Flameworks Heats Up White Marsh

Where is the hottest place in White Marsh this week? If you guessed anywhere not under a tree or in the shade, you’d be right. But you’d be even more right if you guessed Flameworks wood fire grill and smokehouse.

The roadside steakhouse at 11244 Pulaski Highway is a homage to owner’s Mike “Smitty” Smith’s second passion in life—hot rods.

Smitty’s first passion, his wife Michele Smith, explained, “He said by the time he was 45, he wanted to own a restaurant and that’s exactly what he did. He closed down the hot rod garage and brought that theme over here.”

The Smiths owned Frames To Flames hot rod shop, also on Pulaski Highway, until last year. Together, along with the help of Mike’s brother, the couple opened Flameworks in November and have been burning rubber—not burgers—ever since.

“It’s been going awesome,” Michele said.

Customers of the old hot rod garage, she said, have been impressed that the guy who used to build their cars can also cook.

“He has always had a passion for food,” Michele said.

Unsurprisingly, the theme of the décor at Flameworks is inspired by, you guessed it, hot rods. Car upholstery lines the counter stool cushions. Pictures on the wall show Mike’s life work in the cars he’s built over the years.

But the real heart and soul of Flameworks is found in its menu.

“Everything has a story. If you look at the names of all of our items, they all have meaning to us,” Michele said.

If you order the Maxwell Point Hush Pupples, for example, you’ll be dining on the Smith’s early dating spot. “We used to go out on the water every weekend,” Michele said.

If fried fare is more favorable, the Pickles Fried appetizer was inspired by “A friend of ours,” Michele said. Simply put, “His name is Pickle. He’s in a band. And he’s always fried.”

Or you could go with the Chilly Willy’s Crab Pretzel, named after Michele’s father’s boat, and is the dish she said is a must try for first timers.

The menu describes the pretzel as wood grilled, topped with half grandma D crab cake and smoked gouda cheese, drizzled with Flameworks’ famous beer cheese and a little Chesapeake slur, for $13.

“It’s beautiful. It’s awesome. It’ll keep you coming back,” Michele said.

So what sets Flameworks apart from other roadside grills?

“We are family owned. When you come in, you are part of the family,” Michele said.

“All food homemade, nothing frozen. Everything is fresh. When you order a burger it gets ground right there when you order it,” she continued. “When you order a steak, it’s pulled out of the refrigerator and cut to order.”

Flameworks is BYOB friendly. More information can be found at http://flameworks2012.webs.com/

Have you ever dined at Flameworks? What do you think of the grill and smokehouse? Tell us in the comments section below. 

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