 David Montgomery
Chicago Sun-Times |
- BB = Baltimore Blues;
- CC = Charm City;
- BH= Butchers Hill;
- IBT = In Big Trouble;
- TSH = The Sugar House;
- IASC = In a Strange City;
- TLP = The Last Place;
- BAST = By a Spider’s Thread; and
- NGD = No Good Deeds (To be published summer 2025).
The Brass Elephant (924 N. Charles) is just three blocks north of the monument. En route to The Brass Elephant, you will pass the Helmand (806 N. Charles), one of Baltimore’s best values, although I don’t know if they really do carry-out. (IASC). At Charles and Chase streets, you’ll find the Belvedere Hotel, home of the Owl Bar (right). Alas, it no longer serves homemade potato chips with melted blue cheese (IASC), but the stained-glass owls, their quatrain perpetually unfinished, are here.
Farther north along Charles is Penn Station (TSH) and the man-woman statue that has caused much public distress. (NGD). If you’ve come this far, you might as well walk one long block and go to the Charles Theater, an art house where they still show the John Waters’ “No Smoking” trailer. Tapas Teatro (NGD) is next door. (1711 N. Charles) Baltimore was late to the tapas trend, as it is to most things, but it’s taken to it with a vengeance. In addition to Tapas Teatro, the city also has two excellent restaurants in the Fell’s Point area, Pazo and Mezze.
Walking Tour #3: Washington Monument — South
As much I love the restaurants and bars north of the monument, there’s more to be seen on the southern route. Two blocks south and one block west of the monument, the Enoch Pratt Central Library (400 Cathedral St.) is always worth a visit. The Mencken Room is open to scholars only, although visitors are allowed in the Poe Room. But the real draw is the library itself — the soaring atrium, the portraits of the various Lord Baltimores. Also, the librarians would like me to inform the world that the fish pond outside the children’s room is no longer filled with algae. (BB.)
From the library, there are two choices: You can walk south on Cathedral and then west on Saratoga, passing the original site of Marconi’s (CC) and continuing to Eutaw. Heading south on Eutaw, you’ll come to the Lexington Market (Eutaw and Lexington Streets), the crown jewel in the city’s network of public markets. Tess has purchased peanut brittle here from Konstant Kandy (CC), but if she wasn’t shellfish averse, she would definitely have the all-lump crabcake at Faidley’s, along with oysters if they’re in season.
From Lexington Market, continue south on Eutaw, then west on Fayette. At Fayette and Greene, you’ll find Westminster Burying Ground, where Poe is buried. Remember — the monument near the front gate is Poe’s second burial site and the date of his birth is wrong. To find the original site, where the Visitor comes every January 19th, you’ll have to venture deeper into the cemetery. (IASC).
Alternative route from the library: Go south on Cathedral, east on Saratoga, then south on Calvert Street. You’ll pass the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse - where Tess led photographers on a perp walk decoy (BB). At the intersection of Baltimore and Calvert streets is Cypriana (120 E. Baltimore St.), where Tess uses falafel as a verb. (TSH — and, in fact, it was my colleague David Folkenflik, now of NPR, who taught me to use falafel as a verb.) A pita sandwich can run up to nine dollars with all the extras, but it’s worth it. As you munch, gaze on the Continental building at the southeast corner of Baltimore and Calvert. Dashiell Hammett worked as a Pinkerton here and the birds that festoon it were once painted black. Coincidence?
Within a few blocks, Calvert Street leads you to the Inner Harbor development for which Baltimore is so well-known. In the Gallery, a multi-level mall, there’s a notable local store among the chains - Amaryllis, where Tess once watched a young lawyer on a shoplifting spree. (BB) Across the street, there are the two Harborplace pavilions. Beautiful views from the various waterside restaurants, which include such familiar names as Pizzaria Uno’s and the Cheesecake Factory. If I were going to have a drink here, I’d choose the outdoor section at Paolo’s, which has a good wine list and overlooks the USS Constellation.
Walking Tour #4: Inner Harbor/South
If you choose to start your Tess tour here, you can use the Water Taxi to go to Fell’s Point (it will deposit you at the foot of Broadway) or other locations along the waterfront.
