Tatu

Tatu down at Power Plant Live reopens Friday after a $150,000 renovation. Additions include new open air dining, the expansion of the sushi menu and new small plate items. There's also a new upstairs gallery, which features a regular rotation of local and regional artists.  The big reveal is scheduled for 9 p.m. Tatu opened in the summer of 2010 at Power Plant Live as part of the downtown entertainment complex's continuing overhaul. Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood

It's only 2 years old, but Tatu just got its first face-lift. The pan-Asian restaurant in Power Plant Live, which opened in September 2010, reopened in October after a renovation and menu revamp. The new space is dimly lit, with a mix of high and low tables taking the place of traditional dining tables and chairs. Loud music and glamorous decor send the not-so-subtle message that Tatu aspires to be a nightclub - you won't see a giant sculpture of a topless mermaid or mirrored tables at your neighborhood sushi joint.

It's only 2 years old, but Tatu just got its first face-lift. The pan-Asian restaurant in Power Plant Live, which opened in September 2010, reopened in October after a renovation and menu revamp. The new space is dimly lit, with a mix of high and low tables taking the place of traditional dining tables and chairs. Loud music and glamorous decor send the not-so-subtle message that Tatu aspires to be a nightclub - you won't see a giant sculpture of a topless mermaid or mirrored tables at your neighborhood sushi joint.

Tatu down at Power Plant Live reopens Friday after a $150,000 renovation. Additions include new open air dining, the expansion of the sushi menu and new small plate items. There's also a new upstairs gallery, which features a regular rotation of local and regional artists.  The big reveal is scheduled for 9 p.m. Tatu opened in the summer of 2010 at Power Plant Live as part of the downtown entertainment complex's continuing overhaul. Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood

A new Asian restaurant named Tatu opened Aug. 20 in the Power Plant Live! space most recently occupied by Blue Sea Grill . The menu here includes sushi and what the restaurant calls "Hunan, Szechuan, Mandarin, and Chinois classics. " This is the second Tatu – the first is in Ft. Lauderdale's Seminole Hard Rock Casino – and this marks the area debut of the CB5, a Connecticut-based "boutique restaurant development group," with an impressive portfolio of projects and collaborations, including several with the Baltimore-based Cordish Companies, the developer of Power Plant.

Tatu is scoring less, playing less and giving away fewer game shirts, but who would have thought he'd try to go incognito?"No, no," he said, laughing from behind a new beard. "I'm not hiding. But you know what they say, when things get hard, you have to get tough. I'm just trying to toughen up my image. I'm trying to look mean, but I don't think it is working."But Dallas (8-6) seems to have righted itself after slipping to 6-6 with two home losses last week."It was a little shocking to start 4-0 and then slip to 6-6," said Tatu, who seemed more himself with a three-goal, one-assist performance this past weekend, which included the Sidekicks' 7-5 victory over the Blast.

Tatu opened last month in the space where the Blue Sea Grill used to be, next to the Ruth's Chris Steak House in Power Plant Live. This is the second Tatu — the first one is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the Seminole Hard Rock Casino. Tatu is the brainchild of a Connecticut-based "boutique restaurant development group" named CB5, and something about Tatu's stylish ways appealed to the Cordish Cos., the developers of Power Plant Live, which actively courted CB5 to bring Tatu into its downtown Baltimore dining and entertainment district.

He has been throwing his jersey into the stands to celebrate a goal for about 13 years. It has become Tatu's calling card.One time after he hurled his jersey, a woman fan caught it and lighted it on fire, bringing security guards scurrying to extinguish the blaze. Another time, a fan threw Tatu's jersey back on the field, to the delight of the crowd.In part because he scores often enough to strain the team's jersey budget and in part because it is unwise to incite a hostile crowd, Tatu no longer throws his jersey after scoring on the road.

Tatu is sitting in his living room in Dallas, bouncing his 16-month-old son Andre on his lap and talking on the telephone, admitting if anyone but Dallas Mavericks owner Donald Carter had bought the Sidekicks last summer, he and his family would be setting up house in Baltimore."

The Baltimore Blast not only lost the season opener to the Dallas Sidekicks Saturday night at the Baltimore Arena, but touched off some controversy with Tatu.The Dallas Sidekicks forward, the Major Soccer League's leading scorer the past two seasons, reacted bitterly to charges by two Blast players that he purposely "dives" to prompt referees to call penalties against opposing players."It's getting old," said Tatu after a 7-3 Sidekicks victory before 11,154. "That kind of statement doesn't even deserve an answer.

Happy Valentine's Day Baltimore! Some of you have planned dinners at your favorite restaurants, or maybe an elaborate home-cooked meal for two. But there's no need to spend a paycheck at the Charleston, risk getting robbed in that cesspool of crime that is Roland Park for a table at Petit Louis, or even slave all day in the kitchen.  For those after a more casual Anna Howard Shaw Day, you can always hit up these ten Baltimore bars - they're romantic,...

