I’m lounging on a sexy golden sofa, sipping something robust, sweet, and rum-forward. The cocktail is a work of art, crimson-tinged with a crisp stroke of blue algae brushed along the inside curve of the coupe glass to accentuate its cool. The category is classic beauty. I soak in the quiet chatter and sweet giggles of young professionals and artsy peers dressed in their best fits, enjoying the respite of the workday’s end. The scene could have been clipped out of a spread for Ebony photographed by Anthony Barboza or Kwame Brathwaite. Our collective joy buzzes off the wood and brick walls, beams like the sunlight shining through the towering windows. The ceilings are high enough for us to stand tall, lofty as the peace we feel in each other’s company. Rum and laughter warm my chest. There is nothing like being nourished by community and sharing space with those who see you and want you to feel seen.

Have you visited Mama Koko’s yet? The concept cafe and cocktail bar is the latest venture from veteran restauranteurs Ayo Hogans and Angola Selassie located on the first floor of the historic James E. Hooper House in Old Goucher. If you’ve lived in the region for a while, you would likely have visited their flagship eatery, Grind House Juice Bar, later rebranded The Green House Juice Cafe, in Charles Village, grabbed a bite at their sister location at Towson University, or popped into Flourish (now on Harford Rd), a boutique managed by Nilajah Brown that once operated at the front of The Green House Juice Cafe.  Soulful plant-based cuisine has long been a staple food option on the St. Paul corridor for decades. OGs will remember Chef Skai’s venture, The Yabba Pot, which occupied the same venue in the early 2000s.  Hogans and Selassie’s spin on vegetarian cuisine presented a straightforward, eat-on-the-go plant-based menu with fresh smoothies and vegan treats. Mama Koko’s offers a culinary and conceptually elevated experience. The added perk is that the cafe is located just a few blocks from their previous address. 

Think grown and sexy meets casual neighborhood hub with small plates, craft coffee, artisan cocktails, and mocktails at reasonable prices. The menu and the layout, which hosts two bars, a lounge, and covered outdoor seating, are designed to suit a broader palette that pays homage to southern Creole, French, and West African flavor profiles. The venue is inspired by Angola’s mother, Dr. Kokahvah Zauditu-Selassie, lovingly called Mama Koko, and celebrates her iconic style, incredible world travels, and their family’s powerful legacy.

“We wanted a space that would allow an experience for people to be able to slow down, sit down, socialize, show off their fits, meet some new folks, and that way, we could have a platform for an exchange of ideas.”

“Our last location was quite small, and because of the size constraints, it only allowed a to-go experience,” Angola shared. “We wanted a space that would allow an experience for people to be able to slow down, sit down, socialize, show off their fits, meet some new folks, and that way, we could have a platform for an exchange of ideas.”

The 33-room mansion was initially constructed for James Edward Hooper in 1886, who made his fortune by manufacturing duck cotton fabric in Baltimore. After he died in 1908, the house hosted various businesses until it fell into disrepair. It was purchased in 2018 by co-owners Matt Oppenheim and Mick Mier, who sought to turn the valuable property into a mixed-use space for artists and small ventures. The building survived a fire in 2022, and after years of critical renovations to maintain the original charm and historic architecture, the Hooper House recently reopened to the public. Hogans and Selassie leased the first floor for Mama Koko’s and a room on the second floor for The salon. Since last month’s soft opening, both projects have been very well received.

The couple wanted the space to feel like home. Their attention to detail is what makes sitting for a spell at Mama Koko’s such a treat. Their familial archive is the foundational decor. Cotton plumes and eucalyptus bundles billow out of vintage vases tucked into the corners of windowsills and set as intentional centerpieces on tables. Archival black-and-white ancestral portraits line the built-in bookshelves and overlook the nooks of both bars.

“All of these elements are my mother’s favorite elements,” Selassie continued. “They reflect her stories, travels, aspirations, and our family history in a very individual-specific sense, as well as a larger, collective sense… We wanted to promote global and African solidarity and internationalism as a whole. And we wanted the cotton to acknowledge those in the North American continent, the children of the cotton, and then place them in conversation with those in Brazil and Jamaica and Martinique, the children of the sugarcane, the rum.”

The recipes they feature in their evening rotating menu are intergenerational staples that have fed the cafe’s namesake and Mama Koko’s kin for generations: delicious small plates of red beans and rice, collard greens, roasted sweet potatoes, vegan and meat protein options. I cleaned my plate of greens and red beans and rice, humming and rocking as I ate, which we all know is the universal language for, “damn, this is good.” Their lunch menu reflects some of the dishes that made The Green House Juice Cafe famous, including yummy smoothies, yogurt bowls, and kale salads, and their new offerings include po’boys, smashed burgers, and Cajun shrimp and grits.

Mama Koko’s offers something to appeal to most palettes and lifestyles. During the day, teleworkers can bring their laptops, take meetings, and luxuriate in a relaxed environment with artisan offerings. When the clock strikes 6 p.m., the cafe transforms into an appealing bar and lounge; lights are dimmed, and candles are placed on each table. If you are still working at that hour, don’t be surprised if a member of their staff politely taps you on the shoulder and asks you to put the laptop away. They want to set a mood that inspires connection, community, and conversation. 

What a novel idea.

“I was a vegan for over 20 years, and in the last few years, for personal reasons, I am no longer vegan,” Ayo noted. “So, I wanted to offer more diverse food that is still healthy, fresh, and well-prepared food. But we still have many vegan options as well,” she added. “If you and your friends come and somebody is pescatarian, and someone else eats meat or is vegan, you can all get something here. The menu is definitely diasporic. It’s light bites. The food is good, but we’re not focused solely on the food,” Hogans continued. “We are focused on the whole experience, the vibe, the feeling you feel when you come in. It’s simple but delicious.”

