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A good café is hard to find. Maybe the coffee’s great, but the food is mediocre. Or the food is good, but overpriced. When you find a really good place, there’s a tendency to keep it to yourself, in case it becomes too popular and changes somehow. Carma’s Café is a really good café. And as the recipient of numerous awards—best coffee, best sandwiches, best yogurt, as well as a mention in the New York Times’s recent “36 Hours in Baltimore,” the Charles Village café already has had plenty of exposure, but hasn’t lost what makes it great, namely delicious, affordable food, an interesting menu, which lists homemade scones, a muffuletta sandwich to rival any found in New Orleans, and Icelandic yogurt among its offerings, and what’s been called the best coffee in Baltimore—a custom blend that’s roasted locally.
The consistently good food and cozy atmosphere makes Carma’s a favorite spot for a diverse group of patrons. During a recent lunch, I found the café full of students, Hopkins professors, and couples. The older woman to my right ordered the same sandwich I was eating—the vineyard chicken salad sandwich, with tender chicken, grapes, celery, and tarragon aioli, and a side of sesame noodles (no fries here, but every sandwich is served with a side of greens, chips, or the noodles).
My lunch companion, between bites of his curried parmesan tuna salad panini, which after sampling I wish was a permanent menu fixture and not just a special, pointed out Carma’s only real drawback—because of its popularity and small inside seating area, Carma’s intimate interior can sometimes become crowded during the lunch rush, and occasionally (especially in winter, when it’s too cold to use the outdoor seating), it can be hard to grab a table.
But owners Carma Halterman and Michael Lynch talk to their customers, and while other cafes and restaurants are closing due to the recession’s economic squeeze, Carma’s is actually expanding, creating a “grab and go” location on St. Paul Street and more outdoor seating to accommodate their ever-growing following of devoted customers.
Tags: Alexandra Stevens, Carma Halterman, Carma's Cafe, Charles Village, Michael Lynch
Filed Under: Community Feature
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