BALTIMORE’S TOP CHEFS · THE FOUR SEASONS EFFECT · PARKING MADE EASY january 2012 issue no. 91
JOB TOWN: GETTING A PIECE OF D.C.’S ACTION
Why do cities grow or die? It’s all in the math.
e v i l a e v i h e h t g n i keep
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this month
#91 January 2012
features 26
28
28
City by Numbers
keynote
The Organizer
about the cover: Illustration by James Noellert “Going off the article’s [“City by Numbers,” p. 28] metaphor of the city as a hive, I’ve explored the visual parallels between the role of the beekeeper and role of city statisticians, imagining a very clean and clinical study from an exaggerated perspective that allows them to see the larger picture,” says illustrator James Noellert. “I have been taking cues of late from the traditional comic book process. I always rely heavily on my observational drawing and color theory studies, but after that I let the objectives of the project make most of the decisions for me.”
by Michael Anft Has a former physicist found a formula for fixing broken cities?
Interview by Ron Cassie United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard says unions play a key role rebuilding a healthy, diverse economy in the 21st century.
33 Our Better Half
by David Dudley Just 40 miles from downtown Baltimore, there’s a recessionproof, job-creating force of invulnerable economic wellbeing. Why can’t we get a bigger piece of the D.C. action?
45
departments 7
Editor’s Note 9 What You’re Saying 11 What You’re Writing 15 Don’t Miss 17 The Goods —— baltimore observed
21 Reading into Technology by Bruce Goldfarb Digital formatting, new software, and smartphone applications are bringing the Information Age to the sight-impaired at the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. 57
23 Update 25 Parking Authorities
——
web extras
more online at www.urbanitebaltimore.com
on the air
Urbanite on The Marc Steiner Show, WEAA 88.9 FM January 17: The math: understanding Baltimore’s economy January 26: USW President Leo Gerard on unions and the new economy
fiction
41 Spark of Life by Chris Sumberg
—— space
45 The City on High by Rebecca Messner In the gleaming Four Seasons hotel, the transition from old to new Baltimore has never felt so literal.
—— food + drink
49 The Young and the Restless by Martha Thomas Baltimore’s new guard of all-star chefs 53 Dining Reviews 55 Wine & Spirits
—— arts + culture
57 Creatures of the Night by Richard O’Mara Armed with bright lights and watercolor paints, John Cody captures creatures that flutter on the dark fringes of our lives. 59 Book 61 Music 61 Theater
—— 63 The Scene —— 70 Eye to Eye
January 31: Charm City’s up-andcoming young chefs
Urbanite #91 january 2012 5
issue 91: january 2012 publisher Tracy Ward Tracy@urbanitebaltimore.com general manager Jean Meconi Jean@urbanitebaltimore.com editor-in-chief Ron Cassie Ron@urbanitebaltimore.com assistant editor Rebecca Messner Rebecca@urbanitebaltimore.com digital media editor Andrew Zaleski Andrew@urbanitebaltimore.com editor-at-large David Dudley David@urbanitebaltimore.com online editors food/drink: Tracey Middlekauff Tracey@urbanitebaltimore.com arts/culture: Cara Ober Cara@urbanitebaltimore.com proofreader Marianne Amoss contributing writers Michael Anft, Scott Carlson, Charles Cohen, Michael Corbin, Heather Dewar, Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, Mat Edelson, Lionel Foster, Brennen Jensen, Michelle Gienow, Clinton Macsherry, Richard O’Mara, Robin T. Reid, Andrew Reiner, Martha Thomas, Baynard Woods, Michael Yockel, Mary K. Zajac editorial interns Lindsay Bottos-Sewell, Anissa Elmerraji, Krishana Davis production manager Belle Gossett Belle@urbanitebaltimore.com designers Kristian Bjornard, Lisa Van Horn staff photographer J.M. Giordano Joe@urbanitebaltimore.com
real
production interns Sarah Thrower, Dave Volpe senior account executives Catherine Bowen Catherine@urbanitebaltimore.com Freda Ferguson Freda@urbanitebaltimore.com Susan R. Levy Susan@urbanitebaltimore.com account executive Natalie Richardson Natalie@urbanitebaltimore.com sales marketing associate Erin Albright Erin@urbanitebaltimore.com advertising/sales/marketing intern Adrienne Price
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creative director emeritus Alex Castro founder Laurel Harris Durenberger — Advertising/Editorial/Business Offices 2002 Clipper Park Road, Fourth Floor, Baltimore, md 21211 Phone: 410-243-2050; Fax: 410-243-2115 www.urbanitebaltimore.com Editorial inquiries: Send queries to editor@urbanitebaltimore.com (no phone calls, please). The magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork. Urbanite does not necessarily share the opinions of its authors. To subscribe or obtain assistance with a current subscription, call 410-243-2050. Subscription price: $18 per year. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission by Urbanite is prohibited. Copyright 2011, Urbanite llc. All rights reserved. Urbanite (issn 1556-8105) is a free publication distributed widely in the Baltimore metropolitan area. To suggest a drop location for the magazine, please contact us at 410-243-2050. Postmaster: Send address changes to Urbanite Subscriptions, 2002 Clipper Park Road, Fourth Floor, Baltimore, md 21211. Urbanite is a certified Minority Business Enterprise.
bottom Photo courtesy of James Noellert; middle photo by Sarah Thrower; top photo By Jim Burger; photo of Ron Cassie by Sarah Thrower
contributors
editor’s note
Michael Anft, a regular contributor to Urbanite, has swapped words for lucre for thirty years. His work has appeared in AARP The Magazine, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, City Paper, PressBox, and The Washington Post, among other publications. Now a senior writer at Johns Hopkins Magazine, Michael says he was surprised to learn from researcher Geoffrey West that cities aren’t as “fixable” as politicians would have us believe (“City by Numbers,” p. 28). “The idea that elected officials and their underlings can only nibble away, largely ineffectually, at major problems is sobering,” he says, “as is the notion that quantum growth is the only thing that can make cities more livable.” Editorial Intern Krishana Davis dreams of one day moving to New York City to write about her two passions: political science and fashion. A Baltimore native, she is studying political science and journalism at Morgan State University and also interning as a junior publicist at Ideal Publicity. In May 2011, Krishana spent two weeks in New Orleans investigating the city’s fashion culture through a New York Times Student Journalism Institute program. She hopes to be accepted into the Chips Quinn Scholars journalism program when she graduates this coming May.
James Noellert practices art and design in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His BFA is from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. His interests include video, music theory, and classic science fiction. Although his occupation is best described as “preoccupied,” James loves to find time for the occasional creative collaboration. See more of his work at www.jamesnoellert.com.
toward the end of one of my interviews for the editor-in-chief position, Belle Gossett, whom I’ve come to know as Urbanite’s indispensible production manager, asked me to choose my number one topic for a hypothetical upcoming cover story. It didn’t take much thought—jobs and the future of Baltimore’s economy. What else is on the mind of 99 percent of us these days? I immediately thought of The Atlantic cover piece on the long shadow of the recession, “How A New Jobless Era Will Transform America.” The article forecasted years of protracted struggle for an entire generation of young adults and blue-collar workers and painted a grim picture for the long-term unemployed and their families. Amazingly, it’s been almost two years since that story, and the U.S. still has barely budged economically. The unemployment rate did drop to 8.6 percent in November, but that was also attributed to 300,000 people who reportedly stopped looking for work, according to the Labor Department. Ron Cassie Once I started at Urbanite, I learned Publisher Tracy Ward and Assistant Editor Rebecca Messner already had asked Urbanite’s editor-at-large, David Dudley, to build and edit January’s feature well around jobs and the future of Baltimore’s economy. And as with any vexing issue, David decided it would help to better understand the nature of what exactly it is we’re trying to fix. In “City by Numbers” (p. 28), he had writer Michael Anft ask touted physicist and urban theorist Geoffrey West, selected in 2006 as one of “Time’s 100” people transforming the world, about his studies breaking down how cities function. It’s fascinating stuff, explaining mathematically things we surmise intuitively—that cities bring together innovative people, create efficiencies of scale, and generate higher per-capita economic activity than rural and suburban areas. Plus, city dwellers produce smaller per-capita carbon footprints. West makes the case that cities must grow to build sustainable societies as population in the U.S. and elsewhere continues to rise. It’s a message Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake coincidentally made in her recent inaugural address. A second part of this month’s feature well is told through handy tables and pie charts, linking Baltimore to similar cities (not the ones you might think) provided by West’s team. Another set of artistically rendered bars and whatnot sketch Baltimore’s various emerging and contracting employment sectors. And finally, David, now a features editor at AARP The Magazine, contributes an essay he’s wanted to write for years, positing that the most efficient way for Baltimore to improve its economic condition is to leverage its geography (“Our Better Half,” p. 33). Why should Montgomery County get all the federal action flooding over the District’s border? To accompany West’s data and grand unifying theory of cities, I thought it would be a good idea to get the perspective from someone who has “boots on the ground” in this battle for jobs in the 21st century economy. In our “Keynote” interview, “The Organizer,” (p. 26), I talked to United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard. Elsewhere in the issue, Rebecca Messner explores the new Four Seasons Hotel in shi shi Harbor East and what exactly the luxury hotel represents to a city that has long embraced its blue-collar identity (“The City on High,” p. 45). In Food & Drink, Martha Thomas warms up to Charm City’s up-and-coming young chefs, portraying an ambitious, creative cross-section of men and women who are transforming the city’s dining delights in “The Young and the Restless,” (p. 49). In “Parking Authorities,” (p. 25). Digital Media Editor Andrew Zaleski highlights the pair of 20-something Baltimore entrepreneurs who created Parking Panda, an app that aims to make booking parking spaces as efficient and common as booking dinner reservations. Having known Urbanite for years only as an appreciative reader, and more recently as a contributing writer, I feel it necessary to note that I am impressed each day with the talent and commitment of the magazine’s staff. From the edit team to Urbanite’s contributing writers, to the sales and marketing staff led by General Manager Jean Meconi, I am confident 2012 will be another great year for Urbanite, in print, on the Web, and in our outside projects as well. And I’m also blown away by the loyalty to the magazine and its mission by the wider Urbanite family, all those who have worked here or contributed in the past and continue to maintain a connection to the publication. Former Editor-in-Chief Greg Hanscom, for example, now special projects editor at Grist, has been a huge resource during the transition. Not to mention David Dudley. There’s quite a tradition of excellence to live up to at Urbanite. Personally, it’s a great challenge and one that I feel fortunate to tackle.
Coming next month
How Does Learning About Others Change Us? What neuroscience is revealing about the human condition.
Urbanite #91 january 2012 7
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artículo de primera página traducido al español
El
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population the burgeoning u.s. latinorm city. makes its way to cha
Not Lost in Translation Re: “El Nuevo Baltimore,” Dec. ’11, about the city’s burgeoning Latino community: felicitaciones @urbanitemd p la publicación de su artículo de 1era pag en Inglés y Español! y darle su traductor el byline merecido! [Congratulations, Urbanite, for the publication of your front-page article in English and Spanish! And for giving your translator the deserved byline!] —@zacksholem
More for the Money Re: “The Buck Stops Here,” Dec. ’11, about BNotes, Baltimore’s alternative currency: i can’t wait for local food producers, nonprofit service providers, the city government, and others [to] get on board. We need to be able to buy produce and nutritious food products, bus and light rail passes, and every other daily need with BNotes. I’m not worried, as it’s only been active since April of this year. But I am anxiously awaiting broader uptake. What a great way to show pride in our city and support for our communities!
the subhead of the article reads: “A new Baltimore currency encourages local spending … but will people use it?” It seems that that question is fairly easy to answer after a quick check of the Baltimore Green Currency Association website or Facebook page. Apparently there are over 18,000 BNotes in circulation, so clearly people are using them. Perhaps a more appropriate and honest question would be: “Will they last?” The things that you can get for a BNote listed in the article also seem misleading, as they are some of the highest end (read: most expensive) businesses that accept them. Again, a quick check of the website or Facebook page, or a glance at one of the hard copy directories, shows that you can also purchase nuts and bolts at Belle Hardware, grab a cup of coffee at Zeke’s or a beer at Liam Flynn’s Ale House, get your taxes done (ComproTax), receive computer/tech support at Little Shop of Hardware or Tech Support Computers, call a plumber (Pinnacle Plumbing), or consult an attorney (Murray M. Blum, Daley Law LLC, Jennifer Bland Lester). Some of these things are hardly “out of the reach of most Baltimoreans” as the article states. —JTG
what you’re saying
Think Before You Eat (Drink, Spray, Wash …) Re: “Protecting Our Bodies,” Dec. ’11, our interview with McKay Jenkins about his new book, What’s Gotten Into Us? , and the chemicals we unknowingly ingest daily: it is sad that many people—including myself—never came to this realization until we are ill and after much research. If we took a more proactive approach and banned these chemicals, perhaps rates of cancer and other illnesses would drop. Many people eat well and exercise but never think of the products they use daily that may be making them or those around them ill. As a person with chemical sensitivities (developed quickly, severely, and with no warning as a healthy 37-year-old), I can tell you that harmful chemicals are everywhere—clothing, furniture, children’s toys, office supplies, detergents, soaps, air fresheners, perfumes, shampoos, sunscreens, oozing off people and public places, through dryer vents. Even those labeled and marketed as safe, natural, and even for babies are full of harmful ingredients [and] impossible to avoid. Sadly most people would rather smell “nice” than worry about risks they feel [are] impossible. —MCS
Passing Through Re: “Regarding the Lives of Others,” a post on our online Crime & Punishment blog, about how shows like The Wire influence our perceptions of Baltimore: beautiful post by Michael Corbin ... Time for people living in Baltimore not to be tourists in our own city. —@editbarry
Corrections: Apologies to Julie Ferris, a member of the Baltimore Green Currency Association’s board of directors, for misspelling her name in “The Buck Stops Here,” Dec. ’11 Urbanite. Also, apologies for misspelling Chef Andrew Weinzirl’s name in our restaurant review of The Wine Market, Dec. ’11 Urbanite.
—Damo
Join the conversation. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@UrbaniteMD). E-mail us at mail@urbanitebaltimore.com or send your letter to Mail, Urbanite, 2002 Clipper Park Road, Fourth Floor, Baltimore, MD 21211. Please include your name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Urbanite #91 january 2012 9
10 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
what you’re writing
Ancestors photo courtesy of mary gioia
paul was born in Egg Harbor, New
Jersey, in 1926 to an immigrant Italian family. Paul was Anna and Luigi’s second-born son. His brother, Frank, was an academic who loved opera; Paul loved sports and country western music. When America entered World War II, Paul enlisted, although he was only 17. Frank was already in the Army; Paul chose the Marines. He was wounded in battle and received the Purple Heart. When the war wound down, he was assigned to occupation duty in Japan. It was during that time that he set eyes upon Yoshie, an attractive Japanese girl. She smiled at him. That smile ignited a love in the shy young man that would carry them through sixty-two years of marriage. Paul spent every spare minute with Yoshie for the six months before he was sent back home. He promised that he would come back for her. Paul wrote letters to her in English, and Yoshie had them translated. In Egg Harbor, Paul’s father wanted to arrange a marriage for him to a “nice Italian girl.” Paul resisted. He did not want an Italian girl— he wanted Yoshie! He knew getting married
required great responsibility, and he went back to finish his final year of high school. After graduating, he applied for a job in Yokohama, Japan. It was not far by train from Yoshie’s hometown. Arriving back in Japan after a year and a half, he sought out Yoshie. Yoshie’s mother was overjoyed to see Paul, but her father did not like the idea of an American son-in-law. After some persuading, Kisaburo, Yoshie’s father, agreed to allow the marriage. Paul and Yoshie lived with her parents for three years in Zushi. Then they moved to Yokohama where their children, Bobby and Linda, could attend English-language schools. Paul and Yoshie lived in Japan for seventeen years. When Bobby was 13, they returned to Egg Harbor. Paul reconnected with the family he had left so many years before, and Yoshie became an American citizen. Another daughter, Miki, was born, and she brought great joy to Paul in his later life. Paul spent years teaching karate, which he had learned in Japan. Paul lived with Bobby and me prior to his death from Alzheimer’s disease in 2009. Yoshie remained Paul’s faithful caregiver and love
until his death. She continues to live with us in Baltimore.
—Mary Gioia lives with her husband, Bobby, and motherin-law, Yoshie, in Baltimore.
i have a panoramic black and white photograph of a small town in northeastern Kansas where my maternal grandmother lived. The photo curls into a tight tube of heavy, yellowed paper. Flatten it, and you’ll see more than a hundred people not smiling, as was the custom, and squinting into the sun. The town no longer exists; the photo was taken before the town disappeared under a deluge of rerouted water. The state constructed a dam, flooding the small town and forcing the relocation of the residents. As I child I would hear this story and envision her father’s grocery store and a schoolhouse under water with fish swimming through the broken windows. Georgia, my grandmother, was visiting her uncle in Chicago in 1936. A 26-year-old second-grade teacher, she loved her students and turned down offers of marriage just to keep her job. She first met my grandfather, James, on a hot summer Saturday night while sitting on Urbanite #91 january 2012 11
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what you’re writing her uncle’s front porch. He was tall and handsome, wore a black hat, and was thirteen years her senior. A mailman by day and previously a speakeasy buster at night, he sold the confiscated liquor on the side. They were married the following Wednesday after an eleven-day courtship and cherished each other for the rest of their days. My mother’s parents were 42 and 55 when she was born an only child in 1952. James was born the youngest of twelve in Virginia and was already losing brothers and sisters by the time my mother entered this world. His advanced age and poor health made travel difficult; most of his family never laid eyes on her. My mother cannot even recall the name of his parents. Only a few scattered stories remain today of my family before my grandparents. A set of china, a Civil War-era quilt, and some portraits we can barely identify. No deeper roots, no stories of how they got here, no trace of their lives before America. What remains are only the questions and ponderings of how we came to be where we are, of how we came to be who we are. —Valerie Hartman is a graduate student and writer who lives in Norrisville, where she is raising three children with three cats and a big yellow dog.