The United Soccer Leagues has announced that Blast owner Ed Hale will be one of three inaugural inductees into the Major Indoor Soccer League Hall of Fame this year. Hale has been instrumental in keeping indoor soccer in Baltimore and in keeping the entire league afloat. He and the rest of the Hall of Fame's Class of 2011 will be inducted at a banquet on Dec. 16 at the Hilton Clearwater Beach. Honorees were chosen through a vote of current Hall of Fame members and USL teams. Hale first owned the club from 1989 to 1992.

Tatu opened last month in the space where the Blue Sea Grill used to be, next to the Ruth's Chris Steak House in Power Plant Live. This is the second Tatu — the first one is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the Seminole Hard Rock Casino. Tatu is the brainchild of a Connecticut-based "boutique restaurant development group" named CB5, and something about Tatu's stylish ways appealed to the Cordish Cos., the developers of Power Plant Live, which actively courted CB5 to bring Tatu into its downtown Baltimore dining and entertainment district.

A new Asian restaurant named Tatu opened Aug. 20 in the Power Plant Live! space most recently occupied by Blue Sea Grill . The menu here includes sushi and what the restaurant calls "Hunan, Szechuan, Mandarin, and Chinois classics. " This is the second Tatu – the first is in Ft. Lauderdale's Seminole Hard Rock Casino – and this marks the area debut of the CB5, a Connecticut-based "boutique restaurant development group," with an impressive portfolio of projects and collaborations, including several with the Baltimore-based Cordish Companies, the developer of Power Plant.

The No. 2-seeded Blast has been off for 13 days, practicing against each other, waiting for tonight's Major Indoor Soccer League semifinal against the Dallas Sidekicks. As players left the field at 1st Mariner Arena yesterday after their final pre-game practice, their coach was taking nothing for granted. "I've been over it, and I'll go over it again," said Blast coach Tim Wittman. "All I want them to do is play to their ability. The ability is here, and if we play to our ability, no one can beat us. But, if we don't, anyone can beat us."

He was about to turn 20 and it was the best time to be in his native Brazil: Christmas was coming, then New Year's with Carnival, and his birthday after that. The year was 1981 and if you had told Tatu - the diminutive, goal-scoring machine who retains an infectious, boyish smile - that he would still be in the United States now, with nearly 20 illustrious professional indoor soccer seasons behind him, he would say you were either joking or just plain crazy. "The decision to come to the United States was very difficult for me," said the 40-year-old player/coach of the Dallas Sidekicks, who will visit the Blast tonight at 1st Mariner Arena.

THE BLAST will face the hottest player in the Major Soccer League -- Tatu -- when the Dallas Sidekicks come to the Arena tomorrow night (7:35). Tatu, who is noted for tossing his shirt into the stands after scoring, has had 10 goals and six assists in his last three games. Although the Blast's record is only 4-5, coach Kenny Cooper, for once, is being patient. He's breaking in some new players, among them goalie Hank Henry, who has impressed everyone.* A win over arch-rival Loyola Thanksgiving morning would not only give Calvert Hall a .500 season but would make the Cardinals' year.

He was about to turn 20 and it was the best time to be in his native Brazil: Christmas was coming, then New Year's with Carnival, and his birthday after that. The year was 1981 and if you had told Tatu - the diminutive, goal-scoring machine who retains an infectious, boyish smile - that he would still be in the United States now, with nearly 20 illustrious professional indoor soccer seasons behind him, he would say you were either joking or just plain crazy. "The decision to come to the United States was very difficult for me," said the 40-year-old player/coach of the Dallas Sidekicks, who will visit the Blast tonight at 1st Mariner Arena.

He has accomplished everything possible in 20 years of indoor soccer, had the chance to leave the game a winner and will honestly tell you his legs have been pretty much gone the past couple of seasons. For Tatu, the gifted, 40-year-old striker who has totaled 1,536 points, the original plan was to retire after he helped lead the Dallas Sidekicks to the World Indoor Soccer League championship last winter. Then came an unexpected gift, to Tatu and all the followers of the indoor game. When the Major Indoor Soccer League announced a merger with the WISL - one that would bring back the franchises of the Sidekicks, San Diego Sockers and St. Louis Steamers (expected to rejoin the MISL next season)

The current run of wins is five games for the first-place Milwaukee Wave, and another string earlier in the season was eight. The team that won the past two National Professional Soccer League titles and three of the past four is 18-5 in the inaugural Major Indoor Soccer League season -- its best start ever at this point -- with no sign of letting up. After another perfect two-win weekend, Wave coach Keith Tozer made the league's weekly quote sheet: "We're...