Baltimore, MD (Charm City, hon)

Here’s a decent starter list, though I’m not sure how up-to-date it is:

http://www.the-wine-source.com/byor.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I’ve been to Samos in Greektown; get there early or you won’t get a table for hours. Worth the wait though!

The Wine Market in Fed Hill/Locust Point is great, too; I brought in a bottle he had, not knowing he had it, and he offered to let me open it anyway (because it was admittedly a pretty rare bottle!).

I can also add:

13.5% Wine Bar in Hampden (buy from them and drink-on site for a nominal fee)

12/6/11 Additions
Corner BYOB
Havana Road (Towson; Pennsylvania Ave.; no decanters, mixed stems, but free corkage and outstanding Cuban food)

1/4/12 Addition:
Baltimore Burger Bar, Hampden (note: didn’t love my experience here, and I’m pretty sure you’d need to bring your own glass & corkscrew, and maybe even food because mine took ages to arrive; tasty once it did).

5/23/12 Addition:
Meet 27, 27th St. and Howard Rd. Very ecclectic menu; went for a fixed price Mother’s Day lunch and everything was excellent. Looked like nice stems and decanters were available upon request; we had champagne and they provided proper stems.

Been a while… 11/15/13 Addition
Clementine’s in Hamilton (still in Baltimore City); they were always corkage friendly but got fined, I think, for allowing it despite having a liquor license! ONLY $10 and a very kid-friendly place to boot.

We’ve had several offlines at Samos. They charge something like $2.00 per PERSON corkage–not by the bottle–and the food is delicious and copious if you get the sampler of Greek dishes. As Mike said, get there early to claim your table/tables.

I’ve also had lunch at Wine Market and got a discount on the meal after purchasing wines in the shop (or was it the reverse?–maybe it was a discount on the wines I purchased after eating a meal there.) They also serve flights of three wines.

Hah, I’ve had that sampler. Soooo good. I don’t recall being charged corkage at all; it was straight BYO. I think our table was big enough that they didn’t care, maybe?

+1 for 13.5% Wine Bar. I have got to get back to that place!

Corner BYOB is pretty good and is right next to the Wine Source. Corkage is a bit strange - I believe they charge by the bottle plus an additional fee per diner, but they do have nice stems. They also host an exotic meat club which held their first dinner recently: This is Gonna Be Good: The First Gastronaut Society Dinner at Corner BYOB, Baltimore

I’ve never been to 13.5%. In fact I walked by it while doing some shopping on the avenue last weekend. I’ll have to stop by the next time I’m in the area.

I have never been to Corner BYOB but it sounds fantastic. I’ve been to the Wine source lots though, so it sounds like another excuse to go to Hampden. It’s been a while for me!

Also Ken, I really enjoy your blog! Great food porn pics!

I wish that were my blog. It is not, but it is one of my favorites to read. I believe it’s written by a group who live in the Baltimore area.

They do have great food shots! Anytime they post about a restaurant in the Baltimore area I end up checking it out soon after. They also tend to visit a lot of restaurants in Philadelphia, which I appreciate since I find myself up there quite a bit.

Well I appreciate you sharing it regardless! [cheers.gif]

Bump for recent additions. If you find any more, please post 'em!

Mike, I thought you cannot BYOB in Maryland? Has the law changed like Virginia? Or you can only do it for places that do not have a liquor license? something else?

TIA,
Ramon

Hi Ramon,

Yes, BYOB is illegal in Maryland, unless you have a “grandfathered” license that allows it. Most places that serve their own alcohol typically cannot allow you to bring in your own, because the license says so. The three exceptions I know of are Samos, The Wine Market, and Corner BYOB, though the latter two both have “attached” wine stores. The Wine Market also has a wine list, though, so I’m not sure how they get away with what they do! But they do. There are a myriad of different types of licenses out there. An example are the different licenses for grocery stores; the Giant near me growing up sold wine. But another Giant 5 miles away could not. A new Harris Teeter that just opened in Baltimore sells wine, so they must have purchased a license that allowed it. The whole licensing system is unbelievably complicated, and I do not proclaim to be an expert in it.