Upstairs, on the second floor of the lush mansion, you will find The Salon at Mama Koko’s. If you peek inside, you will likely find Mama Koko sitting on her settee, surrounded by threads, beads, and books, calmly working on her coveted bracelets, writing her memoir, or reading. Lounge chairs are arranged in the round in front of her so visitors feel welcome to converse while shopping. Many will visit The Salon because they recognize the matriarch from the celebrated documentary “In Our Mothers’ Gardens,” directed by Shantrelle P. Lewis.

Others will visit to sit at the feet and learn from Dr. Kokahvah Zauditu-Selassie, a literary scholar, friend and colleague of Toni Morrison, retired professor of English at Coppin State University, and author of countless essays and seminal books, including “African Spiritual Traditions in the Novels of Toni Morrison” (2009) and her recent novel, “The Second Line” (2024).  

Those unfamiliar with who she is or her esteemed legacy will visit because of the beautiful space she has curated for herself and her community. 

“I have always made and sold things, and I have always been literary,” Mama Koko shared. “I was thinking about Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own,” and I always wanted a space where I could create. So, I created a literary salon as a place where I could leave my house and write without the interference of distractions. And when I came back from the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, I decided I wanted to open up a store like the Salon de Clamart that the Nardal sisters founded in Paris in the 1930s.”

Her clothing line, Yacine Diouf, is prominently featured in the intimate boutique. Mama Koko named the collection after her 10-year-old mentee, who resides in Dakar, Senegal, and hopes the gesture will inspire the child to achieve great things. The Salon includes many rare items sourced worldwide from Black women artisans, including raw fabric, dresses, bags, and Issa Gray’s exclusive jewelry line, IRE AJE. 

Mama Koko’s and The Salon pride themselves on being family-operated businesses dedicated to curating uplifting, community-oriented experiences. 

“I think people are deprived of love,” Mama Koko counseled. “People don’t really care about people in the ways that they should care. We work hard, and we are very intentional and very protective of having a space where people come in and feel welcome… We are maximizing their feeling of comfort. It’s not an industry model. We have a different business, aesthetic, and cultural model here. They not like us.”

The post Have you visited Mama Koko’s? It’s a vibe. appeared first on Baltimore Beat.

When he was growing up in Hyderabad, India, Chef Kiran Patnam, executive sous chef for the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Harbor East, remembers making special journeys with his dad just to buy their favorite ingredients.

“My father is a great cook too,” Patnam says, sitting in the dining room in Apropoe’s (700 Aliceanna St., [410] 895-1879), the hotel’s restaurant. “We used to walk a long time in the farmers market, me and my father. [If] he likes a particular vendor, he wants to go by cilantro just from him. For some reason he thinks that’s better. I remember one day we took a bus to buy cinnamon. We traveled like 20 minutes, then walked for five, 10 minutes. That particular vendor, he was selling cinnamon sticks. We bought the cinnamon stick, get on the bus, walk home, just for cinnamon!”

In January, Patnam was on the culinary competition show “Beat Bobby Flay,” and bested Flay with his take on the Indian classic butter chicken. On the show, Flay used a pre-made spice mix while Patnam opted to carefully mix his own spices.

Patnam, 31, has been excelling at cooking since he started culinary school back in India. He worked at the JW Marriott in Mumbai, then came to the United States where he was quickly promoted to leadership positions at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona and then at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland. He says cooking is more than just a job for him.

“When I wake up, when I’m sleeping, I’m waiting [and wondering] when is the morning going to come to go to work, I am not kidding,” he says.

Here in Baltimore, Patnam doesn’t spend much time cooking himself. Instead, he’s charged with leading a kitchen that feeds as many as 300 people in less than three hours.

“I can’t be cooking on one station, I can’t lead that way,” Patnam says. “I gotta be overseeing every single thing in the restaurant, including the dishwashers.”

Patnam says that his parents watched the episode of “Beat Bobby Flay,” with his brother back in India. It was a full-circle moment, because his family has always supported his career.

“When my father saw me on TV . . . he cried. He was so happy, he felt so emotional. That’s what they want to see their kids to be. I think this is the top of the game. There is nothing better than this. I made their day, I believe.”

Patnam was thinking of his parents when he chose his Flay-beating dish for the show. He could have prepared anything, but chose the butter chicken dish because it meant something to him.

“It is a connection,” he says. “Wherever [I] go, I can’t forget my basis, where I came from. I’ve done fancy dishes, I’ve done fancy restaurants, fine dining . . . but what makes me, what brings me here is those dishes. I have a very high respect [for] those kind of dishes. I grew up eating those dishes so I wanted to showcase that.”

The post Chef Kiran Patnam talks beating Bobby Flay, his Indian roots, and more appeared first on Baltimore Beat.

Catina Smith or “Chef Cat,” as she’s affectionately known, is a woman of many talents. By day she is a line chef at Magdalena Restaurant [205 E. Biddle St., (410) 514-0303, theivybaltimore.com/magdalena] in the Ivy Hotel and by night she puts in work at Webster University, where she’s only two classes away from her master’s degree.

It’s only February and Chef Cat is already finalizing her events and endeavors for 2018. She’s launching her own apron line, is working on her own sorbet brand, and has partnered with two local non-profits— Black Girls Cook and Black Professional Men—to help create events and programming. She also has her own podcast “Taste Charm City” and is organizing several themed events throughout the year.

“I’ve had ideas for years,” she says. “I’m kind of learning as I go. I think I’m such a shy and introverted person but somehow I became the ‘culinary socialite.’ I go to all these places and talk to people because I feel that I’m not necessarily meant to be a cookie-cutter chef. I feel like I am supposed to be intermingling with people and bringing people together.”

