Dining Room

If you're a big fan, you already knew what was coming in the season finale. But it didn't make it any easier -- or less heartbreaking -- to watch. The majority of the Season 3 "Downton" finale, or the "Christmas special" as its called in the U.K., took place in Scotland, where the whole family (minus Branson) visits the Highlands home of the Dowager's niece, Susan, and her husband, Shrimpy. Most of the trip included bagpipes, hunting, more bagpipes and Scottish reel dancing. But more on that later (and more on O'Brien meeting her Scottish lady's maid doppelganger)

Many a name-brand casino in Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere feature high-end restaurants conceived by celebrity chefs. Locally, at Maryland Live! casino in Arundel Mills, the celebrity is the restaurant chain, The Prime Rib, which opened in January, joining its venerable Baltimore parent (since 1965) and siblings in Philadelphia and D.C. This is a gorgeous setting. In the main dining room, which can seat about 75, all is sleek and contemporary with a leopard-print carpet and whimsical chandeliers.

Always, there were those lovely old country estates and gracious manor taverns with roaring fireplaces, but in the old days fine dining was associated with the city. Not so anymore. Now, there are more compelling reasons than ever for diners to cross county lines for a good meal. The 50 best county restaurants in Howard County, Anne Arundel County and Baltimore County is a mix of the old and the new, destinations for special occasions and joints for Monday night suppers, the chef-driven and crowd-pleasing.

George's, the restaurant at the Wyndham Peabody Court Hotel in Mount Vernon, is a sleeper. It hasn't completely shrugged off its hotel-amenity feeling, but it's getting there. George's is making an effort to reach out. There's a good sampling on the beer list of local brews. George's runs smart specials, available both at the bar and in the dining room, like a Monday burger night and a $12 Wednesday comfort-food entree. Still, on a few weeknight visits, there was more action at the bar. And credit a game bar staff with patiently and steadily building a base of neighborhood regulars, who have started coming in for dinner, too, and bringing their friends.

Q: I have inherited some dining-room furniture that is a high-quality reproduction of both Hepplewhite and Sheraton styles. Now I'm puzzled about how to treat the dining room itself. It's a fairly large space with a 9-foot ceiling and two narrow but not-so-tall windows.Any suggestions?A: I assume that you want the room to look elegant and relatively formal.That shouldn't be too difficult to achieve, though you will have to sort through a number of choices relating to your taste, budget and the availability of certain items.

Q: I'm looking for some comfortable dining-room furniture that doesn't need constant care even though it will be used by a young family. The pieces are to accompany Oriental rugs and a mixture of antique and contemporary furnishings. I also prefer that the dining room ensemble not go out of style as soon as the latest fad passes. One possibility, I'm told, is "art or architect's furniture." Where can it be seen?A: You should start with the understanding that "art furniture" and "architect's furniture" are not synonymous.

Now that our kitchen restoration is finished, my wife and I have moved on to the next phase of such a project, namely second-guessing ourselves. Figuring out what we did right and wrong. It is amazing how quickly you move from enjoying a comfortable and well-functioning space, to entertaining nagging doubts about how you restored it. In our case, a once-dark and narrow ground-floor kitchen was transformed into a large, airy, combination kitchen and sitting room. Daylight now streams through windows that we barely noticed before.

Often when an old home is in the final stages of an interior renovation, the grandeur of new molding, flooring and light fixtures stands out like a masterfully worked canvas awaiting the addition of the primary subject. Such is the story unfolding behind the new windows of the Alice and Mike Gosse's circa 1920 East Baltimore rowhouse, where the scarcity of furniture draws full attention to the quality of the detailed work completed. Just inside the front door, off a narrow hall, the entire first floor is open, extending little more than 15 feet wide and 65 feet long to the back wall of the home.

When it came time for Stephanie Blatchley and her husband, Tyler, to buy their first house, the young couple knew exactly what they wanted. Having grown up in western Howard County, she was most comfortable in a country setting. Both of them wanted to be near family and friends. And the idea of easy access to major thoroughfares was appealing. They also knew what they did not want: a formal dining room. "We lived in an apartment for two years, and although we enjoyed that lifestyle, we wanted to buy a house of our own," Blatchley explained.

Q: I would like your opinion as to the most sensible way of giving my dining room a more dramatic look. It's currently filled with mahogany pieces, including a 7-foot-wide breakfront.A: The photo will give you an idea of how great a transformation can be wrought in an entire room by altering the appearance of its single most important element.In this instance, designer Celeste Cooper singled out a breakfront for unusual treatment. The piece was painted in a faux tortoise-shell pattern with white accents that look like ivory inlays.

Designed by the influential Baltimore architects Edward L. Palmer and William D. Lamdin in 1925 and built in 1928, the home at 101 Witherspoon Road is one of the premier properties in Homeland. This North Baltimore home is built of local stone with a Vermont slate roof, and it has over 7,000 square feet of living space. The property is being offered by Hill & Co. Realtors for $1.25 million. "It's a unique property with one of the largest lots in Homeland," said Mary Lynne Mullican, the listing agent for Hill & Co. "The wrought-iron work on the back loggia is beautiful.

