Kebabs

Tailgate party tips If you are the quarterback of a tailgating party this football season, the National Pork Producer's Council has these suggestions: Prepare a variety of bite-size, hand-held sandwiches, snacks and kebabs; pack food in self-sealing bags and disposable containers; remember trash bags and hand wipes; and bring several large bottles of water to extinguish charcoal if you are grilling. Bonus for shoppers If you feel as if you spend half your life in the grocery store, Giant Food has a plan for you. Last week, the supermarket chain introduced its frequent shopper BonusCard that will provide discounts to shoppers, cash grants to local schools and opportunities to win prizes.

World Cafexbar, 2 E. Lombard St., (410) 234-2940. Open Mondays through Fridays for lunch, Saturdays for brunch, Thursdays through Sundays for light supper. MC, V, AE. No-smoking area: yes. Wheelchair accessible: no. Prices: $4.25 to $11.95. The first question is: How do you pronounce Cafexbar? Just as it looks, i.e., Caf-ex-bar? Or as if the x were an ampersand, i.e., Cafe & Bar? The second question is whether any place with such a weird name and a dining room that looks like the stage set for the Arabian Nights can possible have food worth eating.

There's a new eatery in Columbia that offers Turkish and Italian dishes as well as American flair and a menu for kids. Rustem “Rudy” Keskin is the brains behind Rudy's Mediterranean Grill & Diner, which opened in the Gateway Plaza in Columbia earlier this year. Keskin grew up helping in the kitchens of relatives' restaurants in his hometown of Istanbul, Turkey. Later, as a Howard County resident, Keskin says he learned quite a lot as a waiter and in the kitchen of the Double-T Diner in Ellicott City, where he worked prior to establishing his own restaurant.

Casa Mia's, 40 York Road, Towson, 321-8707. Casa Mia's is one of Towson's newest restaurants -- and one of its friendliest. Indeed, eating here is reminiscent of a family dinner. People who come seem happy and chat as old friends with the easy-going but efficient servers. The atmosphere is bright and casual and the food -- American, Greek and Italian -- is fresh and well-seasoned; there's a variety of pizza and light fare, as well as full dinners. The portions are not large, but then neither are the prices.

Travel the world's barbecue trail and you'll encounter certain constants. Consider meat on a stick. Turks call it shish kebab; Russians, shashlik; Spaniards, pinchos; Italians, spedini; and Indonesians, sate. I call it one of the best ways to enjoy live fire cooking. Cooking meat on a stick was the first technological advance brought to the art of grilling. It's certainly the most widespread and versatile today. Skewers range in size from the tiny bamboo toothpicks used by Koreans to grill garlic cloves to the massive wrought-iron T bars used by Argentines to cook whole sides of beef in front of a campfire.

Food *** (3 stars) Service ** (2 stars) Atmosphere ***1/2 (3 1/2 stars) The new Lebanese Taverna makes a great first impression. The "taverna" in the name, the ethnic cuisine, and the fact that it's part of a local chain could lead you to believe it might have good food but not much style. You'd be wrong. The high-ceilinged, contemporary space in the Spinnaker Bay building is a showstopper.

Aladdin's Cafe started out as a pizza and sub shop, then became a pizza, sub and Lebanese food place, and now serves only Lebanese food. Any restaurant is to be commended for focusing on what it does best. As owner Nader Abushkhei noted, many Locust Point restaurants serve pizza, but Lebanese food is still unusual, even in this rapidly gentrifying area. However, it would be nice if the menu reflected its new focus. The carryout and sit-down menus still list all the subs and pizzas that are no longer being served, as well as deli standards such as fries, chicken wings and onion rings.

July 4 weekend activities in Rose Haven begin at 3 p.m. tomorrow. The Chesapeake Cultural Arts and Herrington Harbour Marina Resort plan activities ranging from swimming-pool events to music by the 55-piece National Concert Band of America. The band will perform at 8: 25 p.m. Fireworks begin at sunset. A lobster buffet will be available at 6 p.m. and dancing with music provided by a disc jockey will last until 1 a.m. The dinner is $25.95, and $5 will be charged for admission to the pool. Food and beverages will be sold.

Trying not to play bumper cars as I poked my way up torturous York Road recently, I did a double take. Could it be? Yes, indeed, another kebab restaurant has opened in this area, right there next to a cleaners just south of downtown Towson. Is there a market for yet another kebab place? Time will tell but, based on my visit, it appears that Kay's Kabobbi has a good chance of making it. The small space has several tables with white tablecloths and a vase of silk flowers on each. A television blares from one corner, tuned to a station broadcasting in Farsi.

By now, you have probably thought the hype about the "new millennium" had faded. Not so in Glen Burnie, where the New Millennium Cafe is alive and forging ahead full steam. Opened in August, this deli, restaurant and carryout at 11 Vernon Ave., a half-block off Ritchie Highway, offers new and tasty choices to satisfy the fussiest of appetites. Owned by Sina Ighani and Will Edman, this brightly lighted restaurant has two rooms decorated with oak panels and greenery that make you feel welcome as soon as you enter.