Welcome to Clarence’s Taste of New Orleans Clarence’s is the newest and premiere New Orleans style Café / Restaurant in Maryland. Edgewood has provided an historic location and venue for New Orleans chef Clarence Hill to provide the most authentic Cajun and Creole recipes along with his take on local Chesapeake favorites. The following has been excerpted from articles by Justin Fenton in the Jan. 18th , 2006 edition of the Baltimore Sun and Matt Ward in the Jan. 20th, 2006 edition of The Aegis. The opening of Clarence’s in December 2005 “marked the culmination of years of talk between a few friends, and later, lengthy research. After a chance encounter in Singapore a couple of years ago with a pair of fledgling restaurant entrepreneurs, (Clarence) Hill envisioned a restaurant of his own, one that would carry his name and free him from an itinerant career as a cook-for-hire. But as he scouted locations in the Baltimore area, Hurricane Katrina deluged the Gulf Coast. His former home in the city’s Ninth Ward, and the homes of many of his friends and family, were destroyed. The restaurant would become a refuge for him – and an opportunity to honor his damaged hometown’s rich culinary traditions.” “The concept for Clarence’s was born several years ago, of all places, in the southeast Asian city state of Singapore, where (Jim) Havlin was stationed with Eastman Kodak. An American restaurant there called Bernie’s is a spot where lots of American ex-patriots hung out. That’s where the couple (Stacy St. John and Jim Havlin) met (Clarence) Hill who was brought over by Bernie as an authentic New Orleans chef; he and the couple struck up a friendship.” As their friendship continued over several more years, Clarence moved back to New Orleans to chef at Remoulade’s on Bourbon Street. Jim and Stacy moved several times within the US and came to Maryland in July 2004 with their two quarter horses and Tibetan Terrier. “The couple felt that this was the place and time to finally launch their restaurant idea. Chef Hill agreed to leave New Orleans to join them after Mardi Gras in 2005. The move turned out to be a fateful one for Hill, who, as it turned out, left his native city months before the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.” “Hill started cooking at Coop’s Place, a popular restaurant” at 1109 Decatur Street in the French Quarter (across from Margaritaville). He quickly worked his way into the head chef position before his stint in Singapore. Clarence has also cooked in Malaysia, Jamaica and Belgium. Should your travels take you to New Orleans, stop by Coop’s and tell them you heard about them from Clarence in Maryland. We hope you enjoy your meal and experience a taste of New Orleans in Edgewood. We just updated the website! Check out our Menu page. You'll find all the great dishes we offer. The rest of the pages are coming along, keep checking back for new information!