Michael's Cafe is nearly 30 years old, but it's still hot. On a recent Thursday night, the Timonium restaurant was hopping. The warm, wood-filled bar was packed, and by 8 p.m., so was the dining room. Since its opening in 1984, Michael's has expanded several times; a current construction project will add an outdoor bar and more seating. Eavesdropping on tables around us, we realized most diners were repeat customers - back, no doubt, for Michael's capable takes on classic American food.

When it came time for Stephanie Blatchley and her husband, Tyler, to buy their first house, the young couple knew exactly what they wanted. Having grown up in western Howard County, she was most comfortable in a country setting. Both of them wanted to be near family and friends. And the idea of easy access to major thoroughfares was appealing. They also knew what they did not want: a formal dining room. "We lived in an apartment for two years, and although we enjoyed that lifestyle, we wanted to buy a house of our own," Blatchley explained.

Old Catonsville boasts turn-of-the-last-century buildings and schools, fine restaurants, antiques and music shops, and a library. But scattered among the Victorian structures are Arts and Crafts-style homes built in the early 20th century. It is in one of these that the Shaw family resides, just blocks off of the town's main street. "We moved here from just two blocks away," said Kelley Shaw, a 37-year-old speech pathologist. "Our [other] house had no driveway and we loved the porches on these old houses.

Southworth reflects: I chose this particular dish because I love the smell of slow-cooking meat on a brisk fall day. The slow cooking breaks down the meat to make it melt in your mouth. And I just love blue cheese (Gorgonzola) with beef; the flavors burst in your mouth. The Calvados Sidecar pairs nicely with the meal, especially because of the fall-evoking apple flavor of the brandy. Cab Braised Short Rib Ingredients: Short Rib: •    4 pounds beef short ribs •    1 tablespoon fresh rosemary •    1 tablespoon fresh thyme •    1 tablespoon kosher salt •    1 tablespoon black salt •    ¼ cup vegetable oil •    1 750-milliliter cabernet sauvignon •    1 tablespoon butter •    1 tablespoon all-purpose flour Polenta: •    5 cups chicken stock •    1 ¾ cups polenta •    ¾ cup crumbled Gorgonzola •    ¿ cup heavy cream Gremolata: •    ¼ cup chopped parsley •    3 tablespoons grated lemon zest •    2 cloves garlic, minced •    2 tablespoons chopped rosemary •    2 tablespoons chopped thyme Directions: Mix rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper and sprinkle over ribs.

Six years ago, George and Jennifer Klein were looking for the perfect spot to build a new home. They found it in a wooded lot in the Baltimore County development of The Highlands of Perry Hall. Later, in March 2007, the Kleins moved into their two-story Colonial with a gray stone facade, a house they had watched going up at every stage of construction, while selecting interior and exterior options and upgrades throughout the process. After five years of settling in, the couple could not be more content.

Q: For the last 20 years my dining room has included a glass-and-chrome table, matching leather chairs and a beige wall-to-wall carpet. I want to soften the look and make it more interesting, but I can't afford to replace everything at once. Where do I start?A: My initial reaction is to urge you to break up the matching dining set, but on reflection, I think you should start with a plan. First decide on the colors and design direction you prefer.Since you have to proceed on a piecemeal basis, the easiest way to create a soft and interesting look is by assembling a mixture of furnishing styles that will form a coherent whole.

We have been casting around for a new watering hole with decent food since two of our former favorites, McCabe's and Alonso's, began experiencing culinary hiccups. So it was a pleasure to find Shannon's in Ellicott City - a popular, easygoing saloon with good food. Shannon's, which has been around for close to 20 years, expanded and redecorated recently, and the newness shows. Tucked into one of the small, innocuous strip centers along Route 40, the restaurant has a fresh polish and subdued gleam.

You still have time to plan a Mother's Day brunch. But you might not have to bother. According to a new survey, your mother might prefer to make the plans herself. The survey, published by Open Table Inc., says that 65 percent of surveyed mothers intend to make Mother's Day reservations themselves. Fifty-eight percent of the Open Table members surveyed said they were planning to dine out for brunch on Mother's Day, but a surprising 39 percent said they were going out for dinner instead and about 25 percent said they'd be going out for more than one meal.

There is a small area in Northwest Baltimore where, beyond an imposing wrought-iron gate, a narrow lane provides access to 18 homes of different sizes and styles. Color abounds here, by way of a variety of flowers, bushes and trees showing on the front and back lawns of each house. Ashley Long's home is a two-story, Victorian-style structure, with six large columns on a stone front porch and a symmetry of door and windows that is reminiscent of a gentleman farmer's home. Inside, a series of arches extending beyond the front door to the end of the 74-foot-deep home, along with a heavily molded, squared-off entrance to the living room and dining room, suggests a Southern warmth and gentility emblematic of Long's Tennessee heritage.