It takes work to learn about a Baltimore restaurant's cleanliness

Where do I go to find out [a restaurant's] sanitation rating? I'm from a state where ratings are posted at the door, leaving nothing to chance.

- Timisha Porcher

I love California's system, where restaurants get a letter grade from the health department, which they have to post prominently in front. Baltimore's system is more pass-fail. The city health department doesn't give ratings, but it does, of course, inspect places. The information on a particular restaurant is available to the public; you have to go to the department in person to get it.

Have a question about dining out in the Baltimore area? Ask Elizabeth Large, The Sun's restaurant critic. E-mail questions to [e-mail], or mail to Elizabeth Large, The Sun, Features, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278. Answers to selected questions will appear in Modern Life.