Baltimore Fishbowl Weekend

The fine folks at Gertrude’s at the BMA are hosting a good old fashioned keg party and all of the fun benefits Moveable Feast, a fabulous local organization that feeds those in need. (Beer and food + a good cause = Win/Win.) I’m pretty much in it for the corned beef sliders and Guinness and coffee macarons…but look at the menu below. Friday the 13th is no longer unlucky! Read More

If you’d like to experience Grand Cru while it’s still under the Carey name, get there before Wednesday, March 4. Read More

I guess I’ve known Spike Gjerde about eight years now, since a little before the time of Woodberry Kitchen‘s opening in 2007. In my full-time job as alumni director at a local independent school, I was looking for a place to have an alumni gig. My friend Katie Hearn was working for Struever Brothers at the time and was project coordinator for this super cool new redevelopment in Woodberry called Clipper Mill. Read More

This is by far my most favorite soup. Ever. In the whole world. p.s. It’s not on your stupid diet…

My favorite part of the recipe is that last line that reads, “Serve hot with a garnish of hot bacon.” Thank you, Ina. I know we could be pals.

Photo: Pink Parsley

Ina Garten’s Cheddar Corn Chowder Read More

Charm City Cook and Baltimore Fishbowl writer Amy Langrehr has come to know a good number of chefs in town since she started writing about food a few years back. In our new series, Chewing the Fat, she’ll interview local top chefs for Baltimore Fishbowl Weekend. First up: Chad Gauss of The Food Market in Hampden.

I first met Chad Gauss via social media. We traded some of my Charm City Cook salted caramel brownies for fresh soft crabs via Instagram. Seriously, that’s how we met. He opened The Food Market in my neighborhood a little over two years ago and it’s been a huge hit since day one. I’m a big fan. As we texted to figure out when and where to do the interview (chefs text, they don’t really email…), we decided not to do it at the restaurant. He texted me: Rofo, 2nd Fl. So, here we sit at the Royal Farms store at 36th & Roland, the scent of fried chicken wafting up the stairs…

Was food a big part of your upbringing?

CG: I ate everything I could get my hands on. I never got up until my plate was cleared, but only to get seconds!

Lots of kids get to choose the meal on their birthday…anything they want (to a point, I suppose…) What would be your �?birthday meal’ now? What did you ask for when you were a kid? Hey - remember that both of us have moms named Peggy!
CG: I always loved Mexican food. You know, chicken fajitas and all that. Now, I want the most expensive thing I can afford. I like to go big for special occasions like birthdays.

You do a good amount of catering these days. Baltimore can be a pretty traditional food town, especially when it comes to catering. How do you get your catering clients to trust you and go with a little more creative menu?

CG: I like to use ingredients people know and understand. Some want elevated versions of the menu at The Food Market. Some just want really good comfort food. It’s really up to them, they’re the client.

Not a lot of people know you have a new private dining room downstairs. How do you plan to use it? How much does it cost to book it?

CG: We really haven’t marketed it at all and may not since it already has a little following on its own. People are booking it. To get to it, you have to go through the restaurant and the main kitchen, down the stairs, through the office, coolers, storage, etc. It’s definitely behind-the-scenes. Dinner for 12, cooked by me in the space with you and your guests. Cost is $100 per person, inclusive of food, drinks, service. It’s a good deal for what you get. Read More