The Baltimore Sun’s readers have voted on what’s the best in the region, from wedding venues and roofers to pediatricians and hair salons. This year’s winners include people and businesses recognized for outstanding service and customer satisfaction over the last year.
The poll includes more than 700 winners in nearly 200 categories in six areas — Activities & Arts, Home & Garden, Food & Drink, Lifestyles & Shopping, Personal services and People & Media. More than 75,000 ballots were cast cultivating a list of your favorite museums, pizza joints, boutiques, TV anchors, radio hosts and more.
Best Latin, Taco: Taco Love Grill
1065 S. Charles St. #128, Baltimore and 11550 Philadelphia Road, Suite 109-110, White Marsh. tacolovegrill.com
There’s not a more delicious way to show your love than to craft a dish from a family recipe. And that’s what Jimena and Gelmin Portillo, owners of Taco Love Grill, have done with their Mexican eateries in White Marsh and Baltimore’s Cross Street Market.
The Parkville couple, both graduates of the University of Baltimore with careers in accounting, said they had searched for a restaurant that would offer a taste similar to the favorites that Jimena Portillo enjoyed during her childhood in Jalisco, Mexico.
“[My wife] was always looking for good and authentic Mexican restaurants in the area. And we were having a hard time finding one, so we started our own,” Gelmin Portillo said.
In 2011, they opened Taco Love Grill with an idea to create a menu of authentic Mexican food, made from scratch using familiar ingredients.
“That’s one of the things that we implemented in the restaurant is family recipes that have been passed down by family for several generations,” said Portillo, whose two teen daughters and young son sometimes help out at the restaurant.
That level of authenticity infuses everything from the marinade to the tortillas. The menu offers standards like tacos and burritos, but also tortas — a Mexican sandwich made with breaded chicken or steak and beef birria, a menu item that is popular with customers.
“It’s a very elaborate recipe and we use somewhere around 25 ingredients into the [birria] recipe,” Portillo said. “Again, that’s something that we also make from scratch that is very labor consuming and time consuming. But that’s one of the things that we like to do, the way that it’s always been done instead of using premade.”
The birria has been such a hit that in December, the couple opened Birria Love in Parkville, offering a broad variety of birria dishes, including fries topped with birria, birria ramen and birria pizza.
“Baltimore is our home and Baltimore County is where we decided to grow roots,” Portillo said. “We’re happy to put our grain of salt into making the community better.”
— Michelle Deal-Zimmerman
Asian: Ekiben
Honorable mentions:
Chopstix
Lemon N Ginger Asian Grille
Fuji Sushi
Bakery: Flavor Cupcakery & Bake Shop
Honorable mentions:
Woodlea Bakery
Newberry Cafe & Bakery
Bertucco’s Bakery
Barbecue: Mission BBQ
Honorable mentions:
Andy Nelson’s Barbecue Restaurant & Catering
Braglio Farms Smokehouse
Outlaw BBQ Smokehouse
Bartender: C.J. Ransom, Union Jack’s
Honorable mentions:
Scott Waters, Covalent Spirits
Francisco Garduno, Taco Love Grill
John Allen, Liberatore’s (Westminster)
Breakfast/lunch: Sunny Day Cafe
Honorable mentions:
Zeke’s Coffee
Miss Shirley’s Cafe
Dutch Corner Restaurant (tie)
First Watch (tie)
Brewery: Independent Brewing Co.
Honorable mentions:
Slate Farm Brewery
Hopkins Farm Brewery
Union Craft Brewing
Burger: The Abbey Burger Bistro
Honorable mentions:
Braglio Farms Smokehouse
Five Guys
Island Green
Caribbean: Chef BobbyD Restaurant
Honorable mentions:
Little Havana
Konoko Jamaican Restaurant
Island Quizine
Caterer: The Classic Catering People
Honorable mentions:
Santoni’s Marketplace & Catering
Frank’s Pizza and Pasta
Outlaw BBQ Smokehouse
Chef: Joe Robinson, Zeke’s Coffee
Honorable mentions:
Cindy Wolf, Charleston
Zack Trabbold, The Local
Bryan Boessel, One Eleven Main
Chinese: Joey Chiu’s Greenspring Inn
Honorable mentions:
NiHao
Kim Wah Restaurant
Szechuan House Timonium
Cocktail: The Liquid Library
Honorable mentions:
Covalent Spirits
Taco Love Grill
The Bluebird Cocktail Room
Coffee: Zeke’s Coffee
Honorable mentions:
Dunkin’
Flavor Cupcakery & Bake Shop
Coffee Coffee
Crabcake: RockSalt Bar and Grille
Honorable mentions:
Pappas Restaurant
Box Hill Pizzeria
Koco’s Pub
Deli: DiPasquale’s Italian Market
Honorable mentions:
Vagabond Sandwich Co.
Attman’s Delicatessen
Rocco’s Market & Deli
Dessert: Flavor Cupcakery and Bake Shop
Honorable mentions:
Vaccaro’s Italian Pastry
Taharka Brothers Ice Cream
The Charmery
Diner: Double T Diner
Honorable mentions:
The Papermoon Diner
Dutch Corner Restaurant
Blue Moon Cafe
Distillery: Covalent Spirits
Honorable mentions:
Sagamore Spirit Distillery
Baltimore Spirits Co.
Patapsco Distilling Co.
