BALTIMORE — No bench warmers here, just some really good bites.
The CIAA Tournament in Baltimore is bringing thousands of visitors, introducing them to Charm City and it's food scene.
This year's Black-Owned Restaurant Tour (BORT) features over 15 different eateries. One local spot is drawing crowds with creative twists on a signature Caribbean dish.
Business owner Tyra Myricks is the founder of Waiting to Oxtail, a popular Baltimore food concept known for dishes like oxtail tacos, oxtail mac and cheese, oxtail fried rice and even an oxtail chopped cheese.
"People were waiting two hours for food, we didn't expect it to blow up like that," Myricks said.
The Brooklyn-born entrepreneur is the daughter of hip-hop legend Jam Master Jay of Run-D.M.C.
Before moving to Baltimore, she owned a California pizza shop called Juicy Pizza, where one of the most popular menu items was oxtail pizza.
"It was themed after Biggie's song Juicy. I was just thinking what’s the most New York thing you could do. I owned it with his daughter," Myricks said.
When she relocated to Maryland, Myricks brought her signature flavor combinations with her, sharing different oxtail dishes on TikTok before launching the business.
"We realized this was serious and we had to actually make this a restaurant," she said.
But preparing the dishes takes time. Oxtail marinates for at least 24 hours before being braised and slow-cooked for another four to five hours in a rich gravy until tender, a process that takes more than 36 hours from start to finish.
Waiting to Oxtail is one of more than 15 restaurants featured in this year’s CIAA BORT, an initiative designed to showcase the city's diverse food scene.
"It’s a dope opportunity to put Baltimore on the map with tourism," Myricks said.
Which is fitting for a business founded on the principal of bringing people together.
"The concept behind Waiting to Oxtail was to introduce different cultures and be a blend so to have people come from different states. I think it's pretty awesome," she said.
Waiting to Oxtail is currently located at Harborplace, but the business started much smaller. Myricks first operated out of La Chow's ghost kitchen before hosting pop-ups across the city, including at Hollins Market and R. House.
She credits community support and mentorship for helping the business grow.
"Chefs Kwame Onwuachi and Roblé was like we heard about this and we believe in the vision and we want to make sure you guys execute it correctly," Myricks said. "So they just taught me how to do things the right way and I was just blessed to have that that connection honestly."
The CIAA 2026 BORT runs through March 1.
Participating Restaurants:
BAR V 2.0
SWILL
Rooted Rotisserie
Yeiboh Kitchen
Stem & Vine
BLK SWAN
Blanco’s
Unity Bar & Restaurant
Werner’s
The Empanada Lady
Proper Cuisine
Cuples Tea House
Soul Kuisine
Nostalgia
Good Food
Waiting to Oxtail
Crust by Mack
The Garden Rooftop