In that vein, she is currently focused on her third installment of Taste Baltimore. This was one of her first events and it remains one of her favorites. (Arli Lima)

Baltimore Beat: What is Taste Baltimore?

Catina Smith: So Taste Baltimore in a nutshell is kind of a food expo or mini emporium. I like to highlight local businesses and local chefs. I like to invite vendors that are trying to make their mark and reach new people to grow their clientele.

It’s funny because a lot of things I do, people think they’re black-only events but this is not black-only. Just like I hold a monthly chef meet-up, it’s not only for black chefs, it’s for all chefs to start gaining that camaraderie and sense of community—we’re here to help each other. I’m on my third one now; it’s growing and it is highlighting those businesses that kind of only had a small reach . . . so I was grateful that I was able to do that for those businesses. I’m hosting this installment on Saturday, Feb. 24 at The Motor House.

BB: What type of vendors can we expect?

CS: We will have restaurants, private chefs, and caterers. We also have business owners that make juice, desserts, sauces, and spices. This year it’s going to be a wide variety of vendors. You’ll also be able to purchase their products.

BB: How will Taste Baltimore 3 surpass the other two events?

CS: Well, the first one was packed! I had it in a small space and I didn’t know what to expect, so when I saw it was packed with people my heart was so full. If you see some of the pictures, you’ll see people smiling and laughing and really enjoying themselves, everyone had a great time. The second one, we had a live band and it was really interactive. We had (local chef and personality) Chef Egg there and he did a live cooking demo and he’s doing another demo this time around. This year we also have a DJ, DJ 5 Starr is a sponsor and he’s donating his time and talent to us. We’re doing the black box challenge, it’s kind of like “Chopped” where I pop up on a few chefs with a black box and they have to come up with some creative ideas for the wacky things I put in the boxes. They will be judged on taste, creativity, plating, and the winner gets a trophy. Also, the first 25 people that arrive get an amazing swag bag.

BB: How many vendors will you have at Taste Baltimore 3?

CS: This time we have 15 vendors and it’s pretty cool too because so many people were just reaching out to me asking to be a part of it. My first event, I was begging people “please be a part of my event” and now people are telling me they want to be a part of it, so many I have to turn people away. I’m even getting hits from bigger restaurants; this year I’m having The Elephant participate as my big restaurant and I was so shocked that they reached out to me, so that’s exciting. Next year I’m putting out a call for vendors early so I can get the vendors first and then I’ll pick the venue.

BB: You seem to have this event all covered—I can’t imagine what you’ll do to top this.

CS: Well, I’ve also been working on a Taste Baltimore kids’ edition. People are reaching out to me about events for kids and I notice a lot of kid businesses are emerging so I wanted to do something to highlight them. I found a kid that does his own chicken hand pies, my friend she does lemonade, I have a couple of cupcake kids, I know one girl her business is called “What The Dill” and she makes her own pickles. My daughter Micah, she has her own project “Unicorn Magic,” it’s her little rainbow sparkle inspired treats. She’s making macaroons, rice krispies treats, bath bombs and soaps. I’m also developing something called “Chef Cat’s Kid Restaurant Week” and we’re going to develop a small curriculum and teach kids how to do the culinary basics. They will cook and we will sell their food; that will be more of a fundraiser. I’m creating my own scholarship where I’m going to try and give seed money to high school seniors going to culinary school in Baltimore City.

Taste Baltimore 3 will be held Feb. 24 from noon to 4 p.m. at The Motor House (120 W. North Avenue, [410] 637-8300). Tickets are $20 and can be purchased here.

Follow Chef Cat on Instagram @naturallychefcat and @culinary_socialite.

The post Chef Catina Smith talks about her culinary event Taste Baltimore appeared first on Baltimore Beat.

On his blog, Food Nomad (foodnomad.net), Leandro Lagera covers the food scene in Baltimore and beyond, and he doesn’t shy from controversy, either, often addressing the complicated ways race mixes with food. He talked with Chef David Thomas of Ida B’s Table about the intersections of cuisine and race, the barriers chefs of color face in the restaurant industry, and more. Thomas didn’t hold back with his answers. [Editor’s note: The Baltimore Beat has partnered with The Real News Network, which houses Ida B’s Table.]

Leandro Lagera: Why is it important to have a soul food restaurant in Baltimore?

David Thomas: A better question is why do we need to have an Ida B’s Table here in Baltimore. Ida B’s Table is about reclaiming history and continuing a culinary journey since we landed on these shores from Africa. Through food, we’re refreshing the narrative about the African-American experience and bringing that to the Baltimore community. As everyone who lives here knows, we’re more than “The Wire.” For a blue collar city like Baltimore, one that’s majority minority, we get very little representation in the national food scene. To get the attention we deserve, we have to tell a very compelling story. Ida B. Wells is that story. Her biography and her life’s work couldn’t be more relevant to this day and time. We try to create a place that does justice to her legacy.

LL: I saw you posted something on Facebook about celebrity chef John Besh and sexual harassment in the restaurant industry. How rampant do you think the problem is? What can be done to fix it?

DT: I think like in any other industry, when you have men that wield power they’re going to find a way to abuse it. The restaurant industry is not an exception to that. Now that being a celebrity chef is a thing, they think they’re bigger than they are and create these whole eco-systems that center around them. We all work so many hours in close quarters, you can easily end up crossing a line. This isn’t a surprise to anyone in the industry. It is more widespread than we know, because most people don’t say anything and these men in power aren’t about to give that power up willingly. How do we change it? We need to elevate more women to management or ownership. Chain restaurants or corporate environments have HR departments, but private entities don’t have those checks and balances. That’s part of the reason why this culture is so pervasive. The way to change that culture is to keep talking about it. And for men to talk about it to each other. I should not be the only one talking about John Besh in Baltimore. You’ve got to be willing to stand up and say what’s uncomfortable.

