Raw Bar

Whether you want to relax at its Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa or want to dance all night at the massive nightclub, The Pool, Harrah's offers many different options for an Atlantic City trip. Casino hours: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Games to play: There are 170 table games of craps, roulette, big six and more. There are also 2,722 slot machines. Entertainment: Concerts and shows range from stand-up comedian Ron White (June 16) to Irish folk band Celtic Thunder (June 27)

Whether you want to relax at its Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa or want to dance all night at the massive nightclub, The Pool, Harrah's offers many different options for an Atlantic City trip. Casino hours: 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Games to play: There are 170 table games of craps, roulette, big six and more. There are also 2,722 slot machines. Entertainment: Concerts and shows range from stand-up comedian Ron White (June 16) to Irish folk band Celtic Thunder (June 27)

Mark your calendars. The Tiki Barge has set April 13 as its opening date for the season. Tiki's manager Bud Craven confirmed the news Thursday. Craven is still nursing his wounds from a March Liquor Board hearing that denied his plans to build a seafood restaurant and raw bar barge right next to the existing Tiki. At the time, the board concluded that the foot traffic to the combined barges would be too heavy for Harborview Marina.  When the old Tiki Barge re-opens next Friday, it'll be back to what fans have gotten accustomed to for the past two years, Craven said.

Mark your calendars. The Tiki Barge has set April 13 as its opening date for the season. Tiki's manager Bud Craven confirmed the news Thursday. Craven is still nursing his wounds from a March Liquor Board hearing that denied his plans to build a seafood restaurant and raw bar barge right next to the existing Tiki. At the time, the board concluded that the foot traffic to the combined barges would be too heavy for Harborview Marina.  When the old Tiki Barge re-opens next Friday, it'll be back to what fans have gotten accustomed to for the past two years, Craven said.

A waterside Fells Point eatery has brought a little more of the sea inside. Last weekend, Shucker's Restaurant and Bar opened its new raw bar. Tony Lombardi - who owns Shucker's with Andy Rosenthal - says the room used to be one of two main dining rooms. Now, the room is more of a bar/lounge area. When you walk in the restaurant's front door off the Broadway Pier, you can go left of the big 400-gallon fish tank into the main dining room, the main bar or a back bar/lounge. Or you can turn right, where you'll find a long Corian-topped bar, divided in the middle by the large iced fresh seafood display set behind a wall of glass.

Fells Point, a waterfront neighborhood, has had a historic shortage of good seafood restaurants. There are one or two very good high-end choices, but the casual options are meager and the mid-range options non-existent. Here comes Thames Street Oyster House , which in the few weeks since its opening has been drawing a steady stream of customers. Part of the instant success at Thames Street has to do with the popular owner, Candace Beattie, who developed a following behind the bar at nearby Alexander's.

John E. Larkin Jr., a seafood dealer whose raw oyster bar became a popular downtown gathering place, died of cardiac arrest Sunday at St. Agnes Hospital. The Catonsville resident was 71. Born in Baltimore and raised in Catonsville, he attended Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy and was a 1955 Mount St. Joseph High School graduate. Family members said that he remained close to his teachers, members of the Xaverian Brothers, throughout his life. He entered the seafood business as a young man. Multiple generations of Larkins had worked in the Baltimore seafood industry and owned stalls at Lexington, Hollins and Belair markets.

The Tiki Barge won't have a twin barge this Spring after all. Owners of the popular and controversial floating barge had planned to build a seafood and raw bar aboard a second barge this Spring, but the Baltimore Liquor Board Thursday sided with neighbors who opposed the idea. The decision was a major disappointment for Tiki manager Bud Craven, who was ready to start construction Monday.  "I'm real surprised," Craven said after the hearing. "A lot of time and a lot of money has already been spent on this project.

On the morning a fire devasted the Mt. Washington Tavern, its two owners, Rob Frisch and Dave Lichty, rushed to the scene convinced the incident would be minor. "While we were driving down, my wife said, 'I still have to get a Halloween costume because I'm bartending tonight,'" Lichty said. "We didn't know what were walking into. " The two owners had been working at the restaurant since their early 20s, each doing his best to keep together a bar and restaurant that was famous for its consistency and that had become a mainstay in the city, and especially during the annual Preakness Stakes.

Brasserie Brightwell is the new Easton restaurant from Brian Fox and Brendan Keegan, the brother-in-law team behind successful and well-received 208 Talbot and its offshoot, 208 Burger , in nearby St Michaels. Brightwell, which describes itself as a "cafe and comptoir" has been open since just before Thanksgiving in the Easton Market Square development in Talbot County. ("Comptoir" means counter, and I guess that might refer to the raw bar as well as the one serving spirits.

