Hampden : Buzz

It's no secret that Woodberry Kitchen is one of the most popular restaurants in Baltimore. 

But it turns out that the city's original farm-to-table restaurants is a hit among Washingtonians. 

"The third time I was asked whether I had been to Woodberry Kitchen, the Baltimore restaurant where chef-restaurateur Spike Gjerde walks the talk of locally sourced cooking, I took note," David Hagedorn writes. "All this buzz from Washingtonians, a people who launch into lengthy negotiations just to cross the Potomac for dinner, had to mean something."

Baltimore Fishbowl took note of the Washington Post article, decrying the fact that Charm City residents now have to "fight with the Washington crowd for a table at the hip Woodberry eatery."

But at least owners Spike and Amy Gjerde are expanding their culinary empire with a new cafe and fast-casual restaurant. 

Baltimoreans finally got to see the long-awaited "Kitchen Nightmares" episode featuring Cafe Hon Owner Denise Whiting and her controversial move of claiming ownership of the word "Hon."

And it was as dramatic as expected. 

Whiting was stuck with a public relations nightmare after the trademark. Critics said she was trying to profit from a word that has become synonymous with Charm City itself. 

It was all documented on the show hosted by British chef Gordon Ramsay, who convinced Whiting to give up her trademark.

"In the show’s final segment, Television Chef Gordon Ramsay and his 'team' of culinary experts literally snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, transforming the iconic 36th St. restaurant and 'persuading' its insufferable proprietor Denise Whiting to give up her claim to ownership of the trademark 'Hon,'" writes Alan Z. Forman in his Voice of Baltimore news site. You can read the rest of his summary and analysis of the show here. 

Baltimoreans all know that Woodberry Kitchen is the city's original and most popular farm-to-table restaurant. Well it seems that word has gotten out to the editors of GQ magazine.

Woodberry Co-owner Spike Gjerde was recently featured in the magazine's food and travel section. Gjerde talks about his favorite spots in Baltimore, which include Hampden's Spro coffee shop, Wit and Wisdom restaurant in the Four Seasons Baltimore and the Thames Street Oyster House in Fells Point. You can read the rest of his picks here. 

It certainly won't be the last we hear of Gjerde. The restaurateur is opening a coffee shop of his own and a fast-casual eatery this spring. 

When the public got word that Café Hon owner Denise Whiting had trademarked the word "Hon," the Hampen business owner faced a backlash that affected sales of her restaurant.

But she told several media outlets that she is dropping her trademark of the term of the uniquely Baltimore term of endearment. 

She also apologized for stirring up such controversy.

Thanks, Hon.

You can read more about it here.

Finally! We know our city is top-notch, but it often takes a backseat with travelers who head to D.C. instead. Well, the truth is out that Baltimore is the No. 1 underrated city for travelers.

Here's an excerpt:

"Native blue crabs seasoned with Old Bay are reason enough to visit Baltimore, but there's much more to experience in this waterfront town. Take, for example, this underrated city's revitalized Inner Harbor area, where you'll find Kimpton's Hotel Monaco; the upscale neighborhood of Mount Vernon, home to the nation's first large-scale Washington Monument and the..."

See the slideshow here.

It's easy when you live in a city to overlook what makes it a great place for tourists. With the long Labor Day weekend approaching, here're two lists of places to see and restaurants to eat in around Baltimore.

Here's an excerpt:

From the Washingtonian, "It's a city of interesting neighborhoods, and here are good ones to explore�whether you like history, antiques, science, or sports."

Read the entire article here.

From The Wall Street Journal, "What to do: Historically, tourists skipped over Baltimore for Washington, D.C., its neighbor less than an hour's drive south. But this harbor city on the Chesapeake Bay is worth a visit. Baltimore has been home to curmudgeons ranging from the acerbic journalist H.L. Mencken, who died in 1956, to filmmaker John Waters, who made "Hairspray." More recently, it gained prominence as the setting for the critically acclaimed HBO crime program "The Wire." While some Baltimore neighborhoods exemplify the blight portrayed in the television series, which ran from 2002 to 2008, other parts of the city are distinctly graceful, with historic brick and brownstone houses lending visual appeal."

Read the entire article here.

Spro Cafe, a new coffeeshop in Hampden, offers a $13 cup of coffee. Two CNN writers wonder in these economic times, what's up with that!

Here's an excerpt:

"Times are tough, which is why most Americans are taking their coffee with two tablespoons of cheap. Inexpensive coffee is being poured by the bucketload at fast food restaurants like McDonalds, with its successful McCafe line, and Burger King, which is planning a nationwide Seattle's Best roll-out this summer.

Even slightly swankier Starbucks is offering totally credible coffee that's no more than a buck and change. So what could possibly make a cup of joe worth $13?

According to Jay Caragay, speaking to The Baltimore Sun, it's "very fruity, juicy, good mouth feel, [and] full bodied." And Caragay should know, because it's his Baltimore coffee ship Spro that's selling a 12-ounce cup for $13. Apparently, even during lean times there are fat cats prowling for novel luxuries."

Read the entire article here.

