Baltimore's Newest Food This Fall Comes Through a Window

Silver Queen Cafe plans to serve its last dinner on Harford Road on Nov. 25, the night before Thanksgiving. Its owners are staying in Hamilton. Nicole Evanshaw and Jason Daniloski are shifting their work across the street to the Market at Hamilton, the sandwich shop and gourmet store they opened this year. The Baltimore Banner reported Evanshaw's reason in one line:

"The market itself is cheaper to run. We don't have a hood, we don't have any open flame. We don't have anything that would require those high BGE bills."

That move shows how Baltimore's food scene has changed since summer. Most of this fall's openings sell from a counter, a takeout window, a deli case or a griddle on a sidewalk. The owners behind them say plainly that the smaller format is what makes the numbers work. The cost of that format is time. Most of these places keep short hours, so getting to them takes some planning.

The Cost of Running a Dining Room

Silver Queen opened on Harford Road in 2015. Evanshaw told The Banner that food, wine and even the restaurant's reservation system had all gotten more expensive, and that a BGE bill rose by more than $800 a few months ago. "Some of our costs have tripled, and that's just within the last year," she said.

Silver Queen isn't the only sit-down restaurant to close this fall. In Barclay, Terra Cafe at 101 E. 25th St. closed permanently in late October after opening in 2009. Its owner cited mounting debt, including a large electric bill, according to The Banner. Jasmine Norton, who owns Urban Oyster in Hampden, told the paper, "It is not a secret that the current climate and the economy is a strain to all of us." In Mount Vernon, Marie Louise Bistro has closed at 904 N. Charles St. after 18 years. Its French-inspired menu of onion soup and steak tartare had been there since 2008.

The Market at Hamilton shows what the smaller format looks like up close. It sits at 5500 Harford Road in the former Emma's Tea Spot. Emma's moved down the street to 4337 Harford Road. Baltimore Magazine reported that the shop cut its ribbon in late summer. It seats 45 and has tables that book clubs and community groups can reserve. The shelves carry scratch-made sauces and bread, Phil's Dills pickles and Taharka Bros. ice cream. Evanshaw worked with Simeon Fromberg of The Great Cheese on a list of 15 cheeses, including Lucifer Blue and a honey gouda. A full wall of tinned fish holds the shop's recurring event, Tinned Fish Tuesdays. It's a cooking demo on the fourth Tuesday of each month, which falls on Nov. 24 this month.

Evanshaw also told The Banner the market "is a better fit for the current economic climate" because "sandwiches have a lower price point." Shoppers may eventually find some Silver Queen dishes there, like its pâté and crab dip.

A Hampden Panini Shop, Open in 27 Days

The same thinking shaped Hampden's newest lunch counter. PRESSED opened Thursday, Oct. 29, at 3528 Chestnut Ave., in the former Maillard Pastry space a few steps from The Avenue on 36th Street. Baltimore Fishbowl reported that chef Anthony Lanasa, formerly head chef at Peabody Heights Brewery, went from idea to open doors in 27 days.

The prices show how the shop works. The CranDaddy, with oven-roasted turkey, cranberry pesto, spinach and Swiss on ciabatta, costs $6 on the cold menu. The F&M Press on the hot menu costs $12 and comes with fig jam, Manchester Fungi oyster mushrooms, shaved red onion and spinach on sourdough. The menu changes regularly. Lanasa runs PRESSED as a working owner-operator. "We just are able to offer more competitive prices because we're not seeking to make a profit outside of our labor force," he told Fishbowl.

The counter runs Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and you can order ahead online. Lanasa wants to add catering and take-home family dinners for four to six people. Those would let the business serve customers after the counter closes.

Ring the Bell, or Catch the Griddle on Monday

In East Baltimore, the window started as a stopgap. Jeryl and Ty Cole planned Jem's Bottle Shop & Cafe for an old liquor store at Fayette Street and North Collington Avenue, near Patterson Park. Permitting and construction delays pushed the opening back, The Banner reported in September. In August, they opened a takeout window at 2200 E. Fayette St. Customers ring a doorbell to order egg sandwiches and iced coffee. The paper said lines got long enough to draw online comparisons to Café Dear Leon. The window often sold out of its egg sandwich with blueberry jam and housemade chicken sausage. The brown sugar shaken espresso is the other drink Jeryl Cole talks about. "It's been rocking and rolling ever since," Cole said.

Tortuga Deli goes further and drops the storefront altogether. Davon Pulliam trained at the Culinary Institute of America and has cooked at La Cuchara in Hampden. On Mondays he sets up a propane griddle outside Jinji Chocolate on Greenmount Avenue and serves a short, changing list of soups and sandwiches. The Banner's Nov. 4 profile described mortadella with roasted pork loin, fontina and a homemade coriander fennel pickle. It also mentioned a Reuben with apple fennel sauerkraut and a carrot ginger soup. Monday is a deliberate choice. Nearby Pete's Grille and Red Emma's are both closed that day. On other days, his grab-and-go sandwiches are sold at Sophomore Coffee in Old Goucher and at the Our House Baltimore play cafe.

Pulliam told The Banner he has no brick-and-mortar shop in his near-term plans. "I like the flexibility of not having to be stuck in one spot, especially with how the economy is kind of getting a little funky," he said.

In Highlandtown, Qaffee House has opened a storefront at 328 S. Highland Ave. It's the first brick-and-mortar location for the Columbia coffee-trailer brand. The menu includes cardamom lattes, karak chai, cookies and "qroffles" made from croissant dough, per The Banner.

Fewer Hours, So Plan Your Week Around Them

Several of the newest places keep narrow schedules. PRESSED shuts at 5 p.m. and doesn't open Mondays or Tuesdays. Tortuga Deli's sidewalk griddle is a Monday-only stop. The newest places are easy to miss unless you know their days.

Downtown's Dining Room Bet Is 30 Seats

One chef is going the other way and opening two sit-down restaurants in one downtown building. Even there, one of the dining rooms is small. Chef Loic Sany is moving Nest, his downtown speakeasy, from its first home above 21 N. Eutaw St. to 110 Water St. That building was once Supano's Steakhouse, known for its Rat Pack Bar. Supano's has since moved to the Light Street Pavilion at Harborplace, The Banner reported.

At the new address, Nest will seat 30 and serve a tasting menu of small bites, open Thursday through Sunday evenings only. The black pepper cheesecake Sany brought from his years at the Inn at Little Washington stays on the menu. The same building will also hold The Avenue, a Southern comfort-food restaurant open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. "Chopped" champion Eric Marshall will run the kitchen as chef de cuisine. Sany has described the menu as "kind of like coming to your grandma's house, but a little bit elevated." Both restaurants are scheduled to open Nov. 20.

In Mount Vernon, Echelon Restaurant and Lounge is planned on the same stretch of Charles Street as the old Marie Louise space, at 930 N. Charles St., the former Sangria Patio Bar. The proposed menu is Caribbean, West African and soul food, with a patio, per The Banner.

The Silver Queen dining room on Harford Road stays open until Nov. 25. After that, its owners' cheese case, tinned fish wall and Reuben panini are across the street at 5500 Harford Road.

The Anthony Lacey Home Team follows those shifts closely across Baltimore's neighborhoods. If you'd like to talk through what's opening and closing near you, Schedule a Free Consultation.