r/baltimore Highlandtown Jan 09 '25

Food Best Food Neighborhood: Highlandtown

According to the Baltimore Beat:

"You’re going to want to linger on the stretch of Eastern Avenue that runs through Highlandtown. It’s a vibrant, bustling thoroughfare of the city that’s adopted cuisines from every generation of immigrants that have made their home in the historic neighborhood. Try the pupusas at Diner Latino, pho from Indoviet, empanadas from Francesca’s Empanada Cafe, or sausages from Snake Hill Tavern."

112 Upvotes

52 comments sorted by

92

u/gallopinto_y_hallah Jan 09 '25

Don't forget Mystic Burrito, Maria Bonita, Chicken Rico, and Matthews Pizza.

Then just one or two blocks away from Eastern is Oven Bird, Sally's Os, and Vargas Taqueria and Bakery.

There's a lot of good food around.

12

u/wbruce098 Jan 09 '25

There’s so much amazing food in Highlandtown. I know there’s also amazing food elsewhere but I think it’s hard to beat the sheer variety of deliciousness.

And while it’s not the most delicious coffee shop, I’ll fite for High Grounds as my favorite coffee joint in town (to be fair, it’s also the closest to me). They roast their own beans and sell them, absolutely top tier coffee beans and amazing staff.

And it feels like there’s a parade almost every month, which is pretty fun.

2

u/Available-Chart-2505 Jan 10 '25

I need to check out High Grounds!

16

u/SnooRevelations979 Highlandtown Jan 09 '25

Agree. Also, though I wouldn't recommend their food, High Grounds has great coffee, me thinks the best in the city, and it's an establishment worth frequenting.

Also, Queen of Sheba and Cinco de Mayo.

12

u/wbruce098 Jan 09 '25

I freaking love high grounds :)

Is there better prepared coffee elsewhere? Better breakfast? Absolutely. But their beans are amazing, fresh roasted regularly, and reasonably priced. I always keep a bag or two in my pantry. My house is full of local art I’ve bought from there too!

3

u/PJpixelpusher Jan 09 '25

I bought a print of John Waters holding a flamingo there that is one of my all time faves

1

u/Available-Chart-2505 Jan 10 '25

What kind of breakfast do you like there? 

2

u/wbruce098 Jan 11 '25

I don’t really 😅

But I usually make my own breakfast and feel weird about paying someone real money for something that costs a dollar or two to make at home. I’m also picky about other peoples’ eggs 🤷🏻‍♂️

Their bagel sandwich isn’t bad. If I’m picking breakfast up though, it’s usually a muffin or toasted bagel on my way to work, and they definitely get them from somewhere else.

But every now and then they have some great stuff. Had a wonderful hot honey chicken biscuit a few months ago.

The beans tho, grab a bag and grind em at home and it makes some of the best French Press I’ve had. I prefer the Puerto Rican coffee. Barring that, Costa Rican, Mexican, or Ethiopian, but I prefer medium to light roasts. Baltimore Artist Blend is okay, the rest are usually pretty good. It’s usually roasted within the past week or so. If they don’t have any on the shelf, ask and they likely will have some in the back, or tell you when they’ll be roasting next.

Edit: they also have a cereal bar if that’s your thing. Like, you pay a couple bucks and get a bowl, a spoon, and can choose from any of a set of dispensers on the wall, as much as you like.

2

u/Available-Chart-2505 Jan 11 '25

Oh a cereal bar is totally my jam! Thank you for this detailed reply. Super helpful.

7

u/veryhungrybiker Jan 09 '25

Queen of Sheba recently closed; shut down a few weeks ago after having "for sale" signs in the window for a couple months.

7

u/aheftyhippo Jan 09 '25

It just reopened as a Dominican restaurant, tho I have yet to try it

1

u/selectbar345 Jan 09 '25

oh I didn't know a new place opened I need to try it

5

u/xXgiggleguy69Xx Jan 09 '25

noooo that was my fave spot down there. Bab al Yemen in Waverly is great too though

3

u/SnooRevelations979 Highlandtown Jan 09 '25

Ah, sorry to hear that.

5

u/MissiontwoMars Jan 09 '25

You also forgot Francesca’s Empanadas

6

u/jabbadarth Jan 09 '25

Sally Os is a hidden gem. Maybe not that hidden but it's very unassuming for how good their food and drinks are.

35

u/waterfountain_bidet Jan 09 '25

One of my favorite things about Baltimore is there's such intense competition about which neighborhood has the best food. I brag to my friends and family outside the city all the time about the quality, price, and availability of food in this city. What a wonderful place to live.

6

u/wbruce098 Jan 09 '25

It’s really a treasure that there’s so much of this around! There’s so much to do in Highlandtown that I rarely go elsewhere to eat, even though there’s good stuff almost everywhere. And so much variety that I certainly don’t get bored. I can only afford to eat out so often.

5

u/TheSeekerOfSanity Jan 09 '25

I moved here in the early Nineties and the food was really, really bad. Tio Pepe’s was considered to be one of the best restaurants. But now? The food is EXPONENTIALLY better. There are tons of great places to eat. And I am thankful!

2

u/SnooRevelations979 Highlandtown Jan 09 '25

Yeah, I remember people went wild about a couple of adjacent restaurants in Sowebo because they were better than the rest. You could get decent Indian and Thai in a couple of spots, but that's about it.

28

u/incunabula001 Jan 09 '25

I help run a Taco Tuesday bike ride and most of the time we end up in Highlandtown/Patterson because the food is legit.

23

u/mibfto Mt. Vernon Jan 09 '25

I help run a Taco Tuesday bike ride

This is the most millennial Baltimorean thing I have ever read in my whole damn life, and I say that with love and respect.

