Take your mom out to dinner at Rec Pier Chop House

Last weekend, I had the immense pleasure and privilege of eating at Chef Andrew Carmellini’s Rec Pier Chop House in Fells Point (thanks, Mom and Dad!). Driving up, I was struck first by the beauty of the surrounding area. The restaurant faces the heart of Fells Point, complete with cobblestone streets and adorable boutiques, and the water stretches out behind it. It is a beautiful side of Baltimore that I rarely get to experience, since I live in Charles Village. It felt like a pristine end to the summer, standing there as the sun began to set and a warm breeze tumbled off the water.

Events in Baltimore this weekend: October 3-6

Letting my mother take care of me for a weekend

It’s Friday. I’ve cleared my plans for the evening. My forest green, slightly baggy Mercy Medical volunteering polo sits folded up in the dark drawer of my Ikea dresser. Classes are done for the day, and I’m ready to meet up with the one special woman in my life.

An open letter to readers about how I found my place at Hopkins

Dear Reader, The following is an open letter to you. It is the 22nd piece in a series of personal essays I have written for myself since early teenhood.

Events in Baltimore this weekend: September 19 - 22

A sentimental revisit of two years of brunches

I’m talking about brunch. I think it’s annoying and very 2010s of me, but I’m doing it.  My first Baltimore brunch was at Ida B’s Table. We had just split a Dangerously Delicious pie and an Ekiben sandwich from the Baltimore Farmers’ Market (just across the street, under the freeway) and decided that we still needed an entire meal of carbs and protein. Cotton plants sat in the windowsill, civil rights activists and their quotes were painted onto the walls. I ordered the chicken and waffles and he told me that shopping and eating with me reminded him of following his mom around on Saturday mornings when he was a kid. It was a little bizarre but I took it as affection (he can be the judge of that). 

Baltimore Rhythm Festival enlivens Greenmount West

As a girl from a small town in the Midwest, free live music is one of the things I looked forward to most upon moving to a city. Each Thursday, I scroll through the events page on Facebook looking for a free experience to go to with my friends. 

The Burger Column: The pilgrimage to Duke’s Grocery

Washington D.C., with its buttoned-up political culture and obdurate expectations of conformity — picture bureaucrats, G-Men and rows upon rows of indistinguishably neoclassical government buildings — is not known for its food culture. Compared to a city like New York, where the selection of cuisines is so vibrant that locals prefer to eat out regularly rather than to cook at home, our nation’s capital is a veritable food desert.

Boba and movies are essential treats in Towson

“Oh, how I’ve missed you,” I thought to myself as I boarded the Collegetown Shuttle. You see, the free service is not available during the summer, and my friends and I had been forced to split $8 Uber rides for the past few months.

Events in Baltimore this weekend: September 12 - 15

Events in Baltimore this weekend: Sep 5-8

A guide for when your parents visit you in Baltimore

When your parents announce that they’re visiting, it’s possible you’ll feel both excited and nervous. You’ve been living without them since you arrived at Hopkins. What if they try to dictate their visit?

Ojichan Tsukemen serves delicious dipping noodles

There’s never a shortage of cool and interesting places to eat in Baltimore. As Chris Katz, head chef of Atchara, described it, “Baltimore is like the wild west of food.” And few places can beat the diversity of food vendors found at Fadensonnen, the sake bar located at 3 W. 23rd St. (and accessible by Blue Jay Shuttle).

B'more's Neighborhoods: Highlights of some neighborhoods of Charm City

If you never step foot off of Homewood campus or leave the Hopkins bubble, then you will never really take advantage of all your opportunities here at Hopkins. All students should get to know the city that they’ll be calling home for the next four years, but it can be intimidating to know where to start in a new place. 

Gems of Charm City: Stepping away from mainstream Baltimore spots

It’s far too easy to get caught up in the Hopkins bubble — here are some neat places to explore during the weekend or on a study break.

A guide to Baltimore transport

As someone from a small town (as in, I can’t get groceries without running into half of my graduating class), one of the things I was most excited about when I started college was getting to live in a bigger city like Baltimore. 

Events in Baltimore this weekend: May 2 - 5

Reading period: a time to pause and wind down

The countdown to finals is getting dangerously low. Get excited, folks. Even the worst of procrastinators — myself included — are beginning to settle down and spend some quality time with their textbooks and laptops in order to prepare for this most hellish of hell weeks. Before that, though, is a four-day reprieve: reading period. 

Greedy Reads builds community through books

The small, unassuming dark brick building sits at the corner of Aliceanna and South Ann in Fells Point. Large white letters spell out “Greedy Reads” on the street side window; inside, the bookstore’s owner, Julia Fleischaker, sits in a pool of red and blue light cast by the building’s original stained-glass windows, browsing on a laptop in her armchair.