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Christina Tkacik

Christina

Christina Tkacik is a food reporter for The Baltimore Banner. She joined the staff of The Baltimore Banner in August of 2022 to cover all things food. Prior to that, she spent more than six years at The Baltimore Sun, including three years as the newspaper's dining reporter and restaurant critic. After all this time in Charm City, she can pick a crab but still can't shuck an oyster.

The latest from Christina Tkacik

After football, Andy Nelson’s barbecue connected him to Baltimore
The former Baltimore Colt started a pit beef stand in a nursery parking lot to supplement his NFL paycheck. The idea would grow into Andy Nelson's Barbecue Restaurant on York Road in Cockeysville.
Andy Nelson was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1957. Sports memorabilia including this photo decorate the walls of his Cockeysville restaurant.
The Dish: Why Baltimore’s bakeries are quietly becoming pizza hot spots
Pizza is popping up at bakeries and restaurants you might not expect, from Atwater’s to a new concept from the owners of Café Dear Leon.
A Margherita pizza is removed from the oven at Pupatella Neapolitan Pizza in Columbia, Md. on Thursday, March 27, 2025. The restaurant is Maryland's first pizzeria to be awarded the Verace Pizza Association certification from the Assozione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN).
Another day, another accolade: The Wren named to Bon Appetit’s list of top 20 new restaurants
The Wren was named one of the top 20 new restaurants by Bon Appétit magazine just three days after making a New York Times list of the nation's best.
Husband and wife team Will Mester and Millie Powell at their Fells Point pub, The Wren.
The Dish: This Annapolis restaurant is a tip-free zone
At a time when tips seem to be expected everywhere, Rumhouse may be the first restaurant in Maryland to do away with the practice all together.
Sophie McGee is a server at Rumhouse in Annapolis. The restaurant has a no-tipping policy.
New York Times calls Fells Point pub one of country’s 50 best restaurants
In a 150-word blurb, The Times’ chief wine critic Eric Asimov praised The Wren in Fells Point as a "perfect pub."
The Wren is located at 1712 Aliceanna St. in Fells Point.
Moo Moo Cows reopens after third vandalism attack in less than a month
Online, theories swirled about who might want to attack the Federal Hill ice cream shop — and why.
Moo Moo Cows reopened Wednesday at 926 Light St. in Federal Hill.
$5 beer, $3.50 hot dogs: Ravens expand cheap menu options at M&T Bank Stadium
The revamped Flock Friendly Fare value menu at M&T Bank Stadium includes 11 items under $5 — including hot dogs and beer — for Baltimore Ravens fans.
The exterior of M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens, in South Baltimore.
Amy Gjerde to take over Artifact Coffee as she and Spike split restaurants
Amy Gjerde is taking full ownership of Artifact Coffee while ex-husband Spike Gjerde will assume control of nearby Woodberry Tavern and its attached event space.
Monday, August 25, 2025 — Spike’s Greenhouse sandwich will likely go off the menu moving forward. Amy Gjerde is now 100% owner of Artifact Coffee, which she opened with her then-husband Spike in 2012. Amy intends to bring a softer touch to the popular shop, which offers coffee and pastries as well as locally-sourced salads and sandwiches.
The Dish: TikTok told me to stand in line for hours for this fish sandwich
A sense of community forms among people at The Gift waiting in line for fish sandwiches for hours. And hours.
Customers may wait in line for an hour or more at The Gift. Its fish sandwich recently went viral on TikTok.
What really happened at Bunny’s?
A server’s Palestinian flag pin divided Fells Point restaurant Bunny’s Buckets & Bubbles. This is what people told us went down.
The exterior of Bunny’s Buckets and Bubbles in the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, Md. on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.
The Dish: Have jury duty in Baltimore? Here’s where to grab lunch.
Jurors in Baltimore City get $30 per day for their service. Spend it on lunch at one of these 15 restaurants.
The Reuben sandwich at. B&O American Brasserie. B&O offers a discount to jurors who present their badge.
Fells Point restaurant Bunny’s fires at least 6 employees after pro-Palestine protest
Bunny’s Buckets & Bubbles fired several of its employees who participated in a pro-Palestine protest outside the Fells Point restaurant.
The exterior of Bunny's Buckets & Bubbles at 801 S. Ann St. in Fells Point on Aug. 18, 2025.
After years of rising vacancies, Mount Vernon Marketplace will close this month
Mount Vernon Marketplace, a once-trendy food hall in Baltimore that has seen years of increasing vacancies, will shut down this month.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2025 - The Mount Vernon Marketplace, a once-trendy food hall in Baltimore that had seen years of rising vacancies and dwindling foot traffic, will shut down this month.
The Dish: 5 foods you have to try at Cockeysville’s Amish market
The Pennsylvania Dutch Market in Baltimore County offers fresh food produce, handmade soft pretzels, barbecued meats and baked goods for an affordable price.
Fresh pretzels at the Dutch Market (Photo taken July 25)
Papi Cuisine closes in South Baltimore
Papi Cuisine has closed in Federal Hill, but you can still get its viral crab cake egg rolls downtown.
Papi Cuisine's crab cake egg rolls.
The Dish: Slutty Vegan was ‘sinking.’ Can Pinky Cole keep it afloat?
Pinky Cole is ready for a new future with Slutty Vegan, which closed down half its locations this year as it struggled with $20 million in debt.
Slutty Vegan Founder Pinky Cole announces that Slutty Vegan will be opening a location at Baltimore Peninsula during a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023.
Second motorcycle fatality in 2 weeks as rider killed on MLK Boulevard in Baltimore
A motorcyclist was killed in a crash with an SUV early Saturday morning near the University of Maryland Medical Center.
A police line do not cross tape blocks a pathway near Penn Station.
Toki Underground and 7 other eateries receive grants to open downtown
A brewery, a sandwich shop, a cereal store and buzz-worthy ramen are among the new businesses coming downtown.
Five Lexington Market stalls received grants from the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore to support their businesses.
Baltimore’s newest dive bar is just outside Camden Yards
Orioles fans looking to drown their sorrows over this year’s dispiriting season have a new bar to visit.
Orioles fans will have a new spot to buy a beer before or after games when The Birdhouse opens Friday next to Pickles Pub. General manager Olivia Morrell scoured local thrift shops for Orioles tchotchkes and other paraphernalia to decorate the bar.
The Dish: How Peter’s Inn turned garlic bread into a signature Baltimore app
Thirty years ago, Peter’s Inn turned garlic bread into its signature appetizer. Amid changing menus and times, the stalwart dish remains.
At Peter’s Inn, garlic bread is one of the few items that doesn’t come off the menu. Here is the item in 2024.
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