“what kind of dog is that?” I hear that question about my pup, Bisco, several times a month, either during our walks or when we play in the yard. Passersby will lean over the chain-link fence surrounding my property to study his canine features, guess his ancestry, and look at me for the correct answer. But I can only shrug. I simply don’t know my dog’s lineage. And I don’t feel like telling a stranger the longer story of why I’m clueless— how I adopted him from a shelter after he suffered a year of abuse at someone else’s hands. All I know is that Bisco is a blend of adorable features: His brown and white feet support a lean body, which sports a thick, black coat and white underbelly. His fox-like tail is punctuated with a white tip, as if he dipped it in paint. A thin, white stripe runs from his nose to his floppy ears, which sprout long, wild fur like one of Dr. Seuss’s characters from Whoville. He’s my Super Mutt. But being a mutt isn’t good enough for humans, who pride themselves on identity: what town they live in, what car they drive, what job they hold, which breed of dog they are walking that just pooped on my lawn. Some people suggest I buy a doggie DNA test so I can know for sure. Others tell me with certainty what breed he is, yet each claim is different: Bernese Mountain Dog. Border Collie. Australian Shepherd. German Shepherd. As if any of those labels would change who he is. In my book, Bisco is my tail-wagging, stuffed animal-chomping, squirrel-chasing mutt. His fur clings to my clothes and rolls across my
wood floor. He nestles his face into my feet while we sleep and plops his long snout on my boyfriend’s lap. Where we come from isn’t all that defines us. My mostly Irish ancestry hasn’t determined much about me except my pale skin and love of shamrocks and potato dishes. Much of Bisco’s past before I adopted him is something I—and I’m sure he—would rather forget, anyway. It doesn’t matter where he came from. He’s here. He’s Bisco. Super Mutt. My buddy. That’s all that matters. —Beth Lefebvre is finishing an MA in writing at Johns Hopkins University. She is a former newspaper reporter and editor, and she currently works as a writer for the Department of Justice. She resides in Halethorpe, Maryland.
i polish the carved, wooden elephant, its ears laid back and trunk raised as if there is danger near, yet its eyes are placid, its four feet flat on the ground. Perhaps all is well after all. Thousands of U.S. servicemen must have purchased these hand-carved toys in the Philippines, on leave from the war in Vietnam, bringing a souvenir of an unhappy time to their children growing up so fast, asking every night, when will Daddy be home? Another wooden toy—this, a crudely carved dachshund, his moving parts held together with screws. He is much older than the elephant, perhaps a hundred years old, American-made. He traveled from Illinois to Florida with my grandfather, who traded in his school principal post to run a Custard Castle at carnivals in the wondrous Florida of the late 1940s, a Florida covered with live oak trees, the waters teeming with fish. After the first miserable winter in a beach house, his children feeding the gas meter with quarters, Grandpa found a job teaching science at a junior high school. The dog looks wisely upon us all with his wry, Buddha-like smile. A clear glass lamp with a round handle like Aladdin’s and a glass chimney that swells in the middle like a symmetrical light bulb. It looks like the light that Wee Willie Winkie carries in our old Mother Goose book. Called a “wick lamp,” it burned with the newly discovered wonder-fuel: kerosene. It is intriguing and beautiful and terrifying, a memento from my grandmother’s childhood. My great-grandparents were gentle and kind people, farmers, and I like to think of them walking through their quiet house like angels, carrying this light before them.
“No, let’s choose another doll.” “Well, can you show me my choices?” I pick out three brown options and proceed to explain, “Nzinga, your first choice is OK, and if there were a brown version you could certainly have it, but I really don’t want to buy that doll for you because it represents the white imperialist monopoly on the image of beauty. Furthermore, I want you to love yourself in and out and not get caught up in America’s capitalist-driven agenda to make you feel that you are wrong and need to be fixed with makeup and wigs and chemicals and physical mutilation. I’ve been through it, and our ancestors fought too hard to let you get sucked into a worldview that puts your beauty last. Maybe you can understand what I’m saying if I paraphrase Chris Rock: America is like your jacked-up uncle—he put you through college but molested you as a child. I want to stop—no, prevent—the molestation of your mind by the daemons of our past. Most importantly, I want you to grow up and make a better world for little girls like you. I want you to fight for freedom, justice, and peace. I hope that you will help build a world where your sisters across the globe can give birth without dying, sleep at night without fear of rape and war, and learn in classrooms that aim to free their minds. I wish all of these things for you and me and my mother and hers and all the mothers who came before and will come after us.” But actually I don’t say any of that, and we leave. She, happily carrying a doll selected from her given options and not asking any more questions. —Rain Arrington works as a midwife and lives in Baltimore City.
“What You’re Writing” is the place for creative
—Ann Quinn teaches private clarinet and owns a music store in Catonsville, where she lives with her family. She performs with the Howard County Ballet (on clarinet), but her passion right now is poetry.
nonfiction from our readers. Each month we pick a topic. Use the topic as a springboard into your own life and send us a true story inspired by that month’s theme. Only previously unpublished, nonfiction submissions that include contact information can be considered. We reserve the right to edit heavily for space and clarity, but we will give you the opportunity to review the edits. You may submit under “name withheld” to keep your essay anonymous, but you do need to let us know how to contact you. If you’ve already changed the names of the people involved, please let us know. Only one submission per topic, please. Send your essay to Urbanite, 2002 Clipper Park Road, Fourth Floor, Baltimore, MD 21211, or e-mail it to What YoureWriting@urbanitebaltimore.com. Submissions should be shorter than four hundred words. Because of the number of essays we receive, we cannot respond individually to each writer. Please do not send originals; submissions cannot be returned.
“mommie, i would like that doll.” My 5-year-old points to an oversized, stuffed princess with light beige skin, blue eyes, and a cascade of blond curls.
Topic Deadline Publication Living Without Jan. 9, 2012 March 2012 Party On Feb. 13, 2012 April 2012 Bloom March 12, 2012 May 2012
Urbanite #91 january 2012 13
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don’t miss images (clockwise from top left): Anonymous (Italian), Modest Venus (Venus Pudica), ca. 1500, bronze with dark brown lacquer patina, silver, 10 ½”, The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (54.244)); courtesy of jason.sloan; no photo credit; photo by Akira Kinoshita; Courtesy of NAACP; photo by Todd Brizzi
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1 January 12, 8 p.m.; January 15, 3 p.m. MUSIC
Despite being afflicted with polio at a young age, Israel native Itzhak Perlman came to the United States to study the violin at Julliard. Now one of the most renowned violinists of the 20th century, he will conduct the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in two performances of works by Vivaldi, Mozart, and Brahms at the Meyerhoff. $50–$81 1212 Cathedral St. 410-783-8000 www.bsomusic.org
2 January 14, 8 a.m.–2 p.m.; January 15, 8 a.m.–noon FOOD/DRINK
It all starts deep in the Indonesian rain forest, where the Asian Palm Civet, a small, cat-like mammal, ingests Arabica coffee beans. The rest is a bit unsavory, but Thomas Rhodes, proprietor of Zeke’s, calls the resulting brew—Kopi Luwak—“one of the finest cups of coffee I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.” Try for yourself at two tastings at Zeke’s Roastery in Lauraville. $10 for a 10-ounce cup 3003 Montebello Terrace 443-992-4388 www.zekescoffee.net
3 January 16
5 January 25–29
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Celebrate the man whose famous dream changed the nation at the 12th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade. This annual event celebrates both Dr. King’s birthday and his unparalled contribution to civil rights. It fittingly begins on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and ends at Baltimore Street.
The Gay and Lesbian Task Force wants you to come out—to Creating Change, that is. This national conference on LGBT equality attracts thousands annually. This year, the conference will kick off with a keynote address by Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP.
Free Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. www.promotionandarts.com
$65–$375 (free for those 16 and younger or 65 and older) Hilton Baltimore 401 W. Pratt St. www.creatingchange.org
4 January 21–April 21 VISUAL ART
Touch and the Enjoyment of Sculpture: Exploring the Appeal of Renaissance Statuettes combines the research interests of a Johns Hopkins University neuroscientist and a Walters Art Museum curator. The handson exhibit looks at how the ability to touch a work of art may change its appeal and whether tactile stimulus may have influenced the progression of sculpture through the ages. Free 600 N. Charles St. 410-547-9000 www.thewalters.org
6 January 27–March 11 VISUAL ART/MUSIC
For Maryland Institute College of Art’s first exhibition of the new year, the school opens its ears to the sounds we all try to ignore. SIGNAL.to.NOISE showcases radio static, the hiss of a cassette tape, and a child crying during a church sermon. jason.sloan, MICA coordinator for the undergradate sound art concentration, created the exhibition to influence our general understanding of noise, presenting these aural disturbances as final works of art. Free 1401 W. Mt. Royal Ave. 410-669-9200 www.mica.edu
For more events, see the Scene on page 63.
Urbanite #91 january 2012 15
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16 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
the goods
what ’s new in style, shopping & beyond
A Cut Above
krishana davis
Photos (clockwise from top left): no photo credit; Photo by sarah thrower; Courtesy of Live Baltimore
For almost thirty years, tile company Architectural Ceramics (3500 Boston St. Suite B; 410-522-1072; www.architecturalceramics.net) has been concerned with adding “personality, beauty, value, and comfort” to homes and businesses, according to their website. The company has now added two new options to their private line, Architectural Collections: Chic Stone ($6.45–$7.85 per square foot), a porcelain tile made with 40 percent recycled materials and a mix of vein-cut and cross-cut travertine, and Aristocrat ($8 per square foot), which has a natural stone look. They are both made to last in areas that see lots of foot traffic.
Riding With Pride
anissa elmerraji Since their debut in 1997, Live Baltimore’s “I love city life” license plates (www.LiveBaltimore.com/shop) have adorned the backsides of nearly 360 cars. Now, scooter and motorcycle riders can show their support for the city with the scaled-down rendition that the Motor Vehicle Authority will produce as soon as at least twenty-five orders are placed. Plates are $50, and every purchase includes a $25 tax-deductible gift to Live Baltimore to help in its quest to promote city living. “We want to make sure that people get the rest of the story about Baltimore,” says Michael Howard, Live Baltimore’s Resources Development Officer. “It’s not all bad news.”
The Sweetest Thing
anissa elmerraji What’s better than a sugar high? How about a giving high? At least, that’s how Alexis “Lucky” Thompson, a Baltimore native with an insatiable sweet tooth, feels. In October, she opened The Best of Luck Candy & Gifts (612 S. Exeter St.; 410-244-5173; www.thebestofluck.com). “We want to help you find the perfect gift,” says Thompson, who sells a series of themed gift buckets, like the “Iconic Candy Lovers Dream,” which is filled with a sampling of nostalgic treats including Blow Pops, Pop Rocks, and Charleston Chews (Thompson’s personal favorite). The shop offers candy from the jar for $9.99 a pound and ever-changing seasonal treats. Expect to find candy hearts, cinnamon lips, and mallow cream hearts among the Valentine’s Day offerings.
Urbanite #91 january 2012 17
Now is the time to sign up for CSA
HigHligHting local talent Join AIABaltimore (The American Institute of Architects, Baltimore Chapter) to hear from the winners of the 2011 AIABaltimore Excellence in Design Awards program as they discuss their architecture firm’s design aesthetic and vision.
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Tuesday, January 10, 2012 Reception at 5:30 p.m. Lecture at 6 p.m. Westminster House Apartments 524 N. Charles Street at Centre Street, Baltimore 21201 Parking is available on the street, in nearby garages, and in a small adjacent lot to the south. PUBLIC INVITED, FREE 1.5 AIA/CES credits with registration. 11 ½ W. Chase Street, Baltimore Maryland 21201 410.625.2585 www.aiabalt.com
18 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
the goods
Classy Cocktails
anissa elmerraji
Photos (clockwise from top left): photo by J.M. Giordano; Illustration by Alyssa Nassner ; photo by Sarah Thrower
Hone your bartending skills at home with the help of Drink, a twelve-page booklet featuring three seasonal cocktail recipes—all original creations of Josh Sullivan, founder of the Baltimore-based, speakeasy-style drink movement Post Prohibition (www.postprohibition.com). Conceived after local photographer Sean Scheidt got hooked on Sullivan’s concoctions, Drink is the first in what Sullivan, Scheidt, and illustrator Alyssa Nassner hope will be a series cataloging seasonal and classic cocktail recipes. Find it online at Magcloud.com ($5) or pick it up at one of Post Prohibition’s Libation Lounge parties at the Gin Mill in Canton.
Suit Up!
krishana davis “Some men can put on a suit and turn heads,” says Tatiana Melo, Baltimore-based style consultant for J.Hilburn (443-223-5448; www.tatianamelo.jhilburn.com), a luxury menswear company. That’s what Melo tries to do for her clients in her private consultations, taking suit measurements to ensure a form-fitting, custom look. With a quality that can be compared to brands like Hugo Boss and Ermenegildo Zegna, J. Hilburn carries a varying grade of custommade items, along with professional, business casual, and casual ready-to-wear pieces. Shirts start at $89, while custom suits sell for $800–$1,200.
Sweet as Honey
krishana davis Oyin, or “honey” in the West African language Yoruba, is one of the central ingredients used by creator and mixtress Jamyla Bennu in her Baltimore-based, family-owned, all-natural hair and body care line, Oyin Handmade (2103 N. Charles St.; 888-243-6922; www.oyinhandmade.com). With scents like almond and vanilla sugar to “add a little sweetness to your life,” the line includes items like Whipped Pudding, a shea butter-based cream that can be used from head to toe, and Greg Juice, an herbal leave-in conditioner. Prices range from $10 to $15 for 8-ounce bottles.
Urbanite #91 january 2012 19
ALSO ON VIEW! Yoruba peoples, Nigeria. Bowl-Bearing Figure, late 19th – early 20th century. The Baltimore Museum of Art, BMA 2010.65.
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Hand Held: Personal Arts from Africa
embroidered Treasures: Textiles from Central Asia
Detail, Borpush or Nimsuzani. Uzbekistan. Early 20th century. The Baltimore Museum of Art, BMA 1991.446
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NOW ON VIEW! Generously sponsored by The Rouse Company Foundation Supported by The Johns Hopkins University through a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Media Sponsor City Paper Sonia Delaunay. Plates 1 and 34 (details) from the portfolio Compositions, Colors, Ideas. 1930. The Baltimore Museum of Art: Friends of Art Fund, BMA 1997.152.1 and .34. © L & M SERVICES B.V. The Hague, 20110824
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baltimore observed
technology / transportation / update
Photo by j.m. Giordano
Audible: Actress Alexandra Hewett narrating a book into digital format at the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Reading Into Technology Digital formatting, new software, and smartphone applications are bringing the Information Age to patrons of the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. By Bruce Goldfarb
beneath mount vernon’s Park Avenue, Alexandra Hewett sits at a computer monitor outside a soundproof recording booth the size of a small walk-in refrigerator, looking through a glass window while Adele Cheatham Russell speaks into a microphone. The actresses, both volunteer narrators, take turns reading from Rafael Alvarez’s Storyteller collection, adding the 269-page book to the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physi-
cally Handicapped’s growing Marylandia trove and selection of digital-formatted material. For decades the Maryland State Library for the Blind has provided access for its 12,000 patrons to a collection of 323,000 periodicals and books in large print, Braille, and audiocassette titles. Three years ago, the library began a massive duplication effort, converting its 52,516 audiocassette titles into a digital format—nearly a quarter million individual cassette tapes in all—that is now nearly complete.
While Maryland-themed books are read and recorded digitally in the local library’s studio, the vast majority of titles are recorded into digital format by the National Library Services’ new software. “It’s a huge project,” says John Halley, a network specialist at the Maryland State Library. “Going forward, everything is being recorded digitally.”
Urbanite #91 january 2012 21
Matt Collins ‘11 • Student Body co-president • Soccer, Lacrosse, M.I.A.A. All-Star • Peer Educator • Friends’ Spirit of Fellowship Award recipient Bowdoin College Class of 2015 Hannah Gartner ‘11 • Cum Laude Society • Field hockey, I.A.A.M. All-Star • Habitat for Humanity • Yearbook editor Bowdoin College Class of 2015
Balanced. Morally centered. Responsive. Coeducational. Join us for “Lunch and Learn” with the Head of School Observe classes, speak with students, meet faculty and administrators. Next sessions: January 10 and
February 6. Visit friendsbalt.org or call 410.649.3211 to register.
22 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
technology / update baltimore observed
Update by Anissa Elmerraji and Andrew Zaleski
photo by J.M. Giordano
In the stacks: The Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped‘s massive analog to digital transition is nearly complete after three years.
