“Top Chef” alumna Jessie Sandlin says her new Canton restaurant, Jokers ‘n Thieves, “fits [her] dream pretty well.” The Low Country-influenced menu, bourbon-and-beer focused bar and casual décor (barn board walls, bare light bulbs, 10 flat-screen TVs), seem a logical step from Sandlin’s more recent venture, Oliver Speck’s barbecue in Harbor East. She’s aiming for a slightly more upscale crowd—”a place you can bring a date instead of going to Canton Square to get wrecked … or come in to watch a football game and eat well,” she says.
The menu hosts plenty of southern standards—fried chicken, pork cracklings, shrimp and grits—with a smattering of Asian flavors, like a brisket sandwich with peach and pablano pepper kimchi mayo and a lo mein bowl. Plus, there’s live music on Friday and Saturday nights.
“We’re still in the early stages of getting to know what people in Canton are into,” says Sandlin, a few months in. “And we’ve also tweaked the prices a bit”—for example, cutting a chunky 32-ounce steak (meant to be shared) to a more modest 8-ounce “that sells like crazy.” 3000 O’Donnell St., 410-675-4029, jokersnthievesbaltimore.com
