Local food truck Taste has opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant at 801 Washington Blvd. in Pigtown. Owned by Helen Markatos, Taste focuses on smash burgers, jerk chicken tacos, wraps, and banana pudding.
Markatos is married to Domonic Carter, owner of tattoo shop Ripp’d Canvas at 783 Washington Blvd. Carter also owns 801 Washington Blvd., which was previously home to Ripp’d Canvas before most recently being occupied by a barbershop.
Markatos and Carter spent the past several months completely renovating the retail space to transform it into a restaurant.
Taste was already a neighborhood staple, doing weekly food truck stops at local breweries. Markatos has also been featured on the Baltimore-based cooking show “Plate It, Baltimore.”
The smash burgers are made with thinly-smashed beef and topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and Taste’s signature smash sauce on a potato roll.
The jerk chicken tacos feature marinated jerk chicken topped with white onion, sour cream, cilantro, hot sauce, and cheese.
Taste also offers salmon Caesar wraps and chicken Caesar wraps, along with its signature banana pudding. The restaurant uses the motto “Good Mood Food.”
The restaurant’s interior has seating for approximately 10 people. It plans to add outdoor seating in the future.
Taste will host its grand opening on September 12.
From Baltimore Business Journal:
“Being able to have my son sitting here eating a burger while I talk to the customers and my husband walking in from the tattoo shop,” Markatos said. “It’s surreal. I’m literally just sitting in the front area right now and I’m looking around and it’s like, I’m in it.”
Taste plans to be open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. once fully opening in September. Markatos wants to close the business one day per week, with a potential day off on Tuesday or Wednesday.
