While the 800 block of 36th Street, aka Hampden’s “Avenue,” is fairly packed with restaurants and shops, the 900 block seems a bit spartan by comparison. There are a couple of major contenders for your dining dollars, however. The first of these is Five and Dime Ale House, which bills itself as a “new take on the classic neighborhood tavern.” I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up in Fells Point, the neighborhood taverns were places where mostly drunks hung out and the only food available came in little plastic bags labeled “peanuts.” I’m thinking “classic” doesn’t mean “1972.” And even had the local watering hole offered something more substantial to absorb all the cheap hooch that was being consumed there, it wouldn’t have included crispy brussels sprouts in a chipotle remoulade, tofu tacos, and it sure as heck wouldn’t have had a salad with grilled salmon and wasabi vinaigrette. Of course, back in Baltimore circa 1972, brussels sprouts would have been boiled to death, tofu was for hippies. and tacos came in hard shells courtesy of Old El Paso. The concept of a salad made without iceberg lettuce and canned black olives would have blown minds. So thank goodness for progress! Also thank goodness for restaurants like Five and Dime Ale House that are owned by folks who also own craft breweries–in this case, Oliver Brewing Company–so the libations are also several notches above what was available in 1972. The rest of the menu involves stuff like burgers, pizza, customizable mac and cheese, but also entrees like roasted chicken, steak frites, and crab cakes (naturally). The place can get crowded and noisy, but that seems to be the norm these days.

Avenue Kitchen and Bar is a couple doors down, and unlike a lot of places that involve ampersands or the word “and,” this place really does involve both a kitchen and a bar. The kitchen aspect is the main restaurant, which is open for dinner every day, and for Sunday brunch from 10am-3pm. The bar, called “Sidebar,” is open from noon until late 7 days a week; Happy Hour starts at 2pm and lasts until 7pm, then starts up again at 10pm, with specials during both sessions. For those of you more interested in eating than in how cheaply you can get a glass of rosé, the menu is what I would call eclectic, leaning somewhat vaguely toward Mexico. (Their recent Winter Restaurant Week offerings leaned hard in that direction, with choices involving sopes, huitlacoche, epazote, and tamales.) There are three tacos and a taquito available now, but also Korean BBQ Tofu Nuggets, Falafel Sliders, Greek Chicken, and the more Maryland-centric Eastern Shore Fried Chicken Basket and, drumroll please….crab cakes. (If you’ve been reading this blog for the last year, you’ve probably noticed that it would not be difficult to eat your body weight in crab cakes here in Charm City.)

Back in the day, or approximately three restaurants ago, Avenue’s space was home to Mamie’s, a place that served home-cookin’-style foods in a setting that was a cross between granny’s house and a flea market. Once a week they served whole lobsters at a ridiculously low price, so Avenue’s Thursday special of $13 lobster feels like an homage. An homage au homard. There are specials on other nights, like the bargain $7 Sunday burger and buck-a-shuck oysters on Wednesday. If you want to see the rest of the menu, check out the restaurant’s Facebook page, because their web site, though it has pretty pictures, is otherwise useless in that department.

Down the street a bit is Frazier’s on the Avenue, the offshoot of a 1939 Hampden landmark that once sat a few blocks south on 33rd Street. There’s nothing fancy or trendy about Frazier’s, though they do serve the currently inexplicably popular tater tots (didn’t like ‘em in ‘72, don’t like ‘em now) and there are a couple of flatbreads on the menu. That’s about as newfangled as they get. But if you’re looking for an old-fashioned hot turkey or roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy or a tuna melt on an English muffin, this is the place. They also have burgers, wings, and of course lots of beer. In fact, Frazier’s probably qualifies as the “classic neighborhood tavern” that Five and Dime Ale House is reinventing.

If you’re only in the market for a refreshing and trendy beverage, QQ Boba is newly opened across the street. They specialize in Taiwanese bubble teas, smoothies, and juices. But if you want something a bit stronger, try Holy Frijoles. I can remember going there fairly regularly after it opened in 1996. Back then, the restaurant was so narrow, I felt like I was eating my chiles rellenos on a bus. Over the years, they expanded into a third building and recently underwent a complete overhaul–after an electrical fire shuttered the place for close to a year–so it almost feels like a new restaurant. However, Holy Frijoles is a Hampden institution at this point, with its own collection of quirky regulars who come in to hang at the bar, eat, and to play pinball. The menu is all Mexican street food/Tex-Mex classics like hard shell tacos, taco salads, enchiladas, burritos, and nachos, which of course pair wonderfully with drinks like prickly pear margaritas, Palomas, and Jarritos Mexican sodas.

Asian Taste is a few doors down, a no-frills American-style Chinese restaurant where they serve chicken chop suey and chow mein but also pad Thai, sushi, and chicken katsu. But if it’s fried chicken you’re craving, look no further than the Royal Farms store on the corner. This Baltimore-based convenience store chain is probably more famous for their made-to-order sandwiches, freshly fried chicken, and western fries than they are for being a place to grab a soda and some lottery tickets. Baltimore Magazine recently reviewed all 30+ Royal Farms stores in the Baltimore area (they’re also in Delaware, Virginia, and Pennsylvania) and the Hampden outpost came in at #3. Referring to it as the “Taj Mahal” of RoFos, the magazine cited the store’s huge selection of everything from ice cream to chips and the second floor dining room as selling points. If you’re in a fast food mood, grab a chicken box, a stack of napkins, and a milkshake from the F’real milkshake machine, and forget about the colonel.

Note to shoppers: Don’t skip popping into Trohv, a gift-giver’s paradise, to browse their selection of housewares, gourmet products, cookbooks, and other nifty goodies.

There are still tons more fine places to dine in Hampden. We’ll look at a few more next time.

Minxeats Baltimore food blogger and Co-author of the new book, Maryland’s Chesapeake: How the Bay and its Bounty Shaped a Cuisine, plus Food Lovers’ Guide to Baltimore, and Baltimore Chef’s Table.

Editors Note: One thing we like to do when launching in a city is to partner with local writers. This is a key part to the City Walker experience, we don’t only want our app (iOS and Android) to have a local prospective, we want our blog to have it too! This gives the authentic personal prospective that no one other than a local can offer. We are honored to have MINXEATS be a guest writer for City Walker in Baltimore.