Henninger's Tavern
No matter how many years we have been going to Henninger's, we always feel like we're being let in on a local dining secret when we walk in. Maybe it's because the scruffy front bar belies the elegant food therein, or the fact that the place is in a quiet back corner of Upper Fells Point. Henninger's food is ambitious and always seems to have a trick up its sleeve--like the menu-staple fried oysters, which arrive here on a bed of wilted lettuce in a delicious Pernod cream sauce. We're willing to ride along on fun fare like Henninger's Fighting Fish, a tempura-fried catch of the day with Hong Kong-style vegetables and sticky rice, but the menu also satisfies the more traditional diner with crab cakes and filet mignon (though that comes wrapped in applewood bacon with citrus-sweet potato mash.)