Seafood

The story of a 24-year-old Georgia graduate student fighting a flesh-eating disease has prompted a microbiologist with the Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System to speak out about the infection. Aimee Copeland lost most of her left leg after the flesh-eating bacteria necrotizing faciitis is believed to have entered a cut on her leg, according to the Associated Press, which reports she may also have to have her fingers amputated. The waterborne bacteria Aeromonas hydrophila is believed to have caused the infection.

Joe's Crab Shack will open its fourth Maryland restaurant at Hunt Valley Towne Center, the mall's developer, Greenberg Gibbons, said Thursday. The seafood restaurant will open this fall, adding to locations in Abingdon, Greenbelt and Gaithersburg. The 325-seat restaurant will feature a playground under an enclosed patio and a menu of crab and other seafood dishes. Earlier this week, Hunt Valley's developer had announced that women's apparel boutique Eilieen Fisher will open its first Baltimore-area store at the mall in September.

Meet your anglers. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will host its second Bounty of the Bay event, a five-course dinner celebrating the state's seafood and watermen, on Feb. 28 at the Boatyard Bar & Grill in Annapolis. The event is designed in part to give the public a chance to bring watermen, the public and DNR staff to the same table. Here's a video from the first Bounty of the Bay dinner, which was held last March. "We want to remind people that even during the winter months the bay continues to provide us with ample fishing opportunities and plenty of amazing seafood options," said Steve Vilnit, the DNR's fisheries marketing director.

The Maryland Live Casino is getting closer.The Cordish Cos.have announced June 6 as the opening date for its $500 million gaming and entertainment complex. The food and beverage team at Maryland Live has been in place for months, preparing for the casino's first guests. The casino's executive chef is Rudy Volpe, most recently of Carmine's in Washington, and the director of food and beverage for the casino is Greg Van Stone, most recently the director of restaurants for the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando, Fla. Volpe and Van Stone will be responsible for the casino's food operations, including the Live Market Buffet , an Asian noodle bar and a Phillips Seafood outlet.

In promoting his book, "States of Confusion: My 19,000-Mile Detour to Find Direction," author Paul Jury put up a video on the Internets that stereotypes every state in the country in less than two minutes. The video already has more than 1.2 million views on YouTube.  What was Maryland's stereotype?  For our fair state, Jury positioned himself on a couch in comfortable-looking living room, holding a glass of red wine. He said, "Have Jeeves bring the lobster boat around.

A Jessup seafood processor that had been ordered by the Food and Drug Administration to stop operations because it wasn't complying with federal safety laws will resume normal business Thursday with a new food handling plan. The agency said Congressional Seafood Co. Inc. did not document that fish were refrigerated at correct temperatures, failed to keep fish species separate to avoid cross-contamination and did not keep sanitation records. The company delivers seafood in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Washington.

* Item: Washington Quality Batters and Breaders* What you get: Enough to coat 3 to 6 pounds of vegetables or seafood* Cost: About $1.89* Preparation time: Just minutes to mix and bread, three to five minutes per item to fry* Review: Washington brand muffin mixes have been staples in many pantries for years. Now the Ellicott City-based company has added four seafood and one vegetable batter to its line. The tempura batter is easy to mix (just add cold water) and offers a great alternative for vegetables.

Sean Dunsworth has been in the wholesale seafood business for the past decade, and his partner, Robert Rehmert, has worked in the kitchens of places as diverse as Tiber River Tavern in Ellicott City, Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore downtown and Rocky Gap Lodge and Golf Resort in Cumberland. Together, they should be able to produce some very fresh fish at their new venture, Catonsville Gourmet (829 Frederick Road, 410-788-0005) in Catonsville. It's primarily an 80-seat restaurant that serves classic American seafood with an Asian accent; but it's also a gourmet market, with cases in the back of the second dining room containing seafood, meats, prepared foods and desserts to take out. The location where the Muir Hardware store once was has been extensively renovated and has what Dunsworth calls an "eclectic, antique look" and a bistro feel, with paper covering white tablecloths.

The historic town of Havre de Grace served steamed crabs, oysters, crab soup, seafood muffins and crawdads under uncertain skies yesterday on the first day of the 13th annual Harford County Seafood Festival.The sun was shining when the fair opened at noon and visitors began streaming into Millard E. Tydings Memorial Park to sample the seafood and enjoy live entertainment, arts and crafts and activities for children."We came for the food," said Linda Wilson of Bel Air, who shared blackened redfish, clams and soft crabs with her daughter Karen Pugh and 15-month-old grandson Brandon.

The Fishery, 1717 Eastern Ave., (410) 327-9340. Open for lunch and dinner every day. Major credit cards. No-smoking area: yes. Wheelchair-accessible: no. Prices: appetizers, $3.95-$12.50; entrees, $9.95-$23.95. ***It's the sort of situation that makes a restaurant critic wary. A guy comes to your door and, when your husband answers it, asks, "Do you and your wife ever eat out?""Sometimes," my husband mumbles, sure that this is an irate restaurant owner who has finally tracked us down.But, no, it turns out the guy is going door to door as part of a promotion for the Fishery -- giving away a free something or other if you visit the restaurant.