The library still sends more than 91,000 titles, delivered at no cost by the U.S. Postal Service, across the state on audiocassette each year. Many patrons, particularly seniors, prefer the old-style cassette players, even though the tapes are prone to twist, break, and wear out, explains Jill Lewis, director of the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. But that number is dropping as more sightimpaired clients adopt the newer talking-book digital reader approved by the Library of Congress’ National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Last year, the Maryland State Library for the Blind sent out almost as many digital-formatted titles, 87,000, as audiocassette titles. The updated, user-friendly reader features oversize buttons and utilizes a flash drive with a standard USB port in a plastic case about the size of a cassette tape. More recently, the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped has begun offering audio books via digital download. And, like everybody else, growing numbers of blind and low vision people are using the Web as well as portable digital devices and smartphones to gain access to information and make life a little more manageable. Software, such as Jaws, “speak” text from computer screens out loud, allowing the sightimpaired to surf the Internet, use email, work, or play games and shop, if so inclined. For many, the iPhone has been a godsend. There are now apps that make an iPhone function like a magnifying glass, read the denominations on paper money, or tell you the color of clothing. “Having a high-resolution camera is a huge benefit to the visually impaired,” says library staffer Jerry Price, who is blind and heads up the library’s technology user group. “Apple has definitely gotten our attention.” The library also administers the Maryland Accessible Textbook program. Blind and low-vision college students—as well as others with disabilities—have long struggled with textbook issues, suffering academically because course materials are not available in a format they can use. While the technology exists to convert a textbook from print to an accessible format such as audio, the
process in the past wasn’t fast enough to meet the needs of students. “Students couldn’t get their textbooks in time,” Lewis says. “They’d get them late or after the semester was over.” Under a state law enacted in 2007, new provisions were put in place for on-time delivery of accessible textbooks to post-secondary students with print reading disabilities. Stephanie Durnford, a library program assistant who works on MAT, says the program is exploding, with 250 textbook requests from about 85 students in the last five months. Typically, it may take a week to ten days to receive electronic files from the publisher, re-f low the text around sidebars and boxes, and convert it into audio or a device-readable format. For one university student with an urgent need for a textbook, Durnford was recently able to obtain PDF files from the publisher that the student could have spoken aloud on a reader, delivering the material the same day the request was received. “We don’t usually turn things around that quickly,” Durnford says. “But we try.” Since Halley began working at the library, his father, Jack, has lost much of his sight and has become a library patron. A retired IT systems manager and former Towson resident, 81-yearold Jack Halley was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration about eleven years ago. Never a big fan of television, as his vision deteriorated Jack most of all missed his regular library trips to peruse the latest popular fiction. “I was always a pretty prolific reader, going to the library at least a couple of times a month,” he says. Today Jack downloads books from the library’s Braille Audio Reading Download (BARD) service with his desktop computer and transfers the files to a portable reader about the size of a deck of cards and similar to an MP3 player. Since he began using talking books, Jack said that his reading tastes have broadened from fiction to an eclectic variety of nonfiction books, ranging from historical subjects to current events. “It’s been a lifesaver for me,” he says. “Otherwise I’d turn into a vegetable in front of the television.”
gotta get down on friday The Station North arts district received a big boost in July in the form of a $150,000 Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (see “Grand Central Station,” Sept. ’11 Urbanite). At the time, Ben Stone, the executive director of Station North Arts and Entertainment Inc., began planning a monthly weekday event similar to WTMD’s First Thursday concerts in Mount Vernon. In October, Final Fridays in Station North officially started; the night generally runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and special performances are scheduled at places like Load of Fun and the Windup Space. Stone says funding is available to keep the monthly event running through September of this year. “Our plan is to continue beyond that and have it be an ongoing project. I’m hoping it will stay relatively consistent in the future,” says Stone. He estimates that between 200 and 300 people attended the October and November Final Fridays.
duly noted Introduced in conjunction with Station North’s Final Fridays events were Sta-notes, which are $2 coupons— given out to the first 150 people who arrive at Final Fridays—that can be redeemed at participating businesses in the arts district. (Joe Squared, Single Carrot Theatre, and Liam Flynn’s Ale House all accept Sta-notes.) However, Stone says that Station North is in “no way trying to compete with BNotes, the local alternative currency launched last spring (see “The Buck Stops Here,” Dec. ’11 Urbanite). “A lot of businesses [in Station North] already take the BNotes,” says Stone. “This is more of a coupon for that night … we want people to have a reason to stay in the neighborhood.”
una casa nueva For nearly twenty-seven years, Casa de Maryland has been supporting Latino families in and around Baltimore with tax advice, legal referrals, English and citizenship classes, and other services (see “El Nuevo Baltimore,” Dec. ’11 Urbanite). Last month, the Montgomery County City Council approved the nonprofit’s application for a Maryland Community Legacy Grant worth $245,000, says Patch.com’s Wheaton site. The funds will go toward improving Casa’s Silver Spring center, which serves four hundred people every year. The 18-year-old building, which suffers from heating and electrical issues and general deterioration, has been holding the organization back from effectively serving the community, says Casa’s director of development, Jennifer Freedman.
Urbanite #91 january 2012 23
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together
transportation baltimore observed
Parking Authorities
Can apps help alleviate downtown parking problems? By Andrew Zaleski
Photo by J.M. Giordano
W
hile Baltimore’s inaugural Grand Prix was something of an economic bust, generating economic activity well short of the $120 million predicted by race organizers, it proved a boon to Nick Miller and Adam Zilberbaum, co-founders of Parking Panda, Baltimore’s first peer-to-peer parking service. In three days, more than one hundred drivers used the system to find parking spots amid the chaotic tussle downtown over Labor Day weekend. Parking Panda allows homeowners with driveways or parking pads to list and rent those spots on a Web-based interface. The idea is similar to RelayRides, a successful carsharing service (see “My Car is Your Car,” Oct. ’10 Urbanite), transferred to the world of parking, Drivers, either online or via a smartphone, then reserve a parking space, thereby eliminating the endless city search for a vacant spot. Parking space owners set their own prices with direction from Miller and Zilberbaum, if needed. Parking Panda gets a 20 percent cut of the action. Spots generally fall in the $10 to $20 range, depending on where in the city you’re looking to park. Growing up in Baltimore and attending college in Washington, D.C., Miller envisioned a way for parking pad and driveway owners to make money from their unused space—and make booking parking as second nature as booking movie tickets or restaurant reservations. He pitched the idea at Baltimore’s Start-Up Weekend in April; there, he met Zilberbaum, a self-employed, computer-coding whiz, and the two of them slapped together the first version of Parking Panda. The pair’s plan won the weekend, which meant enough cash to incorporate plus $2,000 in seed money. After a summer at an entrepreneurs’ “roundtable” in New York, they returned to Charm City with $25,000, quit their jobs, and launched Parking Panda full-time in September. “Parking really is a valuable commodity, particularly when there’s a shortage of it,” Miller says. “This is a way to do two things: help drivers find cheaper parking … [and] drive down the overall cost of parking by adding to the inventory.” To date, some three hundred drivers have used the service. When it comes to Web- and smartphonebased parking applications, though, other cities have been quicker to the punch. For
example, Pittsburgh’s ParkPGH, which updates the availability of 5,000 spaces in ten downtown garages, won a recent award from the Intelligent Transportation Society of America. Another app, Parker, shows parking availability in several cities nationally, including Los Angeles and New York, providing reservation and pay-by-phone features. In D.C., Parkmobile offers a similar pay-by-phone service. In some ways, Parking Panda, which Miller and Zilberbaum hope to expand to Washington, D.C., next, is simply the latest iteration of a transportation trend criss-crossing the country: using new technology to make parking quicker and cheaper. But what makes Parking Panda unique is that its reservation system could recast how we view parking—and what we’re willing to pay for it. In October, Matthew Yglesias, a former fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, wrote a piece in The Atlantic Cities advising the Baltimore City Parking Authority to stop building new garages and sell off the thirteen garages and twenty-one surface lots that the city currently owns. Cheap parking, he argues, reduces incentives for people to move into the city and increases congestion. Yglesias, now Slate’s economics and business correspondent, says the government shouldn’t be subsidizing or supplying parking, because it creates more pollution and traffic jams. However, he adds, an “innovation that allows cities to use the parking spaces they already have and get customers for them ... creates value for homeowners ... even while it’s helpful for the commuters.” In other words, cities should provide less parking than drivers require, since it will encourage people to better utilize existing spaces. In Baltimore, that means unused driveways in typically parkingheavy neighborhoods like Fells Point, Canton, and Federal Hill, or privately owned garages that never fill to capacity. A San Francisco city-sponsored parking program comes close to what Yglesias outlines. While not a parking reservation system, SFpark—launched in April with the help of a $19.8 million Department of Transportation Urban Partnership Program grant—scans the availability of roughly 18,000 street and garage parking spots and sends the information to drivers via text message and smartphone app. Hockey puck-like car sensors embedded in
parking spaces at eight different neighborhoods allow the price of parking to adjust according to demand. Rates fall on streets with abundant parking and rise on streets packed with cars. “We’re trying to create parking availability at the lowest price possible at any given point of the day,” says Paul Rose of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Beyond that, Rose notes, it’s expected that San Fran’s public transit system will run more efficiently because having “demand-responsive pricing,” even if that means paying slightly more for a parking space, translates to fewer cars circling for spots. (A formal evaluation of SFpark is scheduled for sometime this spring.) Whether any sort of city-sponsored program would work here remains to be seen, although the traffic improvements in San Francisco and elsewhere could spur action eventually. For now, Miller and Zilberbaum, who plan to release a Parking Panda smartphone app soon, are focused solely on solving a problem for individual drivers. “Parking’s sort of the unknown,” Miller says. “Before you even leave your house, you should be able to go online and, just like you booked that dinner reservation, find and book a parking space as well.”
Urbanite #91 january 2012 25
The Organizer
United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard says unions play an integral role in rebuilding a healthy, diverse economy in the 21st century. INTERVIEW BY RON CASSIE
The son of a Canadian union organizer, Leo Gerard took a job at a nickle smelting plant in Ontario after high school, eventually getting elected shop steward and chief steward. He studied politics and economics at Laurentian University before quitting to take a union rep position. Currently he serves on the President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations. With politicians, economists, and academics weighing in daily on the future of the economy, Urbanite wanted to include someone representing workers in the discussion.
Q: What’s the role of unions in creating jobs today?
— We were very, very early out of the box on rebuilding the infrastructure. We were very early out of the box on renewable energy and supporting renewable energy. We were very, very early on the right environmental regulations, and in fact, [that they] create jobs. Now unions themselves—we are not a construction company. But the other way we create and advocate and protects jobs is by enforcing trade agreements. The kind of fights we’ve had to stop unfairly traded and dumped steel in America. Without us there wouldn’t be a steel industry in America. We’re doing the same thing now. We’re having huge fights with the Chinese about tires. So, enforcing trade laws. There are all kinds of ways that we play a very important role. Q: The Blue-Green Alliance, a partnership founded by the United Steelworkers and Sierra Club, goes against type. How did this come about?
— It now has an alliance of over 14.5 million members … And the reality is this: The same people that would tell us that you can’t have good wages and a decent pension are the same people that would tell us you can’t have good jobs and a clean environment. I grew up in a community in Canada, in northern Ontario, that was considered the pollution capital of North America, and the union, through our work and our collective bargaining, cleaned it up. And it’s now gotten awards for the most comprehensive rehabilitation of the lands in Canada. The truth isn’t that you’ve got to have a clean environment—or good jobs; it’s the fact that you are either going to have both or you’ll have neither ... And so we’ve done a lot of important things with the Sierra Club. We went after illegally logged timber from Indonesia and saved jobs here. We did work on other places where environmental degradation was causing us to lose jobs here. 26 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
Q: I n terms of jobs, we hear about IT, bioscience, the wireless and high-tech industries. What are the challenges to organizing in the new economy? Should they be organized?
— If you look at the countries in the world that have the highest rates of unionization, like the Scandinavian countries, and countries like Germany, as an example, the countries with the highest rates of unionization have recovered from the economic calamity the best. The countries that have a high rate of unionization have a diverse industrial structure and haven’t turned their economy over to the banks and the Wall Street bandit types ... We should recognize that the best way to share in productivity is through negotiation, and that’s what unions do. You negotiate with your employer, and you come to an understanding. No different than when an employer negotiates with their other suppliers. They negotiate with their trucking firm. They negotiate with their utility. With their CEO, theoretically. Q: R eferendum results in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Maine, as well as the Occupy Wall Street movement, appear to be giving labor newfound energy.
— People see that there is a system that is broken and not working for everybody. So they are responding first by resisting the kind of stupid stuff brought forth by these state senators and state governors. I’ve challenged them, and I’ve challenged everyone: Show me a country that got into economic turmoil and got out by austerity … the only way to grow your way to success is to get down from 28 million people that are either underemployed or unemployed and bring that number down to the historic level of maybe four or five percent ... Then you have the Occupy movement ... Now we are talking about inequality in a way we never did. Governor Walker in Wisconsin has generated a debate on collective bargaining, as [Ohio Governor] John Kasich has, that we should have welcomed because the 72 percent of the public in Wisconsin
believe we ought to have collective bargaining for everybody. Q: Sparrows Point, formerly the world’s largest steel mill, restarted its blast furnace last fall after a purchase by New York investor Ira Rennert. But the plant continues to struggle with high raw material costs and a lack of capital investment. It doesn’t make the high quality steel, for example, used to manufacture cars or wind turbines. Does steel manufacturing have a future in the U.S.?
— If you look around the world, you tell me a successful industrial nation that doesn’t have a steel industry. Unless America decides that it wants to have a manufacturing and industrial economy that creates real wealth and starts standing up to the folks that are violating every principle they’ve agreed to, like the Chinese, the Koreans, and, you know, dozens of other nations, and stops giving away our industrial might through rotten trade deals, no one knows what the future will hold. I don’t know any nation on Earth that can survive if it doesn’t make things. We’ve got an almost $700 billion annual trade deficit, half of that on manufactured goods ... Only manufacturing creates real wealth when you take raw materials, creativity, energy, people’s best innovation, productivity, and you convert that into something ... You trade a fucking bond, you don’t create nothing ... Except for ’08, the economic collapse, America has set a record trade deficit for twenty-five years. Year over year. We kept getting sold the same bill of goods. As my friend [AFL-CIO president] Rich Trumka says, you know the definition of insanity is when you keep doing the same things over and over and expect different results. Q: Scandinavia and Germany are reportedly much more engaged with management as well as developers, designers. Has there been movement in the U.S. across the traditional management/ union divide?
— I think the Scandinavian and European model is based on a commitment to lifelong learning, it’s based on a commitment to have a strong industrial base, it’s based on a commitment that workers can bring more to work than just their backs and their arms, that they can use their brain. Workers play a role on supervisory boards, which are like boards of directors in Germany, and they play a role in determining the future of the company. None of that exists in America. And, in fact, workers are kept out, and the result is that you’ve got these ungodly management salaries that are 300 to 400 times what the average worker in their plant is making.
keynote
photo Courtesy of usw
Urbanite #91 january 2012 27
C1ty By NuMb3r5
Has a former physicist found a formula for growing better cities? By Michael Anft
illustrations by james noellert
28 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
I
magine if someone concocted a method for turning cities inside out, so we could view their inner workings—their strengths and shortcomings, how they grow and thrive and die—at an almost cellular level. By analyzing a vast sweep of data, everything from how much money the city’s residents make to the numbers of miles in its sewer lines, this system could tell us just how successful a city has been, where it falls flat, and how it stacks up to other cities of its size. Would we, armed with this killer urban-wonk app, be able to pull off a feat that has eluded generations of urban planners, politicians, and sundry city boosters: turn a troubled municipality back from the brink?
Geoffrey West, a theoretical physicist who has taken to studying, in exquisitely rich detail, how metro areas work, thinks so. Along with a team of researchers at the Santa Fe Institute, where he serves as “distinguished professor,” West has quantified what we’ve long suspected about cities: Buzzing beehives of human activity churn up a honey of creativity and wealth. The bigger the hive, the more ideas and economic activity spew out of it. By slicing the beehive down the middle and investigating its parts— such as its crime, level of patent development, and population levels—the West team has been able to find common reference points of scale among cities or metro areas worldwide, ones that might lead to answers about what makes a city succeed.
He has emphasized what one could call “West’s Paradox”: Even though cities consistently deliver certain negatives—more disease, more poverty, and more violent crime than surrounding areas and small towns—the ideas and innovation they produce also provide the best hope for solving those problems. “The only way to deal with the problems cities present us with is to make better cities,” says West. “And the only way to ensure their health is to make sure they keep growing.” We tend to view metropolises as complex one-of-a-kind admixtures of history, culture, and geography. West has effectively scientized the study of them by developing “a mechanistic theory that transcends the individuality of a city,” he says, one he hopes will complement traditional urban Urbanite #91 january 2012 29
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of the workforce
2000»2010 up
58.7% EDS AND MEDS Want a job? The education and health care sectors—which include teachers, school administrators, doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel—are the Baltimore-Towson area’s fastest growing employment pool.
planning. He and his researchers corralled data from the U.S. Census Bureau and from governments worldwide on various urban systems. Then, he and Luis Bettencourt, another physicist and an external professor at the Santa Fe Institute, did what physicists do. They developed equations to figure out the shape and velocity of things. Their findings dispute the notion that a particular city’s problems are uniquely its own. If, for example, you were to tell West that you live in an unnamed metro region with 2.5 million people, he can come up with a strong estimate of how much crime and how many paved roads you’ ll have, among other metrics. A native of Taunton in rural western England, West, 71, says the need for more predictive, science-based urban research is unquestioned. The world groans under the weight of 7 billion people, about half of them now living in urban areas. Even if cities weren’t the answer to our population problems, we’d somehow have to conjure up a belief that they were, West says. “Cities are popular for a reason,” he says. “They are how we take advantage of economies of scale.” Few nations illustrate that better than the U.S.: Two centuries ago, only 4 percent of the country was urbanized; today, the figure stands at 82 percent. The shift explains much of our success at developing wealth— and for our capacity for hurting and killing each other. The task now is to understand how urban cores go from being successful and productive to hollowed-out and silent—and then how to reverse the slide. West has no easy or swift answers for places like Baltimore, whose postwar economic decline was long in coming. “One thing we discovered was that underperforming cities have been that way for twenty or thirty years,” West says. (So too with successful cities: San Jose’s boom predates the silicon chip.) In Baltimore, incomes that began to decline four decades ago have only recently crept up. Population loss might finally be flattening out, along with the crime rate. All encouraging metrics—but hold the applause: “With the exception of lowering crime, we haven’t been able to see any real effects from what politicians do to change things for the better,” West says. The trouble is that even right-minded pols may only be able to nibble around the edges. “Our work shows that politicians and planners only have 10 to 15 percent of the scale of a city to work with,” West says. “The other 85 percent of what is measurable is kind of determined
“The only way to deal with the problems cities present us with is to make better cities,” says West. “And the only way to ensure their health is to make sure they keep growing.”
up
8.9%
112,400 8.7%
YOU GOT SERVED The leisure and hospitality supersector includes arts, entertainment, and recreation jobs and the food and accommodation sector. The most recent numbers signal a slight dip in a sector that has seen growth in the previous decade.
