Luigi's Deli and Market - Great Cold Cuts in Hampden!

Just a few weeks ago we reported that Hampden is surprisingly becoming a major player in the pursuit of delicious authentic Italian food in Baltimore.  It has been less than a year since Daniela’s opened on The Avenue, joining both locations of Grano; and now, we’re announcing another addition to Hamden’s Italian scene – Luigi’s Italian Deli and Market.

Luigi’s, which opened this week in the former location of Lovely Yarns, is a modest-sized Italian market offering deli meats, sandwiches, and various Italian goods.  And the owners informed us on our visit this past Saturday, that they will have more coming, including an expresso machine.  For those of us enjoying one of their sandwiches, they have a few tables in the front of the shop, a few tables on the front porch, and weather permitting, a few tables on the back porch.  And – the piece de resistance – the back porch back

up to the Wine Source, so one can easily grab a bottle of wine at the Wine Source and bring it in the back door to eat with your sandwich.

We ordered an Italian Cold Cut ($8) and the Isabella (also $8).  The Italian Cold Cut included salami, capicolla, prosciutto, mortadello, and provolone, and was seasoned with olive oil, vinegar, hot peppers, and some of the other basic fixins.  The Isabella was stuffed with prosciutto, soppressata, coppa, asiago cheese, roasted red peppers, and an olive spread.  Both sandwiches were generously stuffed and served on a soft Italian role.  All of the meats were flavorful, fresh, and well portioned.  The olive spread was delicious, and the red peppers on the Isabella were very tasty, though if you don’t like red peppers I’d suggest telling them to hold the peppers, as they strongly affect the flavor.  Both plates also came with a side of homemade pasta salad, which was pretty tasty, and a nice touch.

Overall, we were extremely impressed with the sandwiches, especially since they are so reasonably priced and well portioned.  We also got some cold cuts to take home, which were comparable in price to our local grocery store, and a lot tastier.

And most importantly – the owners are extremely friendly and welcoming.  And a cool trivia fact: the vigilantecross-walk painter works there too!

Luigi’s is a very good, and well overdue, addition to Hampden food scene.  I have a feeling I will be giving them a lot of my money! 

Luigi’s Italian Market and Deli

846 West 36^th Street

Baltimore, MD 21211

410-814-0652

5-Star Rating
Food: ****
Service: N/A
Ambiance: ****
Price: $$ ($10-20)

Daniela's - Authentic Italian in Hampden

---UPDATE!  5/22/2016: Daniela has expanded and moved to 822-824 W. 36th Street, Baltimore, MD 21211 (down the street from the original location) ---

When one thinks of the culinary aspects of Hampden, a wide array of things come to mind: cheap burritos, vegan food, or maybe an unlikeable restaurateur who makes an fool out of herself on national television. But historically, nobody really thought about authentic Italian food. That started to change a few years ago when Grano opened its two locations in the heart of the neighborhood, but one of the locations stuck to pasta while the other kept it pretty high-end.

But now, Hampdenites have a wider variety of authentic Italian food available to them, and best of all, it’s pretty cheap! This is thanks to the 2011 opening of Daniela’s Pasta & Pastries, located on The Avenue.

In case you don’t know, Daniela herself had already built up a reputation in town for being a great pasta maker. She has made pasta for Grano and has acted as a guest chef at Sotto Sopra.

We made our first visit last week, looking for a quick carry-out dinner after an exhausting day.

The restaurant is very small, located in a former eyeglass shop, and is based mainly on a carry-out format. However there are a few small tables inside, and the gentleman working the counter informed us that when the weather warms up they are hoping to add some outdoor seating.

