Hot Plate: Greek & Italian festivals, ArdBBQ at Magdalena, more

Talk about a busy week ahead for Baltimore. The Orioles kick off their playoff run, Billy Joel headlines M&T – and fun food festivals and dinners are popping up all over town. Here’s a look at what’s coming up on the food front:

Openings & announcements

Atlas Restaurant Group has announced the upcoming opening of a new restaurant in the gorgeous Harbor East space that formerly housed Bar Vasquez and, before that, Pazo. Atlas will also move its corporate offices to that building.

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THB’s Canton digs have undergone a renovation – and come out the other side. The new space looks fresh and fantastic.

Allora has put regular dinner service on pause for October. But there’s good news: starting in November, the restaurant’s tasting menu will be back.

Sadly, 1157 bar + kitchen will close its doors after dinner on Oct. 14. While the restaurant will still be available for private events, regular dinner service will no longer occur. The owner, Jason Ambrose, was already a beloved fixture on the Baltimore restaurant scene when he opened 1157 nine years ago; his Brewers Hill restaurant, Salt Tavern, was a local favorite before its closing in 2018.

Greek Food, Wine & Culture Festival

The Annunciation Cathedral’s 51st annual Greek Food, Wine & Culture Festival returns this weekend. The festival, which is beloved by Baltimore’s Greek community and others, features dancing, shopping, tours of the cathedral and, of course, tons of food.

Italian Heritage Festival

The Greek Festival isn’t the only cultural party in town this weekend. On Saturday, Oct. 7, the Italian Heritage Committee hosts its annual Italian Heritage Festival on Exeter and Stiles streets in Little Italy. The party includes music, vendors, games for kids, a sausage eating contest, lots of food from pasta to cannoli, and wine and beer.

Fells Point Fun Festival

The 57th annual Fells Point Fun Festival takes over Fells this weekend, from Friday through Sunday. As always, the party will feature makers of all sorts, plus live music and lots of food and drinks.

Keep an eye out for specials at Fells Point establishments, too, like the featured cocktail at Bondhouse, a Sagamore Rye Black Manhattan.

In related news, the Fells Point Farmers Market will relocate to Harbor Point this Saturday morning – so head over to the space there for all your usual Saturday vendors.

Sagamore Farm Harvest Fest

On Saturday and Sunday, Sagamore Farm will welcome guests with a fun family event featuring hayrides, vendors, and pumpkin picking – plus food trucks, a beer garden and whiskey cocktails made with Sagamore Spirit.

Ryleigh’s OysterFest

Also all weekend long Ryleigh’s will host its annual Oysterfest celebration of all things bivalve. Throughout the weekend, Ryleigh’s have live music, local vendors and oysters available raw and grilled, along with food from the restaurant’s Woodpile BBQ. The party starts at noon both days – and guests are also encouraged to bring small donations to support Oyster Recovery Partnership.

ArdBBQ at Magdalenda

On Wednesday, Oct. 11, Magdalena celebrates the classic pairing of whisk(e)y and BBQ with ArdBBQ – an evening of barbecue paired with cocktails created with Ardbeg Distillery Scotch. The ticketed event includes a dinner of suckling pig plus traditional sides like cornbread and collard greens, small batch cocktail sips, and two signature edition Ardbeg cocktails.

Distillers Dinner at Bluebird

On Thursday, Oct. 12, Baltimore Spirits Co. joins forces with the crew from The Bluebird Cocktail Room for a Distillers Dinner. The seven-course meal will be held in The Green Room and will feature cocktails thoughtfully created to pair with the dishes served.

Birds of a Feather at Elkridge Furnace Inn

Also on Thursday, Elkridge Furnace Inn hosts a five-course wine dinner pairing multiple dishes featuring different preparations of birds with wines selected to match.

Moonlight Market at Pariah

On Friday, Oct. 13, Pariah Brewing Company hosts its second annual Moonlight Market event, featuring vendors, music, crafts – and tons of food and drinks, including eats from Chuck’s Trading Post.

Getting autumnal

Now that harvest season is officially upon us, local chefs are busy creating new dishes and drinks to highlight the best of the season.

Earlier this week, The Food Market launched a handful of dishes featuring game, like duck scrapple and wild boar schnitzel. On Sunday, Oct. 5, the Hampden spot will start serving from its “Pumpkin AF” brunch menu – look for dishes like pumpkin-stuffed French toast and pumpkin quiche.

Johnny’s October cookie of the month is an ode to Halloween. Cookies & Screams, as it’s called, is a chocolate cookie topped with Oreo crumble and white chocolate “bones.”

October means pumpkin spiced lattes – and not just at Starbucks. The Corner Pantry’s homegrown version is available now.

Fall flavors are all over the menu at La Cuchara, in hearty dishes like Beef Albondigas – beef in a red wine jus over arugula and mashed potatoes.

One of Café Campli’s nods to fall is a dish of tortellini stuffed with pumpkin and ricotta, then finished with sage and thyme.

Onion soup is a menu staple at Petit Louis – but this time of year is when the classic French dish really has its time to shine.

Planning for the future

Mark your calendars for:

Oct. 14: Whiskey Wine & Fire

Oct. 22: Chappellet Wine Dinner at Magdalena

Oct. 25: Gertrude’s 25th Anniversary Celebration

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Kit Waskom Pollard is a Baltimore Fishbowl contributing writer. She writes Hot Plate every Friday in the Baltimore Fishbowl. More by Kit Pollard