Old Maryland Grill takes its name very seriously.

Mike Franklin’s soon-to-open restaurant at the Hotel at the University of Maryland in College Park will feature a number of signature dishes from around Maryland.

The owner of Franklin’s Restaurant talked with the Hyattsville Wire recently about the two and a half years of research he spent building the menu.

Appetizers include coddies, deep-fried balls of codfish and potatoes served between two saltine crackers with mustard which were first sold by Jewish immigrants from pushcarts in Baltimore in the 1900s. (The saltines and mustard will be made in-house.)

Alongside deviled crab and an Amish cheese board on the starters menu is smoked beet kitfo, a variation of a popular Ethiopian dish that is a nod to the sizable immigrant population in Maryland.

The lunch menu includes St. Mary’s County Stuffed Ham, a classic dish from Southern Maryland whose origins are shrouded in mystery.

The restaurant will also serve 24 beers and 16 wines from around Maryland. Local spirits will be used in all crab cocktails.

The dishes are all served with a focus on authenticity. “Nobody wants a deconstructed crab cake,” Franklin said.