You also can walk south along the broad waterside promenade, toward the Maryland Science Museum and Federal Hill. The Domino Sugars sign will seem to follow you almost wherever you go (TSH). At the Science Museum, you can choose to continue walking south on Light Street, which takes you into the heart of the Federal Hill neighborhood — including Spoons, my coffee house of choice, and the Cross Street Market, which has a hopping Friday night happy hour among the fish stores in the east end. There are many fine restaurants in this area; Tess is fond of the gingerbread with lemon sauce served at The Bicycle (referenced in NGD). I like Matsuri for sushi and my neighbors swear by the egg salad at Big Jim’s, a sandwich stall in the market. Fresh Utz potato chips are sold here, too. (TSH)
For the serious sightseer, I recommend going east on Key Highway. This will lead you to the American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway, one of Baltimore’s outstanding attractions. Everything in the museum is worth seeing, but if you have limited time, make sure to check out the painted screen exhibit, where you’ll see an example of Dee Harget’s work. (Dee’s work was mentioned in In a Strange City, and Dee was so pleased that she painted a screen just for me, a one-of-a-kind work that combines the usual screen art motifs with Poe’s gravesite.) Famed folk artist Howard Finster also has contributed a marvelous likeness of Francis Scott Key. The restaurant at the top, the Joy America Café, has beautiful views, although the menu has changed since Tess dined here (CC).
The view from Federal Hill itself should not be missed. Fans of HBO’s The Wire might care to know that Jimmy McNulty took a tumble down the east side of the hill on season one, and Councilman Carcetti has a brooding, drunken moment on a bench in the first episode of Season 4.
The east side also is an exquisite sledding hill for the truly brave: There is a relatively narrow space between the two banks of parking meters at the foot of the hill and a short, flat span before one literally hits the museum. I made it. Not everyone in my party did, however.
North Side
Tess lives here, although I won’t give the specific address; careful readers, however, have sussed it out again and again. In a sense, she was born here, too, in the rear bedroom at 4526 Keswick Road. (Easy to be free with that address now that I no longer live there.) Other North Side sites important in Tessworld include:
Evergreen (501 W. Cold Spring): The coffee house has changed names several times, and no longer has a reflecting ball on a pedestal in a fake grotto (IASC), but it remains a convivial meeting spot. If you’re lucky, you might see Sujata Massey writing here.
Video Americain (400 W. Cold Spring): Like Tess and Whitney (NGD), I watched Funny Bones because it was a staff pick. This is the best video store anywhere.
Petit Louis (4800 Roland Ave.) The meal that Tess and Tyner enjoy here (BAST) was taken straight from the menu at the time. Best steak frites in town.
Eddie’s of Roland Park (5113 Roland Ave.): Tess one made lunch from a four-ounce bag of chocolate peanut clusters and a 16-ounce Coca-Cola purchased at this beloved grocery store. Eddie’s then mentioned that fact in its weekly flier.
Stone Hill: Hard to find, but worth the effort. This old mill village, a veritable Baltimore Brigadoon (INASC) lies west of Keswick Road below 33rd Street and north of 29th Street.
The Ambassador (3811 Canterbury Road): No, they don’t deliver normally, (NGD) but this is an exquisite oasis (TSH) where they remember your favorite orders long after you move out of the neighborhood. Eat in the garden in good weather, try to get a table near the fireplace during the cold-weather months.
The Paper Moon Diner (227 W. 29th St.): “The place . . . radiated good cheer, with its collection of Pez containers and old-fashioned toys.” (IASC) Great omelettes and home fries. The menu also offers: “Hummus, Life on the Pita.”
The Baltimore Museum of Art (10 Art Museum Drive): Okay, Tess never makes it here. But she should. The Cone Collection is a must-see, as is the sculpture garden. And Gertrude’s, the restaurant at the BMA, is a treat, especially for those who like seafood.
Stony Run Park: A narrow slice of land, not easily accessible, but worth finding. It lies behind the synagogue on Cold Spring Lane, and south of Wyndhurst Avenue, between Roland and Charles.
“The Miracle on 34th Street” (Thanksgiving through Christmas only): This block west of Keswick Road puts up a you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it holiday lights display. (TSH).
“The Avenue” - aka 36th Street: An increasingly upscale block, Hampden’s main drag includes the Café Hon (IBT); Golden West (BAST); Ma Petite Shoe (BAST); A Common Ground coffeehouse; and several antique stores, some of which trade in Baltimore-bilia, including old Esskay tins. (I own three, but I’m always open to acquiring new pieces.)
Blame Canada
Margaret Cannon of Toronto’s Globe and Mail has named To the Power of Three one of the 12 best mystery novels of 2025.