LL: We hear a lot about how significant the immigrant contribution is to restaurants. What is your viewpoint on that and how has the current political climate affected this?

DT: The immigrant contribution can’t be overstated. There’s not a restaurant in the country that doesn’t benefit from immigrant work, from the hot dog stand on the corner to the best restaurants in the country. If we didn’t have immigrant labor, I doubt we’d have a world class food scene. I know it definitely wouldn’t be run as efficiently as it is. It’s a stereotype, but from my experience: They work hard. They care about what they do. My sous chef is from Oaxaca, Mexico. Francisco [De Los Santos, who has since left and ben succeeded by Bruce Fisher] has been working with me for seven years. I brought him to Ida B’s Table because he knows me, he knows how to run my kitchen, and he’s a smart, intelligent cook. Dylan [Ubaldo] . . . brings a reverence for his Filipino culture that I admire, so I’m happy to train him to get him where I want him to be. . . . I’m excited to work with this new-to-me cuisine.

LL: Where do you draw the line about when food is appropriated or when it is a homage to a certain culture?

DT: I think that question goes back to the very founding of this country. When you have an entire economy built on the backs of Africans [who are] shut out from the benefits of that wealth (still to this day having trouble accessing that wealth), it’s very hard to “pay homage.” It’s hard when you see your fingerprints all over something and you don’t get the associated benefit or acknowledgment. What was taken was intellectual property, and it’s a daily struggle to take that back. It’s great for folks to heap praise on this cuisine. Southern food, Creole, Cajun, soul food—the same hands were involved in all those cuisines and it’s the only true American cuisine. And yet, the only thing African-Americans get credit for is the chicken box. Whole hog or whole animal cooking? The next greatest thing in food? Not wasting any part of the animal is no revelation to African Americans. There’s a very prominent restaurant chain in Baltimore that I think is an excellent example of crossing the line from homage to appropriation. I’m not knocking the food—in fact, I’m friendly with the chef and respect her work. It’s named after an African-American woman, and they’re using her recipes, but she never had an ownership stake. Her children come into the restaurant named for her, and they pay for their meals. It’s been so ingrained in the American psyche that that’s OK.

Not to go too off-topic, but I think the current administration is proof that this way of thinking isn’t going away. You can pay homage by cooking at home, trying to recapture what you’ve come to love about other cultures. We all do that and should do that. I do that with German, Italian, Asian foods. I love learning about what different continents do to the same ingredients.

LL: For a city that’s 70 percent black, Baltimore’s food scene seems to be primarily recognized nationally (though this is changing slightly) for restaurants like The Charleston and Woodberry Kitchen. Is there a cultural ceiling for recognition in Baltimore for more culturally diverse restaurants?
DT: Absolutely, there’s a ceiling. We can hope for the best and keep working, but there are two things that have to be recognized. One: There are some amazing African-American chefs working in Baltimore. We just need to talk about them more (in columns like these, for instance!) Two: There are many restaurants that focus on cooking what they know, for their community. Is their plating and presentation as thoughtful as the work that goes into cooking the food? Maybe not. We have to decide as a culture, or as part of the national food scene, what’s actually important to us. Are we going to make space for places that don’t have white tablecloths? I see Ekiben out there getting notice. Land of Kush has gotten some wonderful write-ups recently. I’d also like to give a shout-out to Chef Rey [Eugenio] at Points South Latin, my friend Audiel [Vera] who is now running Avenue Kitchen & Bar. And, of course, you can’t leave out Chef Damian [Mosley] at Blacksauce Kitchen.

The post Chef David Thomas of Ida B’s Table talks homage versus cultural appropriation and more appeared first on Baltimore Beat.

When you think about it, Lee’s Pint and Shell’s (2844 Hudson St., [410] 327-2883, leespintandshell.com) “Love Shucks” Valentines Day event has all the elements that you find in romance: a little bit of lust (oysters are an aphrodisiac, you know), just a little bit of bitterness, a little booze, and a little sweetness too.

The way it works: On the first floor, couples can enjoy discount-priced oysters and beers (like Flying Dog’s Pearl Necklace and DuClaw’s Dirty Little Freak, appropriately). Upstairs, attendees can get the same, but are also encouraged to bring along any gently-used items an ex may have left behind, which the Canton restaurant will donate to charity.

The event is intended to be a more casual, fun approach to what can be a very buttoned-up, expectation-heavy holiday.

“I think there’s a lot of people that like casual for Valentine’s Day, and a lot of people who feel that [if] they don’t have a significant other, that it’s kind of a wasted day,” owner David Carey explains, sitting at a table inside the kitchy, Baltimore-themed establishment (shoutouts to various city landmarks and neighborhoods adorn the walls along with artists’ renderings of old-fashioned ads for products that used to be made here).

The restaurant opened in October 2016 (the spot used to be known as Saute, under the same ownership), and this is their first attempt at a Valentine’s Day event. They have done other events, though, including a “Shuckin’ in the Street” block party and a New Year’s Eve event. Carey says it’s part of his mission to make oyster eating more approachable for everyone, including people who may not have had them before, or who may not be fans.

“You know, you go to an oyster bar and you see these oysters and they are $3 a piece, $2 a piece, and you feel a little bit intimidated,” he says. “It’s like going to a fancy wine bar. You know you like wine but you don’t know anything about it. We kind of took that concept and said . . . if you don’t know if you like oysters or you really want to try them, what’s a better way to try them then at 50 cents a piece?”

He says that even though the oysters are sometimes lower-priced, they are still good quality, coming from parts of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia.

“We get oysters from all different places, so if you do have a palate for oysters we are good, we will accommodate you,” he says.

“Love Shucks” takes place at Lee’s Pint and Shell on Feb. 14 from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The post The owner of Lee’s Pint and Shell talks oysters and Valentine’s Day event appeared first on Baltimore Beat.

