Baltimore with a new venture: a restaurant in Little Italy. Lewis will partner with the Gambino family, the current owners of High Street’s Ciao Bella, on Lew Gambino’s. The new spot will open in the Ciao Bella space in late August.
Belvedere Square has announced a handful of new tenants, including a Korean barbecue spot, Koba BBQ, taking over the former home of Starlite Diner.
The Generous Pour at The Capital Grille
Have you been to The Capital Grille lately? It remains one Baltimore’s best options for steak.
Now through Sept. 1, the downtown restaurant hosts its annual wine event, The Generous Pour. During this time, the restaurant features a handful of specially selected wines at a discounted rate. This year’s selections are from Jackson Family Wines, the winery that put California wines on the international map back in 1976, when they placed at the Judgement of Paris wine tasting competition.
Saturday festivals
Saturday is a big day for parties around the area.
On Saturday, Union Craft Brewing celebrates its 7th birthday with an evening party including live music, food from Well Crafted Kitchen, TigerStyle, Clavel, Ekiben, Snake Hill, The Local Oyster and Balti’Marons, and, of course, beer.
Lee’s Pint and Shell’s 8th Shuckin’ in the Street celebration starts at noon on Saturday. The party includes live music and a DJ, crushes and shooters, and 20,000 free, freshly shucked oysters on the half shell.
The entry fee is a $10 donation, with portions of proceeds going to Kennedy Krieger and the Oyster Recovery Partnership.
The same day, Trifecta Food Truck & Music Festival takes over the state fairgrounds in Timonium with a massive festival featuring over 40 food trucks, live music, a kids’ zone and much more.
Also on Saturday, Das Bierhalle hosts a massive, daylong street party including beer, liquor and food, drinking games, live music and more.
First anniversary beer dinner at Guinness
Guinness Open Gate Brewery celebrates a year in business this week–happy birthday to them! A series of celebrations kicks off with a beer dinner on Wednesday featuring four courses paired with Guinness beers, with options like pork belly and grilled octopus with harissa honey gastrique paired with Guinness Crosslands Honey.
Busy at Foraged
On Wednesday, Foraged Eatery in Hampden is teaming up with Neill Howell from The Corner Pantry for a fun night of Breakfast for Dinner, featuring house-made maple syrup and other treats.
Plus, as of earlier this month, Foraged has eliminated refined white sugar from the restaurant. Instead, the operators have found a local partner in Nela Nature, a Glen Burnie-based company that produces unprocessed cane sugar. The staff at Foraged also makes its own salt; the restaurant’s commitment to local products is impressive.
Women in Wellness at Basignani
On Wednesday, Basignani Winery teams up with Chesacanna for a session on women in wellness, including CBD mocktails, wellness and CBD vendors, and endocrine health and thyroid screenings.
Lobsterama
Gertrude’s offers Maine lobster every Thursday in August, prepared either steamed (New England-style) or stuffed with crab imperial (Maryland-style).
You can call ahead to reserve your lobster. Make sure you grab one before they run out.
International Beer Day
Friday, Aug. 2, is International Beer Day and Topside in the Hotel Revival is celebrating with a great special: All 13 of its locally brewed draft beers are just $5, so long as you tag the hotel or restaurant in a social media post.
Topside’s local beers on tap include Pagoda Pale from Monument City and Skipjack from Union, and a lot more.
Baltimore Summer Restaurant Week begins
Baltimore Summer Restaurant Week kicks off on Aug. 2 and runs through the 11th. During that time, local restaurants will offer two-course brunch and lunch menus from $12-20 and three-course dinner menus for $20-35.
There are some terrific menus available. The one from Cinghiale looks especially good, with seasonal options like a salad of heirloom tomatoes, peaches and burrata, and ricotta pasta with zuchinni, fava beans, peppers, eggplant and basil pesto.
Another good bet is The Black Olive, which will have courses like a grilled sardine and grape leaf starter and a main course of cornmeal-coated wild rockfish.
Check out all the menus on the Restaurant Week website.
Planning Ahead
Here are a few events to look forward to over the next few weeks:
Aug. 8: Dog Days of Summer at Birroteca
Aug. 10: Flower Farm Dinner at Two Boots Farm
Aug. 25: Farmers Market Dinner at La Cuchara
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