In any event, the establishments listed above for now allow you to bring in your own juice, so get while the gettings’ good. [cheers.gif] There’s a bill pending in the Maryland House to allow corkage statewide. And corkage in Virginia was legalized last year.

Cheers,
Mike

Thanks for the info Mike! My kid is at CP so Im scouting the area for BYO.

Cheers!

Maryland House Bill 228 has been introduced to permit corkage statewide in Maryland. If you live in MD you should contact your state representative and tell him/her to support the bill.

Basicly the bill allows an individual in a restaurant, club, or hotel for which a specified alcoholic beverages license is issued the privilege of consuming wine not purchased from or provided by the license holder; requires, for an individual to exercise the privilege, that the wine be consumed with a meal and the individual receive the approval of the license holder; authorizes a license holder to determine and charge an individual a fee for the privilege.

This time the bill would apply statewide instead of just in certain counties.

Thanks Robert! Last year we tried Baltimore City and Frederick (because of Volt and the fallout from RMPs visit as chronicaled in his Hedonist Gazette). Shocking opposition from the wholesalers and restaurant industry lobbyists. Hopefully this year will be different.

Testified on Friday in Annapolis before the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee re: SB 755, a bill to legalize corkage in Maryland. HB228 is up today before the House committee (Economic Matters Committee). We had no opposition in the Senate (not sure when they will vote) and a I saw a lot of nodding-in-agreement from committee members when I was speaking. Last year, the Restaurant Association of Maryland testified against the bill, but because teir membership is equally split on whether to be in favor or against it, they were “unopposed” to the bill (as opposed to in favor of it). Hope this comes to fruition!

If this passes, restaurants will have the choice of offering corkage at whatever fee they want. The committee responded will to the point that it makes no sense that many of the establishments listed here that have no license can allow corkage, while licensed establishments cannot, despite the licensees going through all of the training and enforcement that comes with allowing corkage. We framed this agressively as “discrimination,” which indeed it is. As soon as I hear more, I will post it here.

HB 228 made it out of committee in the House, and SB 755 is up for its committee vote today! If you want corkage to be legal in Maryland, today is the day to contact your representatives! Fingers crossed for a favorable report.

Committee members:

Anne Arundel County
Sen. Ed Reilly
Sen. Jim Rosapepe (co-sponsor)
Sen. Bryan Simonaire

Baltimore City
Chair Joan Carter Conway
Sen. Bill Ferguson

Baltimore County
Sen. JB Jennings

Calvert County
Vice-Chair Roy Dyson

Charles County
Vice-Chair Roy Dyson

Frederick County
Sen. Ron Young (sponsor)

Harford County
Sen. JB Jennings

Montgomery County
Sen. Karen Montgomery

Prince George’s County
Sen. Joanne Benson
Sen. Paul Pinsky (co-sponsor)
Sen. Jim Rosapepe (co-sponsor)

St. Mary’s County
Vice-Chair Roy Dyson

Hopefully this list will explode now that the corkage bill has passed the legislature! 46-0 in the Senate! 128-6 in the House (what’s up with the 6?!). Will keep y’all posted. but come July 1, this list will hopefully expand dramatically.

Bill still pending, but not really. http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/maryland/2012/04/maryland-permit-restaurant-patrons-bring-their-own-wine/446031

Visited Corner BYOB last night, somewhat on a whim. We’d already had dinner, so we brought a bottle in and ordered a cheese plate and the dessert. Sat at the bar, and they were more than accomodating. Corkage was $5 ($3 for the bottle, $1 per stem). Cheeses were awesome (5 for $15) as was the chocolate bowl. Returning very soon (reservation made!).

Corkage bills to be signed into law today: Home - Office of Governor Larry Hogan

So… this list should expand exponentially very soon!

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Nice work, Mike. Congratulations. I’ll be in Baltimore for a few days next month. When is the effective date?