Baltimore Diner should materialize soon. Things have to be done to it.

Meanwhile. wraps are gaining in popularity (Nation's Restaurant News)

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Cody Evans drinks lemonade on her front porch? (Baltimore Sun photo

Steamed crabs at Mr. Bill's Terrrace Inn? (Baltimore Sun/Colby Ware)

Diner?

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 6:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Baltimore Diner opens tomorrow.

You will be able to jump on the blog from several places on the Baltimore Sun website., but your best bet is the main Dining page.

[I'll add a direct link as soon as it's up tomorrow.]

I think of Baltimore Diner as:

1) Diner, a place; the blog itself, a place where we all meet, informally, to chew the fat.

2) Diner, a person; you and you, men and women who live in and around Baltimore.  

I like it. (Probably because I thought of it.) I hope you do, too.

Continue reading "The new blog name and logo" »

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

So, let's use this space to say good-bye to Dining@Large as we know it.

Here's a link to Elizabeth's first month of D@L posting, from April 2007. 

UPDATE:

Well, I thought they were back. We're proceeding gingerly after  a spam attack that temporarily disabled them; the Tech staff is continuing to work through issues related to fully restoring commenting.   

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
        

Man, the last days of Dining@Large remind me of HAL singing Daisy, Daiiiiiiizzzeee.

Tomorrow, I'll show the new blog title and logo. 

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Here's my Sunday review of Darbar in Fells Point and John Lindner's lunch review of Garry's Grill in Severna Park.

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

All men are created equal, Paul Revere wrote on his Esquire blog, but are all daily deals?

That's what I was wondered after reading Jay Hancock's article in today's paper. I'm not sure dyed-in-the-wool cheapskates are going to plunk down $50 bucks for a Prime Rib deal (for $100 worth of food) and then whip out a calculator at the dinner table. That seemed more like a deal for twice-a-year Prime Rib customers who will now come in a third time.

I'd ask you what you thought, but the commenting is still down.

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Last night at Woodberry Kitchen, the patrons dining on the patio, about 20 in all at separate tables, were informed by their server that a patron dining inside was picking up all of their checks. I heard this from one of the appreciative diners, a pay-it-forward type guy.

The patio diners were told that their benefactor just wanted to do it. The gentleman who paid the patio checks was quietly pointed out to the patio diners but his back was to them.

That sure was nice. Give or take, the checks would have come to $1,000.

Was it you?

Baltimore Sun photo/Kenneth K. Lam

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The Farmers Market is ON for Labor Day weekend. That's great news.

I just got a call from Deputy Mayor Kaliope Parthemos confirming it. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Parthenos told me, made the decision a few weeks ago. The market will be held in its regular location. 

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 1:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

UPDATE: The Farmer's Market is ON for Sunday, September 4. I just got a call from Deputy Mayor Kaliope Parthenos confirming it. The Mayor, Parthemos said, made the decision a few weeks ago. I hadn't been notified.   

Here's Michael Dresser's on the continuing traffic woes caused by preparations for the this summer's Baltimore Grand Prix.

There will be no Sunday farmers' market on September 4. Although the race track for the event doesn't cross the farmer's market grounds,  the city wants the  markets lots for event parking.

It's a drag for market-goers not to have the farmers market, of course, but it's a real setback for the vendors, particularly vendors. The Sunday of Labor Day weekend is among the most, if not the most, lucrative days of the market season. It makes sense. Summer produce is peaking, and folks are back at their routines.

I don't have a solution. I just know that there is one, if enough people want it.

A few farmers I spoke with said that a relocated market would be better than no market at all. 

If you have a good idea about how to save the Labor Day weekend Farmer's market, email it to me at richard.gorelick@baltsun.com and I'll update this post. Let me know if I can use your name.

Baltimore Sun photo/Algerina Perna

your responses below:

Continue reading "Farmers' market is NOT a Grand Prix casualty" »

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

A new edition of MasterChef begins tonight at 8 p.m. on Fox. Among the 100 amateur cooks competing for the MasterChef title is a single Marylander, David Bersch.

You may recognize Bersch from his front-of-house gigs at Three and Joe Squared.

[Actually, tonight is the first part of the two-part season premiere, which concludes tomorrow at 8 p.m. Bersch will appear at some point in the two-part premiere, and then we'll find out on Monday, June 13 whether Bersch has made the first cut, which awards to coveted "white apron" to 38 from the pool of 100.

I think.

Continue reading "New season of Masterchef starts tonight" »

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Here's an extra big and alphabetical-by-blog-name roundup of recent posts from the blogs I follow.

I don't know how easy this kind of post will be with the new blog publishing platform. We'll see, but definitely let me know if you enjoy these posts and I'll find a way.

There are some links that I've been sharing on Twitter but not here, but I realize not everyone can abide Twitter.

Adventures of a Koodie: Eli's back! He's got a review of Peace A Pizza in Catonsville. This was actually a guest review Eli published on the Macaroni Kid website.

Amuse-bouche for Two: I liked this pretty post on pasta with tinned fish.

(a)Musing Foodie: Liza has a funny preview of the new Wegmans opening in Frederick on Sunday.

