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.”

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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.

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• New restaurants in Baltimore include the Elmwood Social Club (850 W. 36th St.), a members-only cigar and martini bar in Hampden from Bernard Dehaene, who also owns Corner Charcuterie Bar nearby. The bar opens up on Feb. 14 for a preview (a membership to the Elmwood Social Club for the year is $25). Urban Deli, a Federal Hill lunch spot that opened in 2016, is expanding to a larger location at 1025 Light St. Meanwhile, the Broadway Market (1640 Aliceanna St.) is set to get a new facade. Restaurants that are up for sale: Canton’s Fork & Wrench (2322 Boston St.), Federal Hill’s Regi’s American Bistro (1002 Light St.), and Pigtown’s Cockeyed Cow Saloon (900 S. Carey St.).
• Among the restaurants that have closed recently: Butcher Hill’s The Life Of Reilly (2031 E. Fairmount Ave.) and Mount Vernon’s beloved Tavern On The Hill (900 Cathedral St.), which had its last day on Feb. 4. Mount Vernon is becoming something very different rather quickly and as rent skyrockets in the area, places like Tavern On The Hill go away.
• Vegan Restaurant Week begins Feb. 9 and continues on to Feb. 18. Among the participating restaurants: Golden West Cafe, The Land Of Kush, Red Emma’s, Flight American Fusion, R. House’s Stall 11, The GruB Factory, and more (including one outside the city: Sprout Natural Choice in Catonsville). On Feb. 10, food, environmental, and social justice activists Thrive Baltimore host the World Vegan Mac N’ Cheese Championship at noon and Wicked Sisters has a vegan drinks event on Feb. 13.
• Federal Hill’s Idle Hour (201 E. Fort Ave.) began a First Saturday DJ event this past week featuring music selections from duo David Koslowski & Niko Kwiatkowski. For a sense of what they’ll play, the flyer features an image of Brian Eno and David Byrne. Koslowski is the co-owner of record shop and cafe Baby’s On Fire, which is named after an Eno song, so probably some Eno. But more broadly, rhythmic art rock and plenty of other vinyl freak favorites.
• Last week, we mentioned the nationwide Pizza Across America (PAA) campaign, a large-scale pizza donation initiative, and here in Baltimore, Ribaldi’s of Hampden is involved. Well, the PAA campaign also offers $5 off your first order through the Slice app on a minimum order of $10. The code is “PIZZADAY” and the idea here is not so much to save some money on pizza as it is to buy an extra pizza to donate. Go to sliceouthunger.org for more information.

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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.

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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.

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-New restaurants and expansions in Baltimore include: Fells Point’s Pie In The Sky (716 S. Broadway) in the former location of Mare Nostrum; a second location for the Baltimore Soup Company (2 E. Wells St.); the recently renovated Walters Cafe in the Walters Art Museum (600 N. Charles St.); additions to Hollins Market (875 Hollins St.) where Pigtown’s Culinary Architecture opened Culinary Architecture Cafe and where Neopol Savory Smokery, also in Belvedere Square, is about to open up another location; a second location near Johns Hopkins Hospital for vegan soul food favorite Land Of Kush (840 N. Eutaw St.) has been announced for this year; once-shuttered soul food restaurant Darker Than Blue, which closed in 2013, will reopen in Northwood Plaza by Morgan State in 2019.

-Among the restaurants that have closed recently: Charles Village’s Paul Chen Hong Kong (2426 N. Charles St.), Federal Hill’s Metropolitan Coffee House & Bar (902 S. Charles St.), Canton’s Firehouse Coffee (1030 S. Linwood Ave.), and Dinosaur BBQ, the well-received chain with a location here in Harbor East at 1401 Fleet St. since fall of 2015. Belvedere Square Irish pub Ryan’s Daughter (600 E. Belvedere Ave.), which was open for 14 years, closed on Jan. 21, though a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page hinted at something else coming soon (“We see it as a chance to start something else and we might see you sooner than you think in another location”).

-Hampden’s Union Brewing is set to receive a $500,000 loan from the Baltimore Development Corporation to expand its space in Medfield/Hampden. Among the things the loan will help Union pay for is a new 60-barrel brewing system, which they first mentioned in May of last year.

-Dependable lunch spot Chickpea City (202 W. Read St.) has expanded its menu, adding some burgers including a kofta burger—a 6 oz. beef or lamb patty in the minced, meatloaf-like style of kofta. Topping options include whipped garlic sauce, tahini, hummus, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, mixed, pickles, hot peppers, beets, mediterranean salad, and shuttah (red pepper sauce).

-The Mondawmin Mall Target, whose closing was announced in November to much community outcry—and plenty of corporate apathy from Target—finally closes on Feb. 7 and with it goes not only a major shopping hub in West Baltimore but a place where many got affordable groceries. One possibility for the massive, soon-to-be-vacant building is for the city to acquire it and open a food hall in the style of R. House or Mount Vernon Marketplace, the Baltimore Business Journal reports.

-Related to another food desert oasis removed: Mayor Catherine Pugh’s recent decision to no longer use the term “food deserts” but instead to call them “healthy food priority areas.” Pugh claims the change is due to accuracy because indeed, places where food deserts exist don’t simply lack food but healthy food specifically. Yeah sure, but it also feels like another way Pugh is obsessed with optics more than change. We won’t stop using the more evocative “food desert” term and we won’t stop wearing our “No Food Deserts” caps designed by rapper Greenspan and available at nofooddeserts.com.

