Christina Tkacik - The Baltimore Banner
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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

Restaurateur Brian Acquavella has reimagined a waterfront bar in South Baltimore as Bellini’s. The space was previously operated by Tabrizi’s.
Baltimore has a new place to drink on the water
From two veterans of Baltimore's dining scene, Bellini's at 500 Harborview Drive picks up where Tabrizi's left off.
The patio at La Food Marketa.
The best — and worst — deals from Baltimore County’s Restaurant Week
We analyzed the menus for the eateries participating in Baltimore County’s Restaurant Week to tell you where to go — and where you can skip.
Employees prepare food to be handed out from the Str/EATs Cafe food truck parked outside of Armistead Gardens Elementary/Middle School.
The Dish: Feeding kids all summer is expensive — and exhausting. ‘We’re here to help.’
Baltimore County and City school systems are feeding hungry kids — and parents — this summer. But advocates worry the Trump administration could put those programs in jeopardy.
A hotdog wrapped in bologna, a Baltimore classic from Attman’s Delicatessen.
The Dish: Baltimore is a hot dog town. Here are 6 spots that prove it.
It’s the time of year when hot dogs start to sound like a good idea. Try them at these six spots with deep ties to Baltimore.
Charleston’s James Beard Award-winning wine director Lindsay Willey at Charleston, a New American restaurant on the water at the Inner Harbor on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
10 wine recommendations from Charleston’s James Beard Award-winning sommelier
Charleston's Lindsay Willey, fresh off a James Beard win, has wine recommendations for every budget.
Chef Cindy Wolf, right, and wine director Lindsay Willey at the bar at Charleston in Harbor East.
The Dish: Charleston’s James Beard Award was both long overdue and right on time
It's probably going to be harder to get a table at Charleston after its James Beard Award win. But that's a good thing.
Popular South Korean bakery chain Paris Baguette has finally landed in Baltimore County, with a store and cafe at 4 E Towsontown Blvd. The store, the first of several planned for the Baltimore County area, offers an assortment of self-serve pastries as well as cakes and grab and go sandwiches. Photographed on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
Paris Baguette continues its U.S. takeover with new Baltimore County bakery
Get used to hearing this name, Baltimore County foodies: Paris Baguette. The chain’s newest location is now open in Towson.
Waiter Aaron Day stands at the entrance of The Prime Rib in Baltimore.
The Dish: This Prime Rib waiter has served legends — and became one himself
Aaron Day, who has worked at The Prime Rib in Baltimore for more than 50 years, has served Rosa Parks and Muhammad Ali. Now people visit to see him.
The now-closed Docks restaurant at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
Docks owner fled Baltimore like the Colts and owes $8.1M, landlord says
Docks owner Gregory Pranzo allegedly took equipment and decor from his Baltimore restaurant to another eatery in Tennessee.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 16: (L-R) Cindy Wolf and Lindsay Willey winners of the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages award speak on stage during the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards on June 16, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.
Charleston wins a James Beard Award at long last
Owner Cindy Wolf and her Harbor East restaurant, Charleston, is a James Beard Award winner.
Altoona-based gas station and convenience store Sheetz opens its first Anne Arundel County location Thursday. Photo courtesy of Sheetz.
Oh, Sheetz! There’s a new place to fuel up near BWI airport
Score a free gas station coffee on Thursday when Sheetz opens its first Anne Arundel County location just about a five-minute drive from BWI.
Siblings Pete Triantafilos and Christine Lambros-Shifflett stand below a portrait of their late father, Costas Triantafilos, that hangs in the new Costas Inn at the Maryland State Fairgrounds.
The Dish: Through love and loss, a new Costas Inn opens its doors
After Costas Triantafilos’ sudden death, his family powered through their heartbreak to see his dream come to life. Now, a new branch of Costas Inn is open at the Maryland State Fairgrounds.
Harford Road staple the Hamilton Tavern has reopened as Hamilton Spice, with a menu of Indian, Nepalese and American food.
The old Hamilton Tavern ‘is DEAD.’ Check out the new Hamilton Spice.
Fans of Hamilton Tavern are not happy with Hamilton Spice, which has taken its place. But the building's owner says the new concept delivers what was promised.
Bartender and Charles Village resident J. Mooy at the Abell Community Fair in 2022.
The Dish: Baltimore’s dining scene mourns ‘magical’ bartender J. Mooy
The loss of Idle Hour bartender J. Mooy, who died May 24 at age 40, is “really affecting a lot of people pretty deeply,” one restaurant owner said.
Bertha's is closing after 50 years of service to Baltimore.
Going once, going twice: Bertha’s Mussels is — finally — sold at auction
More than two years after the owners of Bertha’s Mussels called off an auction of their historic Fells Point building, the property was finally sold Thursday.
The whole marinara pie at Doppio Pasticceria in the Remington neighborhood of Baltimore, Md. on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
The Dish: This cheeseless pizza will change your life
Doppio Pasticceria, a Sicilian-inspired bakery and cafe, has finally opened at its forever home on 300 W. 29th St. in Remington.
A livery from the Maryland Center for History and Culture, left, is on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
At New York Met’s exhibit on Black fashion, Baltimore is front and center
A buzzy new exhibition on Black dandyism at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York features prominent Baltimoreans like Frederick Douglass and Cab Calloway.
Enjoy your Thrasher's French fries with apple cider vinegar.
The Dish: The foods top local chefs can’t wait to eat this summer
Summertime is the best time to be obsessed with food. From tomato sandwiches to Thrasher’s fries, here's what chefs are excited to eat this season.
The Neighborhood Bird Bun from Ekiben.
Ekiben co-founder announces first location outside Baltimore
Ekiben co-founder Steve Chu teased a fourth location for his wildly popular restaurant in a cryptic Instagram post this week.
Just two blocks away from the race track, Pimlico Chinese Carry Out has been serving shrimp yak a mein for generations.
Just steps from Preakness, Pimlico Carry Out’s ‘dirty yak’ is its own Baltimore icon
Two Pimlicos, two Baltimore traditions: Pimlico Chinese Carry Out in Park Heights, just steps from Preakness, is known area-wide for its shrimp yat gaw mein, also called yakamein, yakame and sometimes dirty yak.
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