Ethiopian: Dukem Ethiopian Restaurant
Honorable mention:
MA’EDE Ethiopian Market and Café
Farmers’ market: Bel Air Farmers’ Market
Honorable mentions:
Baltimore Farmers’ Market
Waverly 32nd Street Market
Hampstead Farmers’ Market
Farmers’ market stand: Brad’s Produce
Honorable mentions:
Zeke’s Coffee
The Farmer’s Daughter
Blacksauce Kitchen
Food hall: R. House
Honorable mentions:
Belvedere Square
Cross Street Market
Lexington Market
Food truck: La Migueleña Food Truck
Honorable mentions:
Jimmy’s Famous Seafood
Braglio Farms Smokehouse
B’more Greek Grill
Gluten-free: Flavor Cupcakery & Bake Shop
Honorable mentions:
Harmony Bakery
Sweet 27
Tea by Two
Happy hour: Covalent Spirits
Honorable mentions:
Woodstock Inn
Bacco Italian + Wine Bar
The Oregon Grille
Ice cream: Broom’s Bloom Dairy
Honorable mentions:
Taharka Brothers Ice Cream
The Charmery
Prigel Family Creamery
Indian: Peerce’s Plantation
Honorable mentions:
The Mint Room
Ambassador Dining Room
Namaste Baltimore
Italian: Liberatore’s Ristorante
Honorable mentions:
Frank’s Pizza and Pasta
Sabatino’s
Fratelli’s Italian and Seafood
Japanese: Kobe Japanese Steak & Seafood House
Honorable mentions:
Sushi Q
Azumi
Yama Sushi Bar
Juice: Pure Raw Juice
Honorable mentions:
Sunset Raw Juice Bar
The Green House Juice Cafe
Korean: Ekiben
Honorable mentions:
Kong (Pocha)
Hot Pot Hero
B1 Korean BBQ (tie)
Brown Rice (tie)
Latin: Taco Love Grill
Honorable mentions:
Papi’s Tacos
Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse
Alma Cocina Latina (tie)
Mucho Gusto (tie)
Lunch: Frank’s Pizza & Pasta
Honorable mentions:
Zeke’s Coffee
Vagabond Sandwich Co.
Braglio Farms Smokehouse
Mediterranean: Samos Restaurant
Honorable mentions:
Mr. Soulvaki
La Cuchara
Ouzo Bay
Middle Eastern: The Helmand
Honorable mentions:
Orchard Cafe & Market
Villagio Cafe
Lebanese Taverna (tie)
Maiwand Grill (tie)
Outdoor dining: Island Green
Honorable mentions:
Bowley’s on the Bay
Gertrude’s Chesapeake Kitchen
Nick’s Fish House
Pizza: Frank’s Pizza & Pasta
Honorable mentions:
Kechy Pizza Co.
Pizza Johns
Ledo Pizza
Poke: Poke Bowl
Honorable mentions:
Blowfish Poke
Hilo Poke & Sushi
Shoyou Sushi
Ramen: Akira Ramen & Izakaya
Honorable mentions:
Mi & Yu Noodle Bar
Toki Underground
Ramen Utsuke
Raw bar: Ryleigh’s Oyster
Honorable mentions:
Thames Street Oyster House
Conrad’s Seafood Restaurant
Nick’s Fish House
Server: Keke Turner, RockSalt Grille
Honorable mentions:
Alex Shade, Zeke’s Coffee
Emily Coughlin, Dutch Corner Restaurant
Samuel Gutierrez, Taco Love Grill
Snowball: Snoasis
Honorable mentions:
Emmorton Snowballs & Ice Cream
The Snowball Stand
Sharon’s Shaved Ice Snowballs
Soul food: The Land of Kush
Honorable mentions:
Creole Soul Restaurant
Darker Than Blue Grille
Soup: Dutch Corner Restaurant
Honorable mentions:
Pairings Bistro
Soup’s On
Wargo’s Restaurant & Tavern
Steamed crabs: Conrad’s Seafood Restaurant
Honorable mentions:
The Crab Truck and Seafood Stop
Richard’s Fish and Crabs
Woodbine Inn
Taco: Taco Love Grill
Honorable mentions:
Papi’s Tacos
La Tolteca
Clavel Mezcaleria
Tea house: Tea by Two
Honorable mentions:
Emma’s Tea Spot
Cuples Tea House
Pillion Tea
Thai: Spice and Dice Thai Kitchen
Honorable mentions:
Thai Spice
Bodhi Corner
Thai Landing
Vegan: Flavor Cupcakery & Bake Shop
Honorable mentions:
The Land of Kush
Golden West Cafe
Harmony Bakery
View: Tidewater Grille
Honorable mentions:
Mountain Branch Golf Club
Sunset Cove
The Bygone
Wedding cake: The Yummery
Honorable mentions:
Flavor Cupcakery & Bake Shop
Yia Yia’s Bakery
Cake By Jason Hisley
Wine list: Boordy Vineyards
Honorable mentions:
Pairings Bistro
La Cuchara
The Vineyard Wine Bar
Winery: Boordy Vineyards
Honorable mentions:
Harford Vineyard & Winery
Old Westminster Winery
Linganore Winecellars
Wings: C.R. Wings
Honorable mentions:
Braglio Farms Smokehouse
iBar Baltimore
Island Green
Editor’s note: Winners and honorable mentions were determined by popular vote. Readers were invited to nominate and vote online from April to June. The ballot and results are generated solely by readers’ votes. The Baltimore Sun does not take responsibility for the services offered or advertised by those listed.