2000»2010
of the workforce
workers
19.2%
workers
249,500
just by a city’s size. It’s uncanny. One of the lessons here is that it’s very hard to change a city. It typically takes decades.” West’s team recently amassed a data set, spanning the 1960s to 2006, of various quality-of-life statistics from the 366 largest metro areas in the United States, including the “Baltimore-Towson” region, and then ranked them from top to bottom. The rankings show that Baltimore has been making modest strides. Personal income is up (we’re at 67 in 2006, up from 123 in 1986), as is the overall rate of innovation as measured by the number of patents issued here (133 in 2006, improved from 207 twenty years earlier). Although the area is still a hornet’s nest of crime, its violence ranking improved from 32 in 2002 to 51 four years later. Bettencourt says it isn’t surprising that Baltimore ends up in the upper-fifth for violent crime and only about average in per capita gross domestic production. In many ways, its performance mirrors that of other former industrial towns that boomed in the 19th century. “Historically, it has been more difficult for manufacturing cities to come back because they have to rebuild their cultures and economy,” says Bettencourt. “Industries in these cities, in order to be of a proper scale, had to be large. And they were controlled by very few players.” This arrangement meant that employers in industrial cities had a paternalistic relationship with residents and workers, one that didn’t inspire new businesses or fresh ways to build up neighborhoods. “Very few cities have come back from that,” Bettencourt adds. Partly as a result, Baltimore’s rate of innovation is only average for a city its size. For contrast, Bettencourt offers up Pitsburgh, a recovering steel town with a penchant for churning out new ideas, the group’s research shows. Faced with a rapidly declining steel industry, Pittsburgh could have been on the same trail as Detroit. “But they worked to make it more pleasant for people to be there, putting money into downtown and perhaps attracting back more creative people,” Bettencourt says. “It’s not a poor city anymore; it’s somewhere toward the middle of the rankings. It has reversed some of its population loss.” Pittsburgh has managed to hold on to more of its educated class and is starting to “scale up”—an important concept throughout West and Bettencourt’s work—its creative sectors by luring like-minded younger people to kick-start the city’s economy. Such stories are manna for those who preach the gospel of economic transformation via innovative urban development. Local tech entrepreneur David Troy is a big Geoffrey West fan, and he echoes West’s emphasis on a more information-centric approach to improving the city. “[West’s]
Urbanite #91 january 2012 31
down
6.9%
5.7%
workers
71,500
2000»2010
of the workforce
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JAC K S O N V I L L E , F L L OU I SV I L L E , K Y
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P IT T S B U RG H , PA ST . L OU I S , M O AT L A N TA , GA
COLUMBUS, OH
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P H I L A D E L P H I A , PA
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CLEVELAND, OH RO C H E ST E R , N Y
D ET RO IT , M I C H I C AG O , I L
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SA N D I E G O , C A
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M I LWAU K E E , W I R I C H M O N D , VA RALEIGH, NC B O STO N , M A
BA LT I M O R E , M D
1.0
0.8
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DECORRELATION
A “dendrogram” is a tree diagram that shows clusters of similar items. In the one above, from the 2010 paper “Urban Scaling and Its Deviations: Revealing the Structure of Wealth, Innovation, and Crime Across Cities,” Geoffrey West's research team groups metropolitan areas into “families of kindred cities”—urban areas that might not be close geographically or culturally but have a kind of invisible structural resemblance to each other because of “commonalities and economic choices and historical paths.” You’ll find Baltimore’s twin brother clumped in the lower right corner: Boston. What, besides a strong maritime past, an affection for crustacean-eating, and an annoying accent, do we have in common with Boston? With one of the nation’s highest costs of living and much-touted innovation and finance sectors, brainy Beantown would seem to have little to do with blue-collar Bmore. Historically, though, the two cities are more statistically similar than you might believe. “The dendrogram deals with the history of deviations [from a norm involving all researched cities] over the entire period of 1969 to 2006,” explains Luis Bettencourt, a professor and colleague of West's at the Santa Fe Institute. Both Boston and Baltimore suffered from similar symptoms of de-industrialization since the 1960s, with closing factories and flight to the suburbs. The curious kinship might also contain some good news, he adds: “Boston as a whole isn't as prosperous as all that. And Baltimore as a metro area isn't as poor.” —M.A.
32 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
work helps provide some scientific underpinning that validates the thinking of people like [writer and urban activist] Jane Jacobs, who theorized that cities create economic value because of the efficiencies and creative output they generate,” he says. Stephen J.K. Walters, a professor of economics at Loyola University in Maryland, is less familiar with West’s work but says that it seems to follow his own understanding of urban economic development. “Livable cities not only attract innovators and entrepreneurs, but enable them to trade knowledge more economically,” he says. “In prior eras, the ideas traded had more to do with making stuff rather than providing services more efficiently and inventing new stuff. But urban effects of scale are, indeed, very likely to continue to be crucial to the destiny of cities—and Baltimore needs to do a great deal more to compete effectively on that playing field.” the city-as-beehive analogy might be apt in explaining West’s M.O. He takes his cues from nature. A onetime expert on particle physics, West began to move away from the field in 1993, when the federal government withdrew money earmarked for a supercollider project in Texas. He ended up looking into allometry, the study of scale and growth rates, and how it plays out in biology. Famously among the thousands of scientists who have cited his work, West said that larger organisms, which have slower metabolisms, need less energy per gram of weight to move about than small ones, making them more efficient. An elephant, for example, is 10,000 times bigger than a guinea pig but only needs 1,000 times the energy to get around. This rhymed with the economies of scale West saw when, in 2002, he turned his gaze toward cities, where more people can share infrastructure and services, making them both more efficient and productive than less-dense human settlements. But there’s a big difference between an elephant and a city. Biology plods sustainably along, with major changes taking place over tens of millennia or more. Cities, on the other hand, evolve by the day, and—if they’re successful—at faster and faster rates. That rate of growth is key. To keep working, cities must generate ever-more productive, even transformative ideas. When they do, people from the hinterlands and beyond will uproot themselves to buzz over to the beehive. Which, on a global scale, is what’s now happening: One million people, many of them bordercrossers, move from farms and towns to cities every week. “It’s astonishing,” West says. “There’s nothing like this in nature.” Not everybody is buying into West’s city-centric fascinations. Some researchers bristle at the notion that this ex-physicist’s stat-crunching stunts tell us anything new about how cities operate, much less offer a universal urban theory of everything. Joel Kotkin, a professor of urban development at Chapman College in Orange, California, insists that much of the economic vitality of metro areas is created outside the core of a city, in less-celebrated suburbs and exurbs. “The most sucof cessful areas in terms of jobs and inthe come growth are generally low denworkforce sity, including the suburbs,” he says. The age of innovation growth in city centers, Kotkin thinks, has largely passed: “The Baltimore region has done exceedingly well in creating an atmosphere for tech jobs, but the indications are that it is all pretty much
60,900 4.7%
employment charts by ari pinkus data: bureau of labor statistics
workers
MOVING MONEY In October 2011, 71,500 Baltimoreans were working in financial activities—selling insurance, brokering real estate, giving investment advice, and working in banks and credit unions, among many other jobs. That’s 6,800 less than in 2000, when 78,300 were employed in the sector.
suburban.” Population trends support his argument: The city lost 30,000 residents between census counts in 2000 and 2010, while the city’s suburbs grew by 188,000. West’s vision of cities as idea hives might echo that of the well-known urban theorist Richard Florida—“creatives” and immigrants are good; stodgy old businesses, bad—but there’s also a streak of Thomas Malthus running through his work. Malthus is the fellow who inspired generations of environmental doomsayers by arguing (in “An Essay on the Principle of Population” in 1798) that humankind would soon breed and eat itself out of resources. Cities can indeed thrive on their own metamorphic creativity, as West suggests, but his corollary’s a bummer: This can’t go on forever. The upward rise of cities stops when they run out of fuel, food, or social cohesion, or when they attempt to take in more people than they can handle. And in an era when some economists worry that all of the low-hanging fruit of highyield capitalism has been picked, the growth engines needed to fuel larger, more inventive, and more successful cities may have run out of steam. “I, frankly, don’t think we can do this sustainably, at least not the way we’re growing cities now,” West agrees. “It’s not at all clear we can keep up the rate of growth we need. In fact, I rather doubt that we can.” It might be a buzzkill for all those beleaguered burgs that are betting on the transformative power of the creative class, but West isn’t certain that small-scale entrepreneurship and micro-enterprise—the urban farming outfits, locavore restaurants, and boutique-y mini-manufacturers so celebrated by the creative class—can fully replace the industrial-age jobs that built cities such as Baltimore in the first place. “We don’t know whether that’s the kind of innovation we need or not,” he admits. But even if he can’t anticipate exactly what will work, West seems optimistic that something will. And whoever comes up with it will probably live in a city. “The great thing about cities is you can basically do anything—that’s their strength,” he says. “The sustainability of cities comes from this opening up, this embracing of diversity. Cities allow homeless and crazy people to walk around the streets. They allow people to do all sorts of creative and strange things. Corporations”—the latest study subject for West and company—“don’t tolerate those differences. And they die because of it.” —Contributing writer Michael Anft wrote about Baltimore’s population loss in his October 2009 feature “Let’s Get Small.”
MAKING STUFF No surprise: Baltimore industrial decay continues. In October 2011, only 4.7 percent of the region’s workforce was employed in manufacturing. Back in 1970, almost 30 percent of city residents worked in this sector.
2000»2010 down
35%
Our Better Half
Just 40 miles from downtown Baltimore, there’s a recessionproof, job-creating force of invulnerable economic wellbeing. Why can’t we get a bigger piece of the D.C. action?
M
By david dudley
ore than a year ago, I took a new job in Washington, D.C., and joined the invisible republic of Baltimore City residents who spend their working lives in—or in transit to and from—the nation’s capital. Door to door, the commute from living room to desk runs a little less than two hours, a multi-modal passage via train, bicycle, and foot. Driving can shave a bit off this, depending on traffic, but not as much as you’d think. The Census Bureau classifies this increasingly unremarkable schlep as “extreme commuting”—ninety minutes or more, each way. Extreme commuters comprise a small but fast-growing subset of American workers, with more than 3.5 million people doing it. The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is something of a hotbed of extreme commuting: The average get-to-work time for residents is now second only to New York City’s metro area for longest in the nation, in part because the federal jobs colossus is inhaling workers from ever-further-flung suburbs—and from the city just 40 miles to the north. Joining this hajj has been an instructive experience, on many levels: “Work” is no longer a thing one does for part of the day; it’s more like a dual citizenship to a neighboring but utterly foreign country. Work-world is a different place than life-world. A friend of mine who’s made been making this daily journey to a D.C. job for a decade says she sometimes still wakes up and marvels at the task awaiting her each morning: I have to go to another city today! That so many people willingly make this migration speaks to more than just the modest geographic distance separating the twin cities. To step off the train in Union Station every morning is to emerge, somewhat disoriented, into the brisk air of a recession-proof boomtown. You can see it in the crowds marching crisply along the wide sidewalks, the company men and women of the ultimate company town. This is a city of work. Greater D.C. has sailed through the recent economic troubles. Housing values are rising, unemployment is the lowest of any major metro area, and household income is the highest in the nation. D.C’s business boosters can tout all manner of gaudy stats on the area’s attraction for college grads and hightech startups, its increasingly well-educated and diversified workforce (federal jobs fill only 13 percent of the Washington area’s labor pool), and its epic jobcreating capacity—about 84,000 stimulus-fed jobs in 2010, which was 6 percent of the job growth of the entire country. When Gallup polled Americans on their sense of economic wellbeing last summer, residents of Washington D.C. weren’t just the most sanguine about their current economic conditions: The Urbanite #91 january 2012 33
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District was the only place in America where a majority of people expressed optimism about the state of the economy. So many dollars are sloshing around the federal city that they’ve spilled over into the traffic-clogged and townhouseladen suburbs of Maryland and Northern Virginia (ten of the top twenty-five counties for median household income are in the Balt-Wash metro area), and, to a much smaller degree, in Baltimore City itself—which is enjoying comparatively low unemployment and modest job growth. But the numbers don’t capture the psychological gulf between the two cities’ states of mind—the sense that Baltimore and Washington, D.C., despite having been lumped into a single statistical area by Census demographers, might as well be orbiting different suns. Urbanists have long preached the gospel of regionalism, the not-thatradical notion that cities and their suburbs should plan and pay for their economic development strategies together to acknowledge the fact that their fates are intertwined. Thinking regionally is particularly critical in a place like Baltimore, which has the fortune of being roommates with the smartest and richest kid in the class. But politically, this hasn’t been an easy sell. Back in 1999, an economic development report prepared by two University of Maryland researchers concluded that the area’s economic planners had long known that Baltimore needed to hitch a ride to the fast-growing Washington, D.C. market but noted that the idea of marketing the city as part of greater D.C. “appears to be anathema to many Baltimore—and Washington—area officials.” These days, the state’s pro-density PlanMaryland scheme voices a similar we’re-in-this-megaregion-together message, in an effort to contain untrammelled suburban sprawl. Live Baltimore, the local nonprofit that markets city living, used to run a D.C. promotion to entice 90s-era District residents to abandon their abundantly dysfunctional town and set down roots in affordable Baltimore. But rather than luring D.C. workers, what if we could lure their employers? D.C. commands the second-highest office rents in the country—a
For most of these two cities’ histories, Baltimore was the brawnier brother—the bighearted “real city” that stood apart from the careerists, transients, and bureaucrats down the road.
workers
232,000
17.9%
of the workforce
2000»2010 up
17.8%
WORKING FOR THE MAN The government payroll encompasses state, local, and federal public sector workers. The effects of recession-era belt-tightening could be seen in the slight decline over the last year, but this sector has still grown substantially since 2000.
Manhattan-esque $50 a square foot on average. Downtown Baltimore, meanwhile, sits about 20 percent vacant, charges a bargain $21 per square foot, and enjoys a scenic waterfront location steps from a commuter rail link to D.C. To be sure, there is a federal footprint in Baltimore (beyond the massive Social Security complex in Woodlawn): The General Services Administration, the federal office landlord, currently owns or leases part of eight buildings in the central business district, including an IRS facility and a federal courthouse. There are about 4,000 federal workers toiling in the city, according to the Downtown Partnership, and “we’d be happy to take more,” says Partnership president Kirby Fowler. But the city’s not aggressively politicking for more federal presence. “Are we going to D.C and saying ‘Give us hud’? No.” Nevertheless, as a thought experiment, let’s imagine that we do convince a federal agency that no one pays too much attention to—say, the Census Bureau—to move their shop downtown. Census employees get to exchange the charmless Suitland Federal Center in Prince George’s County for character-filled digs in a reanimated downtown tower, and suddenly there are more than 4,000 new souls laboring, lunching, and maybe living downtown. By comparison, sporting goods maker Under Armour, one of the city’s homegrown business success stories, employs about 1,200 at its Tide Point H.Q. Such an influx might be an easier sell if Baltimore had the infrastructure to handle it—that high-speed rail line to D.C. would sure be handy. Even without some mag-lev wondertrain, stouter marc service would go a long way toward closing the psychic space between the two cities. marc is enjoying high ridership, but, as my fellow extreme commuters know, it’s not a perfect system. Infrequent service at nonrush hours (and non-service on federal holidays) can make working late a nerve-wracking challenge; delays and disruptions over the summer of 2010 made so many headlines that the governor hopped aboard to apologize to passengers. The system works, but not well enough to offer a deep sense that Baltimore and Washington are inseparably linked. And maybe that’s OK, to a degree: Trying to poach jobs from Prince George’s County would mean submitting to an awkward new reality, one in which Baltimore City, once the state’s economic superstar, is now something more like a gritty exurb of Washington, D.C.—Suitland with skyscrapers and an nfl team. For most of these two cities’ histories, Baltimore was the brawnier brother—the big-hearted “real city” that stood coolly apart from the careerists, transients, and bureaucrats down the road. The buzz of cultural enmity that crackled between Baltimoreans and their D.C. kin was part of the charm of living here. And, yes, it still is, even though the power dynamic between the siblings has shifted. Part of what we like about living in Baltimore is that it’s still everything Washington and environs isn’t: a place where you raise kids and don’t sweat your career and try to have as pleasant a life as you can. Little wonder, then, that Baltimore didn’t exactly rush to embrace the megaregion mindset, although we may be paying for that choice now. And that leaves many of us stuck in-between, chasing jobs in a city that works while going home to a city that doesn’t, or at least not as hard. When I return to the evening torpor of Penn Station at day’s end, it’s like teleporting from Manhattan into Mayberry. Suddenly, no one looks very busy. —Former Urbanite editor-in-chief David Dudley is now an editor in Washington, D.C. You can find him on MARC trains 421 and 442.
