If it ever starts to get colder, we could do top 10 places to get soup. Or oysters.

Now this is something I would actually be interested in:

DUCK

Duck, duck, duck ... I love duck. It crosses many culinary boundaries, from Chinese to Italian. As Bourbon Girl can attest, I love duck. Anywhere, anytime. Duck, duck, duck. I said to BG, "Whole Foods doesn't have duck lately and I'm really annoyed." She said, "Who makes duck at home?" This guy! I like it best at home. After a hearty swim in an umami marinade, I heat up my cast iron pan and let it sizzle. Sizzle on the outside, rare on the inside.

Where else has good duck? Zodiac always had two dishes, but no more. I had some at Rocco's Cappriccio that was great, but that was a special. Duck!

How about take out, Chicken Rico anyone?

Duck, duck, duck, GOOSE!

My honey is always on the hunt for the great MD Crab Soup or unique versions of it...so a top ten places to get MD Crab Soup? But this might be too much like best crab cake, so it could wait for a few weeks?

Ohh... like the eat at the bfar suggestion, EL.

ooooh...Yes, Oysters! Raw, steamed, stew, fried - one of the few highlights of months with an "R".

Hamilton Tavern would probably be the number one place to eat at the bar, cuz getting a table is nearly impossible. But the Boh battered O's are worth the wait.

What about Top 10 restaurant cocktails - drinks unique to these specific restaurants (like the Annapolitan at Morton's in Annapolis..hint hint).

For the next week (Tues., October 28), what about best restaurant chocolate desserts in honor of National Chocolate Day (including Morton's Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake...yum!).

Personally, I like Top 10 kid-friendly restaurants since I am always looking for places to take my two boys.

I agree with CKisMom. Top 10 kid-friendly restaurants. McD's and Red Robin are just not cutting it anymore.

How about the Top 10 Bizarre Food Combinations -- Peanut Butter and Mayonnaise Sandwiches come to mind -- or, the Top 10 Anniversary Dinner Date Places?

Thank you, OwlMeatQuackUp, for joining the crusade to bring duck to Baltimore. The city's German population notwithstanding (or even with sitting,) there isn't a restaurant here with German style duckling on the menu, accompanied by red cabbage, dumplings and/or spaetzle, the crisp skin bathed in a rich dark gravy. Anyone who has ever eaten at the legendary House of Munich in Chula Vista, California, or the cellar bistros of Munich's Bohemnian sector, Schwabbing, will know what I mean...and miss.

I get the child-friendly question a lot. The smoking ban has changed everything; now, so many places that were formerly off-limits (I'm thinking of pubs) are now fine for young people.

I'm thinking of places that do go out of their way to accomodate parents.

A few off the top of my head: Clementine, Iggies, Koco's, Zen West

Kid-friendly? There is another Sun blog for that kind of thing.

I like duck, too. And I'm always up for Chicken Rico. I wonder if there is such a thing as Peruvian duck?

How about top ten kid-unfriendly restaurants. Leave the brats at home.

In these trying times - how about top 10 'best bang for your buck' = great specials, big plates, good prices, etc.

I think children should be banned from restaurants after 7 pm.

I'm with Lissa.

I would, however, like to see alist of the places that parents think their kids are welcome so I won't mistakenly go there.

I think we should eliminate children altogether to save the Earth. Then we all get old and die and the last person left turns out the lights. Come on green people, if you really loved Mother Earth you would give up sex and become Shakers.

So, duck. Duck, duck, duck. The meat that shames chicken. So I was supping with inamorata Bourbon Girl at Rocco's Capriccio and Rocco the Younger said that they had duck and my eyes lit up. Bring it. Plus they make an amazing sauce for it. So BG asked if they had ducks in Italy. I thought about it and said, "I suppose so. Don't they fly everywhere?" You don't think of duck as an Italian dish, but they certainly eat it in Italy. I guess.

So my point is that because ducks exist naturally almost everywhere in the world due to migration (?), it makes for a great food to compare across different cuisines. You could do this with lots of different ingredients in the future other than say ... wait for it ... wait for it ...crabs. Although trying to compare variations on crab dishes means you come under attack by the Old Bay Fascists.

How about top ten crab dishes OTHER than crab cakes? Yeah, they exist. Really.

I like the neighborhood idea and the soup idea

Interesting. Some people don't want kids in restaurants? Umm, unless I'm mistaken, everyone was a kid at one time.

