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Aaron Taylor is the corporate chef of Atlas Restaurant Group, a Baltimore-based company with 27 restaurants, mostly in its hometown but also in Washington, D.C., and Houston. It’s also about to enter Philadelphia with its fourth location of Loch Bar, which Taylor calls a “seafood parlor” with a focus on whiskey and oysters.

Eater writers and editors always get the same question. Friends, family, acquaintances, and randos all want to know, “Where should I eat right now?” That’s where the Eater Heatmap enters the conversation, pointing diners toward the most intriguing or otherwise buzzworthy new restaurants in the D.C. area. This list considers restaurants that have been open for six months or less. For our map of the D.C. area’s 38 essential restaurants, go here.

Facing the Kimmel Center and occupying the former site of Philadelphia International Records, the Baltimore-rooted restaurant will offer live music.

Amanda Brennan began cooking at just 12 years old, and immediately fell in love with the culinary world. She also silently battled addiction for years.

Atlas is preparing for the return of The Oregon Grille on Jan. 30 with a modern take on the original steakhouse’s theme. The Oregon Grille, which was acquired by Atlas along with the Valley Inn in late 2021, celebrated 25 years of business last year. It closed temporarily in March for the multimillion-dollar renovation spearheaded by local designer and frequent Atlas collaborator, Patrick Sutton.

If you’re someone who switches to red wine in the winter and doesn’t look back until the weather starts to turn, it’s time to reconsider. It’s an out- of-date way of thinking that says chilled whites aren’t right for the middle of the winter. White wine can’t be reduced to a summer drink — some styles are better suited for the winter, when their richer, creamier characteristics can be better appreciated.

Who said eating healthy, home-cooked meals has to be boring? Chef Jay Rohfling from Perennial Towson joins FOX 5 Morning Saturday to share some tips on how you can make tasty but healthy at-home meals!

Houston’s bustling bar scene offers top-notch cocktails crafted by the city’s esteemed mixologists. And for those abstaining from alcohol, there are plenty of booze-free alternatives that don’t sacrifice flavor or fun. From NA takes on the gin and tonic and espresso martinis to fruit-forward drinks garnished with herbs and spices, these 15 spots are sure to bring the refreshment.

The multi-brand platform will earn $130 million in net sales this year, and that should double by 2024, the CEO and founder says. 

Whittling down our list to just 50 spots was nearly impossible—but we did it.

“I really think we’re creating a tsunami of an employee base that will continue to impact the community for years to come,” he said. “The impact is starting to feel real. It’s happening and it’s tangible. So we’re going to keep investing.”

The Power 10 — a group of the most powerful business players in Greater Baltimore. They are CEOs, executives and industry leaders highly sought after for their expertise and influence.

The restaurant is already creating a buzz among those eager to dine there and also among members of the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis, thanks to a surprise $10,000 donation to their community pool.

May. 21, 2022 - 2:30 - Fox News Senior Metereologist joins Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Ambassador Adam Geissler and Maryland chef Jay Rohlfing to discuss the staple food and drinks of the Preakness stakes on 'Fox & Friends.'

Alex Smith sat on the stage of Monarque, a swanky cabaret-style French restaurant, and talked about the vision his grandfather, John Paterakis Sr., had for Baltimore and the Harbor East neighborhood he built on the water's edge. "He was somebody who believed in the city and believed in the region," Smith said. "He just decided he was going to take the money he made in the baking business and build what's here today. I admire him for that greatly. It's our job to continue on the tradition."

When 5 p.m. comes calling, here’s where to unwind with special-priced drinks and bites

Marmo, a modern Italian chophouse from Baltimore-based Atlas Restaurant Group, opens in the Montrose Collective mixed-use development at 888 Westheimer Road April 6.

James Joyce Irish Pub & Restaurant is headed for a revival under the ownership of the Atlas Restaurant Group. The Baltimore-based hospitality company recently leased the Harbor East Irish pub, one of several restaurants in the upscale waterfront neighborhood that closed in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The appetite to help the people of Ukraine has been strong here in Baltimore ever since Russia launched an invasion of its neighbor last month. Whether they're buying Ukrainian alcohol, serving Ukrainian food or helping with donation drives, local bars and restaurants have been jumping into the relief efforts.

Even before the pandemic, the restaurant industry was known for high turnover. And now, the industry faces a full-on hiring crisis, making it more essential than ever to keep the talented staff you’ve attracted. But how? We spoke with 10 restaurant operators who’ve seen success to find out what steps they’ve found as the most important for building and retaining a dedicated team.

Effective today, Atlas Restaurant Group will take a larger role in leading the operations and marketing of Cross Street Market. Cana Development, which previously oversaw these areas for the market, will remain on the project as leasing manager, continuing its role in finding tenants to fill vacant stalls.

