Benny's (Formerly Joe Benny’s) — Restaurant in Baltimore

On Monday 5/19/14 my wife and I went on a date to Joe Benny’s Focacciaria in Baltimore Maryland’s Little Italy neighborhood. We had an amazingly fun experience and had to write a review immediately. We walked in and it was hopping! The place was being run by 4 staff members buzzing with activity yet we were greeted and welcomed by all of them. The kitchen bar area was full so my wife and I shared an intimate table in the rear. Joanne welcomed us and immediately set the table a poured some ice water. She and my wife began talking and we learned that we had handfuls of friends and coworkers in common (Smalltimore). We each had an Italian screwdriver – Vodka and blood orange soda. We took some time with the menu and our drinks. Joe, the owner/chef came over to introduce himself. Warm and friendly, he shared his story of his dream to share the food of his family with the city of Baltimore. His excitement and pride was contagious; we asked if Joe would order for us and serve up “what he does best”, he was more than happy to do so. First up - The Sicilian Stack – Bright colorful green, red, purple, white of basil, tomato, eggplant, and mozzarella cheese; lightly drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and a touch of salt. Like a colorful stack of pancakes you could cut a triangle from the top and get a bite of all of the fresh flavors. Joe paired that with a glass of a light pino noir a perfect mix of flavor and texture when eaten together with the stack. Joe also served the Burrata – a fresh mozzarella with a firm outside and an internal creamy texture, another excellent pairing with the Pino. The next course was Mimma’s Meatballs – I’m a carnivore, and I've had ground meats from as many cultures that I can. I can attest that these are the best meatballs I've ever had. The perfect blend of pork and beef, firm, yet delicate, even a tiny bit juicy; and the marinara!! I usually find red sauce boring. This is the eat with a spoon type of sauce; salty, sweet, tangy and hearty I sopped up every last bit with the excellent house bread. It paired wonderfully with a hefty, jammy Italian red. For our main course - The Sammy Focaccia – crispy and soft focaccia with a flavorful lightly oiled texture of garlic and salt topped with more fresh mozzarella and Italian speck which imparted a hint smokey bacon like flavor. My wife called it quits but I ate every last bite! By this time some space at the kitchen bar opened up, we asked if we could have our after dinner drinks at the bar and the staff welcomed us. My wife had an Italian Margarita, and I had the Blackeyed ? more finely crafted unique cocktails. We spent some time hanging out and making friends. The staff was very busy with a full house yet it didn't feel like they were “working”. It truly felt like I was a guest in a family’s busy kitchen, and a family that liked each other and wanted to share their food and fun. Without asking Joe served us what looked like chocolate gelato. But it wasn't it was something ten times better it was Maria Rita’s Bianco e Nero. A desert of delicate cream puffs coated in chocolate hazelnut cream. Amazing! Sometimes I eat at places and I can taste the care in people’s food! I can taste love and effort at Joe Benny’s. Baltimore take care Joe Benny’s and his family staff. They will surely take care of you.

11/16/24 Update Our first visit to the new Benny's. They took everything from the old Joe Benny's and elevated it two levels! My family had a Saturday afternoon early evening fun day! We were made to feel part of the neighborhood family. You can obviously taste the fine dining quality, attention to detail. ...

TLDR: Amazing focaccia pizza and an unforgettable neighborhood atmosphere. Unfortunately they are closing their doors at the end of May 2023 for the time being. But it's not a goodbye for forever, but see you later!

Vibe: 5/5. Located in the heart of Little Italy on S High Street, Joe Benny's is a small rowhome restaurant. Inside, the restaurant holds approximately 30 guests at any given time by way of the long bar top and a handful of 2 tops in the back dining room. Joe Benny's has that neighborhood watering hole vibe down solid. Because the place is so narrow, diners will be in close quarters with the staff and other guests at all times, but that's not exactly a bad thing. The kitchen is located right behind the bar out in the open, so you can watch all items being made from start to finish. Unfortunately, by the time I post this review, Joe Benny's will be in their last few weeks of operation as they are planning to close up shop at the end of May. Due to the imminent closing, demand has been through the roof, so expect to wait 1hr+ at peak hours. Fortunately, it has been said that the closing is only for the immediate future and Joe plans to make a comeback in some shape or form in the future.

Service: 4/5. We went on a Wednesday at 4:45pm (they open at 5pm) and there was a line of 30+ people stretching down the sidewalk waiting for them to open. When Joe opened the doors at 5pm, he warmly greeted people and mentioned that the "service may suck" tonight because they are short on staff being it's their last few weeks in operation. My party of 2 missed the first seating, so we decided to wait via standing at the bar inside the restaurant. Joe mentioned it would be around an hour wait, and he was pretty much spot on with that estimate. In the meantime, we kept ourselves busy with a few sangria's as we stood in the background listening to the friendly banter between Joe and his patrons. When we were finally seated a little before 6pm, we already had our order ready to go so the staff promptly took our food and drink orders to get it started. Both the food and drinks came out faster than expected which helped justify the long wait. Small miss, but one of the pizzas we ordered was misunderstood during the ordering process and we received a different pizza then what we anticipated. They asked if we wanted to get a replacement made, but we were totally fine with the pie we received, and we wanted to get the next group of diners in behind us.

Food: 5/5. In a sea of pizza restaurants offering up more or less the same things, Joe Benny's truly has something special. The focaccia style pizza just hits different than any Sicilian, Detroit or Chicago style pizza I have ever had. The focaccia provides this unbelievably pillowy yet crisp base for Joe's amazing sauce and toppings. One thing I definitely appreciated was the frequent use of burrata cheese in the pizza combinations. Of the three pies we ordered, our favorite was by far the crabby Joe and the sharini. The Crabby Joe was their take on a crab dip pizza, but a much superior version using homemade garlic sauce paired with lump crab. The Sharini used their famous homemade meatballs paired with a heaping dose of burrata and sauce. Simple by design, but an amazing combination of textures and flavors. There were several other pizzas on the menu we wanted to try, but for 2 very hungry people, 3 pizzas was borderline overkill. Overall, I highly suggest paying your respects to Joe Benny's for a dinner service before they shut their doors. You may have to wait, but that focaccia and family atmosphere makes it...

Down town Baltimore, MD. In the heart of Little Italy district. Started with a little vino (Planeta Rose):Strawberries, hibiscus and Rhubarb, slightly tart with a mild sweetness. No after taste. One of the other guests had JD &Ginger Beer. Very good also. Ordered the Bocce Focaccia. Joe Benney's reminds me of one of the smaller gemstones you find in San Diego or Oakland. The place is alive with verbal discourse, pleasant surprise I may add. I am not disappointed so far. The meatballs with Focaccia bread was amazing enough to savor and went well with the wine. I am confused that another person disparaged the meatballs so flippantly. I will say I have to strongly disagree with your Assessment! I really like Joe Benney; he was teasing someone at the Bar about letting a work of art (sandwich) get cold. Great food is meant to be eaten upon its creation. The feast has arrived, oh my the spiciness is reaching to all of my tastebuds, they are tingling my palate is a-flutter with the amazing mixture of spices. One can not do justice in describing the meal other than ,Yes!Yes! It is taking away my headache and causing me to breathe freely. The sound around me is reaching an amazing level of long term friends wanting to be heard and hear. This is another little gem to be savoured as one does a fine wine or an amazing fragrance that brings nothing but simple pleasure to one's spirit. Please visit this amazing little treasure, you might actually enjoy...