Urbanite #91 january 2012 35
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fiction Spark of Life By Chris Sumberg
he didn’t need to be told that he was compulsive; he told himself all the time. When he checked the dials on the stove: “OffOff-Off, Off,” and then backwards: “Off, Off-Off-Off,” he knew it was insane, but he’d do it a half-dozen more times, using (so as to be utterly thorough) the Number Method: “One-Off, Two-Off, Three-Off, Four-Off ”; the Reverse Number Method: “Four-Off, Three-Off, Two-Off, One-Off”; the Lucky Number Method: “One, One, One, One”—and so forth. Finally, at some mysterious point, timed by either exhaustion, self-disgust, or the movement of the planets, he’d desert the four freezing burners and, by staring at the desolate dial at the far end of the console, verify that the oven still was ice-cold. All of this activity, including, naturally, the checking of the space heater, electrical outlets, stereo and radio buttons, microwave, blender, alarm clock, and the relative position of wastepaper to anything that might produce flames was the matter of a thirty-minute fire inspection whenever he wished to leave his home. Once he was out the door, in the real world, the great, grand world at large—where fire was, it must be said, of no concern to him whatsoever—that was, more or less, that. Yet, he might have admitted (compulsively hedging?) to a “small problem” concerning his car. It certainly was a small problem, he might have argued, that he feared its being stolen, because this worry (he might have explained) was based on a not entirely unreasonable set of factors. First, it was a sporty little car, a few years old, but newly painted (red), tuned up, with a functioning battery, the insides vacuumed, and, when the headlights were switched on, the glowing dashboard of a jet’s cockpit. Additionally, it was noted for good gas mileage and low maintenance costs— and, therefore, it was coveted not only by common thieves but by the petit bourgeois. (Petit bourgeois joyriders!) In short, even an idiot could see that all indicators favored theft. So, whenever he parked the car, he would lock and then test both doors, turning the key all the way to one side, holding it there, and then flipping the handle repeatedly. He’d press down the car’s rear hatch (although he opened it only on weekends when he bought groceries). He also would give a cursory tap on the locking gas cap. Then, he would push at each of the car’s windows. They occasionally would dodge their rubber seals, and this was, of course, an open invitation to car-stealing juveniles and minor Mafiosi, and the petit bourgeois, a veritable neon sign blinking: “STEAL THIS CAR! WINDOW ISN’T SHUT CORRECTLY! STEAL THIS CAR! ALL YOU NEED IS A COAT HANGER! S-T-E-A-L T-HI-S C-A-R!!” So he’d push the windows until they popped securely into place. Finally, before leaving the car, he would consider the position of its front tires: turned sharply toward the curb, making it difficult to roll the vehicle into a thief’s truck. Then, he’d check
the doors again and check the popped windows one more time, and then he’d sprint to work where, inevitably, he’d arrive fifteen minutes late. The real problem was that he was engaged to a woman with whom he’d once lived, a woman who had driven him half around the bend with a host of alleged “little things,” like the offhand positioning of highly combustible wastepaper within the 20-foot radius of a functioning electrical outlet. What if a random window draft had pushed the paper into the socket?! What then?! She hadn’t had an answer to that one. In fact, he remembered her saying that no one had an answer to that one. And so—although conceding that he, too, didn’t have the answer to that one—he moved out, telling her that he loved her more than anyone else on Earth, which he did, but adding that she was driving him to the brink of insanity and premature baldness. They’d had a rough patch after that, with his occasional and rather restrained (he felt) references to matchbooks lost beneath couch cushions—one flumphing sprawl on the sofa and the house would be engulfed in flames!—or her tendency to leave pots of water on the plugged-in stove. (Admittedly, the stove was switched off, but what of power surges? As he could have told her, electrical fires are the most difficult to extinguish. Buckets of water are useless: The flames must be fought hand-to-hand, with buckets of sand and blankets. He felt stupid keeping the buckets of sand and the king-sized Army blanket in the kitchen, and, at a certain level, he blamed her for that—and for the back-up sand and back-up blankets that he also stored there.) But the small problem of the car. During their very long engagement, he’d drive her someplace, and she would close the passenger door, and he would close and test the driver’s side door to make sure that it was secure. And then he’d step around and test her door. And she would look at him. After the first week of this, she began looking at him with suppressed irritation. After two weeks, she added sighing and removed the suppression. After three weeks, she added eye-rolling to what soon became an elaborate behavioral package: look, sigh, roll eyes, shut eyes, growl, repeat sigh, and walk away, shoulders hunched, with an irritated expression that contorted the face (like lava leaking from a glowering furnace cover). Always there were these components in her reaction, and always in the same order— a compulsion of her own, perhaps? But, as with the information about fighting electrical fires, he kept this observation to himself. In fact, there was an instance when he tried not to test her door. They’d driven to her place for dinner. When she finally went to the bathroom, he bolted out the front door, leapt off the porch, skidded across the lawn, jumped the hedge, staggered across the sidewalk to the car and turned the key, flipped the door handle,
Urbanite #91 january 2012 41
fiction
and pushed at the window. He was pretty sure—well, hopeful— that she hadn’t heard the telltale rattling and popping noises or the second slam of her front door as he decided to check the car just one more time. She was not uncooperative in dealing with his compulsions, by the way. She always would rattle the handle after slamming the car door shut. She would push at the window, too. But these were, he knew, symbolic pushes, and she rarely, if ever, successfully popped the window back into place. On the other hand, she always locked her door successfully, and this led to an important point: It was distrustful of him to rattle her door handle. (To push at her window might have been another thing. The window procedure required a finesse that made it marginally acceptable.) And she would look, sigh, roll eyes, shut eyes, growl, repeat sigh, and walk away, shoulders hunched, molten features churning. It’s not as if he blamed her for any of that. Yet, despite the constant checking, she loved him. Also, as she saw it, she had her own car. Realistically, how much time would she have to spend in his car through the duration of a happy marriage? As for the house, she knew that for the rest of her life she would arrive fifteen minutes late to any event that they attended together. In fact, she’d begun composing anecdotes to meet that reality. (“Sorry we’re late, dear. We thought we’d left the oven on and drove back to check.”) On the plus side, it was unlikely that she would ever burn up in a house fire. She began talking openly of the impending marriage and of the end of the endless engagement. She spoke with a clarity that made it inevitable. He, of course, brooded on those nights and early mornings when he’d wakened suddenly in a sweat and had crept downstairs—just to verify that the oven really was switched off. He thought how he’d spend the rest of his nights, more wide awake than ever, worrying for two: if the baking pan still was in the oven, if the blender still was plugged in, if, somewhere, water was boiling. Mysterious electrical reactions threatened at any time, and with two people doubling their chance of occurrence, the danger was unlimited. He brooded about the time a few months earlier when he’d broken his big toe. He’d been checking on the car, seeing if it was locked, and he’d kicked a tire iron with his bare foot. (Had she really closed the rear hatch of the car after they’d brought in the groceries or had she just been humoring him? Did she really know that the hatch was locked? Did he know? Could anyone really know?) And he finally thought that he didn’t much care about the car or the house anymore. He’d evaded fire and theft (and even gasoline thievery) for so long that his fears had become rather abstract. Off-Off-Off, Off! One-Two-Three-Four! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Every precaution a pointless step in a meaningless ritual! He really didn’t care anymore if someone stole his car. As far as he was concerned, it was theirs. All this time fussing over a crappy little car! He longed to own an old Plymouth with wobbly wheels, gray flat-tone paint, an engine clanking like a street being air-drilled, and plastic sheets in place of windows. A car like that—by God!— just leave the keys in it, motor running, doors hanging open. Who the hell would care? What a wonderful life it would be! And his house. Hee-hee-hee! All burners on go, baby! One-ON! Two-ON! Three-ON! Four-ON! Crank the heater up to MAX and throw gasoline and cherry bombs everywhere! He’d take a change of underwear, a toothbrush, and a comb, and he’d tap dance his way through the flames. He’d jump into the Plymouth—find someone to help push it into gear—and drive to his fiancée’s house.
“This is it, babe,” he’d tell her. They’d go to the Registrar’s office, and he’d plomp down $26.50 in cash for the marriage license. “To hell with the receipt, lady. You think I keep valuable records?! Life is short! You’ve got to live, woman, LIVE!” On a whim, he’d smash his piggy bank, cash his life savings, and fly with his bride to France. That winter, they’d live in the grottoes beneath the Paris Opera House, rising every morning to the smells of burnt croissants and overheating espresso urns. In the spring, they’d lease the French equivalent of the battered Plymouth: an old Citroën, with rusty springs bursting through the upholstery, its highly flammable stuffing rich with the sharp smell of cheese, sourdough bread, spilt Beaujolais, and unfiltered cigarettes. When touring the countryside, they’d park along the road and happily fall to sleep, the motor still rumbling, the heater still on. “Mon ami! It’s verry verry bad for zee engine to run round zee clock like that!” some stressed-out Frenchman would say. He’d answer: “Get a grip, Pierre. You never heard of joie de vivre?” They’d work their way across the Continent, living day-to-day, cooking cherries jubilee on the engine block and pressing wine from the wild dandelions found beside the Autobahn. By the time they reached the Black Forest, he would have established himself as a “Meister-Kindler,” a semi-professional lumber man who wandered through woodland, collecting anything that was even vaguely combustible. Pure profit! So easy! (And he could put by enough money to purchase their own fireworks store!) Yes, Life would truly, truly be good if only he could unload his stinking little car and burn down his house. He’d do it! She was asleep under a stack of blankets. He had his own stack. They slept under separate stacks because of his insomnia, mumbling, and compulsive rolling and kicking. He shook her blanket stack. There was no response. He began peeling the covers away, shaking the pile after each blanket was cast aside—peel: shake, peel: shake, peel: shake... “Honey? ... Honey? ... C’mon, wake up, Honey.” Peel: shake. “Honey?” Peel: shake. “Honey?” “Urk.” “Got an idea.” “What time is it?” “Honey, listen. I’m changing it all. Everything. I’m going to set that damned car on fire!” “Urk.” “Will you marry me—right away? Tomorrow—or, I guess, today? Three-four-five-six o’clock. We can be married and living in a car in Paris by evening!” “Is this a nightmare?” “It’s a vision! A new life! Let’s get married!” She drifted back to sleep, exhaling, phhhhhhhh, like air escaping from a Citroën’s leaky tire. He collapsed into his pillow, his face sweaty. In the explosion of an instant, his life had been reversed. Far away, a train whistle blew—cooooooooooo, coooowahhhhhhh, cooo-wahhhhhhhhhhh . Nearer, just outside the bedroom window, a frog began singing: Brack-brack-brack-brack ... Brack-brack-brack-brack. Always, he noted, four “bracks.” Brackbrack-brack-brack . From the darkness beside him came phhhhhhhhhh, a long wispy sigh. Her warm arm thomped across his chest. He pulled the blankets up. Somewhere, water was dripping.
Urbanite #91 january 2012 43
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Color field: Vibrant art lends a whimsical, inviting feel to LAMILL Coffee inside the new Four Seasons hotel.
The
City on High By rebecca messner
photography by J.M. Giordano
In the gleaming Four Seasons hotel, the transition from old to new Baltimore has never felt so literal. Up in the waterfront-view rooms of the new Four Seasons hotel in Harbor East, one comes to the realization that the Inner Harbor really isn’t that pretty. Smokestacks send billows of black smoke into the sky, the towering cranes of the city’s port loom in the distance, and the gray snake of I-95 winds lurkingly through the city’s west side. There is the sense in these rooms—which run from $279 to $6,000 a night and feature floor-to-ceiling windows and waterproof canvas paintings above marble bathtubs—that the Four Seasons feels slightly out of place in the city. Never has the contrast between new
and old Baltimore felt so literal. It is, however, a distinction that the owners embrace. “I think that’s one of the great things about Baltimore,” says Michael Beatty, president of the Harbor East Development Corporation, a subsidiary of H&S Properties that owns the new hotel. “You have this mix of luxury and industry.” Beatty, who spearheaded the development of the glittering Harbor East neighborhood along with H&S Properties founder John Paterakis, can be considered responsible for this luxury—he was the one who convinced the Four Seasons hotel group to take a chance on Baltimore. Urbanite #91 january 2012 45
Setting the bar high: The bar at Wit and Wisdom, the New American restaurant in the Four Seasons under the operation of celebrity chef Michael Mina
“I begged,” he says. “I called them quarterly for years.” It wasn’t until 2001, when the HEDC opened the Mariott Waterfront Hotel in Harbor East, that Beatty got the group’s attention. “He was very persistent,” says David Classen, director of development for the Four Seasons corporate office in Toronto. “A number of times, we thought, ‘Oh, Baltimore, we don’t really know’ … It’s not Paris, France. There has to be a compelling reason to enter that market. Beatty essentially invited himself to Toronto and helped us understand those reasons.”
There are three things that the Four Seasons corporate office looks for when deciding on its next hotel location: the strength of the market, the quality of the proposed product, and the strength of the capital partner. The fact that Baltimore had no other luxury hotel worked to its advantage, but it was the stability of H&S Properties as a developer in the city that ultimately persuaded the hotel group. The Four Seasons doesn’t actually own its hotels but instead takes on the task of managing the properties, relying on capital partners to develop and finance the projects. The building costs, it
Luxury market: The hotel in Baltimore is the latest addition to the Four Seasons’s eightysix locations in thirty-five countries.
46 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
should be noted, came to $200 million, $45 million of which came from federal stimulus money in the form of Recovery Zone Facility Bonds. However, the hotel did not benefit from tax breaks like PILOT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes), which will excuse HEDC from paying a significant portion of city property taxes on properties like the Marriott hotel and the nearby Legg Mason Tower over the next twenty-five years. Four Seasons calls itself the world’s leading operator of luxury hotels and resorts, and Baltimore is the latest addition to the hotel group’s eighty-six locations in thirty-five countries. The hotel in Baltimore has 256 rooms, 20,000 square feet of function space, a 10,200-square-foot spa, and an outdoor infinity pool, which offers the especially eerie optical illusion of swimming in the Inner Harbor. The hotel also has two restaurants—Pabu, the forthcoming Japanese robata restaurant, which will open in February, and Wit and Wisdom, offering gourmet rustic fare and operated under celebrity chef Michael Mina. Attached to Wit and Wisdom sits an upscale coffee bar, LAMILL Coffee. Interestingly, a number of former employees of Spro in Hampden, arguably the city’s most artful coffee bar, have been hired at LAMILL to counsel customers on the subtle experience of drinking $3 cups of individually dripped coffee. And while many of the hotel’s key players come from other Four Seasons outposts (General Manager Julien Carralero came here from the Four Seasons Budapest, Marketing Director Judith Dumrauf from Philadelphia), special attention has been paid to hiring locally. At the suggestion of Michael Ricketts, vice president of development for Harbor East Development, the hotel paired with local nonprofit Humanim, which specializes in workforce development. This summer, Humanim reached out to dozens
space space
of Baltimore nonprofits, church and community associations, and the Mayor’s Office of Unemployment Development to recruit for several job openings at the Four Seasons. Of an initial pool of nearly three hundred people, seventeen made it through interviews. Twelve people were hired, working anywhere from front-desk reception to valet services. “Four Seasons has been unbelievable to work with,” says Cindy Plavier-Truitt, chief development officer of Humanim. The hotel “has a total Baltimore feel—from the employees and where they come from, to the décor,” Truitt says. “Their commitment to the community is so evident.” The café features colorful interpretations of old photos of Baltimore icons—Edgar Allan Poe, the original draft of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” old Baltimore rowhouses—which, if you find yourself getting starry-eyed, will remind you that you’re still in Kansas. A great deal of attention was also paid to the art in the hotel. Outside the restaurant and café are works from and inspired by the Washington Color School, a colorful, geometric, visual art movement that came out of the D.C. area in the 1950s and ’60s. Mark Myers, an art consultant based in Annapolis, brought on by Beatty and Ricketts, was attracted to the color school for its proximity to the Baltimore area. “We were looking for how to make this Baltimore property distinctive,” he says. In order to represent a greater variety, not all the art is strictly color school, but the hotel does hold works by notable artists Richard Anuskiewicz, Gene Davis, and Frank Stella. The bright, primary-colored works lend a whimsical feel to the contemporary space, especially outside the second-floor boardrooms—an area that feels institutional in many hotels.
Welcome to Baltimore: The reception desk at the new Four Seasons Hotel in Harbor East features original work by Gene Davis, one of the four main artists of the Washington Color School. These paintings, from the 1970s, were made on his dining room table.
