For smoked meats plus a rotating menu of elevated specials, head to Heritage Smokehouse in Govans. It comes from Parts & Labor butcher George Marsh, and while the vibe is reminiscent of your grandparents’ wood-paneled basement, this is also not your standard meat-and-three spot. Recent specials include smoked sour beef dumplings and smoked morcilla with whipped potatoes and onion jus.

Closed since the pandemic, chef-owner Spike Gjerde’s Mid-Atlantic marvel Woodberry Kitchen reopened as Tavern at Woodberry Kitchen this month. The reimagined restaurant, now located in the historic Clipper Mill site’s Woodberry Hall, continues to showcase regional farmers with a frequently rotating menu. Reservations via Resy are required.

Maryland chicken meets Laotian cuisine at Mona’s Super Noodle in Hampden. Each order comes served in a to-go box with sticky rice and a sweet dipping sauce. This is also a great spot to sample curries, Vietnamese pho, and Thai noodle dishes.

Open since last fall, this revered Roman bistro brings the historic Mt. Vernon neighborhood a popular chef’s tasting menu and a la carte options (with a BYOB policy). Chef Brendon Hudson wants diners to feel as if an entire meal was designed just for them. While pastas take center stage, there are also surprise dishes delivered fresh each week. This is also an accessible breakfast and lunch option with a mouth-watering artichoke and mortadella toast.

This glamorous, European-styled restaurant and bar sits inside Mt. Vernon’s opulent 116-room hotel Ulysses that debuted this fall. The day-to-night affair calls for coffee and all-day provisions and an elegant dinner menu full of crab cakes, steak tartare, bouillabaisse, panna cotta, and spritzes. Bloom’s, its Art Deco-chic cocktail counterpart off the lobby, simultaneously opened with a stellar wine list.

Seasoned chef and Tail Up Goat alum Robbie Tutlewski recently opened a new restaurant in Baltimore that celebrates home-style cooking. Think of this as an Italian-meets-American eatery with wood-fired pizzas, plus pierogis and other hearty fare inspired by Tutlewski’s childhood.

Chef Ashish Alfred’s anticipated hideaway in Admiral Fell Inn opened this fall in the subterranean space that formerly housed Tavern at the Admiral. Pair well-made cocktails with snacks like sliders, confit chicken wings, and a spiced nut mix. Anchor Bar sits next to Alfred’s hit French brasserie Duck Duck Goose, which serves extravagant steak tartare, chicken liver pate, escargot, duck leg confit, and an eponymous burger dressed with seared foie gras. A three-course Sunday supper deal with a full roast chicken easily feeds four people for $120. Alfred’s Italian restaurant Pirata is scheduled to arrive in the inn in early 2023.

Sally O’s owner Jesse Sandlin just brought Canton a retro neighborhood spot for throwback cocktails like a black tea-infused Long Island iced tea, garlic butter Buffalo chicken wings, a double pepperoni pizza, mac and cheese, and a smash burger. A solid beer list includes Checkerspot and Dewey Beer Co. on tap.