For many of us, Baltimore might not have been the first city that came to mind when we envisioned our college life. But after spending four years here, I've grown to appreciate the city and its hidden gems. So, without further ado, here is a list of places in Baltimore that have become favorites for my friends and I:
"It is hard to pick a favorite, but I've had many fond memories at the [C.] Grimaldis Gallery. I accidentally stumbled upon this gallery after not being able to get into a Peabody concert. I ended up meeting Raoul Middleman, who was present at the opening night of his show. As a Hopkins alum, he was as excited to meet us as we were to meet him! It was a surreal experience, and since then, I've always went back and looked forward to meeting more artists and learning about their works” -Alina Pannone, Applied Mathematics and Statistics and Economics
"Taqueria El Sabor del Parque is a portal in the middle of Patterson Park that takes you straight to Mexico. They have a wide variety of common Mexican/Latin street foods, but their main thing is the tacos. They have nopal tacos, barbacoa tacos, carne asada tacos and even more. You can even order many hard-to-find tacos there. Everything is made on the spot and has a great homey yet delicious taste." -Halle Cathey, Neuroscience and Spanish
"Flower Mart — An annual mart that opens right by the Peabody Institute! Mount Vernon gets decorated with vendors for flowers, plants, food and arts. There is live music and everyone enjoys the warm spring weather in addition to a Baltimore classic treat, the Lemon Stick. The Lemon Stick is a peppermint stick stuck inside a lemon that turns into a straw the more you eat it, eventually letting you sip on a minty lemon juice. It's a treat that's been around since 1911!" -Hanna Suh, Molecular and Cellular Biology and Public Health
"BMORE LICKS is a local ice cream place owned by a lesbian couple, and they have the BEST soft serve with a huge flavor selection. Patterson Park is also right across the street, which makes a walk through the park and great ice cream the perfect way to escape from school!" -Cailey Bozic, Neuroscience
"My favorite place is Brody — my other home — because that's where I feel comfortable both interacting with friends while also putting hard work into my academics. With the friends that I have made, I feel that the place embodies the idea of ‘work hard, play hard,’ as I've made lots of great memories there all throughout my undergraduate career -- lots of sleepless nights and fun times hanging out with friends." -Daniel Kang, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
"The Inner Harbor! There are so many different restaurants, and you can enjoy a beautiful view of the waterfront shops and the aquarium. It's also a short walk from Fed Hill, one of my favorite places to hang out." -Jeff Xing, Electrical Engineering
"32nd Street Farmers Market, The Book Escape, Druid Hill Park or The Charles Theater! There are too many!" -Elizabeth Im, Cognitive Science and Medicine, Science, and Humanities
"Dukem and Tabor. I really like Ethiopian cuisine, but it’s usually a relatively niche/unknown thing, so it’s great that there are two Ethiopian restaurants in Baltimore." -Audrey Ting, Environmental Science and Public Health
"For me, Federal Hill was one of my first impressions of Baltimore. It is where I made some of my first and closest friends during my time at Hopkins. During pre-orientation with HopkinsCORPS, we climbed to the top and had some fun team-building activities. The details aren’t exactly clear but watching the sunset overlooking the lively Inner Harbor surrounded by strangers that eventually became some of my closest friends made for a great first impression of Baltimore. Nothing is quite like Federal Hill for me in the city of Baltimore." -Eric Zhang, Chemical Biomedical Engineering