For Julien Carralero, the hotel’s general manager, opening this hotel feels similar to the last hotel he opened—the Four Seasons Hotel in Budapest. And while it may be a stretch to compare a broken, post-Soviet city to Baltimore, both are rough around the edges. And like Baltimore, “Budapest never had a high-end luxury hotel,” Carralero says. When it opened, “it definitely helped contribute to the destination. The traveler who may never have thought about going to Budapest for leisure travel might consider Budapest as a destination.” Carralero expects the hotel’s largest client base in the future to be corporate convention
travelers, patients at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and leisure travelers looking for an urban getaway. “Little by little, we can get rid of that bluecollar reputation that the city had in the 1960s through the 1990s,” says Carralero. Ricketts has also noticed a change. “Ten years ago, you’re going down to Bohager’s; now you’re going to Ra Sushi. What a difference,” he says. “Imagine what it’s going to be in another ten years.” For more photos of the Four Seasons, visit bit.ly/bmore4seasons. Urbanite #91 january 2012 47
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48 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
food + drink
feature / dining reviews / wine + spirits Top chef: Jesse Sandlin didn’t need to attend culinary school to find success. She is now a sous chef at Pazo.
photos by j.m. giordano
The Young and the Restless Baltimore’s new guard of all-star chefs By Martha Thomas
baltimore burger bar is like a temperaturecontrolled food truck. There’s minimal seating, and chef Anisha Jagtap stands out of sight in the tiny kitchen doing one thing—and doing it pretty well: flipping hand-crafted burgers made from grass-fed beef or turkey or vegetables, topping them with such seasonal concoctions as butternut squash and Brussels sprouts or cantaloupe-mint-onion relish, and sending them out the door with a cone of fries or chips. The fare is good value, there’s no beer, and the only place to sit and eat is at a table on the porch. No wonder Jagtap feels nervous about actual food trucks. “If one came up and parked out front” of her Hampden rowhouse storefront, she says, she’d lose plenty of revenue. She describes one friend with a downtown restaurant where a food truck chose to park one day, who “literally told them he’d come out with a gun if they didn’t move.” Baltimore’s young chefs—whether they operate tiny restaurants like the Baltimore Burger Bar, oversee high-end kitchens, or sling chili and wraps in food trucks—have mixed feelings about what it takes to succeed. And the varied paths they took to their current positions are proof that there’s more than one formula for success. Urbanite #91 january 2012 49
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feature food + Drink
The road less traveled: Anisha Jagtap, chef and owner of Baltimore Burger Bar, is a dropout of the biomedical engineering program at Johns Hopkins University.
Jagtap, 27, worries that young chefs in fancy kitchens remain anonymous, shadowed by the big name restaurateurs for whom they toil. Those local well-known chefs, she says, “like to have their name stamped on the top of the kitchen, and the younger chefs don’t get the exposure.” She dropped out of the undergraduate biomedical engineering program at Johns Hopkins one year shy of her degree to cook full-time and has worked for Ned Atwater, at a catering company in Columbia, and for Sascha’s 527 as pastry and sous chef. She started her Hampden business (which she opened as a pastry shop called Puffs & Pastries) in 2010. In her career so far, she says, “I’ve run a kitchen, created menus, and catered for 700 people.” Even so, she worries that working in a big kitchen would stifle opportunity, and she thinks she’s better off being her own boss. Matt Day would disagree. The chef de cuisine at Woodberry Kitchen, whose name is far less familiar than his more visible employer Spike Gjerde, says Baltimore is filled with opportunities for young chefs. “It’s undiscovered, foodwise.” Real estate is affordable, he says, and “it’s an interesting city with a lot of character. I see it as a breeding ground for people who want to do innovative things.” Day points to his own experiment in independent cooking a couple of years ago, when he and a few friends put together the microfundraising series of dinners known as Stew. Day and company served an eager crowd of eaters locally sourced multi-course meals for $10 a head, with about 70 percent of revenues going to small local charities. “There’s an example of
something that couldn’t happen in other cities,” he says. Day, 25, began his culinary career at age 14, washing dishes at a restaurant in his hometown of Westminster. He also worked at a small restaurant on the Eastern Shore before starting at Woodberry in 2009, a move he describes as “a big jump.” The interview process, which included a day of working in the kitchen, “was really nerve-wracking.” He started as a line cook and now runs the kitchen (while Gjerde retains the title of executive chef). One of Day’s employees is Jill Snyder, who became well-known after her appearance on Bravo’s Top Chef. “Jill’s super-cool,” Day says. “I’ve never felt any weird tension about her being a celebrity. We have total respect for each other.” But Day says that he has no interest in that kind of notoriety. “I don’t want people to come up and shake my hand. I just want to cook good food.” Neither does fame sit too well with Jesse Sandlin, another Top Chef contestant, now a sous chef at Pazo. “I was a terrible celebrity,” says the 33-year-old. “It’s hard to go from standing in the kitchen cooking to ‘Table 10 wants to say hi and take a picture.’” Like Day, Sandlin never attended culinary school and began her career in high school, working at Ann’s Dari Creme, a roadside joint that specializes in foot-long hot dogs in Glen Burnie. After spending time in California, where she worked for a restaurant group that followed sustainable practices, she returned to Baltimore and worked for Foreman Wolf (then the Charleston Group) before helping Jerry Pellegrino (like Gjerde, an established local chef) to open Abacrombie, which led to the Top Chef gig. For now, she’s happy to be back with the Foreman Wolf restaurant group, where Cindy Wolf is known—both in Baltimore and nationally—for “the consistency of the product she puts out,” says Sandlin, a quality that she herself aspires to—more than fame. Sarah Acconcia, who worked for Sandlin at Abacrombie, received a degree in sculpture from Maryland Institute College of Art and worked as a food runner at the restaurant Ixia while in college. Her final project at MICA, Melting, was an installation with molded sugar positioned under a culinary heat lamp—the kind used by chefs to keep sugar pliable as they sculpt it. After working at Abacrombie, first as pastry chef, then as sous chef, and spending a year at Woodberry Kitchen, Acconcia landed the job as head chef at 13.5% Wine Bar, where her simple menu of local and seasonal foodstuffs is clearly influenced by Gjerde and Day. Acconcia, 26, describes herself as “lucky. Lucky is the key word.” So far, she says, “opportunities have presented themselves.” And although, unlike some of her peers, she didn’t bypass a formal education in favor of a focused career in the kitchen, she believes in paying her dues. “You have to put in your time,” she says. “If I
was 35 before I got my first executive job, I’d be happy.” Two of Acconcia’s former bosses—Matt Day and Jesse Sandlin—are happy to be working for someone else—even as they keep some of Baltimore’s most popular kitchens running smoothly. Sandlin says that while she wouldn’t turn down a James Beard award, she’s happy working within the structure of another restaurant. Does it inhibit her creativity? “Well, I’m not going to suggest we put fried chicken and grits on the menu at Pazo,” she says. “But there’s the chance of putting a spin on something like that—say, if I researched fried chicken dishes from the Catalonian region.” Day sees himself owning a restaurant one day, but not anytime soon. “It’s maybe part of the five- or ten-year plan,” he says. “I’m honestly keeping my options open, but I’m not in any hurry.” In the meantime, are there opportunities for young chefs in Baltimore, or are the options, as Anisha Jagtap believes, limited for those unwilling to venture out on their own? Joe Edwardsen, chef-owner of Joe Squared, says when he’s hiring kitchen help, he “couldn’t care less” if people went to culinary school, instead looking for commitment and the kind of teamwork required in the kitchen. Edwardsen, whose first restaurant job was at age 15 at McDonalds and who went on to work at a variety of chains and independent restaurants (including Tambers and Ruby Tuesday in Charles Village, Tersiguel’s in Ellicott City, and a stint in Italy) remembers staying up at night chopping potatoes. “I’d work on my dices and slices, following the Jacques Pépin techniques.” The result? “No doubt it makes Joe Squared a better place.” Tools of the trade: Joe Edwardsen of Joe Squared says he “couldn’t care less” if his kitchen staff went to culinary school.
Urbanite #91 january 2012 51
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dining reviews food + Drink
Stang of Siam By Martha Thomas
photos by Sarah Thrower
I
f you are prone to worship, there are plenty of opportunities at Stang of Siam, which has artfully embraced a forgotten corner of Calvert and East Preston streets on the fringe of Mount Vernon. There’s a sculpture of Buddha on each ledge of a trio of large, niche-like windows. There’s a carved Buddha at the end of the bar, his androgynous face seeming to sprout organically from twisted vines and leaves. And the menus are presented in wooden hinged binders, flat boxes with Buddha’s face on the front wearing a come-hither expression, as if tempting you to explore the riches within. Indeed, for Baltimoreans craving classic Thai food, there are plenty of gems. And religious icons notwithstanding, we can’t help but feel exceedingly grateful, if not downright worshipful about this lovely place. The chocolate-colored walls and ceiling of the two-story front room create a space both intimate and contemporary; a huge, intricately carved teak flower—reminiscent of a Gothic rose window—dominates one wall, and the wooden barstools have the whimsical imprint of a backside carved into the seats. The menu has all the usuals: curries, drunken noodles, and pad Thai. There’s a “Green” section of vegetarian dishes (with such animal additions as eggs helpfully highlighted
Place matters: Waterfront Kitchen lets their fresh, local ingredients speak for themselves.
Waterfront Kitchen By Tracey Middlekauff
Y
ou can’t swing a biodegradable stick in Baltimore these days without hitting a sustainable, locally sourced, farm-to-table restaurant, and the field just keeps expanding. The latest to join the pack is Waterfront Kitchen in Fells Point, a self-described “seedto-table” restaurant. Led by owners Charles Nabit and Michael Klein, along with chef Jerry Pellegrino, who designed the menu, the Waterfront Kitchen
in bold for easy navigation by vegans). There’s also a section of “Signature” dishes, with options like deep-fried boneless duck and “Baltimore crab fried rice.” The temptation when dining Thai is to stick with favorites, and Stang of Siam—whose owners also operate a handful of Thai places in and around D.C.—does most classics extremely well. If pad Thai is a litmus test, the stuff here lives up: The sweetly sticky noodles have a subtle blend of tamarind, fresh basil, and peanuts, the shrimp version scattered with plump shrimp. Penang curry is the color of burnt pumpkin, sweet with coconut milk though transmitting minimal heat. The tom kha gai soup, also with a coconut milk base, is flavored with ginger-like galangal, and the larb gai salad—chunks of chicken mixed with kaffir lime and fish sauce—has that sharp, fermented flavor we so often crave. A whole fish—in this case a rainbow trout— was unfortunately served headless, as if the kitchen doesn’t entirely trust our squeamishness meter. The skin wasn’t crispy enough, but the white meat inside was tender and flaky. It came on a platter loaded with fresh vegetables: slightly steamed broccoli and asparagus, thick slices of red pepper and snow peas. While the menu notes the spice level of individual dishes, nothing sampled pushed the heat; chilies were happy to share the stage with other traditional flavors like tangy lime, sour team is not satisfied to merely source their ingredients as locally and sustainably as possible. Instead, they have upped the ante, partnering with Living Classroom’s BUGS (Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students). Come summer, most of the restaurant’s produce will be grown though the program. And there are also plans to train at-risk men and women for careers in the hospitality industry. Being a Restaurant with a Purpose—what Waterfront Kitchen’s website refers to as “mission-driven dining”—is admirable, to be sure. But ultimately, a restaurant’s raison d’être has got to be about the flavors on the plate. With such an intense focus on local and fresh ingredients, a desire to let said ingredients shine and speak for themselves is only natural. There is, however, a thin line between subtle and bland, and while the kitchen is clearly capable of seasoning things with an expert hand, a couple of recent dishes at Waterfront Kitchen recently were hovering on wrong side of that line. Take the Chincoteague oyster stew. As long as a spoonful included one of the plump oysters and a bit of ham, there was a lovely balance of brine and salt and cream. On its own, however, the broth was bland and unseasoned, crying out for some oyster liquor—or, at the
Buddha belly: Stang of Siam sates appetites for authentic Thai food.
fish and sweet coconut. Desserts, slices of perfectly ripened mango atop sweet sticky rice and a square serving of taro pudding, are a classic and not-too-heavy ending to a meal of classics. (A promise worth making: On subsequent visits—and there will be plenty—try everything else on the menu.) (Lunch and dinner daily. 1301 N. Calvert St.; 443-453-9142.) very least, some salt. The house-cured red beet salmon dish suffered from a similar problem. While stunning to look at and plated beautifully, the flavor of the salmon on its own was a bit underwhelming. Paired with a bite of the Firefly Farms goat cheese mousse that accompanied it, however, it came alive. On the other hand, the warm farmer’s cheese flan with molasses-pickled fennel, Hubbard squash paint, and crunchy toasted squash seeds was a lesson in subtlety done right, while the tender twenty-hour braised Marcho Farm veal shank had a welcome intensity, thanks to the herby braising jus, the woodsy mushroom risotto, and the unctuous, spreadable insides of the big juicy marrow bone. The plump Marvesta shrimp, poached in a tomato nage, happily come head-on, which means all of those sweet, briny brains are yours for the sucking. To be sure, Waterfront Kitchen gets more right than it does wrong, and the occasional under-seasoned dish is an easy fix, not an indication of some deep culinary misdirection. Besides, the panoramic view of the harbor from the rustic-chic dining room, located in the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park’s ground floor, makes it considerably easier to forgive a few missteps. (Lunch and dinner Tues–Sat, brunch Sun. 1417 Thames St.; 443-681-5310; www.waterfrontkitchen.com.)
Urbanite #91 january 2012 53
Fresh, locally roasted coFFee, loose leaF teas and brewing accessories.
retail shop
Open Monday - Saturday, 8am - 6pm Sunday, 8am - 4pm
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wine + spirits food + Drink
Locovino
Baltimorean gets a taste of the winemaking business. By Clinton Macsherry
I
could tell you the address of the Canton rowhouse occupied by Baltimore City’s first licensed winery, but then owner Erik Bandzak would sue me. Bandzak isn’t particularly litigious—the amiable 31-yearold works as a student-support liason for city schools when he’s not making wine. But he probably knows more about wine commerce laws than most attorneys. Local ordinances prohibit him from posting a sign or advertising the location of his Aliceanna Winery, so he sheepishly asked me to sign an agreement that I won’t either. When Bandzak gets talking about the welter of federal, state, and municipal regulations governing everything from the entryway into his basement facility to the labeling on the bottles he sends out the door, his eyes roll in frustration. “It’s crazy,” he says. Some might use the same word to describe Bandzak’s half-year-old business venture. I’d prefer “quixotic.” Fighting through fine print and red tape may prove to have been the easy part; cracking into the cutthroat distribution system, establishing a presence in the jam-packed retail market, and mustering the investment to scale up production represent challenges that persistence alone won’t overcome. Bandzak currently produces 92 gallons of wine annually, roughly 450 bottles. With about $4,500 in business expenses, he hasn’t yet broken even but hopes to turn a profit in the coming year. By Bandzak’s estimate, he’d need to sell 1,500 gallons to quit his day job and ultimately move into a full-fledged commercial space with a sales and tasting room. For the father of a 7-month-old, baby steps will do for now. “It’s taken me ten years to get this far,” says Bandzak. “If it takes me another ten to get there, that’s what it will take.” Bandzak learned his craft through the oenological equivalent of home-schooling: an ItalianAmerican grandfather, now in his 90s, who still makes wine in his own cellar. (For more about home winemaking, see the April ’10 Urbanite.) Bandzak started helping in his late teens and has produced wine most years since. Friends encouraged him to turn hobby into business, and he began planning in 2008, finally getting licensed last May. Bandzak settled on his current lineup of wines—which includes a Riesling, a red made from the Franco-American hybrid Rougeon, and a red blend combining the native American Isabella grape with blackberries—based on personal taste and the consistency they’ve shown him over the years. He purchases the juice for his wines from a specialty supplier in western New York. Some locals disparage the out-of-state origin of Bandzak’s grapes. A Sun story about the May photo by sarah thrower
Bottle rocket: Meet Aliceanna, Baltimore City’s first winery.
launch of Aliceanna Winery quoted prominent Baltimore retailers who implied that Bandzak’s wines violate the spirit of local winemaking. Such comments gloss over the chronic shortage of Maryland-grown grapes. Kevin Atticks, executive director of the Maryland Wineries Association, says in an email, “There’s a definite insufficient supply of grapes throughout Maryland … [Many] wineries end up buying fruit from other growers in Maryland, and some buy from outof-state when they can’t find what they need.” Bandzak, for his part, insists he’d love to incorporate local grapes. He found a Maryland source for some Vidal last fall “but just missed out.” He expects to bottle a Maryland wine next year and intends to experiment with hard cider from a local orchard. “It’s great to support Maryland wine,” he says, “but I think people will support a Maryland winemaker, too.” He’s found two advocates in his backyard: Bo Brooks Lighthouse Liquors in Canton and Fells Point’s Pierpoint Restaurant both carry his wines. Most of his sales come at regional festivals. Aliceanna Winery’s Bella’s Berry Blend of Isabella and blackberry ($15, 12 percent alcohol) pours light cherry-red, with an intense redfruit howdy-do on the palate. Light-bodied and tangy, its flavors deepen and round out on an admirably refreshing finish. Know that Canton’s my ’hood, and I’m a shameless homer for whom objectivity isn’t impossible but sometimes beside the point. So sue me. Urbanite #91 january 2012 55
arts + Culture
feature / book / music / theater / scene
Creatures of the Night Armed with bright lights and watercolor paints, John Cody captures creatures that flutter on the dark fringes of our lives. To a flame: Painting moths, for Cody, is “emotional, satisfying, pleasurable, joyful.”
By Richard O’Mara illustrations by John Cody
Urbanite #91 january 2012 57
FEBRUARY 2-4
JANUARY 14
4 Performances Only!
8 PM
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Baltimore Premiere
FEBRUARY 24-26 4 Performances Only!
Frank Sinatra © Sid Avery. Photo by Ruven Afanador.
