Salad Sandwich

The melody of the president's voice, the intensity of his movements gripped Jeremy Brickey's attention, cutting through the monotony of freshman orientation at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Honestly though, he thought Freeman A. Hrabowski III had to be "full of it. " Who brings that kind of dynamism to rote encounters with students? Two years later, Brickey asked to meet with Hrabowski, this time to discuss his fraternity's return to campus after a suspension for serving alcohol to minors and pledging academically ineligible members.

Naomi Stoltzfus, a young Amish woman, pushed a cart full of soda she'd just bought at Redner's Warehouse Market across the parking lot of Joppatowne Plaza to another section of the shopping center, where she planned to resell the beverages at the food stall where she works. Stoltzfus is employed at Kreative Kitchens, a salad and sandwich shop in the Amish Market, which occupies part of the Joppa Market Place section of the plaza. "We get a lot of ingredients for the salads from Redner's," Stoltzfus said on a recent Friday.

Usually when I arrive at an airport, as so many holiday travelers will next week, my stomach is churning. I have anxiety about getting through security and making my flight. Most airlines have stopped serving real, complimentary meals in coach. My solution: Find some takeout fare at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to soothe my stomach. Here is what I found, terminal by terminal, beyond security. Chesapeake Bay Roasting Co. Location --Terminal D Phone --410-859-1154 Hours --5 a.m.-8:30 p.m. daily This coffee shop offers pre-packaged sandwiches.

I was momentarily confused by the sign behind the lunch counter at the Charlesmead Pharmacy. "Please Do Not Spin," the sign said. I finally realized it was not some kind of directive to political advisers. Rather, it was a response to the flock of kids who have, no doubt, sat down and promptly spun themselves off one of the old-fashioned, green counter stools. In this era of huge chain drugstores, Charlesmead remains a kinder, gentler throwback that has been a fixture in the North Baltimore area of Cedarcroft for decades.

Every neighborhood should have something like the Blue Cow Cafe. Tucked in one of Columbia's many neighborhood centers, the family-run cafe sells newspapers, coffee drinks, bagels in the morning, peanut-butter sandwiches for the kids, and a wide-ranging and tasty selection of salads and sandwiches for the rest of us. The cafe is run by Karen Blue, who grew up nearby in Columbia's Thunder Hill neighborhood, and her husband/chef, Mark. They've worked a miracle to turn a sterile, fluorescent-lighted space into a cozy eatery with artwork for sale on the walls and checker tables ready for action.

Maybe it was all those fishy lunches I ate as a kid, but on summer afternoons I have a yen for a tuna-salad sandwich. I know there are upscale versions of this sandwich out there that mix chunks of high-quality tuna with walnuts and grapes, or with fennel, tarragon and capers. But on this go-round I kept it simple: canned tuna salad on rye with lettuce and tomato, served at downtown eateries. During a sunny noon hour when tourists were meandering through Harborplace, office workers were dodging Redwood Street construction crews, and the lunchtime throngs filled Lexington Market, I went fishing for tuna-salad sandwiches.

Elementary schools Tomorrow: Chicken tenders, potato rounds, roll, watermelon, trail mix. Tuesday: Orange juice, scrambled eggs, sausage patty, waffle with syrup, baked cinnamon apple. Wednesday: Student-planned menu. Thursday: Ham and cheese on roll, baked potato bar with choice of toppings, pears, chocolate cake. Friday: Stuffed crust pizza, tossed salad, fresh fruit, cookie. Note: Peanut butter sandwich available daily; half-pint of milk served with each menu (35 cents separately)

Sascha's at Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St., (410) 332-0033. The concept is simple. The fixed price of $11 buys a seasonally appropriate soup, a choice of eight entrees, salad, good French bread and one of several simple desserts. The buffet opens an hour and a half before Center Stage performances, but you don't need a ticket to the play to eat there. Judging from the night we were there, the best bet might be one of the interesting cold entrees, like the Bangkok chicken salad with tabbouleh and marinated Oriental vegetables or the open-faced shrimp salad sandwich with two salads.

OLDE PHILADELPHIA INN9510 Philadelphia Road, White Marsh. Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 10 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays. Call 687-5757.Hardly anybody calls this friendly, appetite-satisfying place by its real name. Go there once and it becomes "the OPI," one of those tavern/restaurant establishments that have earned the honored title of neighborhood eatery.Previously located across Philadelphia Road in a quaint old corner house, the restaurant moved a couple of years ago into this corner of a shopping center.

So is a $15 can of gourmet tuna really better than a $1.89 can of Bumblebee? We asked a panel of food experts: C.J. Gabrielson, sous-chef at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant; Nick Hoang, corporate sushi chef for Red Coral restaurant; Elizabeth Large, The Sun's restaurant critic; and Rob Kasper, The Sun's food columnist. They sampled Conservas Alegria bonita tuna in olive oil from Dean & Deluca, Dave's albacore tuna in olive oil from Whole Foods Market, Ortiz bonito tuna in olive oil from Zingerman's and Bumblebee's albacore tuna in oil. The verdict: it depends on what you want to do with the tuna.