A Formal Affair

A fine dining icon in Baltimore celebrates more than 25 years of elegant design

- MAGGIE WARD

anchoring Baltimore's flourishing waterfront neighborhood of Harbor East, eight-time James Beard Award finalist Cindy Wolf's ode to Southern cuisine, the Charleston restaurant, continues to set the tone for upscale dining in Charm City. Wolf opened the hallmark property with Tony Foreman in 1997, blending both the cuisines and the hospitality of French and Southern traditions. Foreman and Wolf would go on to build a restaurant empire together, including a French bistro, an Italian eatery, an Eastern Shore seafood classic, and wine shops around the state of Maryland, aiming to fill the gaps in Baltimore's dining scene. Charleston remains the most personal-a fixture in the burgeoning inner harbor neighborhood that has seen a few iterations, each time transforming to keep up with Wolf's sophisticated style and presentation of food. "I like that we're an institution for people, and that we can still surprise our guests," Foreman says.