NEWS
By Jacques Kelly | November 2, 2009
Peter Michael Yagjian, a restaurateur whose Mount Vernon Stable and Saloon brought baby back rib platters to Charles Street, died of a heart attack Tuesday at his Fells Point home. He was 64. Customers said that at his restaurant's peak, lines would form at its door on weekend nights. Mr. Yagjian, as the host and greeter, would dart around tables trying to accommodate one more party in his crowded and noisy bistro that featured a reproduction Egyptian mummy case and other eclectic decorations.
NEWS
By Frederick N. Rasmussen | October 17, 2009
Richard Michael Pirone, a Baltimore restaurateur and founding senior partner of the Country Fare Group, a consortium that owns and operates some of the area's best-known restaurants, died Saturday of a heart attack at his Ellicott City home. The former longtime Homeland and Roland Park resident was 66. Born in New York City into a large Italian family, Mr. Pirone spent his early years in the city's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood before moving to Massapequa, L.I., with his family. "His family was poor, his father worked two jobs as a postal worker and at Con-Edison, but there was always plenty of good food on the table," said Mr. Pirone's wife of 39 years, the former Kathleen Wills.
NEWS
By Elizabeth Large | October 14, 2009
Ronnie Brooks, Yanna Foster and Victoria Coleman make up the gospel group Immeasurable. As of last week, they are also the owners of a new soul food restaurant, Immeasurable Chicken & Waffle (1700 W. Pratt St., 888-801-2863). I asked the group's assistant, Michelle Guess, why a gospel group would open a restaurant. "They wanted a place the community could have a good, nonalcoholic time," she said. "They wanted to bring back something positive to Baltimore." Chicken and waffles are a good place to start, but the menu doesn't stop there.
NEWS
By Elizabeth Large | September 20, 2009
Think of it as Woodberry Kitchen, the Inner Harbor Edition. Of course, no restaurant wants to be known as a clone of another restaurant, and this one isn't; but the new B&O American Brasserie ought to take the comparison as a compliment. Woodberry Kitchen is one of our few success stories in the past couple of years. The B&O American Brasserie is the restaurant adjacent to the Hotel Monaco Baltimore. It's a handsome, contemporary space on two levels, with a mezzanine overlooking the bar and exhibition kitchen.
NEWS
By Sam Sessa | August 27, 2009
The Brass Elephant, a landmark Mount Vernon restaurant known for its fine dining and elegant atmosphere, has closed. Mounting expenses and a dwindling customer base contributed to co-owner Randy Stahl's decision to shut the restaurant this week. Stahl and the other owners recently put the four-story building up for sale with the intention of using the money to help keep the restaurant afloat. Though there are interested buyers, they haven't completed a deal yet, he said. If the building sells, Stahl hopes to reopen the restaurant under the same name but with a new direction, he said.
NEWS
By ELIZABETH LARGE | August 26, 2009
Should I tell you not to walk in when there's a "help wanted" sign posted in the window? That's probably too obvious. Here's my list of the Top 10 Mistakes Restaurant Goers Should Avoid, which appeared last week on my blog, Dining@Large (baltimoresun.com/diningatlarge): 1 Making your reservation at 7 p.m. (like everyone else in Baltimore). 2 Eating out on Mother's Day. Every other holiday I can think of reasons why you would want to eat out, but there are better ways to honor your mother than taking her out on the busiest restaurant day of the year.
NEWS
By Richard Gorelick | August 6, 2009
In my life as a reviewer, I never get to visit chain restaurants. In real life, I don't frequent them, but I don't go out of my way to avoid them, either. When the restaurant intended for this review was closed, though, we ended up eating at Noodles & Company, and I'm glad we did. For one thing, it was a very satisfying evening for me and the multi-generational family I had made plans with. And, for another, it's very useful for me to know about "fast casual" places like Noodles & Company since they're increasingly the direct competition for the kind of locally owned restaurant I typically do review.
NEWS
By ELIZABETH LARGE | June 3, 2009
There are some restaurants that do what they set out to do without having many detractors. Here are the top 10 least controversial places that I think best fit that description. After the name, I've put the restaurant's reputation. Of course not everyone loves them, but it's hard to hate them. They pretty much deliver what they promise. The list is in alphabetical order: 1 Amicci's in Little Italy. Its reputation: Good pastas, the neighborhood's most reasonably priced, casual, fun restaurant.
NEWS
By ELIZABETH LARGE | March 18, 2009
For something a little different, last week's Top 10 on Dining@Large was a list of the most promising restaurants that have opened recently or are soon to open, and it told why they may be worth a visit. Of course, I'm not saying when I'll get around to reviewing them. Here's my list in alphabetical order: 1 Alizee in Homewood. The boutique bistro and wine bar opened recently where the Spice Company used to be in the Inn at the Colonnade. Specialties include fushi, fusion sushi. 2 Cuadrado on North Avenue.
NEWS
By Brent Jones | January 8, 2009
If projections hold true for Saturday's Ravens playoff game, Padonia Station will see double. About 35 workers at the Cockeysville restaurant are expected to serve 3,000 pounds of Buffalo wings and more than 100 cases of beer to a crowd of near 400, twice the numbers for a regular-season game day. Baltimore-area bars and restaurants such as Padonia Station have cashed in on the Ravens' run, generating business at a time when the sagging economy has...