Hot Stuff

In case you haven't had your fill of the cicada invasion, now you can. Have your fill, that is. All you have to do is eat and drink the new creations at Little Italy's La Tavola restaurant inspired by our noisy visitors. The cicada cannoli features a light-green filling and maraschino cherry "eyes." The cicada martini is a concoction of raspberry vodka, raspberry and melon liqueurs and pineapple juice. Lime-slice wings perch on the sides of the glass, and two cherry "eyes" sit atop toothpicks.

Contracts Training Services On Demand Inc., based in Myersville, Frederick County, was awarded a General Services Administration schedule contract to provide federal agencies with training programs on a one-stop, no-compete basis. Openings Gay Street Food Emporium opened at 239 N. Gay St. with four franchises, Chix's Chicken, Hot Stuff Grill, Hot Stuff Pizza and Nap's Barbeque. The project involved restoration of three early 1850s units, including one with a cast-iron fa?ade, and was developed in conjunction with the Maryland Historic Trust.

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.

THE GLIMPSES I've seen so far of Paula Abdul's coming reality show, Hey Paula, seem to fall in step with the image of the former pop singer as rather ditzy - perhaps even sobriety-challenged. But that image has worked well since her career resurrection as an American Idol judge, so why fight it? More power to Paula and her wacky ways. The tiny Miss Abdul - stylish and summery in crisp black and white - was spotted the other day shopping on Rodeo Drive. A handsome guy who "looked like a younger version of Seal" accompanied her. (Paula might not be a genius, but she's no fool.

There's your usual hot Baltimore summer. And then there's a hot-hot-hot B-more summer. Think the latter, according to the latest word on the street. "Hot" as in George Clooney coming to town. Are we talking a new flick being filmed here? Nobody's confirming anything yet. But it's looking good. Just like Mr. Clooney. Oh, and did we mention another sizzling name being bandied about in reference to a Charm City visit as well? A certain Matt Damon? Stay tuned. And then there's that scorcher that was filmed here last year.

Szechuan Best had no electricity. It was early on a Sunday afternoon, and a traffic accident on Liberty Road had knocked out the power. Food was still being served, and the sunlight streaming through the restaurant's windows meant lights weren't necessary. But the kitchen was nearly pitch black, and the cooks were working by flashlight. Service would be slow. My dining companions and I were warned of all this before we sat down, but we decided to stay anyway. We looked around and saw perhaps a half-dozen families, some Asian, some not, enjoying platters of plump dumplings and bowls of noodles so hot that clouds of steam were curling toward the ceiling.

When Donna Summer answers the phone at her Nashville home, her greeting is gravelly. The "hello" sounds almost muffled. It's around 9 a.m., and apparently her voice hasn't awakened yet. She won't be home too long, anyway, because there's more road work to do. For weeks, she's been traveling the country, doing a round of morning shows, daytime talk shows, a little radio. Surely you've heard by now that the woman known in the '70s as the First Lady of Love and the Queen of Disco has published a memoir called Ordinary Girl: The Journey.

To start the new year with a bang, Table Talk is getting a makeover. Beginning in next week's edition of LIVE, Table Talk will be transformed into a brand new column: Hot Stuff. In Hot Stuff, Sloane Brown will continue to keep you up on what's new in Baltimore-area restaurants but also will dish up news, notes and quotes from all over the area's social scene - from the big parties to movie premieres to nightclub openings and more. You'll find tidbits about local and national celebrities, high-style fashion sightings, buzz from around Baltimore and, of course, a steady diet of insights into local food and drink establishments.

A telephone number with an article appearing in "Hot Stuff" on Page 2 of today's Sun Magazine is incomplete. To order the "Book of Time" booklet, call 1-800-359-7389 and punch in PIN 0193 as directed.The Sun regrets the error.

A roundup of new products and servicesEasy goThe picnic basket is packed, the lawn chairs are folded, and the kids are ready to go. All you have to do is figure out how to carry all your gear to the car. Just for you a local inventor devised Tote-It, a carrying bar with hook-and-loop-type fasteners and a padded shoulder strap. Folding beach chairs and a beach umbrella can be attached to Tote-It, leaving hands free for carrying the cooler or a child. Tote-It, which costs $12.95 plus tax, is manufactured and distributed by local firms.