Everything is made fresh daily, and is presented in a small display counter. And everything looks delicious. We grabbed an order of Lasagna Bolognaise and an order of the culingionis. And for just $3 more they threw in a house salad and homemade garlic bruchetta. The lasagna we chose was conceptually similar to the lasagna we Americans are used to, with cheese, meat and a red sauce. However there were 5 or 6 different types of lasagna available that particular night. It was apparent that the noodles were homemade, as they were tender and thick. The meat, sauce, and cheese were all delicious, complementing each other well but none individually stealing the show. Undeniably the best lasagna I’ve experienced. The culingionis, which were essentially potato ravioli (or for my Polish readers, like Italian pierogi), were exceptional. Again, it was apparent that the pasta was hand made that day. The pastas are served in a light sauce seasoned with mint, saffron, and basil.

The portions were not overwhelming, but were generous.

Most importantly, we took home two banana chocolate turnovers for dessert, which were perhaps the highlight of the meal! The flakey pastry was mild but tasty, very fresh, and the rich chocolate and fresh bananas were a perfect match for one another. I would frown upon anyone leaving Daniela’s without one of these in hand.

All in all, an excellent addition to the Hampden dining scene. We’re sorry we didn’t try it out sooner!

Note: they are also BYOB

Daniela’s Pasta and Pastries
900 W 36th St Ave  (SEE UPDATE ABOVE)
Baltimore, MD 21211
443-759-9320

5-Star Rating
Food: *****
Service: N/A
Ambiance: ***
Price: $$ ($10-20)

Sip and Bite - The Restaurant That Requires Drunk Goggles

The front entrance.

On a recent Sunday morning a small group of four of us took a trip down to the Sip and Bite, a small generations-old diner on the edge of Canton. Our group was small because we knew the small joint wouldn’t have room for much more.

The Sip and Bite has served Fells Pointers and Cantonites for decades. In particular, during the last decade it has acted as a cheap place to sober up after a night of ruckus on the Canton square or on Thames Street.

This Sunday morning, none of us were drunk, nor were any of us hung over, so we realized that we would not be judging the joint within its usual context. But, we thought we’d give it a try anyway!

The recent exterior renovations of the restaurant, that included a new doorway that appeared to be partially completed, were promising. However once we got inside we noted that it was the same old Sip and Bite. We were seated promptly in a very tight booth toward the right. It was a bit of a challenge getting in and out of the booth, but otherwise the accommodations were fine. Althogh as the meal continued, we discovered that their door slammed shut each time it was opened, causing our whole booth to shake, which was a little bit annoying.

Our waitress was an old-school Baltimore woman, pretty rough around the edges, which I personally consider to be an amenity in this case as it added some of that old-time character that seems to go with the place. Her knowledge of the menu wasn’t what it could have been, but we’ll let her slide on that.

The Gyro, in progress.

Among the items we ordered were the crab cake sandwich, a cheesesteak, a lamb gyro, and a western omelet. The crab cakes were pretty good – they weren’t huge or anything, but they were full of crab meat and had pretty good flavor. Some claim these to be the best crab cakes in Baltimore, and while I definitely wouldn’t go that far, we certainly didn’t have any objections. Both the gyro and the cheesesteak were a bit dry. They weren’t terrible but they didn’t knock our socks off. We can forgive them on the cheesesteaks because, let’s face it, if you want a good cheesesteak you’re in the wrong city; but the gyro, we expected more from. The sauce was ok, but let’s just say that Rob Schneider’s old SNL skit (“you lika da juice?”) was not filmed at the Sip and Bite. The western omelet was decent, but it’s also pretty hard to screw up a western omelet.

The Crabcake sandwich.

All in all – the food was pretty much - “meh…” Nothing was absolutely terrible, but nothing knocked our socks off, either. The entire experience was completely mediocre.

There are rumors flying that Guy Fieri visited the Sip and Bite, and that they will be featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives this spring. Let’s just hope that Guy had a few shots at the Waterfront Hotel before he walked over there. Because it is apparent to us that this place is much more valuable as a sobering-up joint, than a regular dinner spot.

Sip and Bite

2200 Boston Street
Baltimore, MD 21224
410-675-7077 ()‎

5-Star Rating

Food: **1/2
Service: **
Ambiance: *1/2
Price: $ ($5-15)