Remington/Station North/Penn North
BAMF Cafe1821 N. Charles St., (667) 930-3371, facebook.com/BAMFCafe $, B, L BAMF Cafe describes itself as “celebrating the comic arts and all things geek culture,” though you’d probably be able to figure that out from its window displays. Wraps, sandwiches, and the like accompany its decor, as well as specialty espresso drinks. Be-One Korean BBQ2016 Maryland Ave., (410) 244-5600 $$, L, D The smell of sizzling meat is exactly what you want in Korean barbecue. Be-One delivers with the highly recommended BBQ Set A: cha dol (brisket), galbi (beef ribs), bulgogi (marinated aged beef), joo mool luck (marinated ribeye), and chicken bulgogi. Bottega1729 Maryland Ave., (443) 708-5709, bottega1729.com $$$, D, R Think of sitting in a Northern Italian grandmother’s kitchen, tasting old family recipes, and you’ll start to get close to what you’ll experience in this tiny Station North restaurant. Caribbean Paradise1818 N. Charles St., (410) 332-8422 $, L, D Heaping platters of jerk chicken slathered in dark, rich gravy, along with all the fixings, for less than 10 bucks. Clavel225 W. 23rd St., (443) 900-8983, barclavel.com $, D, BR A taqueria and mezcaleria with an authentic Mexican menu and a cool but unpretentious vibe. The tacos are tasty, but tiny, so mix and match a few—and don’t skip the aguachile ceviche. |
Key
- $: Average entree price is at or below $10.
- $$: Average entree price is $10-$20.
- $$$: Average entree price is $20+.
- B: Breakfast.
- L: Lunch.
- D: Dinner.
- BR: Brunch on weekends.
- BYOB: The restaurant allows you to bring your own booze.
- P: On-site parking, i.e. a dedicated lot or garage.
- OUT: Outdoor dining in season. It could be anything from a few tables on the sidewalk to a dedicated deck.
- 10 p.m.: Serves food after 10 p.m. on a regular basis. Many restaurants serve until 11 p.m. on Saturdays, but spots that get this designation go beyond that.
- R: Reservations are suggested, particularly for weekend dining.
- DV: Delivery for a limited area, including restaurants that deliver through a web-based service such as OrderUp or Amazon Prime Now.
Colette1709 N. Charles St., (443) 835-2945, colettebaltimore.com $$, D Elevated but unpretentious French cuisine in a comfortable environment, with a staff that treats its patrons more like they’re at a dinner party than a restaurant. Winner of Best New Restaurant 2016. Crown Seoul1910 N. Charles St., (410) 625-4747, facebook.com/crownseoul $$, D Whether you’re at the Crown for a show, a poetry reading, a stand-up set, a ventriloquist act, a dance party—whatever it is—you can take a break or fuel up beforehand on delicious Korean food. The Dizz300 W. 30th St., (443) 869-5864, thedizzbaltimore.com $$, L, D A down-home neighborhood bar with great bar food and an old-fashioned rotating dessert case with killer pies and cakes? Sign us up. Breakfast on weekends, and it’s incredibly cheap. Great Grann’s1341 W. North Ave., (410) 225-3336, facebook.com/GreatGranns $$, L, D, BR This small, super-inviting soul food spot with perhaps the best chicken and waffles in town—a dinner plate-sized waffle sprinkled with powdered sugar, a handful of hard-fried wings—is a Penn-North staple (City Paper gave it a “Best Fuel For The Uprising” award back in 2015). Wash it down with house-made lemonade and grab a delicious dessert for the road. Joe Squared33 W. North Ave., (410) 545-0444, joesquared.com $$, L, D Enjoy the fully loaded square pizzas and risotto and catch a show in Joe Squared’s basement venue, “Downsquares.” |
Key
- $: Average entree price is at or below $10.
- $$: Average entree price is $10-$20.
- $$$: Average entree price is $20+.
- B: Breakfast.
- L: Lunch.
- D: Dinner.
- BR: Brunch on weekends.
- BYOB: The restaurant allows you to bring your own booze.
- P: On-site parking, i.e. a dedicated lot or garage.
- OUT: Outdoor dining in season. It could be anything from a few tables on the sidewalk to a dedicated deck.
- 10 p.m.: Serves food after 10 p.m. on a regular basis. Many restaurants serve until 11 p.m. on Saturdays, but spots that get this designation go beyond that.
- R: Reservations are suggested, particularly for weekend dining.
- DV: Delivery for a limited area, including restaurants that deliver through a web-based service such as OrderUp or Amazon Prime Now.
