06-29-2023 Howard Magazine - Flipbook - Page 29
Best Chef
Dan Wecker,
The Elkridge Furnace Inn
Dan Wecker, the co-owner and chef behind The Elkridge Furnace
Inn, has spent 50 years in the food service industry.
From his start as an apprentice in 1976, he’s made French cuisine
his focus — including from francophone locales in North Africa and
regions including Southeast Asia.
“My favorite thing to make,” Wecker, 64, said, “is make people
happy.”
“I do think, personally, that a perfectly sauteed piece of fish is
sublime,” he added.
At The Elkridge Furnace Inn, Wecker serves mushrooms and
greenery harvested from the land in true farm-to-table fashion.
“Almost everybody does a really good job with what we call the
‘center of the plate,’ the protein,” he said. “But we think that the vegetables, and the starches and things that go on that plate are just as
important.”
The menu changes seasonally, every three months — but the feedback remains the same.
“I try to go to every table — if possible, every table every night.
And people love the freshness,” Wecker said. “I work very hard to be
consistent, and I feel like that is something to strive for.”
Best overall
Breakfast/brunch
Chef
THE FOOD MARKET
THE FOOD MARKET
Honorable mentions:
Honorable mentions:
DAN WECKER, THE ELKRIDGE
FURNACE INN
The Elkridge Furnace Inn
Hudson Coastal Raw Bar & Grill
The White Oak Tavern
The Elkridge Furnace Inn
The White Oak Tavern
Mikey & Mel’s Deli
Black-owned restaurant
Burger
ALTHEA’S ALMOST FAMOUS I LOVE THIS JERK
THE WHITE OAK TAVERN
Honorable mentions:
AppleCore’s Bake Shoppe
Mad Cow Grill
Anegada Delights Caribbean Cuisine
Honorable mentions:
Clinton Kopas, The Food Market
Vinny Bellofatto, The White Oak Tavern
Chico Portillo, Hudson Coastal Raw Bar & Grill
Chinese
Honorable mentions:
HUNAN MANOR
Hudson Coastal Raw Bar & Grill
The Food Market
Cured | 18th & 21st
Honorable mentions:
Peter Chang
Asean Bistro
P.F. Chang’s
howardmagazine.com | Summer 2023 |
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