Flavor

Rita's Italian Ice is debuting its newest flavor, Red Velvet Cake Cream Ice, on Friday. The new "rich and creams" flavor is a limited time offering. That's not the only news out of Trevose, Pa. Beginning next Wednesday, Rita's is offering 50 percent off Blendinis from 5 to 7 p.m. The Red Velvet Cake Cream Ice offer and the “Great Blendini” event will both continue through April 29.        

Tuesday is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's all over the world, including Baltimore. Stop in a participating Ben & Jerry's and get a free cone along with samples of Ben & Jerry's new Greek Frozen Yogurt. Rats, that Ben & Jerry's at the Inner Harbor closed up, so for Baltimoreans the closest participating Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop is now the one on Ellsworth Road in Silver Spring -- you have until 8 p.m. to get there. Drop by the Baltimore Diner Facebook Page to tell us your favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor.

While Maryland pays more than $2 billion annually in tobacco-related health-care costs, the tobacco industry spends upward of $1 million an hour to market its products nationwide. Even though Congress banned flavored cigarettes in 2009, Big Tobacco continues to target youth with flavored cigars sold for as little as 69 cents and packaged to look like candy. A new surgeon general's report finds that one in five high school males smokes cigars and that cigar use appears to be rising overall.

If you don't support gay marriage, you probably don't want to get caught with a cone of Ben & Jerry's new flavor. Apple-y Ever After, available in the U.K., is the activist ice cream maker's attempt to advocate for gay marriage as it comes under consideration there this month. "Because ," the company says, "everyone is equal and deserves to live Apple-y Ever After!" Since Maryland beat the Brits to the punch, legalizing gay marriage earlier this month, there are no doubt a number of folks around here who'd like a scoop, or perhaps a double.

Hampden's Alchemy may have one of the tiniest upstairs bars in Baltimore. But there are some serious, high-end cocktails being crafted in this small space. Dubbed "Potions" (see what they did there?), the cocktail menu features an extensive selection of hand-crafted and tweaked blends of traditional drinks that demonstrate a lot of care, craftsmanship and, best of all, lots of flavor. "It's fun, I love doing it. We find what's trending and give it our own twist," said bartender Matthew Ballinger.

The South Plains men's basketball team — 29-0 and ranked No. 1 in the National Junior College Athletic Association poll — is the best college squad that you probably have never heard of. But you might have heard of three of its players. Stanton Kidd, Derrell Edwards and Corey Spence grew up 1,705 miles away from Levelland, Texas — in Baltimore. Kidd played at Edmondson and Edwards and Spence teamed up at Dunbar; together they've helped the Texans earn their 11th Western Junior College Athletic Conference championship.

With all the hot spices at work, the first couple forkfuls of Chicken Biryani ($7.99) are liable to leave your lips tingling. But the downtown Thousand Kabobs packs in flavor with the flame — strips of scarlet tomato and glossy onion relieved the monotone texture, and the rice also helped mellow the heat. So does the naan. You get way more than enough rice and spice for 8 bucks with this biryani and you can still pick up a freshly tandoori-ed naan round for $1.50 and stay under $10. Thousand Kabobs' tandoori bread is a lighter weight than some with a charred bottom and a soft, chewy topside.

There was a time when Chinese restaurants abounded in this area. Granted, they still exist in storefronts, specializing in carryout. But many dine-in Chinese restaurants these days have re-invented themselves to include a wide range of culinary genres, not “just” Chinese. One such place is Asian Palace Restaurant &  Bar in Hickory Ridge. Owner Feng Liu opened his doors last July, with a menu that features Chinese, Japanese, Thai and even American cuisines (rack of lamb with mashed potatoes is listed under the house specialties.)

More than 20 years after it left the Baltimore waterfront, McCormick and Co. plans to open a store this summer at the Inner Harbor that will sell spices as well as an updated image of the homegrown company. Shoppers at the McCormick World of Flavors store will not only be able to buy cooking products and gifts. They will also be able to take part in interactive activities and cooking demonstrations that illustrate McCormick's evolution from spice maker to global flavor company.

Nobody asked me but . . . . Few things are worse than having the aromas and flavors of a warm, brick-oven, wood-fired pizza (with rapini and soppressata) wiped away by a waitress who sprays Windex-type disinfectant on the table next to you while you're still dining. The Super Bowl has come and gone - time to protest the new puppy store in Columbia! Scientists who track these things believe last September's big storms may have drowned much of the region's stink bug population.