Cafe Normandie

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.

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.

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."

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."

Today's groundbreaking ceremony for the Main Street reconstruction project is expected to be colorful and loud with its singing fifth-graders and historians snapping photographs. The mayor will even get a commemorative brick.But many downtown workers and residents say they have no reason to celebrate the rebricking project in the heart of the city's historic district."This will kill us," said Monica Nader, manager of Cafe Normandie at 185 Main St. "We are definitely going to lose business."

Health inspectors temporarily closed two Annapolis restaurants and one in Pasadena during routine inspections from April 1 to 15.The three restaurants did not meet county codes because of emergency conditions. They were:* Morrison's Cafeteria, 900 block of Jennifer Road, Annapolis. Closed for lack of hot water.* Roy Rogers, Annapolis Mall, Annapolis. Closed because of fire.* Beefalo Bob's, 100 block of Mountain Road, Pasadena. Closed because of fire.All three establishments have re-opened.

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.

Until a few months ago, Cafe Normandie was Brasserie de Paris, but the word "brasserie" doesn't fit very well in American mouths, so the brasserie isn't a brasserie anymore (and maybe never was, brasseries tending toward Alsatian wines, beers and choucroutes). Also, under the old regime, the brasserie offered some fairly fancy, pricey entrees like rack of lamb in truffles sauce. Under the new regime, fancy is out.The departed brasserie's menu read "Restaurant Francais"; the cafe's says, "Your Neighborhood Cafe."

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)

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."

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.

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."

Health inspectors temporarily closed two Annapolis restaurants and one in Pasadena during routine inspections from April 1 to 15.The three restaurants did not meet county codes because of emergency conditions. They were:* Morrison's Cafeteria, 900 block of Jennifer Road, Annapolis. Closed for lack of hot water.* Roy Rogers, Annapolis Mall, Annapolis. Closed because of fire.* Beefalo Bob's, 100 block of Mountain Road, Pasadena. Closed because of fire.All three establishments have re-opened.

Today's groundbreaking ceremony for the Main Street reconstruction project is expected to be colorful and loud with its singing fifth-graders and historians snapping photographs. The mayor will even get a commemorative brick.But many downtown workers and residents say they have no reason to celebrate the rebricking project in the heart of the city's historic district."This will kill us," said Monica Nader, manager of Cafe Normandie at 185 Main St. "We are definitely going to lose business."

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.