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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

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.
Waiter Aaron Day stands at the entrance of The Prime Rib in Baltimore.
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.
The now-closed Docks restaurant at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.
Charleston wins a James Beard Award at long last
Owner Cindy Wolf and her Harbor East restaurant, Charleston, is a James Beard Award winner.
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.
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.
Altoona-based gas station and convenience store Sheetz opens its first Anne Arundel County location Thursday. Photo courtesy of Sheetz.
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.
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 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.
Harford Road staple the Hamilton Tavern has reopened as Hamilton Spice, with a menu of Indian, Nepalese and American food.
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.
Bartender and Charles Village resident J. Mooy at the Abell Community Fair in 2022.
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.
Bertha's is closing after 50 years of service to Baltimore.
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.
The whole marinara pie at Doppio Pasticceria in the Remington neighborhood of Baltimore, Md. on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
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.
A livery from the Maryland Center for History and Culture, left, is on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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.
Enjoy your Thrasher's French fries with apple cider vinegar.
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.
The Neighborhood Bird Bun from Ekiben.
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.
Just two blocks away from the race track, Pimlico Chinese Carry Out has been serving shrimp yak a mein for generations.
The Dish: Will Pink Flamingo fill the Dizz-shaped hole in our hearts?
Remington has a new tropical rum bar: Pink Flamingo, which replaces The Dizz at 300 W. 30th Street.
The spam chips and French onion dip at Pink Flamingo.
Propane tank explosion in Laurel leaves 1 injured, prompts parade cancellation
A propane tank blew up while vendors were setting up for Laurel’s annual Main Street Festival.
The City of Laurel canceled the Mainstreet Festival Parade after a propane explosion at the intersection of 4th and Main streets on Saturday, May 10, 2025.
One of Baltimore’s oldest chocolatiers is expanding
Rheb’s Candies will add a new location in Mt. Airy.
An employee prepares chocolates at Rheb’s Candies on Wilkens Avenue in Baltimore.
The Dish: A Baltimore restaurant with a cult following expands to Columbia
Kong Pocha, a restaurant beloved for its Korean fried chicken, adds a new location in Howard County.
The unassuming exterior of Kong Pocha in Station North belies the deliciousness that awaits.
Fells Point bodega offers chopped Italian sandwiches with a side of hope
Chopped Broadway Bodega & Deli, Fells Point's first Black-woman-owned bodega, offers inspiration and massive, chopped Italian sandwiches.
Ernestine Chambers chats with her son, who is behind the counter of Chopped, a new bodega in Fells Point.
These restaurant owners are living the American dream. They’re moving to Italy.
The owners of the Italian restaurant Cafe Campli are closing their Baltimore eatery this summer to open a different spot in Italy.
Sam and Paul Mincarelli are closing their Baltimore restaurant and relocating to Italy.
The Dish: Duchess served up $2.50 sandwiches with love. Then it mysteriously closed down.
Duchess Variety Store, an Ellicott City staple going back 50 years, suddenly closed its doors.
The Duchess Variety Store, an Ellicott City mainstay going back decades and known for its affordable deli sandwiches, quietly closed its doors.
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