Cafe Normandie

  Annapolitans are loyal, and the city has an impressive list of long-running restaurants. Once a place clicks, it tends to stay. That's not too surprising for a political town. Call it the incumbency effect. In 1986, Jean-Louis Evennou opened the original Cafe Normandie on Main Street in Annapolis. Five years later, he and his wife, Suzanne, moved the restaurant five doors down, where it's been ever since, serving a reasonably priced menu of French cafe classics like escargots, bouef bourguignonne, bouillabaisse and roast duck.

  Annapolitans are loyal, and the city has an impressive list of long-running restaurants. Once a place clicks, it tends to stay. That's not too surprising for a political town. Call it the incumbency effect. In 1986, Jean-Louis Evennou opened the original Cafe Normandie on Main Street in Annapolis. Five years later, he and his wife, Suzanne, moved the restaurant five doors down, where it's been ever since, serving a reasonably priced menu of French cafe classics like escargots, bouef bourguignonne, bouillabaisse and roast duck.

Cafe Normandie on Main Street in Annapolis offers a cozy nook to spend a quiet evening with good French food, a variety of wines and great service.My dining companion and I arrived at the restaurant shortly after 8 p.m. on a Saturday and immediately were impressed with its decor.With its chunky stone fireplace and walls decorated with Gauguin and Renoir posters and watercolors of French country scenes, the restaurant could have been the dining room at the home of a friend. A framed black-and-white picture of owner Jean-Louis Evennou cleaning a kitchen at age 9 completed the effect.

Monday, Sept. 26 'Oktoberfest' Visitors can enjoy authentic German food and beverages at this festival being held through Monday, Sept. 26, at Fort Meade. There will be live music, children's activities and more. Admission is free. For directions and information, call 301-677-7785. Photo club The Digital Photography Club of Annapolis meets at 7 p.m. at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, 801 Chase St. Meeting features a member's showcase spotlight. Information: 410-267-0461 or digitalphotoclub.net.

Annapolis' favorite French bistro, Cafe Normandie, is so warm and cozy and full of people having a good time that no one seems to notice how erratic the food is. But then at these prices, even a hardened food critic can afford to be forgiving.If you like cozy, you'll love the lace curtains, the beamed ceiling, the pretty little bar in front, the center fireplace, the snug booths.If you like friendly, you'll enjoy the warm-hearted staff and the good-natured customers crowded in front waiting for a table.

Hummer's Olde Bay, 8322 Pulaski Highway, (410) 687-2544. What you see at the Olde Bay is a low, plain, brick building with randomly parked vehicles in the lot and electric beer signs in the windows. But what you get is good food, skillfully prepared and nicely served in a comfortable, unpretentious dining room. There are, in fact, no pretensions at the Olde Bay. But, then, there don't need to be. The food is so good that it would stand out in much showier surroundings. We particularly enjoyed the sherry-tinged cream of crab soup ($2.95)

An Annapolis restaurant could be fined $93,600 for knowingly hiring four illegal aliens and failing to keep proper documentation of workers, the Immigration and Naturalization Service said.The fine against Cafe Normandie would be the largest ever levied against a restaurant in Maryland, said Ben Ferro, the INS district director."We don't look kindly on employers who repeatedly choose to either ignore or wink at their responsibility under the 1986 act," he said. "This is the second time they have been fined and the third time we have found violations."

Annapolis has a new French-inspired restaurant, Cafe la Mouffe, at 909 Bay Ridge Ave., (410) 263-2233. The cafe is in a handsome old house; its garage has become the bakery, which turns out bread, croissants and focaccia from an authentic French oven. Everything is made on the premises with all fresh ingredients, promises owner Joyce Gomoljak. Entrees range from $7 for half a chicken and salad to $12 for salmon with mango chutney and sweet potatoes.* Citronelle in the Latham Hotel will be open for Sunday brunch beginning Sept.

The owners of a French restaurant on Annapolis' Main Street, an Irish pub on Maryland Avenue and a small market in Eastport all share the same environmental zeal. Jean-Louis Evennou was so thrilled when his staffers designed a green T-shirt to advertise their eco-friendly policies that he drove them to New York City and treated them to a pricey French meal. Now he has proudly mounted the shirt on Cafe Normandie's wall. Fintan Galway instructs his waiters to discuss sustainability every time they hand patrons a straw.

Where sweethearts dineWhich do you think are Maryland's most romantic restaurants? According to a new book, "Dining by Candlelight" (Boru, $13.95), there are three: Hampton's in Baltimore, Cafe Normandie in Annapolis and the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels. These are among author Bradley S. O'Leary's picks of America's 200 most romantic restaurants.Don't feel bad that there are only three. Washington, the restaurant mecca next door to us, has only two, according to the book. And one of them, the Prime Rib, we also have in Baltimore.

