The Lauraville neighborhood restaurant is a local destination for comfort food and Maryland staples. Enjoy the burger, Maryland crab cake, and fried green tomatoes inside or on the patio.

Located inside a brightly painted rowhome on the Avenue, the Verandah’s menu features shareable Indian small plates, including paneer kofta and samosa chaat, as well as larger family-style entrees. The restaurant sometimes highlights regional Indian cuisine with multi-course prix-fixe dinners. 

Baltimore’s favorite literary-themed bar will drop a new botanical-themed cocktail menu July 14 that will rely heavily on locally sourced spirits, including D.C. distiller Republic Restoratives’ Civic Vodka. Tapping into the growing zero-proof cocktail trend, the bar will offer guests the option to order many of its drinks without alcohol, owner Paul Benkert says. The food menu includes a gluten-free fritto misto, a tempeh burger, and a Roseda Farms beef burger. In February, Benkert also took over neighboring beer hall De Kleine Duivel, which boasts a tranquil deck where guests can sample Belgian brews alongside charcuterie, grilled fish and vegetables, and small plates. 

This gin bar’s plant-filled patio became a drinkers’ refuge during the pandemic, and guests now have the option of sitting inside a beautifully restored home. Vintage finds like an old cash register add to the space’s personality. Food options like a beet poke bowl and an Italian cold cut banh mi measure up to the cocktails.

Chef Helena del Pesco, an alum of famed Chez Panisse in the Bay Area, follows a local-sourcing approach that includes changing the menu every day and incorporating plenty of homemade preserves. A given day’s menu might list a tempeh burger next to a grilled bavette steak salad. Linger in the courtyard that Larder shares with Fadensonnen, Lane Harlan’s natural wine bar and beer garden.  

Alma Cocina offers arresting Venezuelan arepas filled with seafood, meat, or vegetables at its new home in the Station North neighborhood. It shares space with Mera Kitchen Collective, partnering to provide free community meals. 

After shutting down during the pandemic, the restaurant inside the luxe Ivy Hotel reopened in April with a new “Maryland bistro” menu full of dishes like summer vegetable bucatini or a filet of halibut with creamed corn, chanterelles, and sungold tomatoes. Exceptional desserts from local pastry chef Amber Croom include a classic Smith Island cake and a peach-passionfruit cheesecake. There’s also an extensive selection of whiskeys and cocktails.

The longstanding Afghani restaurant delights Mount Vernon residents with kaddo borwani, baked baby pumpkin dolloped with yogurt, and mantwo, a pastry stuffed with beef and onions. The restaurant offers takeout, limited delivery, and indoor dining. There’s also a smattering of sidewalk tables along Charles Street. 

Greek pottery and frescoes of the islands adorn the walls at this old-school, cash-only restaurant that still serves the best gyros, garlic shrimp, and spanakopita in town. Visitors to Oldham Street can order takeout or bring their own beverages for indoor and outdoor dining. Diners in Canton or Locust Point can visit fast-casual sister restaurants, Samos Greek Island Grill.

Ekiben entices Baltimoreans with unique dishes that fuse flavors from Ethiopia, Taiwan, Thailand, and India. As of early July, both locations (Fells Point and Hampden) were sticking to takeout only. The tempura broccoli, the tofu brah with spicy peanut sauce, and Taiwanese curry fried chicken are all customer favorites. Follow its Instagram page to see the latest menu items, collaborations, and memes. Order online here.

Pregame for a day of baseball with the crab cake sandwich or chicken wings with sweet potato waffles at this cozy neighborhood bar a few blocks from Camden Yards. Weekly specials and daily desserts are both worth trying. 

Peter and Lisa Chang, the couple that produces some of the finest Sichuan cooking in the Mid-Atlantic, opened their eagerly anticipated Baltimore debut in the fraught summer of 2020. Daughter Lydia Chang manages the 120-seat venue in the Canton neighborhood, bringing on James Beard Award-nominated pastry pro Pichet Ong as an executive chef. Located in the former Fork & Wrench space, the restaurant boasts a Chinese menu that incorporates vegetarian delights like crispy eggplant and chili cauliflower alongside spicy mala dishes, weekend dim sum, and a signature Peking duck. 

This family-run Canton newcomer brings the city a Laotian restaurant to call its own. The menu features a Maryland banh mi stuffed with crab cakes, pork sausage with sticky rice, and several vegetarian items, including a tofu red curry. 

No Baltimore food list would be complete without a spot for steamed crabs encrusted with Old Bay. Eat ‘em on the rooftop at L.P. Steamers for views of the Inner Harbor. 

This South Baltimore favorite makes excellent Neapolitan pizza, antipasti, and homemade pasta. Try the ricotta crostini, fettuccine alla Norma, or the aforementioned wood-fired ’za, which comes in red and white varieties.