Restaurant

An email was forwarded to me announcing Wednesday night's reopening of Kaufman's Tavern in Gambrills. I gave Kaufmann's a call, and manager Daniel Carr confirmed that the sprawling restaurant would be open on Wednesday, Aug. 31, the first night since Hurricane Irene came through town and knocked Kaufmann's for a loop. Irene did a number on Kaufmann's, smashing a tree down on a car its lot and generally playing havoc with the expansive deck area that had been remodeled only this past spring.

Howard County police are investigating a shooting early Sunday morning at a Taco Bell restaurant on Minstrel Way in Columbia. Police responded at about 1 a.m. to reports that a manager had been confronted and shot multiple times by two unknown men outside the restaurant. Employees at the store called police. The manager, whom police did not identify, was flow by Medevac to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center where he was listed in critical condition. Howard County police said an investigation continues.

The Eater DC posted this funny story. Rogue 24, a newly opened "urban fine dining restaurant" in Washington, D.C., is making its customer sign a two-page "reservation agreement" before being accepted. Some of Rogue 24 's rules are just bossy -- cell phones and camera are banned during the three-hour dinners. That's not crazy, but "Oh, Brother!" is the only response to the stated reason for the policy: "All guests should be able to enjoy the experiences that surround them at Rogue 24 free of distraction.

"Top Chef" alum Bryan Voltaggio is busier than ever. Besides "Volt Ink," the new book written by him and his brother, Michael, he has two restaurant projects under way. According to Tom Sietsema of The Washington Post , the first restaurant, which is tentatively called North Market Kitchen, is a 10,000-square-foot space in Frederick that will seat more than 200 in its dining room, and will also house a specialty store and exhibition kitchen....

A question arrived this week from reader Ellen Karp: "My Mother used to bring me to the Hippodrome Theatre to see the Disney movies. Afterwards, we would walk across the street to have a meal at what I think was a bar-restaurant or possibly just a deli. … I recall having a hot dog with a slice of bologna on it and remember that the mustard was different and better than what we had at home. It seemed very exotic to me and very grown up. The place was long and narrow with tall wooden booths on the right side, I think, and blue mirrors along the wall.

It looks like Brian Bruso has left Gitan Bistro Cru. You can follow the drama on Bruso's Twitter account, which is connected to his former restaruant, Birches. 1) Please acccept our sincerest apologies for your favorite Gitan Menu items slowly disappearing. :( 1:11 AM - 22 Mar 12 2) Ownership / Management @Gitan has reduced our ability to provide the level of food & excellence you would expect from us personally. 1:12 AM - 22 Mar 12 3) Feel free to lodge any complaints or concerns with Gitan's GM Jessica Nadeau!

Baltimore-inspired restaurant named Lake Trout is set to open Wednesday on Havemeyer Street in Brooklyn , N.Y.  The star of the menu is an iconic Baltimore sandwich, and the walls are decorated with enlargements of 70s-era Orioles, Colts and Bullets playing cards. Not surprisingly, one of the collaborators in the 14-seat restaurant is a native Baltimorean, Matt Lang, who has made a name for himself in the New York food world. He was the grillmaster at Fette Sau BBQ and was the winner on the Food Network 's "Best of Smoke" show.

He ate buffalo wings and drank nine Blue Moon drafts at Burke's Cafe. At Shucker's, he washed down a pound of steamed shrimp with three glasses of Tanqueray Gin, two Coronas, a Heineken and a Johnny Walker Black Label scotch. Day after day, year after year, Andrew Palmer dined at restaurants all over Baltimore and beyond, including Anne Arundel, Baltimore and St. Mary's counties. He even traveled as far south as Florida and sampled restaurants there. His tastes ran the gamut: a Chinese joint in Fells Point one day, the upscale Capital Grille at the Inner Harbor another.

Restaurateur Lawrence J. Thanner Jr. gladly welcomed a visitor aboard his "boat," as he called it, pointing out the features of the craft he had just built and lashed to the pier at Dock of the Bay restaurant on Millers Island. The thing has no engine, no sail, tiller or steering wheel, not even a discernible bow or stern. "This is my boat, my first attempt at boat-building," he said. "Perhaps the next one will be a little different design. " Made of treated lumber, the 12-by-20-foot raft was built and "launched" this month as the latest chapter in Thanner's continuing battle with authorities to offer musical entertainment at Dock of the Bay, a year-round place now entering its busy season.

Just three months after Milan opened its doors, billing itself as a restaurant-lounge "where food meets fashion," it seems a few more introductions are in order: Milan, meet Little Italy. And Little Italy, meet what could be the future. The old city neighborhood that's been known to split bitterly over bocce court lighting has turned its feisty spirit on the sleek newcomer. Complaining that Milan is more nightclub than restaurant, attracting noisy crowds and employing outside promoters, a group of neighbors has petitioned the city not to renew Milan's liquor license.