Chef Casey Jenkins, owner of the popular Waverly restaurant Darker Than Blue Cafe, has been busy since the eatery closed back in 2014. He has served on the Maryland Board of Tourism, co-chaired the Baltimore restaurant co-op SKIP (Shop Keepers Independent Procurement Program), and accompanied Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford on a black restaurant tour.

Originally from White Plains, New York, Jenkins learned how to cook in the military and later attended the Culinary Institute of America. He worked at a few restaurants in New York before moving to Baltimore and opening Darker Than Blue Café, which was in business for eight years.

Jenkins has always been passionate about African-American-owned restaurants and continually strives to break boundaries and create opportunities for black food culture to thrive. This month he’s working on his newest venture, The Black Restaurant Challenge. I recently sat down with him at Terra Café (101 E. 25th St., [410] 777-5277, terracafebmore.com) to discuss the month-long event. (Arli Lima)

Baltimore Beat: In your own words, what is the Black Restaurant Challenge?

Casey Jenkins: We are challenging everyone to eat at two African-American-owned eateries per week during the month of February. It’s not only local; we’re challenging everyone around the country, but you get discounts from the Baltimore restaurants that are listed on our website (blackrestaurantchallenge.com). And it’s not only restaurants; we have eateries and food trucks also. Each week, every restaurant will come up with a certain discount for their most popular dishes. It varies per restaurant and you can go on our website and look under the discounts tab and see what discount each restaurant is offering.

BB: Is this your first year organizing the challenge?

CJ: In January of 2016 we were sitting in this room [Terra Café], myself and the owner Terrence Dixon, we were looking at this challenge they were doing with the water bucket and we thought, “OK we should do a challenge.” So we came up with The Black Restaurant Challenge. I immediately went onto Facebook and put a page together. We tried to build some media interest on it back then but it was too late into January because the media already knows what they’re doing, magazines already know what they’re printing, and radio stations already know who they will invite on their shows. Everyone thought it was a great idea but we couldn’t pick it up because it was too late. Larry Young from the radio show [ on WOLB Talk 1010] really pushed us to do it again so Terrance and I decided to do it again this year.

BB: Why did you feel Baltimore needed this challenge?

CJ: Back in 2009, my restaurant Darker Than Blue was voted one of the 50 Best Restaurants in Baltimore by Baltimore Magazine and I remember we were one of the few that didn’t participate in restaurant week. The price points didn’t work for me because my price points were already low and like most restaurants and eateries we can’t indulge in Restaurant Week. Years ago I told the people at Downtown Partnership, “Hey, you guys need to find a way to be more inclusive for people that can’t participate.”

BB: Besides the sponsorship marketing, what else are you doing to promote this challenge?  

CJ: Because it was too late to generate buzz last year, we said we have to do something big. We decided to host a free kick-off event at the Baltimore Visitor Center. Right now we have nine restaurants attending the kick-off and they will be giving away samples of their food. The response has been great! I didn’t realize it would be such a large thing. Did you see the Facebook page? Who would have thought that 37,000 people would be interested in this? The location only holds 250 people but we figured we would rotate people in and out. We originally put 500 free tickets on Eventbrite and 15 minutes later I got a notification from them saying the tickets were running low and I thought “this isn’t possible.” Then I looked and the site and it was true; five minutes after that we were out of tickets. So in 15 minutes, 500 tickets sold out. Then I put 500 more because I’m thinking we can rotate people in and out over two hours . . . half an hour later, 500 more tickets were gone. Right now we have nine restaurants attending the kick-off and they will be giving away samples of their food.

BB: What’s next for you and the Black Restaurant Challenge?

CJ: We want to keep expanding. I’ve got the Black Chef’s Network out of North Carolina flying me down for their monthly meeting because they want to hear about how I’ve organized this. As for me, I’m working on opening my restaurant again; Darker Than Blue will be back in 2019.

Black Restaurant Week runs from Feb. 2-25.

The post Casey Jenkins talks about the origins of February’s Black Restaurant Challenge appeared first on Baltimore Beat.

In honor of our Liquor Issue, cocktail photographer and blogger Nikki Davidson gave us another one of her drink recipes (see her holiday drink suggestions from our Holiday Guide here). Her hot chocolate is good with or without the booze, so drink up.

INGREDIENTS

The post Nikki G. Davidson’s Boozy Hot Chocolate appeared first on Baltimore Beat.

I first heard of cocktail photographer and blogger   Nikki Davidson (also known as @cocktailcrafty on Instagram) when one of our writers, Arli Lima, suggested that we run two of Davidson’s drink recipes in our Holiday Guide last month—a Stella Noel and a Christmas Mule. I was impressed and intrigued. I decided to hit up the Baltimore native and City graduate again for our Liquor Issue to learn a little more about what she does and why she does it. (Lisa Snowden-McCray)

Baltimore Beat: How did you get into food photography?

Nikki Davidson: I started in 2014, just snapping photos of what I was drinking at bars, just like everyone else. I’m a foodie but I always forget to take pictures of the food I eat so I was like “OK, I’ll just post my drinks.” Then people started following me to find out what I was drinking, where I was drinking, and then I started realizing that I really enjoyed photography. I started learning how to do that, and it just took off on its own.

BB: What kind of drinks do you prefer?

ND: I try to try everything because if you say, “oh, I only drink this,” then you’re shutting yourself off to so many different opportunities, and sometimes you might try something that you think you don’t like and it might blow your mind. So I try to try little bit of everything—but I’m definitely a whiskey girl. I like spirit-forward cocktails, so I usually don’t order a cocktail that has a lot of fruit juice in it because I actually like to taste the spirit.

