More than 34,000 ballots were cast in 47 categories during this year’s contest — demonstrating that eateries are dishing it out like never before in 2024. There’s something for everyone, from fine to casual dining, food trucks to sit-downs, and familiar favorites to new on the block. Ambience: Xenia Greek Kouzina Honorable mentions: Cured | 18th & 21stThe Elkridge Furnace InnWalker’s Tap & Table Bakery: Decadent, A Coffee and Dessert Bar Honorable mentions: RoggenartTouche Touchet BakeryNothing Bundt Cakes Bar food: Cured | 18th & 21st 10980 Grantchester Way #110, Columbia, 667-786-7111, cured1821.
com The concept of a restaurant within a restaurant has found its niche in Columbia. Enter Cured, an upscale bistro, and explore a mecca of cocktails and comfort food. A telltale unmarked door opens to a 1920s-style jazz club.
Dim lights, dark corners and art deco surroundings set the stage at 18th & 21st, a speakeasy throwback that takes its name from the constitutional amendments that enacted and repealed Prohibition. Each venue has its own menu. Fans of Cured favor the Philly cheesesteak egg rolls, while burgers score high at the hideaway out back.
Spirit-wise, both places offer their best-selling Smoked Old Fashioned, made of bourbon, brown-sugar syrup and house-smoked bitters. The notion of two watering holes under one roof appeals to the clientele, said Vince Culotta, managing partner of both places. “People don’t buy what you’re selling, so much as why you’re .
