In Baltimore, rites of spring are abundant: There’s the blooming of the cherry blossoms at Fort McHenry, the reopening of snowball stands, Orioles Opening Day, lemon sticks at Flower Mart, the hordes of people gathering to see the tulips at Sherwood Gardens.
One of my favorite signs that winter is finally over is the return of the Baltimore Farmers’ Market. Last Sunday, I grabbed my tote bags and eagerly headed downtown to get my first taste since December of the vibrant market under the JFX, which brings together Baltimoreans from across the city to stock up on fresh produce, meats, dairy and all sorts of prepared foods, from pit beef to popcorn.
The advent of a new market season “is like a rebirth,” said Mark Ross, the owner of Metro Microgreens, a booth specializing in hydroponically grown arugula, herbs, pea shoots and other greens. Ross has been a vendor at the Baltimore Farmers’ Market for half a decade and counts it among his biggest markets, alongside one in Dupont Circle.
Newer to the market was Nina’s Cookie Explosion, a few booths down. Owner Nina Ross started her baked goods business after her full-time job was scaled back to a part-time one during the pandemic. This will be her third year at the farmers’ market, where she sells treats like gooey smores cookies, birthday cookies with bright rainbow sprinkles and the signature “Nina’s Cookie Explosion,” a sweet-and-salty sugar cookie packed with chocolate chips, Twix pieces and potato chips.
“We established ourselves last year,” Ross said of her fledgling business. “We just had such a good market season last year, so we hope the vibe continues.”
The farmers’ market is home to lots of long-running favorites —Reid’s Orchard, Zeke’s Coffee, Neopol Savory Smokery, bowls and buns from Ekiben —but I was on the hunt for some of the newest vendors. After stocking up on garlic bulbs, herbs for the week’s cooking and eggs (a steal at $3), I decided to scope out some newbies. There are plenty to choose from: out of 47 market vendors, more than half are new this season.
With three new plant-based vendors, the Baltimore Farmers’ Market is expanding its options for vegans.
I stopped by to check out NefeVee, a vegan soul food stand making its market debut. Owner Angelique Daniels started out baking cinnamon rolls before transitioning her Baltimore-based business into a vegan meal prep company. At the farmers’ market, she’s got plans to serve brunch options like vegan chicken biscuits and a plant-based egg scramble that Daniels swears tastes similar to the real thing.
She’s hoping the market will spread the word about NefeVee, which has already “really grown by word of mouth” since it was established in 2019. “We’re getting to know the people, they’re getting to know us,” she said of her first Sunday under the JFX.
A short stroll away, Sydney Newton’s stall was drawing long lines. Newton, the owner of Sydney’s Ice Creams in Belair-Edison, was selling scoops and pints in flavors like banana pudding and strawberry. Many customers were drawn to a satellite stall next to hers, where Sydney’s sister Tia Newton was serving fresh strawberries topped with chocolate sauce. The classic combination was recently the subject of a viral TikTok video, and market-goers lined up to take their own footage of chocolate oozing over fruit.
“We were trying to get something to complement the ice cream,” said Sydney. While the weather was still on the chillier side for an ice cream cone, “this has been doing pretty well.”
I couldn’t make it to all the new stalls. On my list to try next time: empanadas from the family owned and operated House of Empanadas and fluffy beignets from Beye Beignets, a pop-up project from Chopped Sweets winner Amber Croom and chef Yassmeen Jackson.
The market will run every Sunday through Dec. 22, rain or shine, from 7 a.m. to noon.
Easy Like Sunday expands to Locust Point
It’s been a little more than a year since Easy Like Sunday opened at the Village of Cross Keys. Now the family team behind the brunch restaurant has plans to open another location in Locust Point.
Easy Like Sunday will take over the former Iron Rooster dining room at McHenry Row, co-owner Sean McCuish tells me. He, his wife Anna McCuish and Anna’s cousin Antonios Kokolis are aiming to have the restaurant serving pancakes, benedicts, brunch burgers and more by late spring.
The expansion comes thanks to the success of the Cross Keys restaurant, Sean said: “We wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for Baltimore and the love and support they’ve given us this past year.”
The family-run business started down in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the McCuishes brought it to Baltimore when they moved here to be closer to Anna’s family.
The Locust Point location will have a similar menu to the restaurant in Cross Keys, with some new dishes that the restaurateurs aren’t yet ready to reveal. The dining room will be a little bigger, with more bar seating and design elements including a chandelier and plant wall. Two patios —one in front of the restaurant and one in the back —will offer outdoor seating.
Though the brunch concept may have added a second Baltimore location quickly, Sean and Antonios both say they’re not looking to embark on an expansion kick.
“We’re a family-run business and we’re a niche concept that is authentic to who we are,” Sean said. “We’ll take time with that.”
More Medium Rare
Medium Rare, the steak-frites bistro with locations in Hampden, the Washington, D.C. area and New Orleans, will land in Columbia next.
The latest Medium Rare restaurant is slated to open April 15 in the Merriweather District, a growing hub for food and drink near Merriweather Post Pavilion. The chain offers three-course fixed price meals that include a mixed green salad, artisan bread and a main course of coulotte steak and fresh-cut french fries, for just shy of $30.
On weekends, diners can also opt for a $32 brunch with bottomless Bloody Marys, mimosas or screwdrivers, as well as breakfast staples like French Toast, benedicts and steak and eggs.
Other openings
If you’re looking for more new dining experiences, Baltimore has added a few in recent weeks.
Facci, a Howard County-based Italian restaurant, just opened its third location at the base of the 414 Light skyscraper across from the Inner Harbor. Over in Canton, the owners of Café Dear Leon debuted Love, Pomelo, an Italian restaurant of their own serving fresh-cut rigatoni and tagliata steak, last week. And Roggenart, a European-style bakery, is now open on the ground floor of City House Charles, a new office building in Mt. Vernon where the Grand Central nightclub used to be.