Beer in Baltimore: Alexander D. Mitchell IV posts the results of DuClaw's home brew competition. It's a peanut butter porter. Really. I learn a lot from Alexander's site. 

Center for Science in the Public Interest:  CSPI likes Choose My Plate, the USDA's new healthy eating  graphic, which is replacing the old food pyramid. But definitely see the Food Politics post below if you're interested in the topic.

Civil Eats: Vanessa Barrington wonders if we're in the first years of a Jewish deli Renaissance. Sure hope so.

Diner's Journal: I love the periodic What We're Reading post on the New York Times dining blog. (Once, they were reading me!) A recent round-up included this story on Pittsburgh's food-truck scene. Turns out food trucks there can't park within 500 feet of a brick-and-mortar restaurant AND the trucks have to move every 15 minutes!

Dining Dish: Dara always knows about things I don't know about, like the first Sunday cooking classes at Akbar and Amy Gjerde's 5@5 post on Eatrocracy about eating well gluten-free. Amy, of course, is the co-owner of Woodberry Kitchen.

Continue reading "Weekend reading from the blogs and beyond" »

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 4:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Here's the Weekend Watch page. Well, let's see. It looks like a big music weekend.

Who said, "The only good concert is one that starts on time."? Oh, that was me.

Emmanuel Ax plays with the BSO all weekend at the Meyerhoff. Who's going to be dining where?

The Capital Jazzfest plays all weekend at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Natalie Cole!

Creedence Clearwater Revival and Three Dog Night are playing at Pier Six. ("One" is a great song. I love Harry Nilsson.)

There's the Rihanna concert tomorrow night at 1st Mariner Arena.

And the Starscape Festival (photo) begins tomorrow at noon and won't stop until the following morning at 6 a.m.

Elsewhere and otherwise, there's the Charles Village Festival on Saturday and Sunday.

What are you doing this weekend. Will there be music in your life?

And what about food? Where are you planning to eat?

Ah, the commenting function is completely haywire for now.

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Here's a link to the today's review of Orchard Market & Cafe by John Houser III.

Pictured is the duck fesenjune in pomegranate-and-walnut sauce, which I think belongs on a hall-of-fame entree gallery.

See if John's first meal at Orchard Market was a revelatory as it's been for other Baltimoreans over the past 20 years.

Baltimore Sun photo/Kenneth K. Lam

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Your Weekend Dining PLUS
        

sooooo sorry if you've wasted time on it.

I'll let you know when the commenting is working.

The problem is system-wide and has nothing to do with this blog's move next week.

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

A few more farmers markets have opened or are about to open for the season.

The Saturday market at Green Spring Station returned on May 21 and continues through November 19. The market, which features two dozen vendors, runs rain or shine from 2-5 p.m. on the Stone Mill parking lot at Green Spring Station.

The third year of the farmers market at the Baltimore Museum of Industry started on May 21, too. The market will run every Saturday (except September 3) through October 8.

The Highlandtown Farmers' Market resumes on Thursday, June 9 with a new day and new location. The market will now operate on Thursday evenings from 4-8 p.m. on the 400 block of South Conkling Street.

A new Fells Point Farmers Market will debut this Saturday on Broadway Square from 7:30-11:30 a.m. and continue through November 12.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture publishes this online guide to the state's farmers markets. New ones are cropping up all the time. The new Go Life/Cylburn Farmers market starts this Saturday (9 a.m.-4 p.m.) on 2605 Banister Road., and new market at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center is scheduled to begin today, with a soft opening. The market will run on Thursdays from 3-6 p.m. The location on the campus across Physicians Pavilion North.

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Monday is moving day for Dining@Large.

The dining blog will look different, and readers will interact with it differently. 

The blog will have a new name. Can you guess what it is?

You should know, though, that from Monday forward, readers will not be able to easily access the Dining@Large archives. That's my understanding at least. 

I am constitutionally change averse, but I am looking forward to this one. Really. I mean it. 

What I mean is I am trying to keep things in perspective. (See photo.)

More details to come. 

Update: Friday, 10:25 - the move has been delayed until mid-week.

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Last month you were asked about last meals in Baltimore. We wondered, what would yours be?

It wasn't an idle question. A Dining@Large reader was preparing to leave Baltimore and wanted your suggestions. You gave them. You can read those comments here.

Now, it's really time for the reader to leave for San Francisco.

Here is an account of the reader's last meals in Baltimore, which are be publishing in two parts. Part one is here.

Thanks so much for this contribution. I hope I speak for everyone in Baltimore when I wish you a happy marriage and the best of fortune in your new city. Stay in touch!

Meal#3: Baltimore’s Finest

I had been to  Cindy Wolf’s Charleston once before for my parents 25th wedding anniversary a few years ago. My parents don’t drink alcohol and wanted to celebrate at the best restaurant in town but thought they should at least bring someone along who might enjoy the wine pairings and I happily obliged. This time my in-laws took us for my husband’s birthday and also as a prelude to our wedding weekend. It is still unquestioningly the best meal in Baltimore.

