Dining Table

Just when you think apathy reigns, along comes something like last Saturday night. Jed Dietz says it was one of the most amazing experiences he has had since founding the Maryland Film Festival six years ago. The event was a movie screening and reception put on by the festival as a fund-raiser for Afghans for Civil Society. First, there was the incredible location. Maryland Institute donated the hall of its Brown Center -- that icy chunk of a building that slashes along the side of Mount Royal Avenue.

Add another restaurant to the local scene. And to the number of nosh-eries owned by Steve de Castro. The B-more hotspot honcho can already claim the Ruth's Chris Steakhouses, Havana Club, Eurasian Harbor and Babalu Grill in his fleet of upscale eateries. And as of this week, he's added another. The Blue Sea Grill has just opened in the spot vacated last year by the short-lived Cafe Asia-turned-Red Coral. It's in a convenient spot, tucked between Ruth's Chris and Babalu on Water Street. The space features seascape paintings on curvy blue walls, with banquettes and tables throughout.

Happy New Year! And new column. Welcome to Hot Stuff. Our aim: to keep you up on what's hot and happening in B-more. If there's a new spot in town to eat or drink, we'll let you know. Sizzling soirees? We'll tell you about 'em. Who's who and where they go, trends, trendoids and celebrity spottings. We hope you'll find it all here in Hot Stuff. So, let's get this party started. ... Holiday highs and lows Leave it to taboo-tipping filmmaker John Waters to come up with a unique holiday greeting.

Cafe Hon's Denise Whiting called the other day to rave about a nifty little spot she came across on her way "downee ocean" - the Market Street Cafe in Denton. Real comfort food, our favorite hon declares. "Fabulous shrimp salad, chicken salad, and - oh my god - somebody does meatloaf that's as good as mine!" Check it out on your next drive east, at 200 Market St. Comfort food, huh? Now there's something we all needed to make it through the past few months. As we bid farewell (we hope)

A small, constantly changing menu at a restaurant is almost always a good sign. Throw in a charming Federal Hill location, a careful list of inexpensive wines and rock-bottom prices, and it's hard to go wrong. That formula has been earning SoBo Cafe an affectionate following since it opened about six years ago. At 6 p.m. on the nose - when dinner service begins - customers start filing in, sitting at tables spaced a pleasant distance apart. The walls are painted bright tangerine and a bold blue.

There are more than just a few Baltimore city restaurants on or near the water. And there were more than just a few that are still reeling from last week's visit by Isabel. If they weren't flooded, more likely than not, they lost power. And that led to problems of food spoilage. However, some of the restaurants that took a real drubbing from the tropical storm weren't necessarily those you might expect. And vice versa. Generally speaking, restaurants on Baltimore's piers fared fairly well.

There's a new Inner Harbor restaurant. And you could say it's located between a rock and a hard place. Or, more accurately, between the Hard Rock Cafe and a place known as the National Aquarium. Pier 4 opens its doors tomorrow in a brand new building, where the old Chart House restaurant used to be on - you guessed it -Pier 4 in the Inner Harbor. Pier 4 is the farthest foray East for Chicago restaurateur Roger Greenfield, best known for his chain of Bar Louie eateries located throughout the Windy City and the midsection of the United States.

JD's Smokehouse, which opened about a year ago in trendy Canton Square, is more bar than restaurant. On a recent weeknight, members of a local softball team had stopped by for drinks, and some patrons were playing pool. There are also televisions, video games and Keno. The decor is strictly Neighborhood Bar, with wood floors, a brick wall and whimsical details, including several wooden statues of Native Americans. There is no separate dining area, and all the tables are tall, surrounded by bar stools with swiveling seats.

Was that Professor Snape dining at Kali's Court recently? Sans the black wig and cape he dons in the Harry Potter films, Alan Rickman looked positively Brit-cool in black leather. Ladies, think an updated version of Rickman's Colonel Brandon in 1995's Sense and Sensibility. Or his evil Hans Gruber (keep the sexy, lose the sinister) from 1988's Die Hard. Rickman is in town filming an HBO flick. But he's going neither sexy nor sinister this time around. In Something the Lord Made, Rickman plays the late Johns Hopkins cardiologist Alfred Blalock, who with his research assistant Vivien Thomas (portrayed by Mos Def)

You could almost call it the Bicycle Built For Two. Two rowhouses, that is. The ever-popular South Baltimore restaurant the Bicycle has now doubled in size - seating has grown from 42 to 72 - after its owners expanded into the building next door. Deborah Mazzoleni, who owns the Bicycle with husband/chef Berry Rumsey, says they've now almost doubled the size of the kitchen and the front dining room. There's now a private dining room for parties up to 16 in the back of the new space. And now, both it and the small back dining room have big plate-glass windows or doors looking into the Bicycle's perennial garden.