Station North : Buzz

Food Republic has given its readers seven restaurants in Baltimore they ought to visit. In a piece titled "Beyond Crab Cakes and Crime" (clever), the food site sings the praises of Charm City's culinary scene, calling it one of the more underrated food cities.

"Decades of well-reported urban decline, not to mention a little television juggernaut called The Wire, have given the city something of an image problem," Food Republic writes. "But the mid-Atlantic port is on the rise, as the convergence of inexpensive rents, creative culinary talent and incredible regional ingredients create one of the most dynamic restaurant scenes on the East coast."

The story mentions Birroteca, Woodberry Kitchen, the Food Market, Joe Squared, the Crown and Spike Gjerde's recently opened Shoo-Fly Diner in Belvedere Square. It even mentions Paulie Gee's, a Brooklyn pizza place that is opening an outlet in Hampden. 

New York Magazine has devoted a Weekend Travel section to Baltimore, hitting an impressive array of eclectic shops, restaurants, museums and neighborhoods. 

This isn't your grandmother's guide to Charm City. New York Mag tells its readers to "Hang with hipsters in Hampden, a popular neighborhood of galleries, bars, and boutiques that feels a little like Williamsburg ten years ago."

Whoa, a New Yorker comparing Baltimore to Brooklyn?

"Go on an art crawl in Station North, Baltimore’s newest arts district. Stroll along North Avenue, Charles, and Barclay Streets to see 23 murals and installations by 30 local and international taggers like Gaia, Momo, Vhils, and Freddy Sam," New York Magazine writes. 

It also highlights veggie cuisine at Golden West, Spike Gjerde's newly opened Shoo-Fly Diner and the comfort food cuisine of the Food Market. Read the whole story here. 

Baltimore's Lost City Diner has reopened after having been closed for over a year. The Station North Arts and Entertainment District diner opened in August 2011 and closed six months later, shortly after BmoreMedia ran this story on the neighborhood.

It has retained its 1930s sci-fi decor, but now has a new owner, Baltimore City Paper writes. John Rutoskey has steered the menu toward classic diner fare, with plenty of vegan options, the paper writes.

And Baltimore Fishbowl writes that the vibe is "classy yet easy, eventful yet low key."

"Most likely, all the hype and anticipation about Lost City opening (or opening again) comes from its high visibility location. It’s right next door to the Club Charles and the Depot, and across from the Charles movie theater and the former home of Everyman Theater. That’s a lot of drinkers/movie patrons/theater-goers who could use a shake, some fries, and a place to decompress after their other evening activities." 

Read more here. 

Good pizza places have sprouted up all over Baltimore and the readers of Travel & Leisure seem to have noticed. 

The magazine ranked Baltimore No. 19 on its list of 20 best American cities for pizza. Chicago, Providence, R.I., and New York got the top three spots. 

Travel & Leisure cites Chazz Baltimore in Harbor East and Joe Squared as two standout pizza joints that rely on coal-fired ovens. Joe Squared has two locations, at Power Plant Live and the Station North Arts & Entertainment District. The magazine came up with its ranking based on readers' votes in its America's Favorite Cities Survey. You can read the entire list here. 

We're just glad that someone gets us a little bit better than the the writer of this Washington Post piece.  Check out the comments if you haven't already. 

The Washington Post features the Baltimore Museum of Art's much anticipated $24.5 million renovation of its contemporary wing, set to reopen Nov. 18. 

"Planning for the entire renovation — which will also include changes to the American and African Art spaces, as well as a new lobby and other visitor amenities — began a decade ago and is expected to be completed in 2014, when the museum celebrates its 100th anniversary," the Post writes. 

The renovated BMA wing will also feature two murals by Baltimore street artist Gaia, best known for organization Station North outdoor art project Open Walls Baltimore. 

The reviews are in and, according to the Washington Post, Rain Pryor has boosted the profile of the Strand Theater Co.

"The person who just took over leadership of the Strand might ring a bell, though. Rain Pryor, Richard’s 43-year-old daughter, is now running the ship," the Post writes.

"And while Pryor is candid about volunteering “to pimp my name” to get the shoestring troupe a little more visibility, her theater bona fides are strong. Pryor is currently enjoying off-Broadway success with her solo show “Fried Chicken and Latkes,” an autobiographical monologue with jazz music featuring Pryor’s takes on her famous father, her Jewish mother, showbiz and more."

