36 Hours in Baltimore

October 04, 2009|Joshua Kurlantzick

IF you watch HBO’s police drama “The Wire,” you might think that Baltimore is filled with drug dealers and crime ringleaders. But in truth, the city has attracted a different breed of misfits: artists. Lured by cheap rents and warehouse spaces, artists and photographers have flocked there to claim the city as their own. Once rough neighborhoods like Hampden and Highlandtown have been taken over in recent years by studios, galleries and performance spaces. Crab joints and sports bars now share the cobblestone streets with fancy cafes and tapas restaurants. But against this backdrop, there are still the beehive hairdos and wacky museums that give so-called Charm City its nickname.

Friday

4 p.m.
1) INTO THE WOODS

Though you wouldn’t guess it as you enter Baltimore on Interstate 95, which passes port terminals and factories spewing smoke, the center of the city conceals a wooded, stream-filled oasis, the Jones Falls Trail (www.jonesfalls.org). Once heavily polluted itself, the 58-square-mile watershed has been restored over the past decade and now features a green biking and hiking trail, which parallels the Jones Fall River and meanders through some of the old mills that once powered Baltimore’s economy. It is a rustic and historical look at a sometimes gritty city.

7 p.m.
2) NOT JUST CRABS

In a town known for crab cakes and fried fish sandwiches, Woodberry Kitchen (2010 Clipper Park Road; 410-464-8000; www.woodberrykitchen.com) stands out for its refined local cooking. Set in the Clipper Mill complex, an old foundry that is now home to artists’ studios, galleries and homes, Woodberry serves nouveau American comfort food using seasonal and local ingredients, like Chesapeake soft-shell crabs served with a spicy tartar sauce, and brick-oven roasted chicken with a sweet cider glaze, on top of a Spanish-style tortilla. Dinner for two, about $80.

10 p.m.
3) VERY OFF BROADWAY

True to its countercultural roots, Baltimore mostly eschews touring Broadway shows for offbeat theater. Perhaps the strangest are staged by the Creative Alliance at the Patterson (3134 Eastern Avenue; 410-276-1651; www.creativealliance.org), whose stage feels like an old vaudeville house. One night, you might catch burlesque artists stripping down to their pasties; another night, a documentary on Baltimore’s decaying schools. The adjacent gallery often features the works of local painters and photographers.

Saturday

9 a.m.
4) UNDERGROUND CAFE