Raw Bar

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.

I see a guy I haven't seen for a long time. He's leaning on the wet, wooden counter at Faidley's raw bar in Lexington Market, the one with the sign that says, "Forget Viagra, eat oysters." I say hello. Right away, Tom -- that's the guy -- announces that he's getting out of Baltimore. He hates this town. It's a backwater.Tom, I say, what's wrong? What happened?"Everything," he says, in answer to the first question.I don't know how long Tom has been standing at the raw bar, or whether he's been imbibing malt beverages.

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.

Baltimore's newest African restaurant, Teranga, has opened at 20 W. 21st St. (410-783-0780), just a block west of the Ethiopian restaurant Blue Nile. This is your chance to sample Senegalese food, with dishes like thiebou dieun (fried fish in a sauce of tomatoes, onions, cabbage and eggplant) and maffi kandja (lamb, beef or goat in a peanut butter sauce with tomatoes and okra).Teranga is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, with a lunch buffet for $6.99 and one at dinner for $7.99.

You want wings? Do we have wings for you. We have Buffalo style (a secret recipe), we have teriyaki wings, we have Buffalo garlic, hickory bbq, honey mustard, Jamaican jerk, pepper Parmesan and Cajun spiced. (Those last two come with pepper Parmesan dressing and Cajun sauce respectively instead of blue cheese dressing.)Not hot enough for you? How about Nuclear Wings (extra cayenne powder)? Or Wings From Hell (the original recipe laced with diced jalapeno peppers)?Actually it's Padonia Station that has all these wings, in so many different flavors and quantities (up to 100 for $32.95)

Although there's nothing you love as much as a fat, briny oyster on the half shell straight from the sea, you've gotten a little nervous about raw shellfish lately. Oysters Rockefeller are good, but sometimes the oysters get lost among the spinach and Pernod. What to do?Well, you might try the baked oysters casino at Michael's Cafe, Raw Bar and Grill. It's an unorthodox treatment, but the kitchen resists loading down these plump beauties with bread crumbs. Each has a bit of crisp bacon and seasoned butter and is baked just long enough.

Hours after the black-tie New Year's Eve party at McGarvey's Saloon in Annapolis, a three-alarm fire struck the downtown landmark. Only one section of the business was damaged, and there were no injuries."

Hours after the black-tie New Year's Eve bash at McGarvey's Saloon in Annapolis, a three-alarm fire struck the downtown landmark. One section of the business was damaged by fire, and no one was injured."

Not many restaurants could get a friend of mine to sing her order for a free beer. (After all, I'm footing the bill anyway.) So give Fins credit: From the moment you walk into this four-story tribute to Margaritaville, you can't help but fall under the spell. You are forced to have a good time.Maybe it's the freshly renovated interior, the tropical decor of this Jimmy Buffet beach bar. Or maybe it's the jaunty island music that gets you in the mood. It might even be the relentless good humor of the menu, from the clams "Come Monday" casino to "This is the burger your parents warned you about."

Baja Beach ClubWhere: 55 Market Place.Hours: 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., Tuesday through Friday, 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday; closed Monday.Menu: pizza, salads, raw bar, burgers. Happy hour, Tuesday to Friday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., features two-for-one drinks and a buffet including shrimp and roast beef.Credit cards: All major cards accepted.Call: 727-0468. Summer is still weeks away, but you wouldn't know it from a visit to the Baja Beach Club. There it seems like an endless summer -- and the place just opened.

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.

It is a custom in this town at year's end for folks to gather around a plate of raw oysters. The oysters are loaded both with tangy flavor and with zinc that puts fuel in your firebox. The gathering provides good cheer. As 2007 drew to a close, I visited several spots around Baltimore where bivalves were plump and the conversations friendly. There was nary a bad mollusk or moment in my expedition. That means, of course, I will repeat this ritual next December. Nick's Inner Harbor Seafood Address --Cross Street Market, 1065 S. Charles St. Phone --410-685-2020 Hours --11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday This raw bar in the colorful Cross Street Market features comfortable seats, prize-winning shuckers and easy conversation.

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.

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.

Add another restaurant to the local scene. And to the number of nosh-eries owned by Steve de Castro. The B-more hotspot honcho can already claim the Ruth's Chris Steakhouses, Havana Club, Eurasian Harbor and Babalu Grill in his fleet of upscale eateries. And as of this week, he's added another. The Blue Sea Grill has just opened in the spot vacated last year by the short-lived Cafe Asia-turned-Red Coral. It's in a convenient spot, tucked between Ruth's Chris and Babalu on Water Street. The space features seascape paintings on curvy blue walls, with banquettes and tables throughout.

To be fair, Ryleigh's doesn't claim to be a restaurant. The Federal Hill establishment, which opened in November, describes itself as a brew pub and raw bar. So maybe it's not fair to expect restaurant-quality food. However, a brew pub ought to have beer that is decent, not flat and bland. I sent back my Marble Golden Ale because it had no fizz and got another that wasn't much better. Another, called Raspberry Wheat, was so sweet and carbonation-free it seemed more like a juice than a brew.

Razorback's Food: ** 1/2 stars Service: *** stars Atmosphere: ** stars Where: Dulaney Valley Shopping Center, Towson Hours: Open every day for lunch and dinner Prices: Appetizers, $5.95-$9.95; main courses, $9.95-$24.95 Call: 410-821-9550 The new Razorback's Raw Bar & Grill in Towson fills a particular niche: It offers ribs for yuppies. This is not a bad thing unless you're a purist about your barbecue - that is, if you believe that real barbecue can only come from a shack with a woodpile out back.

You know downtown Baltimore has reached the big leagues when dinner for four at a Marriott coffee shop costs $200. Of course, this is the shiny new Marriott Waterfront, and the management would never label Grille 700 anything so plebeian as a coffee shop. Still, you can get breakfast and lunch as well as dinner here, and there's a formal dining room scheduled to open in the hotel sometime soon. So to my mind it's a coffee shop. And what a beautiful one it is. Its dark wood and swooping curves suggest a luxury ocean liner, and the large windows open out to a watery view.

I see a guy I haven't seen for a long time. He's leaning on the wet, wooden counter at Faidley's raw bar in Lexington Market, the one with the sign that says, "Forget Viagra, eat oysters." I say hello. Right away, Tom -- that's the guy -- announces that he's getting out of Baltimore. He hates this town. It's a backwater.Tom, I say, what's wrong? What happened?"Everything," he says, in answer to the first question.I don't know how long Tom has been standing at the raw bar, or whether he's been imbibing malt beverages.

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.