Le Nozze Di Figaro
AT THE
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featuring: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Joseph Rescigno & Directed by Bernard Uzan
MARCH 9-11 Sung in Italian with English surtitles
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We are an engaging enlightening Community of faith
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book illustrion Courtesy of Harper Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Feature / Book arts + culture once upon a time many years ago in Brooklyn, New York, a little boy was standing on the sidewalk waiting for his parents when he spied what he thought was a big butterfly at the bottom of a tree. When he got closer to it he realized it was a moth. The boy was only 5 years old, but he knew stuff like that. What did it look like? Well, according to the man the little boy grew up to be, the wings were bigger than any he had ever seen on a butterfly. They had red bands next to white bands, violet near the tips, and in the middle of each, a crescent moon. When the boy drew closer to the insect he inhaled a familiar aroma: “peanut butter!” When the boy returned to the spot later, he found that some other boys had beaten the moth with sticks, killing it. Later, he sketched it from memory, as it was when he first saw it. John Cody is 86 years old now and still recalls vividly what happened that day. The encounter sparked a lifelong search for these creatures. He found them in his neighborhood, in their cocoons, in maple trees, sycamores, wild cherry trees, and the ailanthus, the famous tree that grew in Brooklyn. As he grew older, Cody searched for them in places more remote: in Trinidad, the Amazon, Borneo, New Guinea, India. He searched, just because he wanted to paint them. Cody learned at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine how to become a medical illustrator, work he did for some years. After marrying a doctor he undertook to become one himself, a psychiatrist. His practice as a physician lasted twenty-five years. But through these years he never abandoned the moth. Cody’s watercolors are brilliant, a high art that has garnered prizes and recognition so wide he has become known as the Audubon of Moths. As it was with John James Audubon, who painted birds in motion, Cody displays his chromatic moths vividly alive in the dark worlds where they exist. His system for capturing them goes like this: He enters the forest in the dark, hangs up white sheets, turns bright lights on them, and waits. Male moths in search of mates are diverted from the alluring pheromone emitted by females out in the dark; they are confused by Cody’s light, misconstruing it for daylight. They come in their hundreds, fixing themselves to the sheet. During that time Cody photographs them on the spot or captures them, taking them home, often still alive. The aim is to paint them in the way they live, flitting through the forest night. This nocturnal habit is the principle difference between the moth and the butterfly, which flies only during the day. “It is also the reason most people never see a moth,” says Cody—certainly not the giant Malaysian moon moth, his favorite, a moth of the Saturniidae family “and an apotheosis of it.” Nature never gave this moth a functional mouth, so it has a
The Great American Male Domestic Violets by Matthew Norman (Harper Perennial, 2011) By Baynard Woods
D
life span of only four to five days, just enough time to find and inseminate a mate, or two. Cody, who lives today in Hays, Kansas, retired from his medical practice in 1986. “It freed me up to paint,” he says. He is not obsessive about what he does, perhaps because he does so much. He has written a biography, never published, of Richard Wagner, a composer whose work drew him to classical music at a young age. He wrote a book about Emily Dickenson, another on art, and a book titled Wings of Paradise. It is a startling visual experience. In collaboration with his teacher at Johns Hopkins, he wrote a biography of Max Brödel, the German genius who, at the turn of the last century, was brought to Baltimore from Leipzig to establish this country’s first program to train artists to work beside surgeons in operating rooms. That program, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Department of Art as Applied to Medicine, celebrated its centennial this year. (See “Drawing Blood,” Feb ’11 Urbanite.) Cody’s purpose in painting is more than capturing a realistic image of the creature. “While painting the moth I try to include all the abstract qualities of art, like where the lights and darks are. It is not a photograph; I’m not reproducing reality.” Whatever it is, Cody gets a lot from it: When he finishes a painting, which usually takes a month or so, he says, “I get a feeling of satisfaction; it is not an intellectual response, but emotional, satisfying, pleasurable, joyful.” A collection of his moth paintings is on display at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins. “There has been little known about the moth,” Cody says. “Nobody pays attention to it.” Certainly not as much as Cody has.
For more of John Cody’s moth paintings, visit bit.ly/JohnCody.
omestic Violets, by local author Matt Norman, is an old-fashioned novel that is—almost apologetically—up to the minute. I don’t mean oldfashioned like Jane Austen, but in that mid-20th-century, GreatAmerican-White-Male-Author tradition. Indeed, Curtis Violet, the narrator’s father, is the second greatest living author after Nicholas Zuckerman (an obvious stand-in for Philip Roth). Tom, the narrator, has been writing a novel himself, but because he wants, in some way, to rebel against his womanizing, hard-living, and generally rebellious father, he writes it in secret while he works at a “soulcrushing” office job writing advertising copy. Like late-period Roth, Domestic Violets is set in a tumultuous period in our history—in this case, the very recent late summer/early fall of 2008. The characters talk often about Obama and the financial crisis. But the timeliness seems a bit tacked on (in an interview in the back of the book, Norman acknowledges as much). Likewise, Tom’s sly sarcasm and his workplace nemesis make most of the scenes involving office politics feel like they were cribbed from the television show The Office. But ultimately, politics—whether of the nation or the office—offer no more than a backdrop for what is essentially a domestic novel about the Violet family. And in that regard, Domestic Violets is funny, sad, and beautiful— as people in the book variously describe both Curtis’s and Tom’s writing. It begins with Tom, unable to fulfill his husbandly duty, describing his penis as “all flighty and unreliable, like some stoner uncle who shows up hammered at Thanksgiving and forgets your name.” Things go from there to worse for Tom and his wife and are further complicated when Curtis, Tom’s unreliable, stoner father, bursts into their home when he’s on the outs with yet another woman—and is about to finally win the Pulitzer. Tom’s dual relationships with his father and his wife form the cornerstone of this book, and both are portrayed with grace and insight. You can feel the connections between them deepen through a variety of domestic crises and recriminations—up until the very last minute. I won’t give the end away, but it’s hard to believe the final deal between the father and the son. But you’ll have to judge that for yourself, because you should read this book—for Tom’s voice alone. Urbanite #91 january 2012 59
erent er music, diff We play bett d. se ted. ou ci ar ex t ey ge ts ears eat things, th stuff that ge gr e th ar he — se rs el ea When ar anywhere you don’t he music, music rned on. Tune in. Get tu
music / Theater arts + culture
To Seattle, with Love
Roomrunner EP by Roomrunner (Fan Death, 2011) by Brandon Weigel
Top Album cover by Scott Russell; Bottom illustration by Kaveh Haerian
T
his year has been a bit of a victory lap for grunge, the amorphous label given to the music of Seattle’s alternative rock scene in the early 1990s. Nirvana’s seminal second album, Nevermind, got a deluxe reissue to mark the 20th anniversary of its release. Pearl Jam marked the passing of two decades with a Cameron Crowe-directed documentary. Even Soundgarden, after a twelve-year hiatus, marked their return with a tour in 2010 and have a new album slated for the spring. Granted, the high water mark for the grunge era came soon after the term gained currency. But that doesn’t lessen its impact; for many, the alternative bands of the early 1990s opened the musical floodgates, including those belonging to Denny Bowen, the former drummer in the now-defunct Baltimore post-punk trio Double Dagger. “When I was first getting hands-on with music, that stuff made it seem more approachable,” he says. So when you hear the clattering guitars, a rhythm section in lockstep, and big, noisy
Body Language
MilkMilkLemonade at Single Carrot Theatre, January 4–February 5 By Anissa Elmerraji
oshua Conkel wrote MilkMilkLemonade Jafter he kicked his cigarette habit and took up running. The physical change he underwent inspired him to write a play about how the mind can be defined or trapped by its body. “It’s both an exploration of the body and a celebration of the individual,” says Conkel, who insists that actors be cast regardless of their likeness to a character’s gender, race, age, or body type. He takes the title from an unorthodox children’s playground rhyme that’s a metaphor for a variety of bodily secretions. “I liked it because it’s a short, blunt song about the human body, and my play is a short, blunt play about the human body,” says Conkel, who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. “It was just a natural fit.” Set in a chicken farm on the outskirts of Mall Town, USA, the play follows an endearing and effeminate 11-year-old boy named Emory (Aldo Pantoja) who is coming to grips with his nascent sexuality. His heartfelt aspirations to perform his ribbon-stick dance number on the television show Reach for the Stars and eventually make it big on Broadway present a challenge for his Nanna (Elliott Rauh), whose mission it is to steer Emory toward becoming a flannel-wearing, bearded chicken farmer like his father.
choruses on the debut EP from Bowen’s latest project, Roomrunner, and detect certain twenty-year-old remnants, you’re not mistaken. “I tried to take all of my strongest influences, where I feel like I’m really coming from, certain sounds from certain bands, and really just tried to blend it all together,” says Bowen, who founded Roomrunner, wrote and performed the parts for all of the six songs on Roomrunner EP, and plays lead guitar and sings in the band’s fleshed-out four-piece lineup, which also includes Dan Frome (who recorded the album) on guitar, John Jones on bass, and Bret Lanahan on drums. Emory’s trusted confidant is a comically depressed chicken named Linda (played by the 6-foot-tall Jessica Garrett), whose squawks and pa-kaws are translated into English by the play’s narrator, Lady in a Leotard (Genevieve de Mahy), a timid (she suffers from stage fright) yet insightful presence. Throughout the course of the play, Emory develops a relationship with the local bully, Elliot, played by the otherwise amiable and feminine Giti Jabaily. While Elliot is initially abusive, the boys are eventually “able to shed the social costumes
And this synthesis works in recalling those old touchstones—specifically, Nirvana’s loudquiet-loud dynamic and driving percussion— without simply repeating them. Each song is a bit of noisy, distortion-laden, controlled chaos that offers all of the payoffs and big hooks of your standard pop/rock song. Sometimes, though, you have to dig a little deeper in the pummeling sound to find them. Bowen’s verses and choruses are often mere suggestions, his voice so soaked in noise that the words become indistinguishable. “I’m kind of shy about [the vocals], but I like that approach, as well, to have it hidden. The tones are being carried, but there’s not too much emphasis on the words,” he says, before quipping, “because the words are all stupid anyway.” Kidding aside, what makes Roomrunner’s songs work is their ability to create a noisy ruckus with familiar guideposts and basic structure. It’s an approach that worked well for Bowen’s previous band. “There may be more guitars, but the idea of keeping things simple still applies,” he says. “That’s something all of us in Double Dagger share.” Listen to some Roomrunner at bit.ly/ roomrunners. that they wear” and develop an intimate bond, says Nathan Cooper, the play’s director and Artistic Director of Single Carrot Theatre. Set in the style of children’s theater, the farm set includes hand-painted wooden chickens and Astroturf. It’s meant to look as though it was put together by second graders— charming in its imperfections—which, along with Emory’s exuberant, choreographed dance numbers, lends to the play’s overall style of camp. Despite its humorous quirks, the play is serious in its exploration of how the self can be suppressed by the physical stereotypes imposed by society. The “boneless, skinless chickens” produced at a nearby farm represent the danger of becoming a puppet to the whims of society, explains Cooper. The refreshing strangeness of MilkMilkLemonade is what appealed to Single Carrot Theatre. The play is the first since the summer of 2009 to include the theater company’s entire ensemble, made up of ten friends from the University of Colorado who settled in Baltimore three years ago to start a theater company that has since been putting on plays by contemporary American playwrights who think outside the box. The play’s message, Cooper explains, is to always embrace your individuality: “We each have the potential to become boneless, skinless chickens in the world if we don’t find our true identities.” For tickets to MilkMilkLemonade, call 443-844-9253 or visit www.singlecarrot.com.
Urbanite #91 january 2012 61
Eliminating
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the scene
this month’s happenings Compiled by Anissa Elmerraji and Rebecca Messner
ARTS/CULTURE
Female Figure with Flowers, c. 1932-34, by Zelda Fitzgerald. Courtesy of The Johns Hopkins University
dance
Catch the debut of Maryland Art Place’s Performance and Workshop Series January 13–14 when the new local dance company Flux/us Dance Projects presents The Key is Only One, a modern dance piece that looks at the relationship between the body and mind. The workshop portion of the event takes place the afternoon of January 14, when choreographer Judy Kurjan will impart her modern dance expertise. Later that night, enjoy Baltimore-based electronic duo Tek SubPort during a free reception. (8 Market Pl.; 410-962-8565; www. mdartplace.org)
film
This year’s Spiral Cinema series, curated by Max Guy and Neil Sanzgiri, delves into the nature of context—how it can change content and vice versa. Catch four films this month: on January 4, Aria (1987), a series of shorts by lauded directors like Jean-Luc Godard and Robert Altman; on January 11, Monte Hilman’s Two-Lane Blacktop (1971); on January 18, Tsai Ming-Liang’s What Time is it There? (2001); and on January 25, Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train (1989). Films will be shown at Open Space Gallery and the Windup Space. (http://spiralcinema.tumblr.com) Founded in 2002, Civic Frame aims to foster community engagement through the arts, specifically through documentary film. To celebrate its tenth anniversary, the organization will host a documentary film series at the Enoch Pratt Library and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. The festival kicks off at the library on January 14 with Omar & Pete, a documentary about two African American men determined to change their lives after thirty years in and out of the Baltimore prison system. The second
Equal parts her husband’s muse and an artist in her own right, Zelda Fitzgerald proved somewhat of an enigma in early 20th-century America, when women most often stayed home with the children. The Evergreen’s exhibit Zelda Fitzgerald: Choreography in Color celebrates Fitzgerald for her painting as well as her successful career as a writer and dancer. See it through January 29. (4545 N. Charles St.; 410-516-0341; http://museums.jhu.edu/evergreen)
film in the series, The Interrupters, by acclaimed director Steve James and author Alex Kotlowitz, screens on January 28. (400 Cathedral St.; 410-396-5430; www.civicframe.org)
literature
and its surrounding communities. They also throw a mean party. The group’s annual Black and White Party this year falls on January 28—the theme is “Midnight in Paris.” Urbanite is a sponsor of this event. (400 Cathedral St.; 410545-3115; www.prattlibrary.org)
Another year, another failed attempt at finishing your novel. Do your New Year’s resolution some justice in 2012 with the Creative Alliance’s Writing Resolution with Jessica Anya Blau on January 7. Blau, one of Baltimore’s most celebrated (and funniest) writers of fiction, will boost your work ethic with inspiring writing exercises. Proceeds from the workshop will benefit CityLit Project. (3134 Eastern Ave.; 410-276-1651; www. creativealliance.org)
Family chamber group Gemini Piano Trio will perform selections from Schumann, Piazzolla, and more on January 8. Performing together since 1994, HsiuHui Wang (piano), Sheng-Tsung Wang (violin), and Benjamin Myers (cello) have been praised for their “almost uncanny musical closeness” by the San Diego Union-Tribune. (6800 Oakland Mills Rd., Columbia; www.sundaysatthree.org)
The Pratt Contemporaries are a group of diverse city dwellers who share a commitment to enhancing the relationship between the Enoch Pratt Free Library
As part of their 25th anniversary season, the Concert Artists of Baltimore will perform selections from Arensky and Tchaikovsky during The Romance of
music
Strings on January 14. The orchestra will be led by Maestro Edward Polochick, who in 2002 won the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Johns Hopkins University. (1 E. Mount Vernon Pl.; 410625-3525; www.cabalto.org) With a lineup including works from Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms, the Goldstein-Peled-Fiterstein Trio will perform one of the Community Concerts at Second, on January 15. Comprised of pianist Alon Goldstein, cellist Amit Peled, and clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein, this Israeli trio has been praised by the New York Times for their spotless technique. (4200 St. Paul St.; 443-759-3309; www. communityconcertsatsecond.org) Despite Top 40 hits like “In My Bed” and “How Deep is Your Love,” Baltimore’s Dru Hill faded into the background after members Sisqo (remember “Thong Song”?), Nokio, Jazz, and Tao decided to fly solo. Nearly two decades after the release of the group’s self-titled album, the boys reunite for a show in their hometown on January 21 at Rams Head Live. (20 Market Pl.; 410-244-8854; www.ramsheadlive.com) On January 28, Grammy Award-winning classical guitarist William Kanengiser will perform at the Baltimore Museum of Art. A founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Kanengiser has performed at such venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall and San Francisco’s Herbst Theater. (10 Art Museum Dr.; 443-5731700; www.bcgs.org)
theater
Based on the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Gleam follows 16-year-old Janie on the life-changing journey she takes to avoid an arranged marriage. Catch director Marion McClinton’s interpretation of the show at Center Stage January 4–5. (700 N. Calvert St.; 410-986-4000; www. centerstage.org) Learn about one of Maryland’s first feminists during Margaret Brent of Maryland on January 11. See actress Mary Ann Jung reenact the life of Brent, a Maryland woman who advocated for women’s rights in colonial America during the 17th century. Jung’s previous Living History Presentations include Julia Child, Amelia Earhart, and Clara
Urbanite #91 january 2012 63
Based on the novel
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
By Bonnie Lee Moss Rattner
Jan 4–Feb 5
Directed by Marion McClinton
This faithful adaptation of Hurston’s beloved novel follows spirited Janie Crawford on her journey through loves and losses to a fulfillment so singular that it manages to speak for all of our dreams.
Tickets: www.centerstage.org/gleam
INTO TH E
h DS WOO Mar 7–Apr 15
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by James Lapine Directed by Mark Lamos
A co-production with Westport Country Playhouse
Stephen Sondheim (A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd) at his most enchanting.
