Neighborhood Guide: Remington

Remington in Baltimore is a vibrant neighborhood for creatives, grad students and professors (Johns Hopkins University abuts the neighborhood), and families. It’s not quite Portland, but the dream of the ‘90s is alive in Baltimore. Yeah, some of these places have great Instagram accounts but you’re just as likely to learn about a local event seeing a homemade flier taped to a lightpost. Remington is home to a famous indie rock club, a Food Network favorite and even a video store. While touring the neighborhood with my friend Daniel, we literally saw a car with They Might Be Giants and Stone Temple Pilots bumper stickers.

For our neighborhood guide, we put together a list of places to play, shop, eat and drink in this little corner of Baltimore. 

Play

Ottobar
In 2018, Rolling Stone hailed Remington’s Ottobar as one of the “10 Best Live Music Venues in America” (in the same countdown that included 9:30 Club). Ottobar has been visited by too many heavyweight alternative bands to name as well as being the Bmore place to cut your teeth as a local band (think Future Islands, Animal Collective and Beach House). Join 350 of your coolest friends to see tomorrow’s hottest bands play on an elevated stage; even us shorties always get a good view. In the Upstairs bar, check out recurring favorite events such as goth and new wave dance parties, emo night, trivia and karaoke (most upstairs events are free). 2549 N. Howard St., Baltimore, MD; theottobar.com // @theottobar

Rendezvous in Remington
On the first Thursday of each month, the local shops and restaurants below (and more!) offer discounts on goods, services, and food and drinks for Rendezvous in Remington. baltimore.org // @visitbmore

Remfest
Usually in May (in pre-Covid times but in September 2022), Remfest invites all of Remington’s beloved weirdos and hipsters to come together for one day of live music, food, beer and local artists selling their work. remfest.org

The Baltimore Museum of Art
The Baltimore Museum of Art, home to a world-class collection of modern art—including the world’s largest public holdings of works by Henri Matisse, is technically just outside of Remington, but just by a block or two. Recent and upcoming major exhibitions include “Guarding the Art,” “Joan Mitchell,” “A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration,” “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” and “Coming Attractions: The John Waters Collection”; certain exhibitions require paid admission. The museum is free as are the sculpture gardens. Take the time to also visit Wyman Park Dell across the street from the museum with 16 acres of greenery and lush meadows, and Harriet Tubman Grove (a former site of a Confederate statue renamed for the abolitionist hero). 10 Art Museum Dr., Baltimore, MD; artbma.org // @baltimoremuseumofart

 

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Beyond Video
If you are of a certain age, you probably spent hours wandering a Blockbuster selecting your three weekend rentals. Beyond Video offers a nostalgic solution to favorite films disappearing from streaming platforms: a volunteer-run home-video library for members consisting of over 27,000 DVDs, blu-ray discs, and VHS tapes. Be kind and rewind! 2545 N. Howard St., Baltimore, MD; beyondvideo.org

Eat & Drink

Paper Moon Diner
Have you ever wanted to eat in the Yellow Submarine? Walls of Pez dispensers, Warhol’s neon ode to Jackie O and primary colors transform Paper Moon Diner from a classic 1960’s style diner into brunch on acid. 227 West 29th St., Baltimore, MD; papermoondiner24.com // @papermoondiner

R. House
R. House is Remington’s shared dining room. It’s a food hall with a central bar, nine dedicated vendors and one spot reserved for new chefs to try out fresh ideas in a monthly pop-up. Most evenings there are neighborly low-key happenings, from live music (often bluegrass or jazz) and trivia nights. There is ample room–including wee-sized tables–for families and small children to enjoy the space, as well as covered dining space outdoors. 301 W 29th St., Baltimore, MD; r.housebaltimore.com // @rhousebaltimore

 

