Diamondback Brewing Adding a Food Menu with Pizzas, Soft Pretzels, and Charcuterie
The team behind Diamondback Brewing Company in Locust Point has been thinking about adding a kitchen and food menu to their taproom since it opened a little more than two years ago and now they have made that a reality. This week, Diamondback will roll out a new menu of Neopolitan-style pizzas, Bavarian soft pretzels, and charcuterie from its new kitchen.
Diamondback is owned by Loyola Blakefield graduates Tom Foster, Colin Marshall, and Francis Smith.
With limited kitchen space at Diamondback’s 2,000 sq. ft. tap room, as well as limited ability to add a ventilation system, Smith said he scoured message boards on the web researching the best kitchen equipment to make the best use of the kitchen space which sits in between the smoke stack that cuts through the center of the tap room and the windows that look down into the production brewery. Diamondback purchased the Turbochef Fire ventless countertop pizza oven after a lot of research.
The oven, which doesn’t require a ventilation system, cooks pizzas at more than 800 degrees in about two minutes. The kitchen also has a couple counters, a fridge, new sinks, and a dishwasher.
The new menu is headed up by taproom manager Ryan Belton and bartender Cassidy Johnson. Belton researched the cheese and sauce for the pizza. He worked with The Great Cheese Company to come up with a five-cheese blend for the pizzas and will be using Italian San Marzano tomatoes for the sauce.
Johnson has a lot of experience working with dough, a skill she learned while studying abroad in Namibia for a wildlife observation. In Namibia, they would make their own bread every day. Johnson is using Italian 00 flour for the dough recipe she came up with that takes 12 to 14 hours of fermenting and six hours of proofing.
The menu of 12-inch pizzas includes a Margherita with red sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil; the Formaggio with red sauce and the five-cheese blend; the Soppressata with red sauce, five-cheese blend, and sopressatta; and the Inversion with olive oil, ricotta, spinach, and a lemon drizzle.
Belton and Johnson spent months developing the recipes and getting friends together for tastings.
The pretzels are also housemade and use a different dough recipe than the pizzas. Johnson said they are a Bavarian-style pretzel and are served with stone ground mustard. Customers can add a Nutella dip or a beer cheese that uses Diamondback’s Green Machine IPA.
The charcuterie plate features prosciutto, chorizo, a 48-month white cheddar, honey goat cheese, Spanish olives, cornichons, and dried fruit and nuts.
Along with the new menu, Diamondback’s taproom will now be open on Tuesdays. The new hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 4pm to 9pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 12pm to 11pm, and Sundays from 12pm to 8pm.
The Diamondback team is also excited about a new Tuesday night cornhole league taking place on its outdoor patio in partnership with fellow McHenry Row business Volo City.
Photos courtesy of Zack Kaiser // Diamondback
Ryan Belton
Cassidy Johnson
About the Author: Kevin Lynch
Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.
