I live in Fed and it’s very much like Brooklyn which I moved from. You don’t have to drive from this part of the city to most places but it’s less convenient than the subway. The food scene is very pub snack and seafood focused- you’re just not gonna get the variety like New York. Even Dc has a pretty lackluster food scene, it’s much more expensive to eat out here and quality isn’t always worth the price. One thing that helps is following all the local magazines, newspapers and blogs- there are so many events that come and go that I’d never know about without the blogs. Baltimore mag, baltimore fishbowl, baltimore banner, sobo post to name a few.