Puerto 511, Baltimore, Maryland

This is a restaurant that you would not find if you were not looking for it. There is almost no curbside appeal and less signage--but it is a special place rather than something deserving of it's hiding spot. We were introduced to it by my SIL who picked it for our son's birthday dinner. It turns out that Little Donna's the night before was a better fit for him, but the rest of us loved this.

It is a fixed price menu of Peruvian food. They do not have a liquor license, so it is BYOB and they will open your wine and give you glasses for a corkage fee per person, but even better, bring your own pisco and they will make you excellent pisco sours. The food is surf and turf--but if you on;y eat seafood, they will sub that in for you. My spouse rhapsodized on the merits of the veal heart dish, but I was just as happy to skip that in favor of a tuna dish. I would definitely recommend this and go back on a return trip to Baltmore.

Little Donnas, Baltimore, Maryland

I heard about this in a somewhat round about way. The New York Times did a review of "50 Restaurants We Are Excited About" in 2023 and a favorite restaurant in my home town, The Webster, was on that list. When it came out we went to another restaurant on the same list in Minneapolis that we loved and while I was looking it up to recommend it, and I saw this one. We were headed to Baltimore a few days later, and I looked to see if they had a reservation for five, and lo and behold, they did.

It was a lucky break because we all loved it. They have a tavern pizza, which won my son over, but for us the seafood was the key. They are famous for their pierogis, which were good, but we had a tuna crudo that was out of this world, a couple of vegetable forward dishes that were delicious and a chrimp dish that I loved as well. The atmosphere is very funky, as it the neighborhood, and it is reasonably priced as well. I would definitely go here again.

Dim Sum Palace, Catonsville, Maryland

Dim sum is a cuisine that we all really like, so when we went to Baltimore for our son's birthday weekend this was on the list of places to make time to have a lunch at. My nephew, who lived in China for several years, gave a thumbs up from a previous visit, so it had a seal of approval as well. The restaurant opens at 11AM and the rule of thumb is that you need to be there before it opens or soon thereafter. We were not so on top of it, but a luck would have it, we were a party of 5 and the large tables had yet to fill up, and we were seated immediately. There is a menu that you can order off, but we chose to eat off the roving trolleys, and the food was delicious--the crowd favorite was the Chinese broccoli, which was cooked perfectly with some tooth feel left but cooked through and with a delicious sauce. My next up was the shrimp and scallop shi mei, which we had one left over of and I wish we had gotten more to go. The scallion pancake around a shrimp was the next favorite for some, and I did enjoy the salt and pepper calamari, but wouldn't get it unless there are at least 4 diners, as it is both a large portion and filling. We would 100% make a effort to go back, and when we left 45 mintures after arriving there were dozens of people waiting for tables.

Stoney Creek Inn, Pasadena, Maryland

My SIL and BIL have a place just a couple blocks from here--the restaurant sits at the mouth of Stoney Creek, which is a brackish water creek that eventually joins the Chesapeake Bay, and truely, there is no reason to go furhter to eat. They are known for their crab and oysters, which thrive in brackish water and might well come from right outside the restaurant, but their fish and shrimp dishes are excellent. My personal favorites are the shrimp po-boy, which is serves on a perfect roll, and go well with a side salad and fries. My other choice would be the shrimp salad, which is served atop fresh greens that are flavorful and the choices of dressings is above average. The cherry on top is that the prices are reasonable, it is a favorite spot for locals, and the service is quick and friendly. Added bonus is that they have an extensive dessert menu.