Bill Sexton has been appointed the Executive Chef of Phillips Seafood Baltimore. Sexton, according to a news release, has served in several leadership positions with Phillips Foods and Seafood Restaurant. He started his career at Phillips Crab House in Ocean City and has been Phillips Director of research and development. "My Grandfather was a fisherman off Cobb Island, Maryland and I grew up loving the fresh seafood right from our Southern and Eastern Shores," Sexton said in the statement.

An Annapolis correspondent wrote in concerned about Hell Point Seafood. She got the news that Bob Kinkead's restaurant may be closed from the Eye On Annapolis website. John Frenaye says that Hell Point Seafood appears to have closed after Sunday night 's dinner service but he has been unable so far to have the news confirmed from the restaurant's management. The closing may be temporary, the article says. The restaurant's website wasn't functioning on Wednesday morning, although it was down last time I checked on Feb. 8. An outgoing message on Hell Point's phone has information about winter hours, which were said to be Thursday through Saturday dinner and Friday through Sunday lunch service.

The building at the corner of Belair and Mountain Roads in Fallston has a reputation as one of those spots where no restaurant seems able to survive. Tony Ashe, owner and general manager of the Mallet, the newest restaurant at the location, hopes to change all that with his combination fine dining/crab house/martini lounge/tiki bar establishment. In the dining room, tasty if traditional steak and seafood dishes and friendly service suggest the Mallet might be the restaurant that breaks through on this corner.

Meet your anglers. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will host its second Bounty of the Bay event, a five-course dinner celebrating the state's seafood and watermen, on Feb. 28 at the Boatyard Bar & Grill in Annapolis. The event is designed in part to give the public a chance to bring watermen, the public and DNR staff to the same table. Here's a video from the first Bounty of the Bay dinner, which was held last March. "We want to remind people that even during the winter months the bay continues to provide us with ample fishing opportunities and plenty of amazing seafood options," said Steve Vilnit, the DNR's fisheries marketing director.

What is it we want from Phillips? Like it or not, the restaurant is the city's unofficial headquarters for Chesapeake seafood. For the last three decades, more visitors to Baltimore likely received their first crab cake from Phillips in Harborplace than anywhere else in Baltimore. I think we want to know that Phillips is representing us well. If, like many, you've found yourself uneasy about how Phillips was performing in this ambassadorial role, I've got some encouraging news for you. Phillips' move across the harbor last fall from the Light Street Pavilion to a new home at the Power Plant has done it a world of good.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is scheduled to join Steve Phillips, president and CEO of Phillips Foods and Seafood Restaurants, and developer David Cordish at a Tuesday afternoon ribbon-cutting for the new Phillips Seafood Restaurant at the Power Plant. A media alert for the ribbon-cutting promised a "major announcement," and its timing, 18 days after Phillips opened its 15,000 square-foot restaurant in the Power Plant, suggests that the principals will have more to say then, "Look, it's open" The announcement is scheduled for 4 p.m. , which is when you would schedule something that has local evening news written all over it. The timing is perfect for local television stations (but lousy for daily newspapers.)

After three years of controversy, the Towson Commons mixed-use complex in Towson made its debut quietly yesterday, as a seafood restaurant opened its doors. Meanwhile, the project's developers continued to fight a weak market in trying to lease the eight stories of office space.L&N Seafood, a division of Mobile, Ala.-based Morrison Inc., opened a 162-seat restaurant that Morrison executives say will be ready to compete with local restaurants in a seafood-loving town."We want to be the seafood experts," said Peter J. Donovan, regional director for L&N, a 10-year-old chain known for mesquite-grilling its fish.

Louis Charles Hasslinger, a member of a Baltimore seafood family who as a Northwood carryout owner introduced a popular crab cake submarine sandwich in the 1950s, died of cancer Thursday at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The Timonium resident was 83. Born in Baltimore, he was the grandson of another Louis Charles Hasslinger, whose nine children all went into the crab and oyster business in Baltimore and once had nine locations. While attending City College, Mr. Hasslinger learned how to cook and sell seafood from his father, who had a carryout and sit-down restaurant at Washington Street and Lafayette Avenue.

Phillips Seafood will open a location at Maryland Live, the Cordish Cos.' $500 million casino and entertainment complex under construction at Arundel Mills. Cordish chairman David Cordish made the announcement at a Tuesday afternoon ribbon-cutting at Phillips new restaurant at the the Power Plant, a Cordish-operated retail, restaurant and office complex in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The addition of Phillips to Maryland Live marks a quick blossoming in the relationship between Cordish and Phillips.

Et cetera De La Rosa to leave UMBC men's basketball team Chris De La Rosa has left UMBC for personal and family-related matters, coach Randy Monroe said. De La Rosa, who played two full seasons for the Retrievers after one season at Siena, plans to withdraw from UMBC at the end of the fall semester. Named to the America East Conference second team after last season, La Rosa underwent surgery on his right foot in May and dressed for only one game this season, scoring 17 points and adding 10 assists at VMI on Nov. 19. … McDaniel senior guard Cullen Murray-Kemp earned PrestoSports/Pride of Maryland Player of the Week honors.