-Feb. 9 is National Pizza Day and Ribaldi’s Pizza & Subs (3600 Keswick Road), once the location of Angelo’s, is one of the 8,000 pizza spots involved in Pizza Across America, a large-scale pizza donation initiative. Ribaldi’s donation will go to Baltimore’s Manna House (“a welcoming setting where the poor and homeless can enjoy a nutritious breakfast seven days a week”) located at 435 E. 25th St.

-CiderCon, which began on Jan. 30 continues through Feb. 2, mostly takes place in Harbor East’s Marriott Waterfront, but there are a whole bunch of public events around town listed at ciderweekbaltimore.com.

-The Black Restaurant Challenge begins on Feb. 3 and runs through Feb. 25 with black-owned restaurants across the city offering discounts, specials, and more.

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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

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Derrick Reed, 23, has the kind of Instagram account (@derricksworldd) that holds the city’s foodie community in rapt attention.

Reed is a line cook at Wit & Wisdom Tavern in the Four Seasons Hotel in Harbor East. Some of the meals he’s prepared: fermented mushroom tarts, smoked gouda cauliflower grits, and sous vide rabbit. And, captured online, they all look amazing.

I was thrilled, then, that after Insta-stalking Reed for some time, I finally got to meet him. He told me that his earliest memories of Baltimore City are of riding his bicycle from Dundalk (where he moved with his mom and brother in 1999 from Honolulu, Hawaii) into the city and taking photos of the scenery.

“I went to an art school, Patapsco High School and Center School for the Arts, and a lot of my classes were photography. I was always that kid in the group that documented everything, recording videos and taking pictures,” he says.

“Later, I got away from photography a little bit but when I started my career in cooking, it brought that part of me back to life. One day I just took a photo of my food and posted it online and from there it just exploded, I found a new love for it.”

Reed found his love for photography early on, but his interest in cooking wouldn’t come until later.

“I didn’t cook at all as a kid; it was the furthest thing from my mind,” he recalls. “I have stories of me trying to cook ramen noodles in the microwave and how that all went wrong.”

After high school, Reed enrolled in the Community College of Baltimore County and started working in the restaurant industry. His first job was working at Chili’s as a prep cook. He went on to work at other chains like the seafood-themed Bonefish Grill and Tex-Mex eatery On The Border. It was working at these restaurants that peaked his interest in cooking.

“I would see the older guys on the line cooking and slinging the food around on the big open flames and they were using these big knives and I thought, that looks really cool, I think I can do that maybe,” Reed says.

Later he transferred to Stratford University and graduated with his associates degree in culinary arts. While in school, Reed started his first job in fine dining at Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion, a gig he thinks is serendipitous considering the first Roy’s restaurant opened in his hometown of Honolulu. At Roy’s, he learned bits and pieces of Japanese, Chinese, and Philippine cuisine and developed a “Hawaiian flare” in his own cooking style.

Cooking isn’t the only thing he learned at Roy’s. When he was just starting out, he once set fire to a fryer he was asked to clean, unaware that he needed to turn it off before dousing it with oil.

“Naturally, I freaked out and my sous chef ran over and dumped a ton of salt on it,” he says. “In that moment, it was very scary and I thought I was going to get fired because I was only working there for two weeks, but I didn’t get fired. It’s a story I look back at and laugh now.”

Before graduating, Reed landed an externship at Wit & Wisdom Tavern where he still works as a line cook. He’s been at Wit & Wisdom for two years and credits the constant learning environment and great mentorship for his tenure.

“Because it’s a hotel restaurant, we cater to a wide variety of people with different allergies and food preferences, so it’s challenging in a good way. I’m constantly learning to adjust my cooking,” he says. “And I run a lot of my recipe ideas by our sous chef, James Menges. He has taught me how to cook for the season and has given me great advice on my ideas.”

Reed’s ideas start with a pencil and paper. He says food styling is an art form. When he cooks at home, he strategically plans his meals and plating.

“I’ll draw my dishes before I plate them; I do multiple sketches and I try to transform it into something more than just your average dinner. Art has been a huge part of my life, so I like to incorporate that into my food. I don’t want it to just be food, I want it to be something you look at and admire before you eat it because you always eat with your eyes first.”

Reed has also freelanced as a private chef. His clients appreciate seeing a drawing of the meal before it’s prepared, and Reed customizes the menu to their liking.

“I give them the experience of opening their own restaurant but I bring it to them, in their own home,” Reed says.

In addition to his day job, freelancing, and cooking for himself at home, Reed also finds time to enjoy the local food scene.

“I love the Baltimore food scene and I see it growing so much. I see all these other chefs coming into town to open up shop,” he says. “With D.C. being so close to us, it’s only natural for it to happen. I really feel like we’re going to be the next city to really pop on the culinary scene.”

His favorite spots include Alma Cocina Latina and Gnocco, which he praises for its use of simple ingredients and preparation.

“They are not using the flashy ingredients or techniques,” he says. “It’s just Cooking 101 and they do it really well.”

He’s trying to soak up as much of the food scene as he can before he moves to Los Angeles in March. Reed is transferring to Culina, the Italian restaurant in the Four Seasons Beverly Hills.

“It’s more of a chance to hone my skills and meet a lot of people and learn a lot, soak up a ton of information and work my way back to Baltimore as a better chef, just in time for the revolution,” he says, “because I really feel like something special is going to come out of this city and I want to be a part of that.”

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