Matt McDermott

Born and raised in Northeast Baltimore, Matt McDermott says, "I've lived in the city my whole life."

Matt grew up in Hamilton but moved to Remington in 1997 where he and his wife purchased a rowhouse on West 28th Street. Matt says that while living in Remington had its urban charm, "it was better than TV, we were looking for something a little more laidback, a good place to do the 2.5 kids, white picket fense thing."

So, with that in mind the couple headed northeast to Lauraville where they bought a three-story Victorian in February 2007. "For some reason I thought having a yard was a good idea," he says.

Since their move, the two have become a family adding a son, Ferris, who is 12 months old.

Lauraville or bust

Living in Lauraville, says Matt, "can give us a taste of the suburbs while still being relatively close to the draws of the city." That, he adds, makes the neighborhood a fantastic spot.

"[Lauraville is] evolving pretty quickly into an attraction for young families. New restaurants, great coffee places, quality bars, and even a farmers' market - on Tuesday evenings. Also, there's jogging around Lake Montebello and sledding at Herring Run Park. I like that Lauraville's relatively quiet, though I still get a bit of the Baltimore grit. The sirens in the middle of the night. The occassional drug-addled drifter yelling at the moon. All that and we have a koi pond," he says.

Good eats

Matt says the restaurant scene is so compelling in Lauraville that , "my wife has to drag me out of the neighborhood sometimes because we've got a pretty decent choice of eats."
 
"The Chameleon offers great high-end dining without the pretense. Clementine has some of the best comfort food. Parkside has sushi and trivia on Wednesday nights. Hamilton Tavern features the best burgers north of Pratt Street (and with ringing acoustics of their tin ceilings, it's not a bad place to plan a conspiracy)," he explains. 

"Red Canoe is a quirky coffee shop/bookstore that features regular art and poetry events.Grind On, the new coffee place on the block, has been a welcome addition - great soups. Of course, there are some old favorites worth noting, particularly, Kocos - still has some of the best crab cakes in town - especially now that Angelina's has gone dim," Matt adds.

The best thing about living in Lauraville according to Matt? "It's country living with a city edge. I like that I don't have to choose one or the other. I hate making decisions."