Ummm, I don't want kids at a bar even though I was a kid at one time, so I don't see the hypocrisy in not wanting kids at certain restaurants.

When I was a kid, I didn't go to fancy restaurants (well, rarely) and I had to behave. I knew which fork to use by the time I was three, although my technique needed a bit more practise.

These days, most parents ignore screaming, hitting, running around and other behaviours that would have gotten me pulled outside and skinned alive before the appetizers hit the table.

It actually isn't the kids who hack me off as much as the parents. They are adults, they are responsible for their children's behaviour in public.

I am sure that I am in the minority....but I always try the fried oysters when they are offered. Probably is not enough interest for a top 10 fried oysters but I am throwing it out for consideration

Rats ... OMG got goosed by Sessa before I had the chance.

Perhaps we need a National No Children in Restaurants law. You know, The Every Child Left Behind Act.

I take my kids out to eat all of the time. For the most part they behave. If someone doesn't like it , tough. It's still a free country and I'm paying for their food so I'm sure in this economy many places want their business. I just don't see how any normal human could have a problem with that. Normal is the operative word.

PR, where's Sessa? I didn't feel a thing.

Everybody who is not normal raise your hands.

Just so you know, if you dump your kids at the bar, they will be expecting a pony for their birthday and a Junior Driving License and that you can get pregnant from eating vegetables. And their notion of what pregnant means will take years of therapy to undo. Hint: it involves hugs and/or gremlins that live in the basement. Just so you know.

so over reading the comments about kids eating at restaurants/bars.. can't you think of something else to blog about...you sound like a bunch of children...

I like to define normal as those who agree with me. This way I can label those with whom disagree with me as abnormal, which really means evil, stupid, or both.

Satyr, so whoever pays gets to make the rules? Cool. I'll have them send the check over.

Once again, late to the party (it's tough working weekends!).

OMG...

One of my learnings in the Amana Colonies last month was that the "Community of the True Inspiration" was also largely in favor of celibacy, which would contribute significantly to your goal of no children. The data may or may not be evidence to their point: in 1900 there were around 1800 in the colonies; now there are about 350 of the true believers still left, and not one inspired "instrument" since Barbara Landsman died in the 1880's.

I had a brush with celibacy in my youth when I was invited to join the Norbertines in a pre-postulancy program. There are those days when the house is a mess, my wife is upset at me (usually for good reason) and the kids are dissing me when I think, "God, I gave up celibacy for this? What was I thinking!!"

(My wife has heard the joke and smiles politely.)

Oh ... maybe you were kidding about kids. Forgive me!

"God, I gave up celibacy for this? What was I thinking!!"

Shouldn't be "God, I gave up celibacy for this. What were You thinking?" And a short time later, when your family is all gathered togather you might think "Now I know. Thank You." My family is my most precious possession Take away everything I own, even this computer I am typing on, and I would not care as long as I had my family (which includes our feline member, Jasmine).

My family is not a possession. They are free-born human beings who think for themselves.

Eve -- I consider my dog to be my possession, but he considers himself a free-born human bring who thinks for himself. [;-)]

Just kidding. I love kids. Especially the Chinese ones that make my clothing. And the ones with tiny tiny fingers that make the Persian rugs that cover my floors. You need really small fingers to hand tie all the knots.

RoCK, thanks for bringing the grumpy. It's like warm cocoa first thing in the morning.

My dog is better behaved and much quieter than most children.

He also sheds more.

If I were an alien watching Earth and witnessed a four-legged creature dragging a pathetic biped around on a leash and saw that the biped cleans up after the dog, well I would guess the the dogs are the owners.

Dogs have owners - cats have staff.

Another restaurant closes up?

Raffy's on Belair Road in Perry Hall?

My sister tells me that when they went out for dinner on Saturday evening about 6pm, they went there and the doors were locked.

Does anyone know anything about it?

Heard from a VERY reliable source that Raffy's simply went belly-up. Their rent was $17K a month - and they had a bad rep for crazy fights in there on the weekends... so the young bar hopper types stopped going there. Heard that the owners of Dead Freddies were taking over the lease - - going to re-open shortly - - making some minor changes (booths/possibly pool tables..etc). The 'owners' lost everything - couldn't even take equipment with them - just had to walk out with the shirts on their backs and that's it. sad