It's almost that time of year again, when we trade in work clothes and spring jackets for bathing suits and sunscreen. Here's a look at some of this year's hot beach essentials - to make your time in the sand a little more exciting. Ultimate Beach Ball Sprinkler Manufacturer: Little Tikes / Price: $14.99 from Amazon.com. This sprinkler is inflatable so it is easy to take anywhere. Attach a hose and it's a sprinkler. Turn off the water, and you have a giant beach ball. Waterball Launcher Water Gun Manufacturer: Wild Planet Toys / Price: $27.99 from Spilsbury.

Maybe it's the mile-high altitude, or the early 2-foot snowfall that hit the Denver area earlier this week. Something must be in the air in the Rockies these days, because at least one member of 24th-ranked Colorado believes the Buffaloes will pull off the biggest upset of the season. Today, at No. 2 Texas. "I think we're playing well enough to give [Texas] a good game," senior tight end Joe Klopfenstein said in an interview with the Denver Post. "I think we're going to go in there and beat them.

Even Callie Thorne is occasionally shocked by some of the things she says and does on FX's red-hot firehouse drama Rescue Me. "I have kind of a truck-driver mouth," she said. "But some of the things it's hard to say without laughing because I'm embarrassed." Indeed, a lot of the stuff that comes from Thorne's mouth on Rescue Me (Tuesdays at 10 p.m.) can't be repeated here, yet it fits perfectly with her character, Sheila, whose firefighter-husband died on 9/11 and who is now sleeping with -- and for a while was apparently pregnant by -- her husband's best friend, Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary)

A charming little neighborhood restaurant doesn't have to be in a charming little neighborhood. A case in point is Roma's Cafe, a modest Italian eatery sandwiched between a Precision Tune and a Jiffy Lube on busy York Road. The restaurant shares a parking lot with the auto shops, but the scent of motor oil that greets you as you leave your car is no match for the welcoming aroma of garlic emanating from the cheerily lit restaurant. Though it's not easily visible from the road, Roma's has obviously found a following since it opened in June 2004.

The sign in the window of Pollo a la Brasa, the tiny new Peruvian chicken restaurant in Fells Point, said it was closed. But we could see people inside, so we forged ahead. Turned out, the sign was wrong. Pollo a la Brasa had been open since December, and it was definitely serving lunch on a recent windy spring day. Paula and Bill Reidy, who own the building, opened the restaurant with Victor Quajino, a longtime friend who hails from El Salvador. Quajino suggested that the area was in need of a real Peruvian chicken restaurant, explained Paula Reidy.

The quality of the matzo ball soup can tell a lot about a kosher deli, just as good crab dip can set a high standard for a sports bar and hot, fresh tortilla chips can make a strong first impression at a Mexican restaurant. The matzo ball soup at the recently opened Accents Grill in the Greenspring Shopping Center got our meal off to a terrific start. The steaming bowl of salty broth, studded with soft slivers of carrots and celery and large pieces of white-meat chicken, was dominated by a matzo ball so feather-light it hardly required chewing and swallowing -- it seemed to just dissolve in the mouth.

Contracts Training Services On Demand Inc., based in Myersville, Frederick County, was awarded a General Services Administration schedule contract to provide federal agencies with training programs on a one-stop, no-compete basis. Openings Gay Street Food Emporium opened at 239 N. Gay St. with four franchises, Chix's Chicken, Hot Stuff Grill, Hot Stuff Pizza and Nap's Barbeque. The project involved restoration of three early 1850s units, including one with a cast-iron fa?ade, and was developed in conjunction with the Maryland Historic Trust.

Be careful - don't break the China," joked Charles, our affable, curly-haired waiter as he shuffled out foam plates for our bread like he was dealing cards. This don't-take-us-seriously humor is part of the shtick at Corner Stable, a feeding trough of a restaurant where decor consists of Keno numbers lit up on a board and televisions tuned to the day's biggest sporting events. The restaurant isn't about fine dining - it's about messy, delicious ribs, crab cakes and other local classics.

Zeus Cafe has no clever slogans, no "signature dishes" and not much in the way of atmosphere. In a city rich with diners, where so many have acquired a certain self-conscious, sometimes irritating whimsy, this small restaurant is about as straightforward as a diner can be. Zeus serves basic Greek and American dishes at rock-bottom prices. Located just one crucial block from the heart of Fells Point, Zeus lacks the retro appeal of the nearby Jimmy's, which enjoys a better location but has a similar menu.