Iced Coffee

THRIFT drove me to Wolford's European Cafe & Bakery a few years ago; the mammoth parking lot next door discounts rates to those who get their ticket stamped in either the restaurant or a handful of other businesses on West Chesapeake Avenue. Since I first went to Wolford's, the amount of money I've spent on iced coffee drinks or pastry probably outweighs any savings gained with the parking discount. Yet as indulgences go, 75 cents for a small, scrumptious cherry cheesecake tart is a minuscule price to pay. Patrick Wolford and his father, Bill, opened a bakery about 10 years ago not far from the present location just west of York Road.

Faithful readers will know that I'm not a big fan of all-you-can-eat Sunday brunches. It's mostly because I feel guilty not gorging myself full of sticky buns and roast beef and Belgian waffles dripping with syrup and shrimp casserole and pasta salad, followed by great slabs of carrot cake and mounds of chocolate mousse, until I've finally eaten my money's worth. I can never eat my money's worth. And in exchange for getting more food that I can bear to look at, let alone eat, I have to wait on myself.

Two former 1960s Weather Underground activists brought their message of radical politics Wednesday to the downtown Enoch Pratt Free Library - and to several hundred kindred spirits who vastly outnumbered a small band of critics who stood outside. William Ayers and his wife, Bernadette Dohrn, both advocates of social justice in education, focused on the needs of at-risk students and faced an overwhelmingly receptive audience. Many of their remarks were directed at what they described as "the stain of white supremacy."

You can spend a happy lunch time sipping your way through the new Belvedere Square Market near the intersection of York Road and Northern Parkway. On a recent Sips tour of the reopened market, I discovered everything from first-rate smoothies and made-while-you-wait juice drinks to green tea soda, frozen banana chai and Vietnamese iced coffee. If you're like me, the idea of lettuce juice is a bit of a stretch. But stop by Planet Produce, where Steve Dietrich has perfected a menu of concoctions that will be a pleasant surprise.

National Night Out is on the move for two Carroll County communities this year - Westminster and Eldersburg. The event, which brings citizens and members of local law enforcement agencies together, promises fun, food and entertainment on Tuesday, Aug. 7. "It's a night for everybody to get together," said Ellen Dix, president of the Freedom Area Citizen's Council and organizer for the Eldersburg-area National Night Out. "It's totally free....

Love unusual cuisine, will travel. Which is why we ventured to Mandalay. Before the folks who monitor expense accounts at The Sun break into hives at the thought of the cost of airfare to Mandalay, let me add that the Mandalay I refer to is a small restaurant in College Park, not the city in Myanmar (the Asian country also known as Burma). It's one of two places in the area that specialize in Burmese food, which bears the culinary influences of Thailand, China and India. (The second place, called Burma, is in Washington.

Expectations were predictably high, and how could they not? Opened in late May after months of anticipation, Of Love and Regret could be Brewers Hill's highest-profile collaboration ever. The duo behind it come with reputations: Stillwater Artisanal Ales' founder Brian Strumke and Jack's Bistro's co-owner/chef Ted Stelzenmuller have teamed up, hoping to create a blissful marriage of Strumke's craft beers and Stelzenmuller's affordable, seasonal food. After two recent visits to the consistently packed establishment, it's safe to say their goal has been accomplished nearly out of the gate.

ANN ARRUNDELL County Historical Society is sponsoring its annual dinner March 21 at Rose Restaurant in Linthicum. A social hour at 6 p.m. will be followed by dinner at 7 p.m.The dinner is open to members of the society and their friends. William Donald Schaefer, former governor of Maryland and former mayor of Baltimore, will be the speaker.As mayor, he presided over the implementation of a renaissance that made Baltimore a model for urban redevelopment. As governor, he helped launch a massive cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay and pushed initiatives to improve schools.

LONDON - The curtsy: A woman or girl lowers her body briefly, bending her knees and holding her skirt with both hands as the right foot is lifted and guided backward and to the left, ever so daintily. The head is bowed slightly in a sign of respect. Always, always she offers a smile. Sheila Bransfield, 58, from the Kent village of Acol, practiced the curtsy in her home this week, just as she was taught in school as a young girl - just in case, her teachers told her - and she ran into only one hitch.

Want some coffee?Decaf or regular? Swiss Mocha or Columbia Narino Supremo? Cappuccino or frappuccino? Riboflavin or pantothenic acid?Huh?Coffee lingo and the array of flavors got confusing long ago. But now the Starbucks Coffee Company has complicated the decision even more with its Power Frappuccino. For an extra 50 cents, you can get the frosty drink in a fortified version filled with vitamins and other nutrients.Coffee and vitamins? Vitamins in coffee? Healthy coffee? Is this some sort of oxymoron?