3/24/2024 0 Comments Baltimore magazine local fla vor![]() ![]() ![]() “I can still remember my mom saying, ‘You should be a chef, you don’t like getting your hands dirty,’” he recalls with a laugh. Growing up outside of Philadelphia, Marucci debated between being a cook or a car mechanic. “I can add mushrooms or spinach or chestnuts to the flour.” “Making pasta is creative and intuitive,” he says. ![]() On this day, with the sweep of his fingers, he turns out a long, thin twisted piece of trofie from Italy’s Liguria region. With nothing more than semolina flour and water, the chef performs parlor tricks as he makes, massages, rolls, and cuts the dough by hand. Thanks to Marucci’s artistry, Tagliata is known for its toothsome pasta dishes -and watching him make pasta is like watching a sorcerer at work. He’s also composing a new fall menu, jotting down words in his notebook: “Chestnuts, turnips, pumpkin, pear, rabbit, butternut squash.” On this day, he’s playing with vinegars, trying to create his own concord grape-saba vinegar mix that will, if all goes well, offer the sweetness of the fruit without the acid. At 37, Marucci is both executive chef and partner, spending much of his days overseeing his staff of 40 and running among the kitchens at “Tag,” Italian Disco, and The Elk Room-all owned by Atlas Restaurant Group. With its dining room full of mover-and-shaker patrons, the stakes at this Italian steakhouse run high. Tagliata chef Julian Marucci plating a dish. We know it when we smell the smoke from La Cuchara’s master mixologists as they work their magic to make Old Fashioneds. We can sense it as we watch Azumi’s chefs cut shimmering slices of bluefin toro. We can feel it as we watch the crew at Clavel drizzle crema over fried cod on blistered tortillas. We can taste it in the brine of the Chesapeake Bay when slurping Huckleberry oysters at True Chesapeake Oyster Co. Whether it’s the white tablecloth scene at the always enchanting Charleston in Harbor East or heartfelt Peruvian plates at Puerto 511 on Clay Street, these restaurants have a clear mission and particular point of view-they’re driven by a sense of passion and purpose that’s evident from the minute we enter. The restaurants on this list check those boxes, of course, but they also accomplish more. In 2020, it’s not enough anymore to serve great food, create a see-and-be-seen ambiance, or offer a buzzy bar menu. Though the scene has slowed down somewhat in the past year, new spots continue to pop up in the city and surrounding counties. We’re often challenged to answer that question, and the answer is always changing. ![]()
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