BB: I’ve noticed a lot of times if I order, say, a Manhattan, or something like that, people will doubt me. They’ll be like “oh you know that’s not a sweet drink.” Is that something you’ve run into?

ND: I’ve definitely met that when I first started hitting cocktail bars. The stereotype is first I’m  woman, so they try to give me something sugary and sweet, and second I’m black so obviously I want cognac.

I would order whiskey on the rocks and I would get like “are you sure you want that?” so I would always try to say something and show, hey, I know what I’m talking about. And that’s also why I learned because I got frustrated of always being pushed toward the same type of stuff, but because I didn’t know what I wanted, [I tried] to find out what else was out there.

So I basically I go to a bar and I now understand how to read a menu. I like to challenge bartenders and order something that I know will probably throw them for a loop and then once they start to realize “OK I can’t just do what I would stereotypically serve someone like her.”

I think it’s also beneficial to the bartender because they get excited because the stereotype is there for a reason. It’s not there because they don’t want to serve those types of cocktails. I think they are just used to people ordering certain kinds of cocktails and then when they find someone who challenges their thinking they get excited like, “oh if you like that let me show you this” and we just go for a ride.

BB: So for someone who doesn’t know, or is maybe in a rut, how would they even start down the path of educating themselves about liquor and cocktails?

ND: Well first I found bartenders who were willing to chat with me, so I would go during off hours or right after closing because then they are able to talk. I would ask them if there was a spirit that I was interested in, so like if I said “I’m not a big gin drinker and here’s why I don’t like gin, what would you recommend?” And I’d often just ask for taste, they’d be willing to let you taste something, and then ask them OK, what would you have with this spirit and I found that especially with a lot of cocktail forward bars they want you to learn, and they want to educate you and they get excited about stuff like that. So once I started chatting with them, then I started going online and following other cocktail bars and started reading cocktail books on my own time.

BB: What are some of the places that you would suggest for someone if they wanted to reach out to some more creative, friendly bartenders?

ND: I like R. House (301 W. 29th St., r.housebaltimore.com). The bartenders there are super-friendly and they are very creative with their drinks. Even just the names spark conversations. Like I think they did a whole “Home Alone”-themed cocktail menu for the holidays, so even the names you’re going to be like, what inspired this drink?

Since I’m into whiskey I like Bookmakers [Cocktail Club] (31 E. Cross St., bookmakersbaltimore.com). They have a huge whiskey menu so . . . they’ll be able to educate you and guide you on all things whiskey. I live in Mt. Vernon so one of my favorite neighborhood bars is B & O American Brasserie (2 N. Charles St., bandorestaurant.com). The lead bartender there, Brendan Dorr, he’s really knowledgeable about all things cocktails. He would probably, if you just picked a spirit or picked a drink, he could probably give you an entire thesis paper on the topic, so I’ve definitely learned a lot from him.

BB: Let’s talk about you and the drinks that you make and post online. When you’re making up a recipe, what is your process?

ND: Mostly I post on my Instagram and if I want to go into more detail about the drink or the process, I will post on my website. I usually try to start with a classic cocktail with classic flavors that I know work well together, so if I wanted to make something that’s a Manhattan-style, I start off, OK what kind of whiskey do I want? What am I going to do to substitute the vermouth? I try to play off of things that I know already work and then I just see how far I can take it. Like, instead of regular vermouth maybe I’ll do pomegranate and sherry. I just keep going from there. I also try to focus on what’s in season. One of my favorite books is called “The Flavor Bible” and if you look up a flavor or food or whatever it will tell you all the things that compliment it well, so that’s really helpful when you’re trying to experiment.

BB: Is this a job for you or do you have a daytime job and just do this for fun?

ND: It’s become my job. I do photography for different alcohol brands. They contact me and have me create cocktails to photograph their product. I also do paid posts for my Instagram, which I always say up front that it’s sponsored or paid. That’s allowed me to stay home with my daughter (8 months).

BB: Do you think Baltimore is a cocktail town?

ND: Baltimore and Maryland actually had big roots in rye whiskey. Maryland was the home of it and a hub, and then the prohibition came and that dried up. I think that we’re actually starting to get back to those roots with all the new distilleries that opened up and there’s a new cocktail bar opening up every month now, I can’t keep up with them. We’re known for our food but people are really starting to pay attention and notice us as a cocktail Mecca.

The post Cocktail photographer and blogger Nikki Davidson talks about her love of spirits and what makes a good drink appeared first on Baltimore Beat.

Mead is the world’s oldest known alcoholic beverage, dating back to around 9,000 BC in China and favored by ancient cultures for centuries. Andrew Geffken, a co-founder of Charm City Meadworks, believes this has to do with the drink’s simplicity—at its base, mead is simply honey fermented in water and yeast.

“The theory that makes the most sense to me is that there was a beehive in a tree that dropped into a pool of water,” Geffken says. “There was some yeast floating around in the air that fermented it; a caveman drank it.”

Also known as honey wine, mead was glorified in Norse and Greek mythology (“nectar of the gods,” as the Greeks called it) and consumed heavily by the characters of “Beowulf” and Chaucer. The tradition and popularity of mead has lived on in Ethiopia in the form of tej, honey wine often flavored with the leaves of the hop-like gesho plant. But in the west, mead has long been treated as little more than a vestige of civilizations past. Since the advancement of agriculture in the Middle Ages, beer and wine have taken precedence over mead, and beekeeping took a hit during the 17th century boom in the cheaper and more easily mass-harvested sugar trade. Now, mead is most commonly associated with the aforementioned literature, “Game of Thrones,” and the cough syrup typically sold at Renaissance fairs.

