Nachos

Many of us throw our healthy-eating out the door at football game-watch parties. I mean who wants to eat veggies when there are chicken wings, spinach dip, sausage dogs and nachos on the menu? Maryland's First Lady Katie O'Malley wants people to at least try to eat healthy when the Ravens play the New England Patriots on Sunday. She launched the ChopChop Maryland ! initiative last year to promote healthy eating. This week the initiative has a recipe for a healthy cole slaw to eat on Game Day called Purple Slaw.

The College of Notre Dame will be known as Notre Dame of Maryland University starting next fall, school officials announced Tuesday at an on-campus pep rally. President Mary Pat Seurkamp said the new name, chosen by a unanimous vote of the board of trustees Oct. 30, is a nod to a long tradition of all-women's undergraduate education and to Notre Dame's evolution into a more complex institution that offers doctoral degrees in education and pharmacy. "We needed a name that pointed to the best of both worlds," she said.

Wait, I thought the Governor was supposed to be some super a-hole, like in the comic books, where he was a raping, murdering, torturing psychopath? In Sunday night's episode of The Walking Dead , we finally meet the gov', and he comes across as a stand-up dude, at first. He brings Andrea and Michonne into his charming little town of Woodbury (population 73, soon to be 74), sees to it that Andrea gets medical treatment for her persistent flu-like symptoms, sets them up in a nice little bed and breakfast room with running water, peaches, bottled water and fresh clothes, and feeds them strangled eggs and mystery tea. He even offers them food, ammo, meds and a new car if they insist on leaving!

The Tilted Kilt is a Celtic-themed chain bar-restaurant where the waitresses are less-dressed than the Caesar salad; think Hooters dressed up in skimpy tartan duds. At first glance, it looks like the only thing it's got going for it is a good view, and maybe excellent fried chicken. At other bars with scantily dressed waitresses, there's little craft beer and not many draft lines — just your usual domestic swill. But, the Kilt, open since September, is an unpretentious, affordable spot with ample beer options.

Another former Oriole is getting into the food-service business at a Baltimore stadium.The minor-league Baysox announced yesterday that their concessions for the 1993 season at Memorial Stadium will feature "Tippy's Taco Stand" containing a collection of home-style Mexican recipes from the kitchen of Eva Martinez, mother of the Orioles' all-time left-handed saves leader, Tippy Martinez.Last year, former Orioles first baseman Boog Powell opened a barbecue stand that became one of the most popular concessions at Oriole Park.

Does any restaurant in Baltimore not serve cappuccino these days? Maybe not a White Tower, but that's about it. So why is everyone opening up espresso bars at a rate faster than I can get to them? The latest is a wacky little offering called Sector 8, named after the owner's band.Now I think we can safely say that no place named after the owner's band is going to serve great food. But surprise. Sector 8 serves decent food. Owner Curtis Pozell has wisely kept the menu very, very simple. In spite of the "Star Trek" and "Next Gen" influences, so that dishes have names like tuna lunar and galactic pasta salad, we're basically talking ham and cheese sandwiches, tuna salad and nachos.

Ruby Tuesday -- in case anyone in Baltimore hasn't heard of it -- is the granddaddy of full-service restaurant chains. (The first one opened in 1972.) Mostly around here you find Ruby Tuesdays in malls, but now one has opened next to Borders Books & Music in Towson, where L & N Seafood used to be. (The two chains are owned by the same company.)As far as I could tell, converting L & N to a Ruby Tuesday involved not a lot more than putting up enormous numbers of Tiffany-style lamps, various sports memorabilia and lots of TV screens tuned to ESPN.

Baltimore eateries - and their owners - nabbed top honors at the Restaurant Association of Maryland's Annual Awards Gala last week. "Restaurateur of the Year" went to Steve De Castro - owner of four Ruth's Chris steakhouses, as well as the Havana Club, Eurasian Harbor and Babalu Grill. The Bicycle was named winner of the Diners Choice Award, new this year. For the first time, restaurant fans could go online (www.marylan drestaurants.com) and vote for their favorite new place in which to dine out - a restaurant that has been open only since 2000.

What do blues music, ribs and a windmill have in common? It's obvious, if you've stopped in at Red, Hot & Blue on Old Mill Bottom Road in Annapolis: great food. Open since November 1991, this restaurant, less than 25 miles from Baltimore, was formerly known as the Dutch Pancake House. It has a towering windmill that catches glances from motorists traveling east on U.S. 50 toward the Bay Bridge -- especially since the windmill vanes have "flying pink pigs" on the ends. The food served here is Memphis-style, with appealing spicy barbecue sauce as the main feature.

Dining at the Cheshire Crab reinforces the notion that appearances often can be deceiving.Our object lesson began with the drive to the restaurant. As we turned off Fort Smallwood Road and drove down a series of residential streets, my dinner companions expressed doubts about my navigational skills. However, when the restaurant's well-lighted sign appeared on our right, they immediately became believers.When we walked onto the expansive deck of the restaurant, which overlooks Main Creek and a marina, and saw people in shorts at picnic tables picking at piles of crabs, we had the feeling we were in the wrong place.