While Baltimore's tech community, local business leaders, government reps and citizens make a push to be the lucky city chosen to recieve Google's ultra-highspeed broadband network, it seems our fair city is already pretty darn wired, according to Forbes' list of America's Most Wired Cities.

Out of 20 cities, Baltimore ranks no. 8 on the list just three spots behind the Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia-area, the only other city in the Mid-Atlantic region to make the list. The ranking does take into account the estimated 66 percent broadband adoption rate in Baltimore, the 18 broadband providers and 10,141 people per wi-fi hot spot. It didn't count the citywide Wifi, Clear, available in Baltimore using WiMax technology.

Here's an excerpt:

"...we compiled the list by computing the percentage of Internet users with high-speed connections in a particular city and the number of companies providing high-speed Internet in that area. Since many urban residents access the Internet by wi-fi, we also measure the number of public wireless Internet hot spots."

Read the entire article here. Read the Baltimore blurb here.

Baltimore's grassroots effort to be one of the lucky city's chosen as a test ground for Google's ultra-fast 1-gigabit per second broadband deployment is just one of several currently taking shape in city's across the country. See what the other cities competing for the prize doing...

Here's an excerpt:

"Broadband-starved cities and towns across the country are going to great lengths to grab the attention of Mountain View (Calif.)-based Google, which in February said it will set up a network that can deliver speeds of 1 gigabit per second, about 20 times faster than the speediest ones sold by Verizon Communications (VZ). Google will spend "hundreds of millions" on the effort, Richard Whitt, Google's Washington telecom and media counsel, said in a recent interview with Bloomberg News.

To set themselves apart, some municipal officials are naming cities after Google, owner of the world's largest Web search engine. The city of Greensboro, N.C., is preparing an "Operation Google" gift package for delivery to Google headquarters and has earmarked $50,000 for promoting a Google broadband effort."

Read the entire article here.

For Woodberry Kitchen's Spike Gjerde its all about local, local, local. The acclaimed chef shares his passion for getting the freshest produce and seafood.

Watch the video here.

A Baltimore-based graphic designer who came to Baltimore from Paris bids farewell to her Bmore, reflecting on what made her stay here so wonderful and how Charm City compares to the City of Lights.

An excerpt from the blog post reads:

Dear Baltimore,

Thank you for 5 amazing years! You've taught me more than you'll ever know and introduced me to friends I'll keep for a life-time. Sometimes you get a bad rap, but that's ok. I like it that you're my little secret sometimes. Ironically, it was moving here from Paris that helped me appreciate you most.

Baltimore, like Paris, is a small "big city" - it doesn't take you forever to get from one end to the other (ahem, however you could take a queue from Paris when it comes to public transportation - for 3 years I rode the bus, and now I must thank you for lowering my standards and making public transportation easy as pie anywhere else I may go).

I learned to love distinct neighborhoods with their own personality and flair while living in Europe, and you've got that too. Besides, there really should be more Hampdens in the world. Along those lines you have great farmer's markets which are full of color and support local businesses at the same time.

Read the entire blog post here.

Home sales in the Baltimore area rose for the second straight month, giving residents a hopeful sign that the housing market here is strengthening.

An excerpt from the article reads:

The number of homes sold in July throughout Greater Baltimore rose 10 percent to 2,240, up from 2,038 during the same month last year. That's according to Rockville market research firm Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc.

Meanwhile, the median sold price in the Baltimore area � including Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties � declined by 6.5 percent to $259,950.

Both home builders and economists have said the uptick in sales could be linked to first-time buyers taking advantage of the government's $8,000 tax credit and overall better real estate prices. Units sold in June rose nearly 2 percent, marking the first year-over-year increase in Greater Baltimore in more than two years.

Read the entire article here.

Baltimore people on Twitter love their city and aren't shy about telling all twitterdom in 140 characters or less. Check this space every week as we comb Twitter for the best of what they're saying. And follow Bmore on Twitter here.

@Tawilkins says she feels sorry for people outside of Baltimore who have not experienced the pleasure of a summer snowball.

@Petote, affected by her trip on the cultural side, says the visionary art museum in baltimore was so interesting, but also, disturbing, it wouldnt get out of my nightmares last night

And that leads us to our Tweet of the Week, from @Ayakobing, who just wants everyone to know that B-more rocks! RT @hollisthomases: I am very proud to say that so many Baltimore peeps "get" Twitter. Baltimore rocks!!

Feedback from Twitter on our recent launch was very supportive. Thanks for the love, and here's a sampling:

MissMktr who tweets that if @RyanatMGH Need a reason to move to Union Square?, then Read @bmoremedia's article http://bit.ly/UG9su

DanieljGross sees a future for the 'zine @BmoreMedia just checked out the site that was recently launched. I think it could definitely catch on. Can't wait to see its growth!

GBMCMedia cosigned on Erica Mechlinski's tweet, announcing both had signed up for our e-newsletter, have you? RT @EricaMechlinski New fan of @bmoremedia. Just signed up to have it delivered to my inbox weekly. http://bit.ly/YD2Ts so did I :-)