Saffron

Tony and Ann Chemmanoor are going for a lucky seven. Last week, they opened their seventh restaurant in the Baltimore area, in the Mount Vernon space previously occupied by the Ruby Lounge. But, unlike their six Bombay Grills, the new place isn't an Indian restaurant. Tony Chemmanoor says he's aiming for a new dining concept for Baltimore. The name is a clue -- Saffron -- after the classic Indian spice. Think modern fine dining with creative European and Asian influences. Then toss Indian spices into the mix. Check out the menu.

Caviar: The Strange History and Uncertain Future of the World's Most Coveted Delicacy, by Inga Saffron (Broadway Books, 256 pages, $23.95). Saffron first tasted more than a hint of caviar not long after arriving in 1994 as Moscow-based Russian correspondent for the Philadelphia Inquirer. She became obsessed -- as by the enormously complex history, both natural and economic -- of the salt-preserved eggs of sturgeon, one of the most primitive and grotesque of all fish. She also loved the stuff.

As restaurant names go, Semolina is more appealing than, say, Bob's Crab Shack, but it doesn't give you much information. It doesn't suggest the new bistro and bar's appealing location at water's edge, or the mix-and-match decor that shouldn't work but does, or the au courant but not silly food. And it certainly doesn't connect this new Italian-influenced venture with Dorothy and John Saki's other restaurant, the upscale Louisiana in Fells Point. Only if you know your wheats will you guess that the kitchen turns out intriguing pastas and semolina-crust pizzas in the spot where the now-defunct Yacht Club, and before that Portobello, used to be. It's a fine location.

Sophisticated ladies Liz Claiborne's spring collection can be best described in two words: feminine and sophisticated. Florals, embroidered blouses, silk taffeta shirts, soft pastels and bright splashes of yellow, pink and orange are some of the hallmarks. Some looks we liked: * Saffron silk taffeta shirt ($89) * Poppy print cotton sleeveless dress ($119) * Pink frosting nylon-spandex shirt ($34), paired with pink sorbet silk taffeta wrap skirt with modern Taj border ($119) Forward march to these khakis The need: The perfect pair of khakis.

The quality of life has gone up a notch in Towson in the last few months. But if you haven't eaten at the Garden Spot Cafe, you just don't know it yet.Open since July, Paul and Jane Resko's restaurant looks a lot like the way it did when it was a Donna's Coffee Bar. The glass cases up front are still a major presence. The counter is the same cool marble. But framed prints of garden scenes dress up the walls and potted ficus soften the view out the front windows. The place still feels like a lunchtime cafe, though, with the bright lighting and open floor plan.

Inspiration for today's menu comes from George Goins, the spa chef at the Doral Spa in Miami. The recipes are light in fat and calories yet delicious enough to serve for company.The salad features slices of fresh tomatoes and oranges fanned over a bed of romaine lettuce. For a dressing, you need only combine some raspberry vinegar with a drop of olive oil and drizzle over all.The dessert can be easily concocted by mixing 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice and 2/3 cup powdered sugar with 8 ounces of softened reduced-fat cream cheese.

Elizabeth J. TatnallGardenerElizabeth Jeanes Tatnall, who had been active in civic and garden groups on the Eastern Shore, died Friday of heart and circulatory failure at Memorial Hospital in Easton. She was 93 and had lived at the William Hill Manor retirement community in Easton since 1982.She and her husband, Henry Chase Tatnall, moved from suburban Philadelphia to Royal Oak in 1952. Mr. Tatnall died in 1964.Mrs. Tatnall, who grew roses, was a charter member of the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore and a Garden Club of America judge.

"Green M&M's," that's what a friend's children call the sweet, succulent young peas that come fresh from the family garden plot this time of year.In my own, much smaller, garden, I have planted peas for the past two years. Last year the weather got too hot too early, and the crop languished. This year the dozen or so plants are producing valiantly, but I can't seem to get the peas into thehouse before they're eaten.Fortunately, fresh peas are available at groceries and farmers markets, and tiny new peas are almost as good frozen as they are fresh (freezing retains their sweetness)

Belgian endive is a vegetable with an identity crisis: It is not especially Belgian, and it is not the same as the salad green called endive, though they belong to the same botanical family, that of the dandelion. Belgian endive is called witloof chicory, which perhaps is what led it to change its name.In addition, it is not something that springs up in the garden as you see it in stores: It must be forced and blanched. The roots are dug up, cooled, planted deep in containers, kept in a cool room or basement and watered sparingly.