Jong Kak18 W. 20th St., (410) 837-5231, facebook.com/Jong-Kak-258454814189598 $$, L, D, P With a polite staff and a bright but low-key atmosphere, it’s the ideal place to fill your stomach after a late night of dancing at The Crown or Ottobar. Banchan, small side dishes that include kimchi, vegetables, and an egg casserole, accompany whatever you order. Lost City Diner1730 N. Charles St., (410) 547-5678, lostcitydiner.com $$, D, Br Lots of classic diner fare at this ’50s sci-fi-themed spot, but surprisingly vegan friendly. You can’t go wrong with its multitude of milkshake options. Open for lunch Friday through Sunday. Mi Comalito2101 N. Charles St. (entrance on 21st Street), (410) 837-6033 $$, L, D Mi Comalito specializes in Mexican, Salvadoran, and Honduran food, and it does all three as well as anyone else in town. Start with the pupusas. There’s a bar with a pool table hidden away upstairs. Nak Won Restaurant12 W. 20th St., (410) 244-5501, nakwonrestaurant.com $$, L, D One of many Korean late-night spots within a few blocks of each other, Nak Won has noodle bowls and hot pots, but it bills its specialty as Korean barbecue and has a whole menu page of dishes to prove it. Nam Kang2126 Maryland Ave., (410) 685-6237 $$, L, D Nam Kang, which stays open till 4 a.m. nightly, has fabulous banchan, and we love the kimchi jigae on a cold night. |
Key
- $: Average entree price is at or below $10.
- $$: Average entree price is $10-$20.
- $$$: Average entree price is $20+.
- B: Breakfast.
- L: Lunch.
- D: Dinner.
- BR: Brunch on weekends.
- BYOB: The restaurant allows you to bring your own booze.
- P: On-site parking, i.e. a dedicated lot or garage.
- OUT: Outdoor dining in season. It could be anything from a few tables on the sidewalk to a dedicated deck.
- 10 p.m.: Serves food after 10 p.m. on a regular basis. Many restaurants serve until 11 p.m. on Saturdays, but spots that get this designation go beyond that.
- R: Reservations are suggested, particularly for weekend dining.
- DV: Delivery for a limited area, including restaurants that deliver through a web-based service such as OrderUp or Amazon Prime Now.
Nancy by SNAC131 W. North Ave., (410) 685-0039, stationnortharts.com/NANCY_BY_SNAC.html $, B, L Housed in MICA’s Fred Lazarus IV Center, this cafe features many of the American dishes with flair found at its sister restaurant down on North Charles Street, including a highly touted pulled pork sandwich. The New Wyman Park Restaurant138 W. 25th St., (410) 235-5100 $, B, L Friendly, fast diner drawing locals for crispy fries with thick brown gravy and the delicious quarter-cut turkey club, with turkey roasted in house. Papermoon Diner227 W. 29th St., (410) 889-4444, papermoondiner24.com $$, B, L, D, P When people talk about Baltimore’s “funkiness,” they might be talking about Papermoon and its wacky decor. Bonus: inventive shakes, diner fare, and communal service. Parts & Labor2600 N. Howard St., (443) 873-8887, partsandlaborbutchery.com $$$, L, D, R Part of Spike Gjerde’s local restaurant empire, Parts & Labor is both a restaurant and butcher shop. You can shop for choice cuts of meat by day, and come back for dinner service to eat rib-eyes, filets, and more. Also enjoy cured meats and organ varieties. Pen & Quill1701 N. Charles St., (410) 601-3588, penandquill.net $$$, D, R The fourth restaurant in the Karzai family’s portfolio, Pen & Quill aims for a slightly younger audience than the Karzais’ other spots with a late-night menu, excellent cocktails, and cuisine that’s upscale but not stuffy. |
Key
- $: Average entree price is at or below $10.
- $$: Average entree price is $10-$20.
- $$$: Average entree price is $20+.
- B: Breakfast.
- L: Lunch.
- D: Dinner.
- BR: Brunch on weekends.
- BYOB: The restaurant allows you to bring your own booze.
- P: On-site parking, i.e. a dedicated lot or garage.
- OUT: Outdoor dining in season. It could be anything from a few tables on the sidewalk to a dedicated deck.
- 10 p.m.: Serves food after 10 p.m. on a regular basis. Many restaurants serve until 11 p.m. on Saturdays, but spots that get this designation go beyond that.
- R: Reservations are suggested, particularly for weekend dining.
- DV: Delivery for a limited area, including restaurants that deliver through a web-based service such as OrderUp or Amazon Prime Now.
Red Emma’s30 W. North Ave., (443) 602-7611, redemmas.org $, B, L, D, BR The radical collective has swanky digs in Station North, with bookshelves reaching the ceiling, its own coffee-roasting operation, and a menu with vegetarian and vegan bagels, sandwiches, soups, and more. Sofi’s Crepes1723 N. Charles St., (410) 727-7732, sofiscrepes.com $, L, D If you’ve ever eaten crepes on a Parisian street, stop into Sofi’s (there’s another outpost in Belvedere Square) and, a few minutes later, you can be walking along the sidewalk, annoying all of your friends with your memoires de joie de vivre. Buy ’em a crepe and they won’t mind. Station North Arts Cafe1816 N. Charles St., (410) 625-6440, stationnortharts.com $, B, L An old stalwart of the neighborhood, this cafe and art gallery serves breakfast staples like French toast and Belgian waffles all day. Tapas Teatro1711 N. Charles St., (410) 332-0110, tapasteatro.com $$, D As the name indicates, this outdoor-dining hot spot serves small plates for theatergoers in Station North. Bring friends to get the most of the wide variety of dishes—and the pitchers of sangria. |
Clavel
E. Brady Robinson/For City Paper