Cured And 18th & 21st Open In Columbia

COLUMBIA, MD — A combination bar-restaurant that has two separate dining concepts under one roof has opened in Columbia. CURED Table & Tap and 18th & 21st opened in the One Merriweather building on Grantchester Way recently, near Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Steve Wecker, who co-owns Iron Bridge Wine Company, started the restaurant along with partner and former Iron Bridge General Manager Vince Culotta.

"CURED was designed as a casual dining space," Wecker said in a statement. "People always tell us that Iron Bridge is kind of like Cheers with wine, so we wanted to create that same vibe."

The dining room is centered around a charcuterie and raw bar, and the menu features a variety of American cuisine, from a po' boy to pan-roasted salmon with fingerling potatoes and olive tapenade.

Craft beers, wine and cocktails are also offered, including local products from the Baltimore Whiskey Company, Goonda Beersmiths, and Old Westminster Winery.

See the menu for Cured.

Next door, 18th & 21st has a different atmosphere, designed to be reminiscent of a speakeasy. The space has elevated dining with live music and dancing every evening.

Intended to evoke the sense of a sophisticated supper club, the menu includes small plates, mid-Atlantic seafood and classic cuts of beef, with more unusual dishes such as lobster Poutine and duck pastrami.

See the menu for 18th & 21st.

The bar offers barrel-aged cocktails like the "Smoked Old Fashioned," with Henry McKenna 100-proof bourbon and brown sugar.

Executive Chef Christopher Lewis oversees both CURED Table & Tap and 18th & 21st. He and his team created the menus "from the ground up," he said. In particular, he is a proponent of incorporating regional farms.

Lewis, who graduated from the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts, has worked at the Iron Bridge Wine Company, Brass Elephant, Linwoods and Milton Inn.

Vince and the Iron Bridge Wine Company, who were last year named Philanthropists of the Year by the Community Foundation of Howard County, plan to offer "Charlie Wecker Charity Nights" on Wednesdays, named after the owner's father, as an opportunity for local organizations to host fundraisers there.

The restaurants are located 350 yards from the main stage at Merriweather Post Pavilion. They are in the One Merriweather building off Little Patuxent Parkway at Broken Land Parkway.

CURED and 18th & 21st are at 10980 Grantchester Way in Columbia.

Photo by Elizabeth Janney.