Ryleigh's Oyster in Federal Hill now has its own oyster -- Avery's Pearls, named after Avery McComas, the younger daughter of the restaurant's owners, Jennifer and Brian McComas. Ryleigh's itself was named after their elder daughter, Ryleigh. Avery's Pearls are a collaboration between Ryleigh's and the Shooting Point Oyster Co., a family-owned oyster farm located in a remote stretch of Virginia's Eastern Shore. All aspects of their cultivation, from size, salinity levels, shape and overall appearance were jointly developed in what is being called a first of its kind restaurant-farm partnership.

The Tiki Barge won't have a twin barge this Spring after all. Owners of the popular and controversial floating barge had planned to build a seafood and raw bar aboard a second barge this Spring, but the Baltimore Liquor Board Thursday sided with neighbors who opposed the idea. The decision was a major disappointment for Tiki manager Bud Craven, who was ready to start construction Monday.  "I'm real surprised," Craven said after the hearing. "A lot of time and a lot of money has already been spent on this project.

Heavy Seas Alehouse is open. The new restaurant, the first to carry the name of the popular Baltimore-based brewery, opened its doors very quietly on Tuesday night, a week ahead of its announced official opening. Heavy Seas Alehouse, which has described itself as a neighborhood tavern, takes over the Tack Factory space formerly occupied by Tsunami and Diablita. Technically, the location is Little Italy, but most people think of it as Harbor East. Construction on the restaurant began last November, just around the time that the first announcement of the project was made.

On the morning a fire devasted the Mt. Washington Tavern, its two owners, Rob Frisch and Dave Lichty, rushed to the scene convinced the incident would be minor. "While we were driving down, my wife said, 'I still have to get a Halloween costume because I'm bartending tonight,'" Lichty said. "We didn't know what were walking into. " The two owners had been working at the restaurant since their early 20s, each doing his best to keep together a bar and restaurant that was famous for its consistency and that had become a mainstay in the city, and especially during the annual Preakness Stakes.

Fells Point, a waterfront neighborhood, has had a historic shortage of good seafood restaurants. There are one or two very good high-end choices, but the casual options are meager and the mid-range options non-existent. Here comes Thames Street Oyster House , which in the few weeks since its opening has been drawing a steady stream of customers. Part of the instant success at Thames Street has to do with the popular owner, Candace Beattie, who developed a following behind the bar at nearby Alexander's.

Brasserie Brightwell is the new Easton restaurant from Brian Fox and Brendan Keegan, the brother-in-law team behind successful and well-received 208 Talbot and its offshoot, 208 Burger , in nearby St Michaels. Brightwell, which describes itself as a "cafe and comptoir" has been open since just before Thanksgiving in the Easton Market Square development in Talbot County. ("Comptoir" means counter, and I guess that might refer to the raw bar as well as the one serving spirits.

August may be the time for folks to go away. This year, it seems it's also the time for some local restaurants to disappear. The popular Owings Mills bistro Due closed recently. However, its food can still be found in its sister restaurant, Linwood's, right next door. One of Linwood's managers, Rachel Zundell, says the Due menu was rolled into that of Linwood's. The Due space is being turned into a catering venue. Linwood's Restaurant, 410-356-3030, is at 25 Crossroads Drive. Lunch is served 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Bucking Columbia's trend toward chain restaurants, two independently owned eating places -- Sonoma's Bar and Grille and Columbia Crab House and Raw Bar -- have opened in Owen Brown village in the past few months.Sonoma's, which serves seafood, salads and Southwestern-style dishes, opened in the village center about three weeks ago and had its grand opening Friday, said Steve Heintzelman, owner and operator.The 15-employee restaurant is in the space formerly occupied by Cover to Cover bookstore and cafe that was renovated during the past several months, Heintzelman said.

John E. Larkin Jr., a seafood dealer whose raw oyster bar became a popular downtown gathering place, died of cardiac arrest Sunday at St. Agnes Hospital. The Catonsville resident was 71. Born in Baltimore and raised in Catonsville, he attended Leonard Hall Junior Naval Academy and was a 1955 Mount St. Joseph High School graduate. Family members said that he remained close to his teachers, members of the Xaverian Brothers, throughout his life. He entered the seafood business as a young man. Multiple generations of Larkins had worked in the Baltimore seafood industry and owned stalls at Lexington, Hollins and Belair markets.