Cafe Dear Leon is a brunch spot in Canton, Baltimore.
Cafe Dear Leon on Canton Square is a cafe and bakery for a quieter brunch, plating fresh pastries, egg sandwiches and careful coffee off the square.
Must order: A laminated pastry and an egg sandwich with a careful pour-over.
Tip: It is more cafe than full brunch; the pastries sell through quickly on weekend mornings.
Address: 2929 O'Donnell Street, Baltimore, MD 21224
NiHao in Canton runs a weekend dim sum brunch from chef Peter Chang's kitchen, sending dumplings, buns and soup dumplings to a packed rowhouse.
Order: A spread of dumplings and soup dumplings off the dim sum cart.
Tip: Reserve the dim sum brunch; the small rowhouse fills fast on weekend mornings.
Golden West Cafe on Hampden's Avenue runs a Southwestern brunch of green chile, breakfast burritos and huevos rancheros with deep vegetarian options.
Order: The green chile breakfast burrito, smothered and loaded.
Tip: The green chile is the house signature; the vegan and vegetarian brunch options run deep.
Gertrude's at the Baltimore Museum of Art runs a Chesapeake weekend brunch, plating crab Benedict and shrimp and grits on a terrace over the sculpture garden.
Order: Crab Benedict over the BMA sculpture-garden terrace.
Tip: Book the terrace for brunch overlooking the sculpture garden; the crab Benedict is the move.
NiHao in Canton runs a weekend dim sum brunch from chef Peter Chang's kitchen, sending dumplings, buns and soup dumplings to a packed rowhouse.
Order: A spread of dumplings and soup dumplings off the dim sum cart.
Tip: Reserve the dim sum brunch; the small rowhouse fills fast on weekend mornings.
Papermoon Diner in Remington serves a daytime diner brunch of big breakfast plates, pancakes and milkshakes amid a riot of toys and mannequins.
Order: A stack of pancakes and a milkshake.
Tip: It opens Wednesday to Sunday for daytime hours; the maximalist decor is half the experience.
Dooby's in Mount Vernon runs an all-day cafe brunch of breakfast sandwiches and Korean-leaning plates, a reliable mid-morning stop on Charles Street.
Order: The breakfast sandwich with a cup of drip.
Tip: The breakfast sandwich is the daytime draw; the kitchen shifts to a Korean dinner menu by night.
Blue Moon Cafe in Fells Point is a tiny diner famous for its Cap'n Crunch French toast, a 24-hour-on-weekends institution with a near-constant line out front.
Order: The Cap'n Crunch French toast, crusted in cereal and griddled golden.
Tip: It runs all night Friday and Saturday; weekday mornings are the only way to skip the line.
