The former site of Cafe Hon is now The Duchess. It's the latest addition to Foreman and Company's list of unique dining experiences. Kristi Harper sat down with co-owner Tony Foreman to find out what's on the plate for this latest culinary adventure.
"It feels great in here. The storytelling behind a very human space."
A little over two years ago, Tony Foreman leased the space from Cafe Hon's former owner. He calls himself a Baltimore boy and considered this move a bit of a homecoming.
"Coming to Hampden, I mean, it feels important. The neighborhood is, in its way is a crossroads of the city."
This is happening amidst a changeover in many spaces along Hampden's main street. A change is seen in similar neighborhoods across the country and often means the demise of a local feel. But Tony says that wouldn't work here.
"Trying to turn a neighborhood as unique and diverse and as funky and cool as this into some other sort of, you know, re-done, re-made strip mall...it would be atrocious."
Tony, along with Executive Chef and Co-Owner Kiko Fejarang, has created their version of funky and cool with the duchess. It's an English pub of sorts, with a surprising menu.
Kiko describes her menu. "Well, you've got a little mix between Chamorro, Filipino, and Hawaiian."
Kiko tells me Chamorro is the food of Guam, where family sparked her culinary adventure.
"There are no recipes on Guam. Like, you've got your aunties going, you know, 'It's just a little bit of this and just a pinch of that.'. And you're like, that does not create for laughs... what is that? What is a pinch? A teaspoon? Half a teaspoon? Ten grams? I don't know. Chef Fejarang shows her joy in bringing this type of comfort food to Baltimore.
And many of us who have tried to learn family recipes can relate. On the islands, Kiko learned to work with a host of ingredients, including fresh seafood and furikake, the regional spice mix added to rice. And one surprising ingredient...spam.
"Who doesn't love spam musubi? Every time I go to Hawaii, I have at least three a day."
She says around the time spam became a food staple in Hawaii, it also came to Guam, and people there incorporated it into their cooking traditions. She says Spam sometimes may get a bad rap, but...
"It's just salty pork. And when you get nice and crispy...crispy outside. Like tender inside. There's like nothing better."
Another surprising twist you'll find is a bar snack utilizing the furikake seasoning. And a Vietnamese food tradition...bánh tráng.
"It's the wrapper for the summer rolls that you see, and I was like, 'Let me just see if I deep fry them and they become a fun little snack.'"
Together, Foreman and Fejarang have created what they hope will be a new funky classic for this classic Baltimore neighborhood.
Kiko, "I wanted this to be an area where people can come together, have a great time, have a lot of little snacks, and try different things."
Tony, "I wanted to build a vessel that felt really good." Tony says this is his version of a comfortable place to have a beer and watch a weekend soccer game. And behind the scenes, he wanted to create a place to invest in people. "I want to see people grow. And Kiko is a really remarkable young chef, young person."
I can tell you, the Spam fries look absolutely scrumptious, and I look forward to trying this new spot with my husband. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday starting at 5pm, the bar at 4pm.