Pryor has been living in Baltimore since 2006, the Post writes. The New York Times also recently featured Pryor.

Founded by Jayme Kilburn, the Strand is located in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District and operates on a shoestring budget of $30,000. 

The New York Times recently interviewed actress and comedienne Rain Pryor, who has many ties to Charm City.

The 43-year-old daughter of Richard Pryor, she became artistic director of the Strand Theater Co. and moved to Baltimore several years ago.

You can read more of the interview with Pryor and Kelly Carlin, daughter of George Carlin, here. 

Broadway World describes the latest Everyman Theatre play a "hit in every way."

The last play of the season, "You Can't Take It With You," is a Pulitzer-Prize winning play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It tells the story of a "bohemian household where fireworks are made in the basement, one daughter (Essie) dances in her tutu all over the house taught by her Russian ballet teacher Kohlenkov (the magnificent Nelson)," Broadway World writes.

The play runs through June 17 and is the last show Vincent Lancisi is directing at the theaters spot in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District. It moves to downtown Baltimore's west side spring of 2013.

Broadway World praises the detailed period set and the all-star cast. You can read the entire review here. 

Open Walls, the innovative mural art project in Station North, is getting more love. 

This time it's from the Huffington Post, which recently featured several photos of the murals and interviews with organizers, including street artist Gaia.

"From March to May the neighborhoods of Station North and Greenmount West have played host to internationally known Street Art names of the moment like Vhils, Sten and Lex, Swoon, Jaz, MOMO, and Interesni Kazki getting up on walls alongside a list of local and regional talents," the Huffington Post writes. 

Baltimore is catching onto the fact that the Station North Arts and Entertainment District is enjoying a renaissance of sorts. We at Bmore Media documented a number of favorable developments in this article by Cassie Paton.

Now the Washington Post has even caught onto the charms of the neighborhood that features the Charles Theatre and the Windup Space. The paper even went as far as dubbing Station North an "it" neighborhood.

It cites Open Walls Baltimore, a mural project led by artist Gaia, as the element that is making the neighborhood a real scene for emerging artists and hipsters.

"Charm City is an especially fertile ground for street art, considering its multitude of abandoned buildings, its quirky character, and its generally permissive attitude toward street art, which some cities treat as destruction of property," the Post writes.

You can read the story and the accompanying slideshow here.

The Boys of Baraka, a movie about inner-city kids in Baltimore sent to a boarding school in Kenya, played at the Maryland Film Festival seven years ago.

It once again is in the spotlight, however, as the filmmakers are featured in a New York Times story on the creative tension between documentary film partners.

""Disagreements are an inherent, and productive, part of their working relationship," Grady tells the Times. “You’ve got creativity, money and ego involved.”

The two will feature their work again at the Maryland Film Festival this year with their movie Detropia. 

Everyman Theatre's "Fifty Words" gets a stellar review in Broadway World. Reviewer Charles Shubow calls it a "powerful play with an exceptional cast."

The play takes place over the course of one night in a couple's Brooklyn kitchen. "There are many problems in the household which come alive during the 90 minute play under the capable hands of Director Donald Hicken," Shubow writes.

Just in time for Valentine's Day. You can read the rest of the review here. 

Its status as Baltimore's first State-designated arts district got the neighborhood revitalization started, but it's the area's small businesses that keep the place humming.

Check out a few pics from the NY Times slideshow.

Living in Baltimore, it's easy to see that the arts play a huge role in the city. As with eveyrthing that's created here our artists do it with a flair found only in Charm City. The Washington Post captures the style in a series of articles focusing on everything from art to theater.

Here's an excerpt:

"Baltimore brews its own arts scene, with a taste of what America was and what it will be."

Read the entire series of articles here.

Baltimore is replete with independent theaters that offer theater lovers a wide range of choices from the well-known to the avant garde. The Strand, in the city's Station North neighborhood, recently launched a four-pack of short works written by company members. If you've been wondering what they're all about...take a gander at this brief review.

Here's an excerpt:

"On Saturday evening at the Strand Theater, Playwrights Group of Baltimore presented "Skin in the Game," an anthology of short plays written by members of the Group. Different in style, each play pivots around the phrase "Skin in the Game," apparently coined by Warren Buffet to indicate passionate investment. A packed audience at the Strand witnessed staged readings of plays ranging from the melodramatic to the romantic to the fantasist."

Read the entire post here.

Check out more about Baltimore's arts scene or Station North!