By the end of 2022, Montrose’s restaurant choices will be even more plentiful

Atlas Restaurant Group is adding two more landmark local restaurant properties to its portfolio. The Baltimore-based hospitality company is set to acquire the Valley Inn and the Oregon Grille, President Alex Smith said Monday. Atlas will take over the operations of both Baltimore County restaurants on Jan. 1.

Atlas Restaurant Group is keeping an eye on other landmark Fells Point properties as the Baltimore-based hospitality company continues to add to its growing portfolio. The restaurant group announced last week it will acquire the Waterfront Hotel, marking the third property in the historic neighborhood for Atlas, which also owns The Admiral's Cup on Thames Street and The Choptank in the south shed of Broadway Market.

A restaurant group and police organization are teaming up to help those working for the Baltimore City Police Department.

The holidays are about giving and that's what Chef Bowie along with the Atlas Restaurant Group and Kids Meals are doing by providing Thanksgiving meals to families in need.

Jay Rohlfing, executive chef for The Perennial, joins the morning show to show off his innovative cuisine.

Atlas Restaurant Group, which employs 1,200 workers across three states, is raising its minimum wage to $15 per hour beginning next month.

From shrimp tacos and poke bowls to Gulf oysters and fresh market catches.

Many Pride month special dinners, cocktails, baked goods give back to the LGBTQ community

Information for this List was compiled from BBJ research; Restaurant groups must be based in Greater Baltimore and have at least five locations in the region to qualify for the List; Ties are broken by total number of locations.

A Baltimore-based restaurant has big plans for Montrose. Atlas Restaurant Group, the company behind Ouzo Bay and Loch Bar, will open a new Italian restaurant in the heart of the city's premier dining neighborhood.

Atlas Restaurant Group’s two new concepts —Watershed and Atlas Fish Market — will open this weekend at Cross Street Market in Federal Hill. This is the first entrance into the Federal Hill dining scene for Alex Smith’s Baltimore-based restaurant company that has more than 20 locations.

The team behind Harbor East's Bygone, Tagliata and Azumi, among others, has entered into a partnership deal with Perennial and Cunningham's Cafe and Bakery in Towson. The deal means Atlas now has an ownership stake in the pair, an Atlas spokesman said, declining to elaborate on the stake. Perennial is replacing the well-known Cunningham's at 1 Olympic Place, the Towson City Center building that houses the headquarters of MileOne Autogroup.

For most people, the city of Baltimore typically brings two things to mind: the picturesque Inner Harbor and steamed blue crabs dusted with Old Bay. While both will always deserve our attention, there’s now another good reason to visit Maryland’s largest city – truly noteworthy restaurants and bars.

No matter the occasion, there’s nothing quite like a rum-based cocktail to help induce a feeling of euphoria. But despite its reputation as a vacation in a bottle, rum is much more than just the base for poolside classics such as the Mai Tai and Piña Colada. Recognizing its complexity, bartenders are turning to rum with increasing frequency — even to elevate cocktails that don’t traditionally call for the spirit. Below, bartenders from around the country dish on the best rums recently added to their beverage programs.

Starting this weekend, The Admiral's Cup is offering a sort of pick-your-own musical experience. On Friday, the veteran Fells Point bar, known for its live concerts, will unveil The State Room.

With distinctive flavors that produce complex and nuanced cocktails, mezcal has secured its position as a bartender favorite. Made from more than 30 different agave species, the smoky sipper has flavors that run the gamut, including from vegetal, floral, fruity, and spicy. Mezcal has become so popular as of late that finding a bar program without the spirit would prove to be a daunting task. To help home bartenders add some Mexican spirit to their bar lineup, drinks experts are sharing their latest favorite mezcals. From artisanal seasonal releases, to an offering that dials down the smoke, to a celebratory mezcal that uses raw turkey breast, read on for the 11 new bottles that bartenders are springing for.

Houston restaurants and bars offering specials for 'Stros opening day game April 8

The Atlas restaurant group, a local Baltimore business that has world-class restaurants all over the country, will bring their very successful Choptank concept to Annapolis. It’s a classic fish and crab house which will be a great fit for Annapolis.

The addition of tender, sweet crab can upgrade any dish. Whether it’s sourced from the icy waters of Alaska or the warmer climes of the Gulf, there’s no denying the luxurious appeal of crab. Fortunately, crab enthusiasts have a bounty of dishes to choose from in Houston. Whether you’re in search of the perfect crab cake or pasta that boasts a morsel of lump crab in each bite, these 13 stellar crab dishes will definitely fit the bill.

