Fried Chicken

Monday in Baltimore is a good night to go out and get a burger. Rocket to Venus, Hamilton Tavern, Mick O'Shea's, McCabe's and Frank & Nic's West End Grille all run Monday burger specials. Not in a burger kind of mood? There are special deals on chicken parmesan at Regi's in Federal Hill, fried chicken at Sascha's 527 and fajitas at Kooper's Tavern. Mt. Washington Tavern is still running its 2-for-$31 Monday night special. The Corner BYOB has recently added a prix-fixe Monday dinner service.

The Orioles had a hand in the collapse of the Red Sox, taking five games from the playoff pretenders last month. But fried chicken, beer and video games played a bigger role, according to an interesting Boston Globe report. Bob Hohler of The Globe reported that Boston's top starters, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey, have a habit of pigging out and chillaxing in the clubhouse during home games, even critical ones in September. “The indifference of Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in a time of crisis can be seen in what team sources say became their habit of drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games while their teammates tried to salvage a once-promising season,” Hohler wrote in a Wednesday report.

Granny's Restaurant may be right next to the food court in Owings Mills Mall, but it's far from your typical mall food. Soul food is Granny's specialty — served with a smile. Named after Chef Valerie Dorsey's 106-year-old grandmother, Granny's moved from its old home down the street to a space three times bigger at the mall. Granny's has been at its new digs for eight months now, and its staff is beginning to feel at home. While the owners have done some renovation, the ghost of the previous tenant, a Chinese restaurant, still haunts the place.

This multistate blend of nine varietals from a renowned Oregon winery is a pleasing take on a full-bodied white wine that is not a chardonnay (though it's likely a component). Fruity but dry, it delivers a charming mix of tropical fruit, pear, apricot and citrus flavors — seasoned with a little nutmeg and clove. A wine that's more for pleasure than contemplation. Wine Find: Sokol Blosser Evolution American White Wine From: United States Price: $15 Serve with: Full-bodied fish, fried chicken

This crisp, dry, impeccably clean and intensely flavored rose is one of the world's great pink wines — an often underestimated category. In addition to good length and penetration, it offers vibrant strawberry, cherry and rosehip flavors. This is an excellent wine to serve outdoors during the spring and summer months, served very cold. Wine Find: 2010 Paul Jaboulet Parallele 45 Rose From: Cotes du Rhone, France Price: $14 Serve with: Ham, salmon, fried chicken

It's the Year of the Tiger — not according to the Chinese lunar calendar, but in the world of publishing. "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua has made waves with an account of super-striving Chinese parenting. "The Tiger's Wife," a first novel by Tea Obreht, appeared on the cover of The New York Times Book Review this month. And now there's "A Tiger in the Kitchen," Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan's account of returning to her native Singapore to learn cooking, family history and a bit about herself.

This well-balanced white wine is an imaginative blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Chardonnay, Semillon, Roussanne, Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Muscat Canelli drawn from vineyards around California. It comes to the palate as a very fruity wine, but leaves with a dry impression. It offers vibrant flavors of grapefruit, lime, pear, kiwi, honey and white pepper. It's immediately appealing, but with some complexity too. Drink it while it's young. Wine Find: 2009 Kendall-Jackson Summation From: California Price: $14 Serve with: Salmon, fried chicken

His soft brown image has graced the cover of National Geographic. He's a perennial on wildlife calendars, the star in several public service spots to promote bear safety and the mascot for a line of hunting apparel. His is the furry face producers and advertisers turn to when they need a teeth-baring, menacing grizzly. But at 15, Brody the bear is approaching middle age and dealing with arthritis, which could sideline his career. A pharmaceutical company in Harford County has developed a nutritional supplement for horses that is helping the 1,400-pound Kodiak bear move painlessly and with more agility, his trainer, Jeff Watson, said.

This week's cure for the "Mondays"? Food, and lots of it. Baltimore Summer Restaurant Week 2010 is already under way with great deals on lunch and dinner. Either through coincidence or luck, D.C. Restaurant Week begins today and many Washington restaurants are extending the savings an extra week. That means as Baltimore's foodie fun wanes next weekend, you can eat your way south to the land of "Top Chef D.C. " The plan: Going to Washington just for dinner might not be worth the drive, so pair your visit with a performance at the Kennedy Center . Several restaurants participating in D.C. Restaurant Week are nearby.

Not too long ago, rose wines were not highly regarded, but now only the most insufferable snobs look down on a well-made pink wine. This dry, deep-pink, intensely flavorful rose is an ideal summertime quaff. It offers flavors of strawberries, rosehips, cherries and herbs and finishes long and clean. It would be best to drink it up before the leaves fall. — Michael Dresser 2009 M. Chapoutier Belleruche Rose From: Rhone Valley, France Price: $13 Serve with: Salmon, fried chicken