Pub

There aren't many sports bars in Charles Village. But CVP , short for Charles Village Pub , more than makes up for them. The spacious pub is, by now, an institution among Johns Hopkins students and neighbors, often called the city's quintessential college bar. It's so established in the neighborhood — it turned 30 this year — it hasn't found it urgent to update its creaky website. But no matter — every week, loads of people pack the St. Paul Street bar to watch sports and take advantage of dirt-cheap specials.

Look around! Christmas has come to Hampden once again. As if it wouldn't. As if you could miss if it you wanted to. But if I may speak frankly for just a moment (and really, would you be reading this column if I didn't speak frankly?), of all the great neighborhoods in our city, Hampden by far is the most Christmasey. Don't get me wrong, other neighborhoods display really nice holiday spirit, but no one can touch the holiday cheer that Hampden puts on display. Aside from the Miracle on 34th Street, we also have the Mayor's Christmas Parade.

MaGerk's in Federal Hill has a reputation. If we're being charitable, we could say it's a sports bar for young people. More accurately, it can be referred to as meat-heat central - especially upstairs. But that reputation obscures the fact that MaGerk's is, above all, a highly accommodating sports bar, with lots of flat-screens and several specials just on game days. And, it should also be noted that MaGerk's is not just for Ravens fans. They're also a proud Eagles bar. On Sundays, the sound is split in the building so that fans of each teams can hear their games.

A Baltimore County man who sued Kooper's Tavern and Poncabird Pub over an obscure identity law has voluntarily dropped the lawsuits. A lawsuit against the Middle River bar Catches stands. In September, Ronald L. Bradley, of Baltimore County, sued The Fells Point bar and Poncabird Pub in East Baltimore, as well as Catches, for printing the expiration date of his credit in sales receipts. He claimed that was in violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, a federal law that aims to prevent identity theft.

A pub crawl is simple: Gather some friends, hit some bars and stumble your separate ways home. While fun, the routine can get a little repetitive. That's why, in the past couple years, a number of off-beat bar crawls have sprung up. Now, you and a gang of friends or family can pedal from pub to pub on a custom-made 16-person bicycle, or learn about the haunted bars of Ellicott City — and then hoist a pint inside. You can even cover yourself in fake blood and makeup, and shuffle like a zombie down Harford Road.

After two years of planning and four months of construction, Looney's Pub College Park is officially open. The fourth location of the popular Maryland sports-bar franchise opened last Friday at 5 p.m. on the first floor of the Varsity housing complex. If you've been to any of the other Looney's bars (Canton, Bel-Air or Maple Lawn), you know what to expect: a sports bar with plenty of TVs and solid bar food. The College Park pub has close to 70 high-definition televisions. Live bands will perform Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday nights, while a DJ will spin every other evening.

For almost a decade, the Red House Tavern has been a fixture for live music and beer on a quiet side street in Canton. But anyone who remembers the old Red House Tavern will be in for a pleasant surprise these days. A new owner, some major remodeling and a thorough cleaning have made the Red House into the comfortable neighborhood pub it was always meant to be. The food at Red House now features more upscale, global fare than the usual corner bar, while leaving old favorites intact.

Set along a clotted section of York Road in Cockeysville, Piv's Pub shares its immediate surroundings with car dealerships, a travel agency and a fast-food burger joint. First impressions: Very un-pub-like, Piv's decor is clean lines and uncluttered walls, its colors muted. It offers a selection of booths and tables of various capacities at various stages of remove from the bar proper. Piv's looks like it wants to be all things to all families. The dish: Lunch can be had here for under $10, as the Reuben proved during this visit.