Cafe Asia to add to Inner Harbor fireworks

Independence Day isn't the only thing Baltimoreans will have to celebrate come the first week of July. D.C.'s hot-hot-hot spot - Cafe Asia - is branching out and coming to our town. The restaurant/nightclub is scheduled to open around July 1 at the Power Plant Live! complex. The venture is a joint effort of the Baltimore-based Cordish Co. and Washington's Primacy Inc.

Cafe Asia creator Yu Sheon says his aim is to present the "modern side of Asia" by offering a variety of Asian cuisines (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian) in a hip, trendy setting.

The menu offers appetizers such as edamame (Japanese steamed soybeans), Vietnamese spring rolls and Indonesian chicken satay. There also are noodle entrees and a wide variety of other entrees, including Thai red curry, Chinese mixed vegetables with your choice of meat, fish or poultry, and Japanese tempura. Cafe Asia also offers a sushi and sashimi menu.

The Cordish folks are particularly excited about the new addition to their Power Plant Live! complex.

"Cafe Asia represents a collaboration between one of the best restaurateurs [Sheon] that we've seen [and] a very chic lounge operator [Primacy, which also owns the D.C. clubs Nation, Modern and Five]," says Reed Cordish, vice president of development for Cordish Co. "We're bringing the best D.C. has to offer to Power Plant Live!"

Cordish spokeswoman Allison Parker waxes enthusiastic about the look of everything.

"[Baltimore's] Cafe Asia is visually spectacular," she says. "It's sexy. Everything's beautiful. Even the food is beautiful. ... Primacy is known for its `wow' effect."

You'll find Cafe Asia at 614 Water St., between the Babalu Grill and Ruth's Chris Steak House.

Fresh taste in Bel Air

From the Far East to south of the border. On June 8, another Baja Fresh Mexican Grill opened in Maryland, this one at 615 Belair Road in Bel Air.

The chain, which boasts that all items are made fresh on the premises, has several restaurants in Maryland's D.C. suburbs, as well as places in Columbia, Annapolis and Hunt Valley. The latest addition has already gotten an overwhelming response from the locals.

"It's phenomenal," says David Goldstein, vice president of Baja's East Coast operations. "We're amazed at how busy [the Bel Air location] is. We didn't know how many people up there had a craving for Mexican food."

Baja Fresh will open yet another Baltimore-area establishment at the end of July. This one will be in the old Donna's restaurant space at Timonium Crossing, York and Timonium roads.

Explore a cheese cave

Cheese lovers, take note. Aldo's restaurant, at 306 S. High St. in Little Italy, is opening a cheese cave next to its wine cellar on July 3.

"Cheeses are so perishable, you need to age them properly," says Sergio Vitale, who owns Aldo's with his brother, Alessandro, and father, Aldo Vitale, who is also the restaurant's chef.

Customers will be able to tour the cheese cave and make their selections there, if they prefer, just as they do in the wine cellar.

Dinner music

The Mount Vernon Italian eatery Sotto Sopra is once again adding opera to its summer menu. On Sunday, July 21, and Sunday, Aug. 18, customers can enjoy a $55 prix-fixe dinner, with helpings of opera performances by tenor Paul McIlvaine and soprano Kathleen Stapleton served between courses. Wine is extra.

General manager Danilo Bosio says the idea was based on a dream he had last summer after meeting Stapleton.

"I was the only one here who wanted to try it," Bosio says. "The staff was against it. ... But each time [the restaurant has an Opera Night], it almost sells out. ... It's one of those little things I'm proud of."

Reservations are required for Opera Night. Sotto Sopra is at 405 N. Charles St.