greektownDaily, lunch to evening
Chaps Pit Beef on Pulaski Highway is the city's benchmark pit beef stand, charcoal-grilling top round rare and piling it on a kaiser with tiger sauce.
Try: Baltimore pit beef sandwich
Tip: Order it rare with tiger sauce and raw onion; this is the classic Baltimore pit-beef build.
fells-pointDaily, lunch to evening
Ekiben grew from a food cart into a Fells Point counter, building a citywide following on steamed bao like the Neighborhood Bird fried-chicken bun.
Try: Steamed bao buns
Tip: The Neighborhood Bird bun is the order; the line moves fast at the tiny counter.
downtownSeasonal, late spring to summerCash only
Walther Gardens runs one of the country's oldest snowball stands, shaving ice over syrup and topping the egg-custard classic with marshmallow each summer.
Try: Egg-custard snowball with marshmallow
Tip: It is summer-only and cash-friendly; the egg custard with marshmallow is the Baltimore order.
hampdenDaily, lunch to late
Clavel in Hampden presses its own nixtamalized corn tortillas for tacos al pastor and ceviche, a counter-and-bar room that started as a tortilleria project.
Try: Tacos on house-nixtamalized tortillas
Tip: The house tortillas are the point; pair tacos with an agua fresca or a mezcal.
fells-pointDaily, daytime to evening
Broadway Market at the foot of Fells Point's square gathers grab-and-go counters for oysters, tacos and coffee under two rebuilt sheds with a rooftop bar.
Try: Oysters, tacos and market counters
Tip: Graze across the stalls; Connie's Chicken and Waffles and the oyster counter are the anchors.
greektownTue-Sun, lunch to evening
Matthew's Pizza in Highlandtown has fired thick-crust pies since 1943, including a crab pie loaded with jumbo lump and Old Bay that draws steady crowds.
Try: Crab pie by the pie
Tip: The crab pie is the order to plan around; it sells out, so go early on weekends.