Charleston is a restaurant located in Baltimore, Maryland serving Low Country cuisine.[1][2]
Co-owners Cindy Wolf and Tony Foreman opened Charleston in 1997; it is located on Lancaster St. in Baltimore's waterfront Harbor East district. In 2005 they renovated the restaurant, revamped the menu and changed to a pay-by-the-course system.[3]
The restaurant focusses on a tasting menu of three to six courses selected by diners from the dozens on offer in a prix-fixe format.[4] The menu changes depending on availability and seasonality.[5] The prix-fixe format includes optional wine pairings; Wolf is known for her expertise.[5] Seafood in Lowcountry preparations is a focus.[5] A curried lobster bisque is the restaurant's most popular dish.[6]
The restaurant is co-owned by Wolf and Foreman, her former husband.[4][6] Wolf, a native of North Carolina who spent time living in Charleston, South Carolina,[6] is the executive chef.[7]
Wolf is a nine times nominated James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic, as of 2021 a tie for the record of a chef who hasn't won.[6] The Washington Post's Tom Sietsema said her offerings were "some of the finest cooking in the Mid-Atlantic" and named the restaurant to his Hall of Fame.[4] Forbes named it to their list of 100 best restaurants in the United States.[2] According to the New York Times Wolf and Charleston "helped spur the explosion of innovative New Southern cooking in the 2000s".[6]