One of the hardest reservations to get in Baltimore may be at this new pizza place

It’s 500-plus degrees inside a pizza oven but Baltimore’s pizza scene may be even hotter than that. The team behind Café Dear Leon bakery, a James Beard semifinalist with a viral following, has officially launched Flour and Wood, their pizza-centric restaurant inside La Maison café.

Clark Kent can turn into Superman by removing his glasses. La Maison on North Howard Street can turn into Flour and Wood by dimming the lights. By day, La Maison is already one of local students’ favorite hangouts and destinations for treats. By night, Flour and Wood seems destined to become Remington’s new date-night spot, with an atmosphere that’s classy, warm and intimate where its café counterpart is chatty and casual.

It may already one of the toughest places to score a seat in Baltimore. Reservations were fully booked Wednesday, the restaurant’s official first day in business, though owners had set aside a few tables for customers for walk-ins. In fact, OpenTable shows no availability until Sept. 9. After panicking about my own inability to get one in time to make my deadline, I reached out to the owner, who offered to fit me in. Feel free to cringe.

The new spot takes the place of JBGB’s, which closed in early 2024 after struggling to build an audience in Remington. Judging from my initial visit, Flour and Wood won’t have that problem.

Most new restaurants take months to shake off the opening jitters. But on its opening night, Flour and Wood was running with the confidence of a place that’s been here for years. It helps that this is a second restaurant opening for owners Cheolsoo “Charles” Lee and Min Kim, who also launched Love, Pomelo in 2024.

And they’re not done yet. Just last week, Kim and Lee confirmed they’re also planning to open a bagel spot in Patterson Park together with Byung Kang.

There’s an art to making a perfect Neapolitan pizza, and the staff at Flour and Wood have spent months mastering the craft. Their work pays off in pies that are chewy and perfectly charred with a choice of classic toppings. You can order a side of ranch, ricotta or tomato sauce to dip your crusts. (I’m still waiting for someone in Baltimore to dupe the Papa John’s recipe for garlic butter sauce. Please?)

There’s a lot more to the menu than pizza, though. Traditional Italian and Italian American dishes get a fresh twist from Culinary Institute of America grads Lee and Kim. Do you like shellfish? Try the gamberone al forno, succulent tiger prawns that have been fired in their shells in the oven in copious amounts of garlic butter.

I’ve just met one of my new favorite salads in Baltimore. After eyeing the panzanella at a neighbor’s table, I ordered — then devoured — the dish, which sees pickled cucumbers, tomatoes, mangoes and olives tossed in a slightly sweet sesame dressing with a generous crunch of housemade sourdough croutons.

The two heartier entrée options included a katsu bone-in pork chop paired with an herby sauce, apple and fennel salad and curry remoulade. You’ll also want to go for the impressive oyster mushroom appetizer, battered in tempura and flecked with a punchy fermented jalapeño garnish. Everything is generously portioned and meant to be shared family-style.

Expecting to find something audacious or shocking? Kim and Lee have ditched the drama, designing a menu that’s as straightforward as it is delicious. I didn’t spy any precious plating or garnishes placed with tweezers. Prices, too, are down to earth; Flour and Wood charges $18 for a margherita pizza, less than you might expect to pay at many high-end restaurants. Negronis cost just $9 and the priciest dish on the menu is $32. Sure, you could come here for date night. Or you could just go on any Wednesday you didn’t feel like cooking.

Overall, Flour and Wood seems geared less toward James Beard judges than to the people who actually show up to eat, over and over again. I can’t wait to go back. That is, if I can get a table.