We started off the evening with a drink at the beautiful bar and were served a couple of crackers with a fine tasso ham mousse. Probably one of the classiest and best salty nibbles to go with a drink I’ve ever had. We then moved to our table in the elegant wine room and proceeded to indulge ourselves with nothing less than perfection from Cindy Wolf. We started with a little tasting plate with a lovely and salty salmon and caper salad, some kind of puff that I’m sorry I don’t remember that well, and a cornmeal fried oyster, so buttery and melt in your mouth delicious I wish that the oysters had been on the full menu because I could have gone for a whole plate.

I started with the rich lobster curry soup, presented beautifully with delicate pieces of lobster plated in the center of the bowl surrounded by drizzles of the arugula and curry oils with the lobster stock reduction then poured over top of the lobster tableside to complete the dish. I had remembered being told that Chef Wolf’s soups were a work of art in the past and this was no exception. Every bite was slightly different with the way the oils mixed into the soup but all wonderful nonetheless.

Next up for me was the cornmeal fried softshell crab. I made everyone order them and we all cleaned our plates. This dish is simple softshell crab perfection. If you go and it is still on the menu (I know the week is over) please order it, you will not regret it. After the crab, I had wanted to try the foie gras but since I’ve had one not so great foie gras experience before I opted to have it paired with a grilled magret of duck as opposed to the foie gras alone. While the duck and accompanying mushroom fricassee was good, I really should have gotten the whole foie gras dish as the piece of it in the duck dish was truly excellent.

Continue reading "Last Baltimore meals, part 2" »

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

In a just-issued press release, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says, “Baltimore’s food trucks are a unique extension of our diverse local restaurant industry. We must ensure that existing operations are able to thrive and new food truck ventures are encouraged to start”

At today's meeting of the Baltimore City Food Vendors Board, new rules for Baltimore's fledgling fleet of food trucks were announced. Food truck vendors are now allowed to vend from any valid parking location in Baltimore City, as long as they adhere to existing parking regulations.

Food trucks will no longer be prohibited from parking within 300 feet of a retail establishment that sells "similar merchandise." Instead, common sense and courtesy toward retail establishments will apparently be the only restriction on the truck vendors' movements. 

In addition, the City will create five Pilot Food Truck Zones, which will operate from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Signage marking the new food zones will be installed over the next several days.

The five zones are:

1) the 500 block of St. Paul Place and St. Paul St., on the east side of the street. (One space at each location for a total of 2 trucks)

2) The 1900 block of E. Monument St. on the south side of the street (One truck)

3) 500 block of W. Baltimore St. on the south side of the street. (One truck at this location.)

4) 300 block of S. Charles St. on the west side of the street. (One truck at this location.)

5) 500 block of E. Fayette on the north side of the street. (Three trucks at this location.)

The truck vendors were pleased at the turn of events.

Continue reading "New liberal rules for Baltimore food trucks" »

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

Jill Rosen has a story in today's Taste section about the enduring appeal of snowballs. Our friend who is moving to San Francisco will be happy to learn that an former Marylander is operating a snowball truck out there.

That's it there.

How do you take your snowballs?

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Miss Shirley's formally debuts its new food truck today at Tide Point, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Kooper's Chowhound Burger Wagon is near the University of Maryland at W. Fayette and Paca.

Souper Freaks is in Mt. Vernon, at Calvert and Monument streets.

Iced Gems is on Charles just north of Lombard until 11:30 a.m.

I'll add more as the Tweets come in.

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

A commenter shared the news just now under this post - the new Druid Hill farmers' market starts this afternoon.

Here's a link to the Friends of Druid Hill Park page with details about the weekly market, which will be held every Wednesday from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Howard P. Rawlings Conservatory.

The new farmers market will be accompanied, on the first Wednesday of the month, by live jazz performances. Tonight, Baretta & Rollex perform. 

 

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Last month you were asked about last meals in Baltimore. We wondered, what would yours be?

It wasn't an idle question. A Dining@Large reader was preparing to leave Baltimore and wanted your suggestions. You gave them. You can read those comments here.

Now, it's really time for the reader to leave for San Francisco.

Here is an account of the reader's last meals in Baltimore, which I will be publishing in two parts.

My Last Meals in Baltimore

To tell you all a bit about me, I have spent most of my life in Baltimore, and despite some hands-on experience in seeing how this city is far from perfect, I love it anyway. I should mention that I’m a medical student and I think my love for food came out of the realization that you have to love things other than medicine, and having dinner reservations gives you a feeling that there is an end to every clinic and call and the knowledge that there is life outside of the hospital. Of course eating well is easier said than done on a medical student schedule and budget, but I am fortunate to have amazing parents and in-laws who’ve contributed greatly to my foodie adventures.

But now my time in Baltimore is drawing to a close, in March I matched to a residency program in San Francisco and I will be headed there in a few short days. While San Francisco is a truly amazing food city, I’ve been thinking about how to best celebrate what’s wonderful about Baltimore as my time here wraps up. So here it is, the story of some of my last meals in Baltimore.

Meal #1: Crabs and Beer It’s What We Do

Continue reading "Last meals in Baltimore, part one" »

Posted by Richard Gorelick at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)