Woodberry Kitchen

Up along the Jones Falls parkway, where abandoned clipper warehouses have become artists' studios, condos or else a parking garage, crops up one of Baltimore's finest and most popular restaurants: Woodberry Kitchen. What was once an old machine manufacturing plant has become the epicenter and leader in organic kitchens, in its food, drinks, preparation and even in its physical building that you might expect the restaurant will one day biodegrade into compost itself.

Joking aside, Woodberry takes a great deal of care in creating unique and tasty menu options that change with the season and availability of ingredients. It's obvious just from tasting the dishes alone. Combined with great chef artistry, the food is among some of the freshest, flavorful in all of Maryland, explaining why people drive from all over the state and beyond to visit this oasis. Ingredients are all harvested from local purveyors and a farm in Pennsylvania. Meats are purchased from a butcher earlier in the season, and fish are served depending on what's caught.

If you're starting with drinks, an extremely popular one is the Government Mule, and one sip will make you understand why. It's a refreshing concoction of organic vodka, housemade ginger beer and mint served in a chilled copper cup (it's all about the cups at Woodberry Kitchen). There's a select wine and beer list, as well as other cocktails.

For starters, menu options change. There's the stinging nettle soup, which may be one of the greenest soups you'll ever try, or the strawberry salad, which serves just-in-season strawberries over greens. You can also sample local cheeses, Chesapeake oysters prepared several ways, or charcuteries.

For supper, there’s a popular chicken & dumplings, a savory slow-roasted pork shoulder with tender fall-off-the-bone meat, lumpy crab cakes, short ribs, and various fish (grouper & chips was the catch of the day on this particular day).

For dessert, again, depending on season, there's a strawberry shortcake with in-season strawberries, the Peanut Butter Cup with peanut butter cream, dark chocolate, caramel, whipped cream and ladyfinger cracker jack, or a selection of pies, tarts, cookies and ice cream/ sorbets, depending on season.

Woodberry Kitchen is a huge restaurant, allowing many, many patrons to be served at one time and allowing them to enjoy their food leisurely. It's an echo on the “slow food” movement, established in Italy as a response to McDonald's opening there. The movement made its way across the pond to the United States and has been celebrated since in establishments like Woodberry. In warm weather, guests can be seated outside, country-style, or else inside near the kitchen (which is viewable from the restaurant) or in a separate dining room. Reservations are highly recommended, because it still runs out of tables despite all the room. Parking is free valet service, making driving a cinch.

 

- by Rin-rin Yu, Washington Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Rin-rin Yu

Rin-rin is an award-winning writer and journalist based in the Baltimore-Washington area. Her work has appeared in China Daily, DAYSPA magazine, Luxury Home Design, Aquatics International, Not For Tourists and other publications. Rin-rin has also worked for ABC News, WHDH-TV (NBC) in Boston and Hanley Wood Business Media. She has a master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She is an avid world traveler and maintains a travel blog, www.mytravelhats.com.