For the first time in the history of the race, the Preakness was not run in Baltimore in 2026. It went to Laurel Park while Pimlico came down. The new track is scheduled to open in 2027, and when it does, the third Saturday in May goes back to being the busiest day of the year in Park Heights. This is a guide to eating around it, written from four blocks away on West Northern Parkway. If you are visiting for the first time, the single most useful thing to know is that the neighborhood does not have the restaurant density people expect, and almost nothing near the track takes a large order on the day.
Why race day is different from every other day here
Pimlico sits inside a residential neighborhood, not an entertainment district. There is no strip of restaurants at the gate. On a normal Saturday that is fine. On Preakness Saturday, Park Heights Avenue, Northern Parkway and Belvedere fill up, parking disappears for a mile in every direction, and the handful of nearby food options run out or run long. The people who do this well plan food the way they plan parking: before they leave the house.
Three ways people actually handle it
Eat before you go. The most reliable option. Kickoff for the day is late morning and the racing runs into the evening, so a real meal beforehand carries you further than track food will. We are on West Northern Parkway, minutes from the track, and open from 11AM.
Collect on the way in. Order online, park once, collect, go. Everything is cooked when the order comes in, so ordering ahead is the difference between two minutes and twenty.
Feed a group afterwards. The stretch between six and nine on race day evening is when Northwest Baltimore fills up with people who have not eaten properly since breakfast. Large orders on that evening should be called in earlier the same day, not attempted at the counter.
What travels to a tailgate and what does not
Holds up well. Bone-in wings hold heat and texture far longer than boneless. Bento boxes are sealed and stay hot. Sushi rolls are designed to be eaten at room temperature and genuinely do not suffer.
Does not hold up. Loaded fries are excellent for about ten minutes and then they are not. Order those to eat immediately or not at all.
Somewhere in the middle. An open hibachi plate is good for fifteen to twenty minutes. Past that it steams itself. If the gap between collecting and eating is longer, order bento instead of a plate. Identical food, closed container.
Wing counts for a race day group
Wings come in six counts and take all fourteen flavors, and on any count of twenty or more you can split across two or three flavors at no extra cost.
| Count | Price | Feeds |
|---|---|---|
| 20 pieces | $27.99 | Two to three |
| 30 pieces | $39.99 | Four to five |
| 50 pieces | $66.99 | Eight to ten |
| 100 pieces | $129.99 | A large group |
The split that works for a mixed group is one hot, one sweet and one mild: Mango Habanero or Hot, Honey Garlic or Buffalo Gold, and Garlic Parmesan or Old Bay.
If you are visiting Baltimore for the race
Old Bay is one of our fourteen wing flavors, and trying it here is more or less the local equivalent of ordering a crab cake. It is a dry seasoning rather than a sauce, so it also survives a car journey better than most.
And the entire menu here is halal, with no pork served, stored or cooked anywhere in the building. For visitors who normally have to research this before every meal in a new city, that is one fewer thing to plan around on a day that already has enough logistics.
Finding us on race day
We are at 4460 W Northern Parkway, on the western run of Northern Parkway between Park Heights and Reisterstown Road. On a normal day we are minutes from the track. On race day, approach from the Reisterstown Road side rather than through Park Heights, because the closer you get to the gate the worse the traffic gets.
Visit us
Halal hibachi and wings, four minutes from the track. Flame Japanese Hibachi Northern Parkway, 4460 W Northern Parkway, Baltimore, MD 21215. 410-801-8279.