PACKS »»FAMILY 2 Adults, 2 Children
HALF-PRICE PREMIUM SEATS Details: www.centerstage.org/woods
www.centerstage.org | 410.332.0033 centerstagemd centerstage_md 64 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
the scene fOOD/DRINK Barton. (2521 St. Paul St.; 410-235-2210; www.villagelearningplace.org) Master American playwright Eugene O’Neil’s The Iceman Cometh follows the desperate plight of handful of alcoholics who drink their lives away in a Greenwich Village Saloon. Set in Skid Row in 1912, the play touches on themes that are especially relevant in light of today’s grim economy. Catch this classic at the Fells Point Corner Theatre on opening night, January 13. The play runs through February 12. (251 S. Ann St.; 410-276-7837; www.fpct.org)
Courtesy of Frans Lanting
On January 21, playwright Jonathan Wei presents a behind-the-scenes account of life in the military through Telling: Baltimore, scripted true stories told by seven local military veterans and their families. Directed by Veteran Artist Program Artistic Director Heather Mayes, the show includes stories from the point of view of a mother mourning the loss of her son, a medic in the field, and a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” veteran. (801 Chase St., Annapolis; 410-263-5544; www.md hallarts.org) The musical revue Ain’t Misbehavin’ comes to Spotlighter’s Theatre on January 26. Named after the Fats Waller song of the same name, the show pays homage to African American musicians of the 1920s and ’30s. (817 St. Paul St.; 410-752-1225; www.spotlighters.org) Based on the book of the same name, Wishful Drinking is Star Wars celebrity Carrie Fisher’s one-woman show containing the true and often hilarious tales of her life. Described as “an extremely funny full-frontal confession” by the New York Times, the show will open at the Hippodrome on January 31. (12 N. Eutaw St.; 410-837-7400; www.francemerrickpac.com)
they host the work of Pat Baker, the gallery’s artist of the month. Baker creates colorful pieces using enameling, handmade glass beads, precious and semi-precious stones, and anodized titanium—see her work on display January 3–29, and meet the artist at a reception on January 7. (1716 Thames St.; 410-327-1272; www.fellspointgallery.org) Prior to opening his own gallery, Steven Scott had done curatorial research in such places as the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars at the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C. See The Great Outdoors, the latest exhibit in his Fells Point space, featuring painting, prints, and photographs from artists Katja Oxman and Annie Leibovitz, among others, January 4–March 31. (808 S. Ann St.; 410-902-9300; www. stevenscottgallery.com) Baltimore native Mark Chester has been taking photos professionally since 1972 and has exhibited all over the world. Twosomes, an exhibition at Balance Salon that showcases photos from Chester’s 2011 coffee table book of the same name, opens on January 10. The artist pairs such unlikely duos as architectural icons and sidewalk signage, celebrities with passersby, and yes, twins. Stop by the salon on January 14 for a reception and book signing. (409 W. Cold Spring Ln.; 410-366-6169; www.markchester photography.com)
Local painter Ryan Browning’s Dalíesque drawings and paintings will be on display at Rice Gallery at McDaniel College starting January 24, the night of the opening reception for Lairs. A Texas transplant, Browning has an MFA in interdisciplinary art from the Mount Royal School of Art at Maryland Institute College of Art. He compares his artistic process to the interactive experience of playing video games. (2 College Hill, Westminster; 410-857-2294; www. mcdaniel.edu)
Chef’s Expressions wants you to understand “the euphoria of eating and drinking.” Join chefs Jerry Edwards and John Walsh for the first of their monthly wine suppers at Gramercy Mansion on January 13. The dinner, dubbed “Ring in the New Year,” will toast 2012 with bubbly and classic New American dishes. (1400 Greenspring Valley Rd., Owings Mills; 410-561-2433; www.chefs expressions.com)
On January 29, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum presents Baltimore City School Youth on Black Male Identity. The exhibition—a partnership among Baltimore City Public Schools, Art Every Day, and the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust—presents artwork and stories from local public and private school students. (830 E. Pratt St.; 443263-1800; www.africanamerican culture.org)
Admit it: The real reason you go to Woodberry Kitchen isn’t because you support their sustainable practices—it’s because the restaurant’s cocktails are so delicious. Learn the secret behind Woodberry’s best pours on January 18 at Woodberry Cocktails with Corey Polyoka. Polyoka, the restaurant’s mixologist, will tell you everything he knows about the growing trend of artful mixed drinks at the Creative Alliance’s Marquee Lounge. (3134 Eastern Ave.; 410-276-1651; www.creativealliance.org)
community
STYLE/SHOPPING
It’s not easy being a polar bear in Baltimore (you think you had a hard time in the heat this summer?). But of all the months of the year, the bears are happiest in January—which means it’s the perfect time to pay them a visit. The Maryland Zoo hosts Breakfast with the Polar Bears on January 21, where you’ll eat a hot breakfast while learning all about your favorite arctic land predator. (Druid Hill Park; 410-396-7102; www. marylandzoo.org)
Winter weather got you down? Start planning that boat trip across the Mediterranean at the Baltimore Boat Show. January 19–22, boating experts from around the globe will converge at the Baltimore Convention Center for four days of boating activities and entertainment, product exhibitions, and expert buying advice. (1 W. Pratt St.; 410-6497000; www.baltimoreboatshow.com)
visual art
The Art Gallery of Fells Point, a nonprofit artists’ collective, discovers the artistry behind handmade metal jewelry when
In LIFE: A Journey Through Time, Baltimore composer Philip Glass has specially composed a score to accompany the stylistic nature shots of Frans Lanting, a Dutch photographer made famous by the surreal wildlife scenes he captured for National Geographic. The show, a lyric interpretation of life on Earth performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, comes to the Meyerhoff on January 27 and 29. (1212 Cathedral St.; 410-783-8000; www.bsomusic.org)
Urbanite #91 january 2012 65
Where excitement and fun never end! Co-ed day camps – ages 4 – 13: traditional, technology, drama, or sports. Swimming, lunch and snack included! Extended hours available 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. June 18 – August 10, 2012 Friends School of Baltimore 5114 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21210 410-649-3218 or 410-649-3209 www.fscamp.org summercamp@friendsbalt.org
June 25-August 3, 2012 Enrichment and skill building programs for boys and girls grades 1-12. Courses include extensive art program, STEM classes, outdoor education, SAT prep, science, math, foreign language and sports camps. Contact Maryann Wegloski, 410-323-3800 ext. 279.
5407 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21210 www.gilman.edu
An unforgettable summer for kids 3 1/2 to 18. Programs for preschoolers, clay art, sports, science, leadership camps, and more. Open House is Sat., January 21 from 11-1pm.
SUMMERTIME AT ROLAND PARK COUNTRY SCHOOL June 18 – August 24, 2012
June 18 - August 17
Day Camp, Creative Drama and Arts Camps, Doll Camp, Circus Camp and more! For information or to receive a catalog call: 410.323.5500 x3091
2425 Old Court Road, Baltimore, MD 21208 410-339-4120 www.parkcamps.com
5204 Roland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21210 www.rpcs.org
SUMMER S U MCAMP! M E2012 R St. Timothy's Summer Riding Camp offers a full day with the horses. Includes riding lessons, demonstrations, field trips, crafts, and much more. Spend some time with us in the countryside. Co-ed Day Camp Ages 8 - 14. Session Dates: June 18 - June 29 • July 2 - July 13 • July 16 - July 27 • July 30 - August 10
8400 Greenspring Avenue, Stevenson MD 21153 410.486.5483 • www.stt.org
Whether your children want to learn more about the fine & performing arts, hone their athletic skills or bolster their writing skills, our campus provides the resources for success. Dates vary by camp Towson University 8000 York Road Towson, MD 21252 410-704-KIDS • www.towson.edu/kidscampus
Serving children with dyslexia or other related languagebased learning differences.
Make the MOST of Your Child’s Summer! June 25-July 27, 2012 Sports, music, dance, crafts, creative science, imaginative play, yoga and more! For boys and girls, ages 3-17. Free extended day; lunch and snacks available. Lots of new camps! Bryn Mawr Summer Camps: June 18 – August 17 109 W. Melrose Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21210 www.brynmawrschool.org/summer Vicky Burns – 410.323.1118 x1268
Featuring daily language skills tutoring & writing and math instruction utilizing creative, multisensory research-based techniques, AND an exciting, enjoyable social and activity-based camp experience. Co-ed day camp, ages 6-12. 11 Celadon Road, Owings Mills, MD 21117 410-753-8033 www.jemicyschool.org/camps
A beautiful farm-like setting and exciting, creative programs await your child at The Montessori School this summer! Programs for children ages 2 to 12 include recreational sports, nature, music, arts, science, dinosaurs, robotics, Toddler Preschool & Summer Montessori. Session 1: June 11-22; Session 2: June 25-July 6; Session 3: July 9-20 Corner of Falls & Greenspring Valley Roads Lutherville, MD 21093 410-321-8555 • www.montessorischool.net
June 18 - July 13, 2012 Summer fun for girls and boys in a variety of camps, including American Doll Pastimes, Girls Wanna Have Fun: Glee Edition, Babysitter Boot Camp, Little Grizzlies (Preschoolaged), and more! Extended Day available. Garrison Forest School 300 Garrison Forest Road, Owings Mills, MD 21117 Contact Stacie Gottlieb: staciegottlieb@gfs.org or 410-559-3265 Register before March 20 and get $15 off the application fee. www.gfs.org/summer-camps
C A M P ! 2012 Concentrated high school field hockey camp focusing on building agility, fitness and skill sets. This is a fun way to prepare physically, nutritionally and mentally for the 2012 season. July 16-20, 2012 1500 Glencoe Road Sparks Glencoe, MD 21152 410-472-4800 • BlaumC@OldfieldsSchool.org www.OldfieldsSchool.org
Y Journeys camps offer affordable summer fun for children entering grades K - 12. Choose from youth camps, teen camps, specialty camps, and overnight camp. Activities include games, skits, crafts, field trips, swimming, and more. Financial assistance available. June 18 - August 24, 2012 Located in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard Counties www.ymaryland.org
Allison Fomich Upholstery
Urban Designs marketplace 410-952-1832 www.dejanernestl.net
Completely custom from antique to modern Contact us today for an estimate! We sell fabric! 410-522-7375 afupholstery@gmail.com
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Hungry? Hire an At-Home Personal Chef
• Yummy gourmet meals • Organic and local • Time saving and healthy • Cheaper than eating out • Breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert • All prepared in your kitchen
Type A Home www.typeAhome.com 410.913.5724
Cobella Salon Boutique salon that specializes in modern and contemporary hair design.
30% off color for first-time clients if you mention this ad For special pricing options and services please call 410-998-2090 9117 Reisterstown Rd Owings Mills, MD 21117 CobellaGuests@gmail.com
Retail Shop
NEOPOL Baltimore’s ONLY smokery, specializing in smoked seafood and meats, savory cheese pies, gourmet foods, smoked seasoning salts and chef’s supplies. Belvedere Square Marketplace Baltimore, Maryland 21212 Tel: 410-433-7700
Lenny’s Famous Trays for All Occasions Dairy • Deli • Fried Chicken Salads • Sandwiches • Desserts
Open Monday - Saturday, 8am - 6pm Sunday, 8am - 4pm Fresh, locally roasted coffee, loose leaf teas and brewing accessories. 4607 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214 410-254-0122 www.zekescoffee.com
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at McDonough Rd. Valley Village Shopping Center Owings Mills • 410-363-3353
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68 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
Visit our website for a complete list of locations.
www.urbanitebaltimore.com
BALTIMORE ART STUDIOS · INVENTOR SAUL GRIFFITH · MY MIDLIFE ART CAR-ISIS jan uar y 2 011 i s s u e n o. 7 9
O Y S T E R C U L T U R E • W I N T E R B E A C H G E T AWAY S • j O N E S f A L L S R E v I vA L • G R O S S A N A T O M Y
a f t e r t h e D r U G wa r · f I r e h O U S e r e D U X · h a U t e V e G a N C U I S I N e
february 2011 issue no. 80
m a r c h 2 011 i s s u e n o . 81
check
out
urban homesteading · greening the ghet to · can the bay be saved? a p r il 2 011 i s s u e n o. 8 2
great ideas
BaltImOre?
THE SUN
it ha ppen
in
CAN TWITTER SAVE IT?
Inspirations for a better Baltimore
G R E E N I N G D O W N T O W N · C R A F T B R E W R E V I VA L · F I L M F E S T T I M E !
SpECIAL SECTION STARTupS IN THE CITY
QuEEN OF ARTS HOW THE DIRECTOR OF A MARBLE-HALLED MuSEuM BECAME LOCAL ARTISTS’ FIERCEST CHAMpION
GREEN CITY sustainable living in the urban ecosystem
Who’s ma ki ng
m ay 2 011 i s s u e n o. 8 3
special
HIGHER LEARNING SECTION
OUr reDeSIGN
six locals
whose ideas about music, urban youth, technology, health, & government will transform the way you look at the city
CAN OTIS ROLLEY WIN? · ROOFTOP DECKS · VINYL MAKES A COMEBACK jun e 2 011 i s s u e n o. 8 4
FEATURE STORY
WHEN KIDS BECOME CRIMINALS
FEATURE STORY
G A I A’ S R AV E N · S E C R E T PAT H S O F R O L A N D PA R K · A R T S C A P E H I G H L I G H T S HEALTH CARE THAT WORKS
jul y 2 011 i s s u e n o. 8 5
Special Feature
T H E L A S T D R I V E- I N · C I T I E S T H AT H E A L · R E D E M P T I O N F O R D I R T B I K E R S a u g u s t 2 011 i s s u e n o. 8 6
WRITING CONTEST
WINNERS
AmERICAN
PIE
THE
TWO
WHEEL REVOLUTION
HOW BIKES CAN SAVE THE CITY
AS mORE SUbURbS OFFER UP CITY-STYLE LIVING, HOW WILL AGING URbAN CENTERS SURVIVE?
THE BRITISH ARE COMING! The gonzo tale of how a local sharpshooter (or two?) helped win the
War of
1812 6
S TAT I O N N O R T H S C O R E S ! · FA L L A R T S G U I D E · K I M C H I : I T ’ S A L I V E ! s e p t e mb e r 2 011 i s s u e n o. 8 7
SPECIAL EDUCATION FEATURE
RESOURCES FOR
PARENTS
MUSIC FROM THE STREETS · KILLING BAMBI · WHAT GOOD ARE PRIVATE SCHOOLS?
o c t o b e r 2 011 i s s u e n o. 8 8
SPECIAL FEATURE
ONLINE DEGREES
f r a nk enf ish! · ba lt imore: t he ne x t ‘gri t t y ci t y ’ ? · row house renovat ions november 2011 issue no. 89
special section
no t your fat he r ’ s p hil a n t hr op y · de ’ v on br ow n · a ne w s k y l ine f or b a lt imor e december 2011 issue no. 90
Med School Redefined
artículo de primera página traducido al español
El
URBANITE PROjECT
GIVING CITY SCHOOLS A LEG UP
2011
e re F ast at L
Nuevo
BaltimorE
Six visions for making Baltimore’s new east-west train line more than just a cheap ride
More than hal from prison eacf the people released h year will soo behind bars aga n be them stay out in. How can we help ?
the burgeoning u.s. latino population makes its way to charm city.
We have you covered for 2012!
eye to eye
vista, a new sculptural installation by Dustin Carlson, was designed to be viewed from a uniquely American vantage point: the bench seat of a Ford F-150. Carlson salvaged the three car seats from Crazy Ray’s junkyard in Jessup, and their worn and battered surfaces attest to their authenticity. As you recline on the comfy seat, your eyes are drawn to three giant billboards depicting the iconic American landscapes of Death Valley, Monument Valley, and the Mojave Desert, with their mountains, buttes, and mesas rising from the desert floor. Then you notice their obvious vinyl texture, their Clear Channel billboard logos, and the familiar industrial lights. As you examine each billcara ober board, you wonder if they are selling American cars, gasoline, cara ober is urbanite’s online arts/culture editor. to receive travel, or even a nostalgic version of America itself. her weekly e-zine, go to bit.ly/ According to Carlson, a professional metal fabricator and ezinesignup. sculptor, “Most Americans experience national landmarks as postcards, as backdrops in movies, as screensavers, cigarette ads, and truck commercials.” And so, although he has personally visited all three locations depicted in Vista, Carlson’s imagery is generic and purposely pulled from online stock images. In contrast, the black metal billboard structures were painstakingly crafted by hand, although they appear to be mass-produced. Vista embodies the paradox of America’s individuality, innovation, and consumption. As you settle back into the car seat to appreciate the majestic appeal of the American landscape, you become complicit with forces responsible for the destruction of those very resources. Rather than creating a pedantic warning about the dangers of energy consumption, Vista elegantly presents both sides of the issue, relying on iconic American beauty in a multitude of forms, including the artist’s fine craftsmanship, to simultaneously embody and critique the ideals he invokes. 70 january 2012 www.urbanitebaltimore.com
Dustin Carlson. Vista (Installed 2011 at Gallery 4 in Baltimore) Handcrafted metal billboards with printed vinyl signs and three Ford F-150 car seats
thank you. Dear Urbanite Readers/Partners, Thank you for being an Urbanite supporter. We k n o w t h a t g r e a t magazines aren’t in short supply, and we’re honored that you make time for us. We look forward to continuing to provide you w i t h i n f o r m a t i v e j o u r n a l i s m a n d innovative partnerships. We hope you’ve had a good year, and we wish you the best for 2012.
34 Million
Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Audiences
Are Waiting for a Sign
Making the arts more accessible creates a culture of artistry, engagement, diversity, and understanding. For more information about sign language interpreting services, call The Hearing and Speech Agency’s
Centralized Interpreter Referral Service (CIRS) 410-318-6780 www.hasa.org/interpreting