Macaroni And Cheese

CROSS KEYS DELI Village Food Center in Cross Keys Village. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. (410) 323-8330. Fax: (410) 323-6502. One of the most popular traditions at the Cross Keys Deli is the fried chicken platter. For the past 19 years, the Deli's generous helpings of chicken, Western fries and cole slaw have enlivened my last-minute picnics and Friday night collapses.These days, a chicken platter goes for $3.99 for the chicken breast and $3.89 for the chicken leg. The deli also offers delicious side dishes of macaroni and cheese and escalloped apples, each large serving is $1.89.

* Item: Smithfield Smoked Ham Sausage* What you get: 8 (2 ounce) servings* Cost: About $2* Preparation time: Just heat and serve* Review: If you like Smithfield's famous cured hams and other smoked meats, you'll love this new blend of chopped fresh ham and country-cured ham in a sausage casing. It's a nice change of pace on the grill or warmed in the microwave. Cut it in chunks and add to scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, or even baked beans. Use it on an updated sausage sandwich. My only quibble is the portion size.

The toilet bowl races are back, and so is the Great Baltimore Mac Off, a macaroni and cheese cooking competition. But there's something new at Hampdenfest this year - the Baltimore Inter-restaurant Battle. The obstacle course event will take place at the corner of 36th St. and Elm Ave. on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This year's battle -- organizers hope to make it in annual thing -- will be designed around the Dining Room, of what the pros call the Front of House. The challenges will test the participants memory, intelligence, dexterity and skills.

As a cuisine connoisseur -- with a specialty in soul food -- one of the most exciting things about moving to a new city is all of the restaurants to be discovered. A few years ago, I moved from New Orleans to Baltimore with high expectations. With a similar African-American population, surely Charm City would offer a bevy of eateries with foods founded by its largest ethnic group -- perfectly seasoned fried chicken, oh-so-tender collard greens, or sugary-sweet honey butter cornbread. While Baltimore does not have the equivalent of a marquee soul food restaurant like Washington's B. Smith's, New York's Sylvia's or New Orleans' Dooky Chase, it does have several offerings near the downtown area that satisfy the craving.

Stanley Levy from Baltimore was in search of the recipe for the cheesy potato casserole that he enjoyed at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Pennsylvania. He said it reminded him of macaroni and cheese but instead of pasta it was made with potatoes. A search of the Cracker Barrel website did not yield any recipes, so I contacted the company's office of corporate communications outside Nashville. Tenn., and described the dish that Levy was seeking. They thought that in all likelihood it was the popular hash brown casserole.

Barbara J. Vincent, a postal worker who enjoyed cooking, died Friday of cancer at a sister's Pikesville home. She was 62. Ms. Vincent was born in Baltimore and raised in Somerset Homes in East Baltimore. She was a 1964 graduate of St. Frances Academy and studied at the Community College of Baltimore City. Since 1968, Ms. Vincent had worked at the main U.S. Post Office on East Fayette Street, where she was a registered mail clerk. Ms. Vincent, who had lived in Windsor Hills, enjoyed cooking for family and friends.

TAMBER'S 3327 St. Paul St. Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 9 Sundays.(410) 243-0383; FAX (410) 243-0478. Say you're not in the mood for Paul Anka, poodle skirts or retromania. But you do crave some first-rate '50s food, or at least an updated version of it.Tamber's, the Charles Village diner with an extensive carryout menu, fits the bill. There's meatloaf and macaroni and cheese, egg creams and ice cream sodas. But don't be put off by culinary nostalgia. There's also plenty of modern-day fare, including burgers, fries, pizza, salads and subs.

WERNIG COUNTRY MEATS6301 York Road. Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Closed Mondays. Call 435-7036.This family-owned business run by Pat and Bill Wernig has moved recently from the Belvedere Square shopping center to a new and larger location on York Road. The Wernigs specialize in grain-fed beef and poultry raised on their farm in Harford County. The store carries a complete deli line as well as very good homemade soups and cakes.One of Wernig's best items is a whole barbecued chicken roasted on the premises ($2.69 a pound)

THREE STOOGES RESTAURANT34 S. Eutaw St. Hours: Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 752-1915. Quick, clean and friendly -- what more could you want from a downtown restaurant and carryout at 3 o'clock in the morning? Well, of course, there's good food. And Three Stooges fills that order quite well.In recently renovated digs on South Eutaw Street, Three Stooges serves breakfast, lunch and dinner at reasonable prices 24 hours a day.The menu consists of the usual popular carryout fare: omelets, pancakes, home fries, french toast, etc., for breakfast; club sandwiches, subs, Italian dishes, salads, seafood, soups, etc., for lunch and dinner.

Clarence Edward Brunt Sr., a retired factory worker who enjoyed traveling across the country, died of respiratory failure Saturday at Sinai Hospital. The Northwest Baltimore resident was 78. Mr. Brunt was born in Baltimore and raised in Fairfield. He was a 1946 graduate of Douglass High School, served in the Army and had attended Pennsylvania State University. He worked for 35 years at Harbison-Walker Refractories Co. on East Patapsco Avenue in Brooklyn, until retiring in 1986.