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Matti Gellman

Matti

Matti Gellman is a Food Reporter for The Baltimore Banner. Originally from New York, she was raised by parents who expressed love through food. She joined the Banner in October 2023, intent on being a watchdog for residents looking to access safe, quality food across Baltimore. She has a special interest in reporting on the area's growing food deserts and barriers to food security. Her work can be seen in ProPublica, the Kansas City Star and Crain Communication's Modern Healthcare. In 2023 she was awarded with the Society of Professional Journalists' 2022 New America Award for her coverage of refugee communities in Missouri.

Latest content by Matti Gellman

Elliott’s Craft Kitchen in Columbia is eyeing an opening for February 2025.
One Columbia restaurant gets the OK, one pumps the brakes at liquor board hearing
Elliott’s Craft Kitchen got the green light to serve liquor in Howard County and Celia’s Cuban Cuisine withdrew its application.
Crust by Mack owner Amanda Mack and her partner Jarrod Mack stand outside the eatery’s Harborplace retail space in March 2023. It closed Nov. 1.
Crust by Mack closes its Harborplace doors, but the business ‘isn’t going anywhere’
Crust by Mack has closed its Harborplace location so the eatery can focus on catering.
Chinese dumplings are one of the many options at Dumpling District, one of Takumi chef Daven Pan’s favorite local restaurants.
Where Howard County chefs eat when they’re off the clock
We asked Howard County chefs where they eat on a day off — that’s not their own restaurant. Here’s what they said.
All signage has been removed from RA Sushi Bar Restaurant, which now has a lock on its front door.
RA Sushi in Harbor East has closed — kind of
RA Sushi in Harbor East has transitioned from a restaurant with sit-down service to a pickup or delivery-only spot.
The deli counter at Scittino’s Italian Market Place in Catonsville.
Scittino’s Italian Market Place to open second larger space in Baltimore County
Get ready for another Scittino’s Italian Market Place Baltimore County — soon with sit-down service.
Farm animals graze on the Hearn family property in Salisbury, MD, on Oct. 24, 2024. The property neighbors the Perdue Agribusiness plant which has been found to be contaminating local groundwater with PFAS. Surrounded by farmland, many residents are concerned over their private drinking water wells for both themselves and their livestock.
Perdue’s contamination sparks fear in town where company once felt like ‘home’
Salisbury, a Maryland town that’s grown alongside Perdue’s chicken plant, fears what’s to come after forever chemicals were found in the groundwater.
Officials at NAFCO, a wholesale seafood processor in Jessup, said the source of the illness was a noodle dish that was brought onto the property.
Dozens of workers at Jessup facility were sickened by bad noodles, company says
Dozens of workers at NAFCO, a seafood distributor in Jessup, were sickened after eating a Filipino noodle dish that was prepared elsewhere and brought onto the property, said representatives for the company.
Varieties of pumpkins are on sale at Weber’s Cider Mill Farm in Parkville.
Here’s where to pick your pumpkins and apples this fall
For all you fall aficionados, here are the prime spots across Howard, Anne Arundel and Baltimore County to find your pumpkins and apples.
New York, NY - December 18, 2018: Chef Ashish Alfred of Duck Duck Goose and George's Chophouse in Maryland presents dinner at the James Beard House in Greenwich Village.
Former chef of Duck Duck Goose to develop menu at Columbia restaurant
Chef Ashish Alfred, formerly of Duck Duck Goose and Osteria Pirata in Fells Point, is taking on a new start redesigning the menu of The Walrus Oyster & Ale House, a Howard County neighborhood pub.
Carlos Raba chops spiced cauliflower for vegan tacos at Nana — one of a different Baltimore County chef's favorite restaurants.
Where Baltimore County chefs eat when they’re off the clock
We asked Baltimore County chefs where they eat on a day off — that’s not their own restaurant. Here’s what they said.
Ashe County families look through donated supplies the Kraai family has helped drop off at a North Carolina fire station after Hurricane Helene.
Baltimore breweries band together to help after Hurricane Helene
Pickett Brewing Company Beertender Eric Kraai and his kids are leading local Baltimore breweries in the call to help North Carolina residents after Hurricane Helene.
Eskedar “Mimi” Worku, left, and Fikremariam Worku, owners of Jano Ethiopian Cuisine & Bar, stand outside the remains of their restaurant, destroyed in a recent 5-alarm fire, in Baltimore on Friday, September 27, 2024.
Fire destroys restaurant, and an Ethiopian family’s lifeline: ‘Your dream burning in front of you’
The owners of Jano Ethiopian Restaurant and Lounge are cleaning up and attempting to carry on after a five-alarm fire destroyed their business downtown.
The Pratt Free Market opening Saturday in the Southeast Anchor of the Enoch Pratt Library will offer produce, dry goods and toiletries at no cost to anyone.
Why is this Baltimore library opening a free grocery store?
The Pratt Free Market grocery store in the Highlandtown library is a pilot project for addressing citywide barriers to food access by offering goods at no cost.
From left, hummus, beet mutabal and muhammara from Ammoora, which just made the New York Times' 2024 list of the best restaurants in the country.
The only spot in Maryland to make The New York Times’ best restaurant list
Syrian fine-dining spot Ammoora was lauded by the New York Times as a “revelation” in its best restaurants list, and the only one from Maryland to make the cut.
There are a ton of shows happening at CFG Bank Arena. We’re here to help you eat before them.
Heading to CFG Bank Arena? Here’s where to eat within a 10-minute walk.
If you’re catching a show at CFG Bank Arena or the Hippodrome and want to grab a bite pre-show, here are some of the restaurants you can find within a 10-minute walk.

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