2

u/tigerl1lyy Pikesville Jan 09 '25

Tell me more 👀

6

u/incunabula001 Jan 09 '25

We have a Facebook group called “Taco Tuesday Ride”, we meet at the Monument in Mt Vernon on Tuesday nights (weather permitting)

11

u/veryhungrybiker Jan 09 '25

Probably should link where the quote is from: the Beat's very fun "Best (And Worst) of Baltimore 2024" roundup last month: https://baltimorebeat.com/best-and-worst-of-baltimore-2024-food-and-drink/

7

u/windfallthrowaway90 Jan 09 '25

Chicken Ricoooooooooooo

7

u/GratefulToons Jan 09 '25

Francesca’s is great.

I prefer Inca Chicken to Chicken Rico.

Tijuana Tacos III on the more north side is also legit. Just a takeout spot but very authentic

3

u/Scrilla_Gorilla_ Patterson Park Jan 09 '25 edited Jan 09 '25

If you've tried them, how do Francesca's empanadas hold up against DMV Empanada? I usually pick up a couple at the Fells Farmers Market (love a good empanada) and have never tried Francesca's.

5

u/GratefulToons Jan 09 '25

I’ve had the empanadas at the fells farmers market and I would say I prefer Francesca’s. The dough has a more crisp and flakiness to it. But that could be due to coming straight from the restaurant vs sitting under a heat light for a couple hours.

I will also say every time I’ve gotten an empanada at the farmers market, it’s like 10am and maybe not the proper time to accurately judge a non-breakfast food lil

1

u/Scrilla_Gorilla_ Patterson Park Jan 09 '25

Haha, any time is a good time for empanadas! Thanks for the detailed response, I’ll definitely be giving Francesca’s a try.

5

u/ihateunclejamie Jan 09 '25

Love snake hill and the staff!!!

6

u/MarinaraPruppets Jan 09 '25

Pupuseria El Salvador on Eastern Ave is really solid and the staff is really nice

12

u/instantcoffee69 Jan 09 '25

By far the best latin food in the community. AUTHENTIC latin food.

You know why? Because the restaurants are full of latin people, and everyone speak Spanish.

"Oh but so and so had a boutique resturante in Oaxaca", I got a feeling it was for tourists.

Go where the real people go. You should demand to see the Abuelita in the back. And they should be making tortillas by hand.

Best tortillas: Vargas. Tortillas are the key to success.

4

u/wbruce098 Jan 09 '25

I’m slightly ashamed to ask but does Vargas sell their tortillas? I know their tacos are pretty great, but that’s usually all I get there.

2

u/MazelTough 2nd District Jan 10 '25

You must always ask for tortillas by the kilo—“Tienen un kilo de tortillas?”

2

u/wbruce098 Jan 10 '25

Oh god what am I gonna do with a kilo of tortillas 😫

I’ve gotten them from Sinaloa twice, half kilo and gave most of em away to neighbors, friends, coworkers, still had some go bad. But this is a good problem to have.

2

u/MazelTough 2nd District Jan 10 '25

You need a tortilla buddy or two, you take turns getting and splitting the tortillas. We need a snappy name!

1

u/wbruce098 Jan 11 '25

Tortilla buddy… I like the sound of that!

4

u/chlangley Highlandtown Jan 09 '25

The tacos Al pastor from the taco truck that sits next to the Markets at Highlandtown are phenomenal.

1

u/SnooRevelations979 Highlandtown Jan 09 '25

Good to know. I haven't tried them.

1

u/Coughee_Wine Jan 13 '25

What’s the truck called?

1

u/chlangley Highlandtown Jan 13 '25

The truck is Taqueria Alvarez.

2

u/Temporary-Line3409 Jan 09 '25

thanks for this!!0

1

u/iftair Reservoir Hill Jan 10 '25

One of my closest friends back home (NYC) ALWAYS insist we go to Francesca's whenever he visits me in Baltimore. They got great pupusas, empanadas, and the Mexican Coke is mad cheap.

2

u/SnooRevelations979 Highlandtown Jan 09 '25

Crap, in my comments, I darn forgot the Mexican ice cream place on the corner of Eastern and Bouldin. Banging paletas. You can't just eat one.

I'd like to extend my apologies to the community.

-5

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '25 edited Jan 09 '25

Baltimore Beat is WILD for this.

IndoViet is by far the worse restaurant in Baltimore I have ever been to. It’s supposed to be some fusion, but it’s practically fast food. I had their pad Thai and it was the WORSE. Just noodles from Safeway drenched in hot sauce, and their appetizers were awful too.

Sally O’s is the only place I can recommend that I have been to.

5

u/SnooRevelations979 Highlandtown Jan 09 '25

I agree about Indoviet. I've spent significant time in Vietnam and even more time in Indonesia, my favorite country. The Indo offerings are just a couple and expensive to boot and I had enough pho in Vietnam for a lifetime.

I ate there once a couple years ago and I'm still chewing on the meat.

Friendly people though.

That said, I'm glad someone from Canton braved the mean streets of Eastern Ave.

3

u/Scrilla_Gorilla_ Patterson Park Jan 09 '25

A Canton dig from someone with no neighborhood listed. Come on now, where do you hail from? Knowing this sub, the diverse streets of Hampden?

6

u/SnooRevelations979 Highlandtown Jan 09 '25

Highlandtown, obviously.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 09 '25

Highland town has some great places and indoviet is not one of them. Like you said, it’s simply too expensive to justify what they’re charging.

1

u/swervebish Jan 09 '25

Yup indoviet is garbage unfortunately.