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Café Los Sueños
With every sip of the fine coffee drinks at Café los Sueños, you’re tasting the American Dream. Roaster Carlos Payes emigrated from El Salvador, where he was born in the mountains and raised working the coffee fields, and now serves his lifetime of caffeinated experience in a cozy whitewashed cafe counter. 2740 Huntingdon Ave., Baltimore, MD; cafelossuenos.com // @cafelossuenos

JBGB’s Fine Meats and Tasty Treats
This snout-to-tail butcher and restaurant is not named after the famous punk bar CBGB’s but rather after original Falls Road location owner John Brown. Local, sustainable and pasture-raised pork, lamb, beef and poultry are prepared in this whole-animal cutting room, and beef can be seen dry-aging behind the pantry goods and deli. The restaurant serves wood-fired pizzas as well a variety of in-house prepared meats and drafts. Desserts and sides cycle with the seasons. 2600 N Howard St., Baltimore, MD; jbgbutchery.com // @jbgbsremington

Charm City Cakes
If you can dream it, Charm City Cakes can bake it. Chef Duff Goldman and his team of musicians-turned-bakers starred in ten seasons of “Ace of Cakes” on the Food Network using chainsaws and blowtorches to construct fabulous and delectable custom creations. The show ended a decade ago, but the beloved bakery lives on. Sweet dreams are made of this, indeed. 2936 Remington Ave., Baltimore, MD; charmcitycakes.com // @charmcitycakes

W.C. HARLAN
Remington’s speakeasy is easy to miss but once inside it’s a cozy, 1920’s inspired waterhole with delectable cocktails. 400 W 23rd St, Baltimore, MD; @wcharlan

29th Street Tavern
If you prefer your bars a little divier and serving burgers, 29th Street Tavern has no pretentious, but is a friendly neighborhood tavern. 398 W 29th St., Baltimore, MD; 29thstreettavern.com // @29th_street_tavern 

Shop

B. Willow
Woman-owned and operated, B. Willow offers a verdant oasis, selling succulents, tropical plants, cacti and terrariums. For those without a green thumb, owner Liz Vayda and the dedicated B. Willow staff offer botanical workshops and plant consultations in addition to yoga workshops and painting classes in this urban jungle. 220 W 27th St., Baltimore, MD; bwillow.com // @bwillowbmo

 

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Greedy Reads
Five years after the success of their Fells Point location, the indie bookstore Greedy Reads opened a second (and larger) location in Remington. With a fine selection of contemporary fiction and non-fiction (and a cute kid’s corner), Greedy Reads is a community hub for the literati–a place not only to peruse and purchase books, but to attend author talks, and join book clubs and writing groups. They even offer a sunset boat cruise for book lovers to swap books and stories while sipping Prosecco. In May 2022, Greedy Reads hosted their first “Lost Weekend”–three days of culture, book panels, indie presses, spoken word poetry, and family programming. 320 West 29th St., Baltimore, MD; greedyreads.com // @greedyreads

Get Shredded
Bartender and bassist Sara Autrey turned to boutique-owning, first in Charles Village and for the last two years in Remington. Remington’s vintage clothing shop Get Shredded specializes in 1960s-’80s’ threads– lots of Day-Glo funky pieces as well as some higher end staples–for men and women as well as occasional throwback home decor. 411 W 29th St., Baltimore, MD; getshreddedvintage.com // @getshreddedvintage

Mount Royal Soaps
Mount Royal Soaps offers low/zero-waste, cruelty-free, feel-good and (of course) smell-good bath and beauty items–often with pop-culture names (Smashing Pumpkins, David S. Pumpkins, Good God Lemon). Mount Royal hosts monthly outdoor night markets with live music, food trucks and even free beer from Union Craft Brewery, in addition to showing up at pop-up markets throughout the region. 2740 Huntingdon Ave., Baltimore, MD; mountroyalsoaps.com // @mtroyalsoaps

Colleen Kennedy

Colleen Kennedy writes about art, culture and music for District Fray. She is also the Publicist and Managing Editor at Shakespeare Theatre Company.