The Last Supper

Why dining out is more than a meal

- JANE MARION

THERE’S A RUNNING JOKE IN MY FAMILY, albeit straight from the Borscht Belt school of ba-dum-tss! humor. And it goes like this: “What’s mom’s favorite thing to make for dinner?” “Reservations!” say my three kids in unison. Corny, I know, but it makes me smile because it’s true. After all, I am the food and dining editor at Baltimore magazine. Depending on the month, I eat out between three and five times a week, whether for business or for pleasure—and for a dining obsessive like me, most times those borders blend. It’s the best job in the world, though there have been times when I’ve longed to just stay at home and scramble up some eggs.

Several months ago, a former Baltimore food editor told me that after hanging up her hat at the magazine, she vowed to eat at home for an entire year (which she did).

I could relate. Having come off a particularly gut-busting bender—five dinners out in one week, foie gras, followed by several dishes drowning in cream sauces—I looked at her with envy. “That sounds like heaven,” I said.

Now, that sounds like hell.

On March 16, Governor Larry Hogan closed all restaurants and bars in an attempt to stem the spread of COVID-19 (with the exception of carryout, delivery, and drivethru to keep the hospitality industry from completely imploding). It was a remarkable move that shook many of us to the core. It was the final stroke, a serious statement that moved me from a sense of growing unease to serious alarm.