Baltimore-based Atlas Restaurant Group is planning to open a second location of their Choptank restaurant in Annapolis. According to a release, the Maryland-themed crab house will be located just off “Ego Alley” at 110 Compromise St., formerly Fawcett Boat Supplies.

Texas meets the Mediterranean at Ouzo Bay in River Oaks. FOX 26's Ruben Dominguez gets a closer look at the crab cakes on National Crab Meat Day.

Customs are changing, but guests are still looking for fish at this time of year Lent is fast approaching, and for many Americans, that means eating more seafood. That’s true even during these challenging times and as new meatless options emerge, so restaurants continue to roll out fish and shellfish dishes at this time of year.

Despite arguably being the hospitality sector most greatly impacted by COVID-19, restaurants have continued to shine thanks to elevated design narratives and dynamic reinvention. Here are three projects readers found most delectable.

A restaurant group in Baltimore is awash in candidates looking for stability.

While just about every restaurant in Houston is preparing Thanksgiving dinner for takeout or dine-in, there are those among us who are not going to miss the ritual of getting up to our elbows in cornbread dressing and making that delish cranberry-orange-pecan salad to go with our turkey. With those home cooks in mind, we offer tips from five of Houston’s top chefs on preparing the perfect Thanksgiving dinner.

Hip Houstonians packed the popular River Oaks District to scare up a good time and show off their best Halloween costumes.

The Atlas Restaurant Group expanded its portfolio again this week, buying the beloved Admiral's Cup in Fells Point on the waterfront. The move is the latest chapter in the life of the 230-year-old corner bar that features live music each night. Its last redo in 2013 brought with it a focus on craft beers and local cuisine.

Inside Monarque, a stage lined with red velvet curtains is the focal point. All 200-plus seats in the house have a view of the performance area, which will host acts ranging from burlesque shows and cabaret concerts to Django Reinhardt-style jazz and sideshow spectacles featuring sword-swallowers and contortionists.

Atlas Restaurant Group will add a little sizzle to the dining experience at Azumi beginning next week.

Four Seasons Baltimore isn’t surrendering to the calendar—the property takes advantage of warm fall days with summer fun alongside the Inner Harbor. For reasons that have always confounded me, Labor Day typically delivers an abrupt end to most of the delights of summer. Which makes absolutely no sense. After all, the calendar—at least in these parts—doesn’t dictate those humidity-free, 75-degree evenings. Gorgeous weather, including some of the best of the year, lingers until Halloween. The Four Season Baltimore figured out this equation and delivers unmatched ways to enjoy the next 45 days. Here are four ways to begin:

As bars and restaurants continue to navigate the coronavirus pandemic and reopening phases, VinePair asked the bartenders below to provide a virtual tip jar or fund of their choice. More resources for helping hospitality professionals are available here. In late summer and early fall, distilleries often release limited-edition bourbons. Some are designed to accompany the upcoming onslaught of spiced holiday specialties, while others are unique blends of whiskies from different years. Bourbon lovers look forward to these releases every year as the days grow shorter and temperatures start to drop. To help celebrate National Bourbon Heritage Month, VinePair reached out to bartenders around the country to get their takes on which seasonal bourbon releases should make every bourbon aficionado’s wishlist. Keep reading to find out which bottles experts are currently pining for.

Like the simple joy of meeting a friend in a crowded coffee shop or the comforting feeling of huddling with family over heaping plates at a bustling restaurant, gathering with a group, shoulder to shoulder, for a festive day of live music can offer a thrill unlike any other. While the “new normal” can, at times, feel anything but — after all, shoulder to shoulder is limited to six feet apart these days — Houston is cautiously pivoting to allow visitors access to live entertainment in a safe and appropriate way. Over the past six months, many establishments have made the necessary adjustments in the way of sanitizing surfaces and reconfiguring furniture to offer clean, well-spaced out dining rooms and patios for social distancing. Pair that with limiting capacity and adhering to the proper CDC guidelines, the journey back into Houston’s dining and entertainment scene has been a gradual one. And for those who prefer to play it safe, many restaurants and live-performance venues offer virtual experiences as an option to bring the fun into the home.

Right now, there’s no such thing as a normal schedule. With many folks working from home and trying to stay indoors as much as possible, sometimes a random food craving that must be satisfied strikes at 11 p.m. Fortunately, Houston has plenty of killer restaurants that keep the lights on late. From late night spanakopita to breakfast for a midnight snack, check out our list of the best hideouts and diners serving well into the wee hours of the morning and offering take-out, curbside pick-up and delivery.

