2 Maryland Restaurants On 'America's Favorite' List

BALTIMORE, MD — Most people know the popular eateries or hot spots in their city, but Bon Appétit is sharing America's Favorite Neighborhood Restaurants thanks to the opinions of dozens of interesting people across the country. Bon Appétit said they asked 80 people - writers, novelists, chefs, comedians, NBA players and more - to give the scoop on their go-to haunts.

Maryland has two restaurants on the list, one an eclectic Baltimore venue beloved by film director John Waters, who notes that the eatery was damaged in a March fire but will recover, and the other a Montgomery County restaurant in a strip mall that its customers love for the food and personal touches by the staff.

"These are the spots we return to again and again, the places that make no claim to be the newest or the trendiest, and that's precisely why we love them," Bon Appétit's editors said.

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Here are the Maryland eateries deemed treasures by the experts at Bon Appétit:

Peter’s Inn: “My favorite restaurant in Baltimore is Peter’s Inn: bohemian, foodie, glamorously understated, and weirdly elegant, even though it never tries to act ‘rich’ (which it actually is)," Baltimore native and independent filmmaker Waters writes. "Pay no attention to the fact that part of the building just burned down. They will be opening up again real soon.”

China Canteen: "This strip-mall joint knows my family’s order by heart," writes Lillian Li, author of "Number One Chinese Restaurant."

"A meal here can be a reward for finishing the weekly shopping at the Chinese grocery down the street, a nice family dinner out when neither parent wants to cook, or a full-on birthday celebration with your 20 closest uncles, aunts, and cousins. Even if you’re there with friends, China Canteen has the ability to make any occasion feel familial and intimate, especially since the staff has barely changed in the 17 years the restaurant has been open. The flavors haven’t changed either," Li says. ..."He knows how my family likes our crispy intestine with green peppers (extra crispy, pictured above) and our diced chicken with red hot peppers (extra peppers)."

Look through all the entries in the America's Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant project.

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