In this economy eating out seems a guilty pleasure, so it's nice when places set aside a week for dining on fewer dimes. This time it's the state capital, where's there's something on the menu for everybody during Annapolis Restaurant Week. Diners can take their taste buds on a tour of some of the finest cuisine, from Aqua Terra to Lemongrass to Wild Orchid, for a three-course, fixed-price lunch or dinner. In its third year, Annapolis Restaurant Week lets you enjoy the rich Colonial feel of downtown Annapolis, while savoring some of the best local tastes.

After a weekend of Halloween pranks and shenanigans, you're probably afraid of the dark. But that'll wear off by Friday, just in time for the 19th annual Annapolis by Candlelight Tour. The event, organized by the Historic Annapolis Foundation, is a self-guided walking tour of privately owned homes and historic inns. The plan: Pick up your button and program at the Historic Annapolis Museum (99 Main St.) and be prepared to spend about two hours touring homes on Duke of Gloucester, Market and Charles streets in the historic district.

The owners of a French restaurant on Annapolis' Main Street, an Irish pub on Maryland Avenue and a small market in Eastport all share the same environmental zeal. Jean-Louis Evennou was so thrilled when his staffers designed a green T-shirt to advertise their eco-friendly policies that he drove them to New York City and treated them to a pricey French meal. Now he has proudly mounted the shirt on Cafe Normandie's wall. Fintan Galway instructs his waiters to discuss sustainability every time they hand patrons a straw.

The owners of a French restaurant on Annapolis' Main Street, an Irish pub on Maryland Avenue and a small market in Eastport all share the same environmental zeal. Jean-Louis Evennou was so thrilled when his staffers designed a green T-shirt to advertise their eco-friendly policies that he drove them to New York City and treated them to a pricey French meal. Now he has proudly mounted the shirt on Cafe Normandie's wall. Fintan Galway instructs his waiters to discuss sustainability every time they hand patrons a straw.

Annapolis' favorite French bistro, Cafe Normandie, is so warm and cozy and full of people having a good time that no one seems to notice how erratic the food is. But then at these prices, even a hardened food critic can afford to be forgiving.If you like cozy, you'll love the lace curtains, the beamed ceiling, the pretty little bar in front, the center fireplace, the snug booths.If you like friendly, you'll enjoy the warm-hearted staff and the good-natured customers crowded in front waiting for a table.

UNDER A DRIZZLY sky the color of an oil spill, Annapolis residents gathered on Main Street early yesterday morning to see what the previous night's fire had done, and to stare at the twisted metal and the charred timber and the blackened Christmas decorations left behind, and to stand in simple awe.John Patmore was there. The city's director of public works, who grew up in wartime Britain, turned to Annapolis Fire Chief Edward Sherlock and said, "Now you know what London was like in '41."No bombs were dropped on Annapolis Tuesday evening, but the chilly night air was filled with smoke and flame, and 75 firefighters were clambering all over the place to keep the damage from spreading beyond three century-old buildings on Main Street and three more on State Circle behind it."

After a weekend of Halloween pranks and shenanigans, you're probably afraid of the dark. But that'll wear off by Friday, just in time for the 19th annual Annapolis by Candlelight Tour. The event, organized by the Historic Annapolis Foundation, is a self-guided walking tour of privately owned homes and historic inns. The plan: Pick up your button and program at the Historic Annapolis Museum (99 Main St.) and be prepared to spend about two hours touring homes on Duke of Gloucester, Market and Charles streets in the historic district.

In this economy eating out seems a guilty pleasure, so it's nice when places set aside a week for dining on fewer dimes. This time it's the state capital, where's there's something on the menu for everybody during Annapolis Restaurant Week. Diners can take their taste buds on a tour of some of the finest cuisine, from Aqua Terra to Lemongrass to Wild Orchid, for a three-course, fixed-price lunch or dinner. In its third year, Annapolis Restaurant Week lets you enjoy the rich Colonial feel of downtown Annapolis, while savoring some of the best local tastes.

Cafe Normandie on Main Street in Annapolis offers a cozy nook to spend a quiet evening with good French food, a variety of wines and great service.My dining companion and I arrived at the restaurant shortly after 8 p.m. on a Saturday and immediately were impressed with its decor.With its chunky stone fireplace and walls decorated with Gauguin and Renoir posters and watercolors of French country scenes, the restaurant could have been the dining room at the home of a friend. A framed black-and-white picture of owner Jean-Louis Evennou cleaning a kitchen at age 9 completed the effect.

Where sweethearts dineWhich do you think are Maryland's most romantic restaurants? According to a new book, "Dining by Candlelight" (Boru, $13.95), there are three: Hampton's in Baltimore, Cafe Normandie in Annapolis and the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels. These are among author Bradley S. O'Leary's picks of America's 200 most romantic restaurants.Don't feel bad that there are only three. Washington, the restaurant mecca next door to us, has only two, according to the book. And one of them, the Prime Rib, we also have in Baltimore.