Rigatoni with Lobster, Eggplant, Burrata, and Pistachios JULIAN MARUCCI, TAGLIATA

Houston continues to dip its toes into the reopening phase, but it still feels kind of hard to explore all the cool things Houston has to offer. Hard, but not impossible. So we’re bringing you a fresh take on our usual “Actually Cool” lineup, zipping through virtual and at-home experiences, offering more seasonal activities and al fresco opportunities you can partake in from a safe social distance, and covering all the really, really incredible food and drink you can still procure (because at its core, Houston is still a really, really incredible place to eat and drink).

After months of strictly sheltering in place, I was craving a change of pace and scenery, and naturally, a little engagement with the outside world. But since flying is out of the question (for me, at least) until there’s a COVID-19 vaccine, I started exploring hotels for a staycation. It didn’t take long for me to decide on Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore. On top of being drivable from major cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., it had been years since my last visit. But above all else, I knew my safety would be prioritized and uncompromised.

Courtesy Julian Marucci, chef, Tagliata, Baltimore Using red wine in place of water adds flavor, body and color to this pasta dough. It works well in heartier meat-sauced dishes like Marucci’s braised beef ragù. Imported 00 flour, also called doppio zero, is made with fine-ground durum wheat that lends a nice al dente bite to pasta. If you can’t find it, you can substitute high-quality, all-purpose flour.

What will restaurants look like? With Alex Smith, Founder & President of Atlas Restaurant Group, and CBRE SVP, Restaurant Practice Leader - Emerging Concepts Jessica Curtis

Before restaurants consider reopening their dining rooms, experts say operators should review payroll practices, rehire based on seniority and develop ways to monitor employee health.

Baltimore’s vibrant dining scene often plays second fiddle to Washington, DC, Philadelphia and New York. But this harborside city boasts its share of cutting-edge eateries just waiting to be discovered. Atlas Restaurant Group continues to make a big splash with a portfolio of dining rooms in Baltimore, Houston and Florida. The group’s partners have an unstoppable vision for how to tempt our palates; their latest local spots include The Choptank, a fish and crab house, and the Mexican-inspired Maximón.

The CEO of Baltimore-based Atlas Restaurant Group on operating his 15-restaurant group in a new reality

CNBC: Marcus Lemonis offers advice to three small business owners (Video)

Atlas Restaurant Group is doubling down on the farm-to-table experience. The Baltimore-based company announced on Monday the creation of Atlas Farms in Carroll County, with the goal of supplying 100% of the produce at its restaurants and becoming a certified organic farm within three years. In addition to supplying the restaurants, the farm's fruit, vegetables and herbs will also be sold at local farmers markets and donated to area food banks, according to a release from Atlas.

In the world of dining, there are few dishes that signal “I’m splurging” more clearly than a gorgeously arranged seafood tower. Loaded down with ice and piled high with oysters, lobster, crab, shrimp, and more fruits of the sea, these towers are often as aesthetically pleasing as they are delicious. Looking to ball out on a seriously great seafood tower? Look no further than these 8 Houston restaurants, all boasting seafood towers that range from simple and affordable appetizer options to seriously massive, shareable works of art.

Federal Hill could have a new rooftop dining spot by this fall. Watershed, the Atlas Restaurant Group crab house coming to Cross Street Market, will feature a rooftop deck with seating for nearly 170 people, according to new renderings unveiled Thursday.

On Tuesday, January 14th, 2020, Houston magazine hosted an extravagant party at Loch Bar in River Oaks District to celebrate the 2020 "It List" and its 15th anniversary year. Over 300 guests walked a red carpet to the entrance of the new restaurant, where they were welcomed with whiskey tastings by Glenfiddich Gran Cru. Todd Events, Revelry Goods and LG Entertainment helped transform the venue into a '70s disco party, complete with mirrored balls and gold fringe. Loch Bar provided a delicious selection of passed hors d'oeuvres, while specialty wines and cocktails were provided by Vintage Wine Estates, Hendricks Gin, Milagro Tequila, Flor De Cana 8YR Rum, Monkey Shoulder Whiskey and Reyka Vodka. Among the evening's entertainment was a Lipstick Physic Reader, who used a lipstick print to tell guests their fortune. It was a groovy night to say the least.

The Choptank makes us proud to be from Baltimore.

The dining scene continues to soar, and, oh, what a year it was to eat—and drink—in Baltimore. What didn’t I eat this year? From foie gras and snails to matcha ice cream and crab cakes with succotash, I enjoyed it all. But a few things stand out, and there’s a theme to my picks here. Life is complicated enough—when it comes to dining out, this was the year I craved simple sandwiches, comfort food, and mezcal-based cocktails to wash it all down. In looking back, who knew that celery—a vegetable of last resort—would play a starring role on my best bites list?