March certainly came in like a lion this year, but local restaurants are thinking spring, with new menu items and fun news. Here’s a look at what’s happening in Baltimore’s culinary world:
Openings & announcements
Baltimore diners have been anxiously awaiting news about the post-fire recovery efforts and reopening of La Cuchara. This week, the restaurant’s team took to social media to share that the rebuild is still underway and that La Cuchara will open this year.
In the meantime, the crew behind La Cuchara has also been working on another ongoing project: Seppia, an Italian restaurant that will take over the old Five and Dime space in Hampden. Seppia is now in the final stages of building and is slated to open in April.
Congratulations to Brookside Market, which celebrated eight years in business with a big party last week.
Mindpub Café is for sale – but not closing. The owners are looking for the right people to take over, as they focus more on other projects and adventures.
St. Pat’s season is back
The start of March means one thing for many Baltimoreans: the kickoff of St. Patrick’s Day season.
Guinness Baltimore is at the forefront of the St. Pat’s celebrations, with events starting this weekend and extended over the next few weeks. During St. Patrick’s Day season, Guinness celebrates by building an Irish Village on the lawn outside the brewery, bringing in live music, and offering lots of special tastings and classes – including a lesson on pouring the perfect pint of Guinness and a “Jigs and Swigs” Irish dance class, scheduled for Thursday, March 12.
During this time, Guinness also offers an even wider than usual array of traditional Irish dishes, plus limited-edition beer releases and fun merch.
Guinness isn’t the only spot getting in the Irish spirit, either. At THB, lucky green and orange bagels will make their debut on March 14 – and 50 cents of each bagel purchased will be donated to the Maryland SPCA.
The Corner Pantry is celebrating the Irish with its drink of the month: “lucky” mint matcha made with vanilla mint syrup and turmeric cold foam.
Supporting Charles Village
From now through March 22, if you make a purchase or write an online review for a participating Charles Village restaurant or shop, you’ll be entered into a weekly drawing to win $500 and a grand prize drawing for a $1500 staycation.
The Charles Village Community Benefits District, the organization sponsoring the promotion, has many restaurant and food industry members, including Blueprint Café, BoZ’s Burgers, Gertrude’s, Motzi Bread, Charm City Food Co., and Dear Charles at The Study at Johns Hopkins.
Origins with Third Way Farm
Woodberry Kitchen’s Origins discussion series is back this week, with an event on Wednesday, March 11. This month, Spike Gjerde and his team welcome Tommy Shireman of Third Way Farm for a conversation on regenerative farming and the importance of soil health.
Spring menus
With (slightly) warmer weather on the horizon, restaurants have started dropping new menus for springtime.
This week, check out new lineups at Sally O’s, Midlina, and Kneads Bakeshop – and keep an eye out for even more fresh menus across the city over the next couple weeks.
Planning for the future
Mark your calendars for:
March 14: Michael Twitty at Maryland Center for History and Culture
March 17: Matriarch’s Dinner at Urban Oyster
April 22: Dinner with Brian Lavin at Boordy
