Bits & Bites: Readers share their go-to restaurants, fusion burritos land in Baltimore County

At the start of the new year, I asked for your restaurant recommendations. I wanted to know all about about your go-tos: places that are not necessarily new, but that have a regular spot in your dining rotation.

You definitely delivered. I got so many great tips from readers, and my list of restaurants to visit this year is, happily, much longer as a result.

I figured I might as well share the wealth. In this week’s column, I’ll fill you in on fellow readers’ recommendations. And please keep them coming! I always enjoy hearing from you.

I also have updates about a new fusion burrito concept landing in the Baltimore area, a neighborhood bar for sale and another Baltimore spotlight in The New York Times.

Reader recommendations

For a night out that feels like an escape from the monotony of daily life, Kurt Jacobson recommends Konoko, a Jamaican restaurant at The Avenue at White Marsh.

“They greet you at the door and act like you are boarding a flight to Jamaica,” Jacobson wrote, “then seat you in the dining room decorated in Jamaica-themed decorations.”

Sandy Tucker and her husband, chef Jazz Tucker, opened Konoko in the fall of 2022. They named the eatery for Konoko Falls, a landmark in the island’s St. Ann parish, and offer Caribbean favorites there, like red snapper, braised oxtail, and Jamaica’s national dish, ackee and saltfish, served with fried green plantain tostones. The couple also owns Island Spice Grille & Lounge in Edgewood, which counts fans like Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

“The portions are ample, although a bit pricey,” Jacobson reports of the food at Konoko. “The goat curry was delicious as were the wings.” While you’re at The Avenue, he also recommends checking out Ando’s Market, a wine bar and delicatessen.

In the Overlea/Rosedale area, reader Bill Dau recommends the Hazelwood Inn. This old-school Baltimore County spot offers “consistent quality and huge portions,” Dau writes. “We seldom can finish a lunch portion, [and] the leftovers are always looked forward to by our family.”

A 2012 City Paper review remarked on the restaurant’s “well seasoned” and “monstrously sized” crab cake, which Hazelwood Inn still touts as a specialty. I plan to go soon, more than a decade later, to test that claim.

If you’re having a craving for seafood, you can’t go wrong with True Chesapeake Oyster Co. in Hampden’s Whitehall Mill, another reader writes.

“The atmosphere is fabulous — now in the winter it feels warm and cozy with great lighting and in the summer you’re able to sit out on the patio and hear the Jones Falls right there,” they shared via email. They also praised chef Zack Mills, formerly of Wit & Wisdom, and the “delicious” oysters sourced from True Chesapeake’s farm on St. Jerome Creek in Southern Maryland.

For a casual neighborhood meal, one respondent suggests Alexander’s Tavern in Fells Point.

“The food at Alexander’s is consistently excellent, well prepared, and attractively plated, and the courtesy and professionalism of the staff is impeccable,” they write. “One feels at home here, and it is very cozy and inviting.”

Alexander’s, run by Carrie Podles and Charlie Gjerde — who also own Wicked Sisters and Papi’s Tacos — is “quite vigilant” when it comes to allergies and food restrictions, the reader adds. I have my eye on some of the more creative flavor combinations on their menu, including a birria pizza and an “umami cheesesteak” featuring bulgogi beef.

Another reader offered a delicious grab bag of restaurant recommendations. In Catonsville, they write, Jennings Cafe and Atlantic Food & Spirits are worth a try.

Jennings Cafe, in business since 1958, is an institution known for its equestrian theme and dishes like shrimp salad and liver and onions. The family-run establishment sold in 2017 to restaurant consultant Steve Iampieri, who has kept the tradition going while adding a few new dishes — a farmhouse burger, West Coast street tacos — of his own. Atlantic Food & Spirits, meanwhile, is the successor to another longtime Catonsville restaurant, Dimitri’s International Grille, which closed in 2021.

In Baltimore, this reader also recommends Gunther & Co., a modern American eatery in stunning, formerly industrial digs in Brewers Hill. And for those following a gluten-free diet, they recommend the cauliflower frozen pizza crusts from nearby Italian market DiPasquale’s.

Fusion burritos

Here’s another restaurant I’m curious to try.

Bubbakoo’s Burritos, which opened Feb. 6 at 11319 York Road in Cockeysville, is a New Jersey transplant with a creative premise: fusion burritos.

The chain uses the tortilla wrap as a vehicle to blend Mexican cuisine with a wide range of other flavors: Think hibachi shrimp and steak, Nashville hot chicken, General Tso’s-seasoned shrimp or crispy Parmesan chicken.

“We wanted to do something completely different than what the average consumer is used to,” said Harsh Patel, who owns the Cockeysville Bubbakoo’s outpost. “Everyone is tired of the same old chains, doing the same old menu items.”

The fast-casual spot also serves bowls, tacos, loaded fries, nachos, salads, “burritodillas” and “chiwawas” — breaded, cheesy rice balls topped with protein and veggies.

Bubbakoo’s, which got its start in 2008 on the Jersey Shore, now has more than 100 restaurants in 15 states, including two other Maryland locations in Linthicum Heights and Millersville.

Bar for sale

I reported on the closing last spring of Roman’s Place, a Patterson Park institution of 37 years.

Now, it appears the neighborhood bar’s owners are searching for a successor. The building at 2 S. Decker Ave. is listed for sale, at an asking price of $795,000. The price tag includes the business, bar and an adjacent residence.

Spotlight on local chocolate

Baltimore just got another shoutout in the New York Times.

The T List, a weekly newsletter from the Times’ T Magazine focusing on what’s new in the world of tourism, spotlighted Jinji Chocolate, the local chocolate shop owned by Jinji and Guy Fraser.

The father-daughter duo recently moved their business from a stall at the Belvedere Square Market in North Baltimore to a new storefront in Waverly. The Times highlighted the shop’s embrace of chocolate’s origins, as well as its signature drinking chocolate, “a rich and dense concoction… made with freshly ground cacao nibs, lightly sweetened and finished with oat milk.”