ENTERTAINMENT
By Richard Gorelick, The Baltimore Sun | May 24, 2013
Almost four years in, B&O American Brasserie, the restaurant inside the Hotel Monaco, has established itself as a worthy citizen of Baltimore. Before it came along, downtown dining options were scarce, especially at night, both for visitors and the hometown crowd. Now, nearby office workers have a handsome and uplifting after-work destination, a smartly designed space within an impressive 13-story Beaux Arts building, once the headquarters of the B&O Railroad and now part of the San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurant Group.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Richard Gorelick, The Baltimore Sun | April 5, 2013
Annapolis is swimming in wine bars these days. The choices include the deeply cool Red Red Wine on Main Street, Justin Moore's food-forward Vin 909 over in Eastport and the accessibly cozy Grapes Wine Bar on Forest Drive. Crush Kitchen and Winehouse got there first, though, back in 2010, when it opened on West Street as Crush Winehouse. Crush is a big, inviting space, loud and lively, with a smartly arranged layout of banquettes, four-tops and high tables.
NEWS
By Richard Gorelick, The Baltimore Sun | March 14, 2013
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.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Kit Waskom Pollard, For The Baltimore Sun | March 7, 2013
Willow manages to be a lot of things all at once. The Fells Point restaurant, opened in July by the team behind RYE and Stuggy's, shares its name with the graceful weeping willow tree. With gray walls, hanging lanterns and gauzy curtains, Willow's interior is in sync with the moody look of its namesake. The space - like the staff - is casual but stylish. Willow's menu, on the other hand, is full of fresh takes on Tex-Mex and bar-friendly pizzas and burgers. Flavors occasionally veer into sophisticated territory, but overall, the food is straightforward, fun and approachable.
ENTERTAINMENT
By Kit Waskom-Pollard, For The Baltimore Sun | February 6, 2013
Some occasions require a touch of romance. Nothing too formal or over the top - no scattered rose petals or strolling violins. Just good, interesting food served capably in a special setting. Baldwin's Station in historic Sykesville is just the place. Housed in a renovated 19th-century train station on the Old Main Line, the restaurant straddles the border of Howard and Carroll counties. Baldwin's Station's current incarnation opened in 1997. Owner Stewart Dearie is a restaurant veteran who managed the Conservatory at the Peabody Hotel and Antrim 1844 in Taneytown.
EXPLORE
By Janene Holzberg | February 4, 2013
The art of cooking is about the journey and the destination, to tweak a famous quote about life that downplays the latter. And it's also about who's guiding you along the way. So when David and Michelle Byrnes discovered one of their favorite chefs was offering private cooking classes in his Columbia home, the Sykesville couple immediately contacted Ben Tehranian to set up a session. And they weren't the only ones to seek him out in recent months: Two couples co-hosting their children's small wedding at home decided they wanted him to teach them to prepare the food for the reception, and six girlfriends chose a class as a unique theme for a bachelorette party.