Except in Baltimore. Just a little over three years since its establishment in a tight 1500-square-foot warehouse in Curtis Bay, Charm City Meadwork’s take on the ancient libation has become a go-to for the craft beer crowd and the beer-averse alike. Founded by Geffken and his partner and head meadmaker James Boicourt, Meadworks offers two styles: a more traditional still version with 12 percent ABV sold in bottles and a carbonated draft version with 6.9 percent ABV sold in cans, and a variety of flavors within those styles.

“Part of the challenge is—and also opportunity—with mead is it’s a blank canvas,” Geffken says. “Nobody really knows the styles of mead they do IPAs, porters, or this is a sauvignon blanc, or a moscato, or a merlot.”

All of Meadworks’ concoctions are available at their new taproom, opened last November in their 6,500-square-foot Johnston Square facility, where they moved their production last spring after some delays. The tap area boasts ample seating with a sci-fi-esque chrome sofa and coffee table carrying an assortment of games, wooden barrel tables with honeycomb-octagon tops, and awards from mead competitions displayed on the walls. There, visitors can participate in mead and honey tastings, guzzle Meadworks’ offerings as well as root beer and cold brew coffee on tap, play Dungeons & Dragons at recurring game nights, and learn how honey becomes mead.

At the facility on a mid-January afternoon, a handful of Meadworks’ eight full-time employees (one of whom, Elliot Madre, appropriately wears a yellow and black striped beanie with wings and antennae) are moving from tank to tank, adjusting valves and checking on fermentation status. One corner is covered with stacked barrels, another with lines of plastic totes filled with honey. Between them are a row of massive metal tanks, much like those found in breweries. There’s no brewing in the production of mead, however: Honey, yeast, and water are mixed and left to ferment in the 1,000-gallon tanks for anywhere between 10 days to two weeks before being transferred to either totes to maintain the bright, floral flavor of the honey, or wooden barrels to smooth out the alcoholic taste. Geffken says the mead will sit in the barrels for at least a few months.

“We’re not worried about freshness the same way the breweries are with IPAs, things like that,” Geffken says, “because it’s a wine in its base form. It’s just gonna get better with age.”

The mead is then returned to the tanks for blending, and is flavored by infusion either during or after fermentation, depending on the ingredients. Traditionally, mead flavored with herbs and spices is called metheglin (from the Welsh word for medicine—mead was frequently used to treat various ailments back in the day); mead flavored with fruit is melomel. Meadworks boasts a series of interpretations on both metheglins and melomels. Though they have their lineup of mainstay flavors—with the still, wine-like variety sold in bottles, there’s original dry, rosemary, and sweet blossom; the draft comes in basil lemongrass, wildflower, hops, and elderberry—Geffken and Boicourt continue to experiment with seasonal flavors and limited editions. Right now in liquor stores and on taps around town you’ll find the pumpkin fall seasonal and the “retire by the fire” winter seasonal (cloves, vanilla, and cacao nibs—by my assessment, a toasted marshmallow in a can). Meadworks also offers single kegs of experimental flavors through the taproom; recently, the team has been concocting cocktail-inspired varieties.

“We’ve had some pretty good ones the last couple of weeks that were kinda like a mojito, adding a little bit of mint to them,” Geffken says. “There’s been a lot of requests for some sort of interpretation of a moscow mule . . . and then we’ve had a couple that come across really nicely, almost like an amaro or sherry character to it.”

Essentially, Meadworks is attempting to stretch the appeal of a libation long relegated to a niche audience by redefining what mead can be. Traditional mead is thick and potent. Back in its heyday, when water wasn’t so potable, mead was made as alcoholic as possible, and in turn super-sweetened with plenty of honey. After all, it was strong enough to knock out the monster Grendel in “Beowulf.”

Still more drinkable by comparison, Meadworks’ bottled, non-carbonated version most closely resembles traditional mead. For something more authentic, go with Meadworks’ sweet blossom flavor—their sweetest mead, though Geffken notes that it’s still only semi-sweet. A sip fills your mouth with a warmth that lingers, the way straight honey does but with a smooth, refreshing delivery. It’s intense and full-bodied, but not syrupy like most European meads. Meadworks’ draft version is more like what Geffken refers to as the “modern mead,” similar in taste and drinkability to cider. The rich honey flavor takes a little more of a backseat here in this lighter take.

“They’re all still mead, which is the exciting part of it all,” Geffken says, “but we looked at it and the meads that we found that were already out there were those little bit thicker, heavier ones. That wasn’t what we were making at home, it wasn’t what we were excited about, it wasn’t what we wanted to drink when it was 95 degrees out in the summer. So we felt that hey, there’s this opportunity to do these lower ABV meads, kind of mead for the craft beer people.”

Even as they make efforts to reach people who may otherwise never try mead, Meadworks is still focused on what it does best: honey. In the beginning, Geffken and Boicourt (who both share a background in engineering) wanted to use honey from their own hives, but the rapidly-growing scale of their operation made that impossible—last year, Geffken says, Meadworks went through about 60,000 pounds of honey and sold around 30,000 gallons of mead. Just one 3,200-pound tote of honey takes thousands of hives. So instead, Meadworks gets their honey from an aggregator in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Most of it is wildflower honey, but they’ve expanded to other honeys, like orange blossom and buckwheat. Geffken says he wants to show consumers that there’s more to honey than what they buy in the grocery store.

“Now that we’re finally three years in we feel organized enough that we’re going to start doing some smaller batch stuff to showcase the terroir of honey the same way people do with grapes,” Geffken says. “We started doing honey tastings here, where people come in and taste these honeys then tastes these meads because even if you haven’t had mead, you can easily tell the difference.”

Some local wineries such as Linganore Winecellars also offer mead, and Maryland Meadworks is looking to open soon in Hyattsville. But Charm City Meadworks is still Baltimore’s first and only meadery. First picked up by The Wine Source in Hampden, Meadworks products are now available in stores and on tap at hundreds of locations throughout Maryland as well as Virginia, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.

