Baltimore Ethnic Food and Restaurants.

Taking ethnic food and restaurants in Baltimore to be anything that’s not ‘American cooking’; opens up a diverse range of choices as to where to eat and what to eat. To find Italian food and restaurants is quite easy, just head out east from the city center along the north shore of the Patapsco River and you hit Little Italy; which is where you’ll find the main concentration for Italian cuisine. For other Baltimore ethnic food outlets and restaurants you’ll need to move around the city a bit more. However, whether you want a Cuban steak or an Afghan lamb curry - chances are you can find it somewhere in Baltimore.

Starting off with Italian food the La Scala restaurant in Baltimore is probably the best authentic Italian restaurant in town. On Eastern Avenue in Little Italy, the risotto is as creamy as any you can experience in Venice and their penne and gnocchi dishes simply melt in the mouth. Whilst you’re here take the opportunity to sample some authentic Italian wines like the red - Chianti and the white - Pinot Grigio. They do also have American versions of these wines; but if you’ve never tasted an old world wine before - do now! Not far away at Vaccarro’s restaurant, on Albermarle Street, you can get Italian food for about half the price you’ll pay at La Scala. Having said that the food here is good too; and you won’t be able to find too much difference between the two of them. Whilst the cannoli and rum cakes here are great; it’s the home-made gelati that seal this place as a true epicenter for genuine Italian food.

A couple of Asian restaurants you could try in Baltimore include the following. There can’t be that many places in the USA that have a restaurant specializing in Afghan food - but Baltimore is one. The Helmand restaurant is on North Charles Street in the fashionable Mount Vernon area. Whilst serving a wide range of vegetarian meals it also offers chicken and lamb dishes as specialties; as well as other meat and fish dishes. If you’ve never eaten Afghan food before- beware it can be very spicy and ‘hot’! Whilst Thai food can also be a bit on the spicy side, it’s rarely as hot as Indian food or Afghan cooking. For Thai food go to The Ten-O-Six, on Light Street, which is just below the western end of the Inner Harbor. Previously voted the best restaurant in Baltimore; the Ten-O-six serves American style Thai food versions as well as authentic Thai cuisine. Many Thai dishes are based on seafood, which is fortunately in abundance in Baltimore; they also prepare meat and vegetarian dishes. This restaurant has a fine selection of wine bins from around the world, with bottles of wine priced from around $20 to over $100.

An unlikely type of European restaurant in Baltimore are the Irish ones, as Ireland is not a country noted for its cuisine; but the presence of the Irish restaurants lays claim to the heritage of many Baltimore citizens. Lucy’s Irish Bar & Restaurant will probably give you the most authentic Irish cuisine; and drinking experience, in Baltimore. Located opposite the Hippodrome Theatre in the town center, the Beef and Guinness Stew with mashed potato is to be recommended. They also serve a traditional Irish breakfast, which is reputedly as good as the ones they used to serve in Bewley’s, Dublin.