Baltimore Diner dropped the news the other day that Riverside’s fancy pantsy former-Bicycle restaurant Centro Tapas has closed its doors, after two years of service. This is extremely sad news, as the city of Baltimore now has fewer than ten restaurants dedicated to serving tiny bits of food at pretty high prices.
(Update: Gorelick has more news, as of 12/22, Corks is closed as well, landlord issues being cited, which in itself is totally expected. More on that soon.)
But don’t worry folks, there’s plenty of gourmet pizza establishments (4,435) to fill the void!
But I digress. Let’s tackle the issue of what ought to take the place of a restaurant such as Centro Tapas, with the city’s – as well as the neighborhood’s – representation of cuisine. And this is just my opinion, but as far as I’m concerned if you’re into “sharing” your meals with friends in a Tapas style manner, you can’t go wrong with Ethiopian cuisine. Tibs, Fitfit, Wat and those big ass sourdough flatbreads, Ethiopian food isn’t just built for sharing but more often than not, for $14.95 you can get enough food for 4 people, with money left over for wine.
(fun fact: Coffee as a beverage originated in Ethiopia!)
Currently, Baltimore has like, three Ethiopian establishments – Dukem (1100 Maryland Ave, Mount Vernon) being far and away my favorite for my American currency based on their fried fish alone – and last I checked, none of them are in South Baltimore. Granted, Ethiopian certainly isn’t as flashy as deftly-prepared olive platters or black truffle chicken pâté, but in the bang-for-your-buck department, it almost always satisfies. But I’m probably delusional in thinking that a small Ethiopian eatery could fare well with a space as well-polished as Centro, unless new ownership could somehow make a big ass sourdough flatbreads covered in small piles of what appears to be nothing more than glop (delicious glop) seem appealing to the yuppier diners of Federal Hill and Riverside.
Or not? Who knows. It’ll be neat to see what takes its place (what would *you* want to see there?). Meantime, I’m heading to Dukem for some of that tastier-than-hell fried fish.
Trinidad Gourmet is excellent but intimidating. a Caribbean restaurant that doesn’t look like it’s actually right out of Trinidad probably wouldn’t scare people away, plus throw some rum in the Peanut Punch, and you got yourself a recipe for a blackout.
Tapas has always been over rated. There’s a really good ethiopian place on mulberry called Tabor. It’s a hole in the wall of awesome. It would be nice to have a sports bar in fed hill for a change.
Serpico, the (un)expected landlord issues were at corks; don’t know why centro closed. love the headline.
WOMP – Sometimes words are difficult – duly adjusted
I’m so glad you mentioned Dukem, it is seriously delicious and inexpensive. The spicy Doro Wat is amaaazing!