“You’ve got this really great, strong brewing scene going right now with Union, Monument, Diamondback, Key, all those guys,” Geffken says. “It was started even before them by Brewer’s Art. They’ve kinda paved the way and now that people are excited about beers—OK, what’s new, what’s next, what else can I try? So we’re getting some crossover there.”

Geffken says Meadworks has received a lot of support from the craft brewing and distilling scene here.

“It’s an interesting and exciting time to be here in Baltimore doing a tiny little alcohol business. I mean Baltimore people just love, love their booze.”

Charm City Meadworks (407 E. Preston St., Suite B; public entrance at 400 E. Biddle St.) is open to the public Thursday through Sunday.

The post Charm City Meadworks redefines an ancient libation and opens taproom to the public appeared first on Baltimore Beat.

Devin Allen makes me drink. You know, the dude from West Baltimore, who captured the historic Time cover during the uprising back in 2015. Since then he’s traveled the world, had multiple shows, was recognized as the inaugural Gordon Parks fellow, taught numerous youth programs, and has donated hundreds of cameras to kids in Baltimore. And still, he makes me drink. I hit him up about business, and he invites me to Aloha on Charles Street, which is literally 100 feet away from my office.

I have been to Hawaii twice and Aloha on Charles Street looks nothing like the tropical-fruit-garnished-drink-serving bars on the island. Aloha is a Japanese sushi spot, but they sell bar food like fried wings and shrimps––oh, and they sell Korean food and Chinese food too. It’s actually a good business plan. It’s also the only mostly Black dive bar in Charles Village or Mount Vernon, I’m not really sure what they call that neighborhood. They have a restaurant upstairs, but I meet Moody—we call Devin Allen “Moody”—downstairs in the dive part. It’s easy to find him, his neat fro is always picked out and rounded to perfection, floating atop a crowd of people who are enamored to be in his presence.

“Yo this my bro D. Watkins,” he laughs says, introducing me to a new person every week. “He a top author, he from East Baltimore, but he cool.”

Moody has to say this to the crowd, because I’m ‘noid around strange people, even after I had two or three. And then I pound vodka gimlets, as we trade dreams until the lights fade and the Lyft guy rolls up, drops me off, and I prepare to do the same thing again the next day.

Kondwani Fidel makes me drink. I try to commit to work, I really do, and when I’m in almost in rhythm and the words are flowing, he beats down my line and pops in the group text we share with Moody like, “Where you at Dummy?” If Moody replies first, we instantly get an Aloha invite, so we go. Koni drinks vodka gimlets too, which is dangerous. Dangerous because any bartender can make them, it’s just vodka and lime juice––some spots use a little simple, some used fresh lime and others used the bottle stuff. Either way it’s drinkable and they work. Dangerous because Koni orders them back to back, slamming empty glasses on the table­—I try to keep up, he challenges me to, but I have to explain to him that I’m older. I used to be him 10 years ago. Not a world-renowned, celebrated writer, who graced many magazines and televisions screens like him at 24. Not a dude who goes out and inspires kids to read at age 24, like him­­––but a young dude who could drink all night and pop in the morning like I haven’t had a sip.

I’m too old for that, the way we drink physically hurts, but still, we do this at Aloha, but really do it at Clavel. With age, I’ve actually developed a liking for gentrified cocktails, made with organic mixes and delivered by farm-to-table people who roll their own cigarettes. Ain’t I a contradiction? Well Koni is a contradiction too, because he also lives in East Baltimore and guzzles those same drinks.

Tariq Touré keeps me from drinking. His poems and insight are wrapped in meaning and give hope. We ate chocolate chip cookies over my house on Christmas Eve, where Tariq explained that we too can “Be the Light,” without alcohol. Tariq’s Muslim and offers us wisdom and guidance. I probably would not have had a drink, but Lawrence Burney, who’s also a writer, and Koni––they make me drink. I think that Tariq thinks if I put the bottle down and developed even-more-focus, I could strengthen my brand, gain a bigger audience and get that Ta-Nehisi Coates love. But Tariq is smart, he knows I don’t want to be loved like Coates, I want to be loved like Little Melvin. A dude that made mistakes, recognized them, and then used that power to help others choose a different way, while still being respected enough to walk on any block in Baltimore. I want to be loved like Little Melvin and would be honored to die in Baltimore just like Little Melvin.

But I might be too ‘noid to live like Little Melvin. My old ways haunt me. Too many strangers speak, and I don’t know if they are plotting or just like my work––this is still Baltimore and the reason I hate going out now. A dude stared at me during one of those Aloha nights. I felt his eyes so I took the knife off the table and put it in my pocket. My friends were on their thirds and fourths, I was still sipping number one, staying on point, waiting for dude to make his move. I caught him looking for the third time, so I nodded, “Wassup?” He leaped from his stool and bolted in my direction, I rested my hand on the knife handle and slid my chair back.

“D. Watkins, you D. Watkins, right?” he screamed, “I don’t wanna blow up your spot, but can we take a selfie? It’s for my daughter! Pleassse! She gonna love it!”

I removed my hand and put a peace sign up for the picture.

I make my drink. I can’t put that on Koni or Devin and it’s not fair for me to leave Tariq with the responsibility of encouraging my sobriety. The fact is that alcoholism runs bone deep in my family, my bloodline keeps these Baltimore bars and liquor in business, celebrating any and everything all of the time, even the stuff we shouldn’t celebrate, like making it to see tomorrow with that morning sip. Using it as a fix all for the pain, agony, and hurt that comes with existing in Baltimore as a Black person––there’s no shortage of that. And no shortage of the alcohol needed to numb it. Aloha has plenty, and carryout so you can take some home as well.

The post Make Me a Drink: On Aloha and alcohol appeared first on Baltimore Beat.