# Where Hollywood eats when it's in Baltimore > The cast behind Center Stage's hit comedy 'Bocking' spent two months eating their way through Charm City, and they have receipts. - Title: Where Hollywood eats when it's in Baltimore · The Banner - Summary: The cast behind Center Stage's hit comedy 'Bocking' spent two months eating their way through Charm City, and they have receipts. A theater run turned into a… - Keywords: baltimore, theater, food, restaurants, arts, news, local, Where, Hollywood, eats, it's, The Banner - Source: The Banner — https://thebanner.com/culture/bocking-baltimore-actors-favorite-restaurants-lena-waithe-7FPELHH5FBDP7GW4KS7R3HTF3Q - Author: Wesley Case - Published: 2026-09-13T09:30:00+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: baltimore, theater, food, restaurants, arts, news, local ## Yes, that was a star An "Orange Is the New Black" actor eating a crab cake in Northeast Baltimore. Lena Waithe at the American Visionary Art Museum. Your eyes were fine. ## They moved in, not through The out-of-town cast and crew of "Bocking" did not just work at Baltimore Center Stage. They ate, walked and scootered their way into the city, diets be damned. > I haven't had one bad meal in this city. I swear to God. ## The play that overshot "Bocking," a raucous sex comedy about marriage and self-presentation, opened the season in August and has pulled about $277,000 in single-ticket sales, over $100,000 past its goal. ## Extended by demand Written by Preston Crowder and directed by Stevie Walker-Webb, the run added an extra week. La La Anthony, Kandi Burruss and Karrueche Tran came through for post-show talks. ## Adrienne Moore walks it Moore skips the car. She walks her dogs near the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon and rides a scooter down to Federal Hill to sit on the benches above the harbor. > When the weather's nice, just getting on the scooter, taking it down to Federal Hill. ## Moore's food map Sushi at Azumi in Harbor East, the "mouth-watering" Yeiboh Kitchen in Old Goucher, Koco's Pub crab cakes in Arcadia, and iBar wings in Charles North. > The wings at iBar were even giving life. ## Kalen Allen's greatest hits Forty-five minutes to curtain and he's listing meals: fried turkey wings from Flavr, fried rice from My Thai Go, tikka masala from Akbar, catfish and grits from Creole Soul. > I got the catfish and grits, stellar. I don't even like grits. Baby, I cleaned that plate. ## The chicken box question Allen is still settling Baltimore's oldest argument. Park's Fried Chicken and Sunny's Sub both impressed him, but he learned too late that regulars ask for it fried hard. > Nobody told me I was supposed to ask for it to be fried hard. ## He's staying Allen arrived having only heard rumors of a Baltimore renaissance. He believes them now, loves walking Patterson Park, and plans to stick around after the show closes. ## Sis Thee Doll's surprise She knew Baltimore from "Good Morning Baltimore" and nothing else. What she found was a city that was open, deeply Black and queer, and full of crabs. > I've been eating so many crabs, it's ridiculous. I'm gonna turn into one. ## A diva finds her spots The "Pose" and "American Horror Story: NYC" actor filmed a "Sis TV" post at Kink Cafe, and ate her way through the Duchess, Kong Pocha and Locust Point Steamers. > I didn't realize how diverse and also just how Black queer Baltimore is as well. ## Waithe came right back Her debut play "trinity" closed at Center Stage in March. She returned as a presenting producer on "Bocking," hitting the Reginald F. Lewis Museum between Mama Koko's, Dooby's, Rooted Rotisserie and Crazy John's. ## The playwright doesn't want to leave Crowder, 32, took Sis Thee Doll to Nick's Fish House for orange crushes on the water. Between runs and sauna sessions at Merritt Club, New York stopped sounding good. > Everyone I can tell, I'm like, 'Do you have a job for me? Can you keep me here?' ## Key takeaway A theater run turned into a two-month love letter to Baltimore's food scene, with the playwright now asking strangers for a reason to stay.