Hot Stuff

The theme may have been James Bond, but the man himself (or a good facsimile) was a no-show at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation "Spring Swing" party. "James Bond was supposed to be here, but he's MIA. So you'll have to make do with Bobby Ehrlich," event co-chair Stuart Amos explained. The governor was the night's honorary co-chair along with wife Kendel. So, who cares if 007 was off on another secret assignment? At least the "Bond Girls" made an appearance at the Grand Lodge in Hunt Valley as live mannequins atop four pedestals scattered just inside the foyer.

It was quite a night at the Oscars for more than 300 Baltimoreans. They were gussied up in gowns and tuxes, passed the "paparazzi" on the red carpet and were interviewed by "Joan Rivers" on their way into the Baltimore Museum of Industry. OK. So, it wasn't L.A., but this was an officially sanctioned Oscars party, nonetheless. In fact, it was the fourth such fund-raising frolic for AIDS Interfaith Residential Services Inc. Once inside, guests were serenaded by Brian Commotto, the two-time Emmy-winning composer/pianist.

Serafino's, which opened in 1996, has been a reliable choice for takeout pizza and other Italian dishes in Howard County. But with only 44 seats, the tiny restaurant on U.S. 40 didn't do much sit-down business. Owner Joe Mannarelli finally bit the bullet last year and moved his restaurant to a much larger location. The new Serafino's, which opened in December in a former garage, now seats 220, and it has a bar, a banquet room and a cozy fireplace. The menu has been expanded slightly, but the core offerings of brick-oven pizza, subs and pasta dishes remain.

Some 550 B-more folks arrived at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel last weekend and immediately saw red. Maybe that's because they had come to the American Heart Association's Heart Ball, and red was the theme of the night. The color draped over tables, backdrops and even took the shape of big heart balloons scattered around the dance floor, but it also decorated many of the guests, starting with the evening's co-chairs. Greg Jarosinski sported a spiffy textured claret silk vest and tie with his tux, while wife Charlotte was a standout in ruby red. She wore a dishy layered chiffon strapless gown by Gilar.

At first glance, the stretch of Eastern Avenue in Highlandtown doesn't look like much. The largest stores are discount emporiums that look like they've seen better days. On closer inspection, though, things aren't so bad. The North Pole Ice Cream Co., which opened recently, serves hot meals as well as ice cream from a cozy, brightly painted location. Retro Mart, a store selling funky '50s-style furniture and knickknacks, opened in 2003. And then there's Chicken Rico, one of the brightest spots on the street with a colorful painted sign out front and a clean, sunny interior.

The booming Greene Turtle franchise began in 1976 with a rinky-dink Ocean City bar that served no food except peanuts. Now there are seven Greene Turtles in Maryland, all cavernous sports bars with televisions galore and often video games, live music, foosball or karaoke nights. The latest Turtle is in Towson. Unlike Greene Turtles in Fells Point, Annapolis, Ocean City and Salisbury, this one isn't near the water, but Towson is still a promising location for a place that's popular with the 20ish crowd.

At long last, Ray Lewis' restaurant finally opens in Canton Sunday. Ray Lewis' Full Moon Bar-B-Que is in the Can Company space that used to be the Atlantic, but any resemblance between the two establishments stops there. Gone is the stark white Zenlike interior of the large dining room. General manager Kevin McCarthy says large photos of the Ravens' linebacker and sports memorabilia line the buttery glazed brick walls. Casual mahogany tables and booths circle the room, almost every one of them equipped with a flat-screen television.

Catonsville has one of those downtowns that looks like it's barely changed in the past 50 years or so. Most of the stores and restaurants are still locally owned, and they crowd against one another along both sides of Frederick Road. Every year since 1946, the street is closed off for a Fourth of July parade of twirlers, marching bands, veterans, politicians and floats. One place that has changed -- while staying true to Catonsville's character -- is the Ships Cafe and Sports Bar, purchased by Catonsville natives Jim and Sharon Andrews three years ago. The couple -- he's a retired Baltimore County cop, she was in the banking business -- added light and space to an existing bar, converting the 1865 building next door into a sunny dining room with a crab deck up top for when the weather's nice.

Fells Point is cookin'! Yet another upscale eatery, Timothy Dean Bistro, is opening its doors there tomorrow night. Owners Rick Wallace and chef Timothy Dean bring with them a work history at a number of chi-chi D.C. establishments, including the Hays-Adam Hotel, the Watergate (with famed Washington chef Jean-Louis Palladin) and the St. Regis Hotel. Wallace says the two were looking for a location to open their own place, when their broker suggested Baltimore, specifically Fells Point.

One of the big challenges of dining out is deciding what to order. It all sounds so great on the menu, but you don't really know what you're getting until it arrives. Well, Tony Yan has neatly solved this challenge - while setting his restaurant apart from the crowd of sushi places in Towson - with his Kyodai Rotating Sushi Bar. The centerpiece of his tiny establishment, which opened in October, is a sushi station staffed by two chefs who busily cut, roll and arrange, then place the finished dishes on a stainless-steel conveyor belt that glides soundlessly in a circle inside a bar. Patrons simply grab what looks appetizing.