Tavern

A 65-year-old man died after a Sunday afternoon fight at a landmark Catonsville bar, according to Baltimore County police. The altercation between two men, whose names have not been released, began at Morsberger's Tavern in the 700 block of Frederick Road. Police and emergency medical technicians were called at 1:33 p.m., said Officer George Erhardt. The injured man was found in the tavern's bathroom and died later at St. Agnes Hospital. Both men walked into the bathroom, and only one came out, police said.

A man was shot to death at the Sugar Hill Tavern, a tiny liquor store in the 2300 block of Druid Hill Ave., about 5 p.m. yesterday, police said. A police spokeswoman said last night that the victim, who appeared to be in his 30s, had not been identified. He was shot in the head and was not robbed, the spokeswoman said, leading police to suspect that the victim was targeted by the shooter. Nobody at the store was willing to comment last night, and an unruly customer prevented a reporter from talking to employees.

Frank Murray Gittings Sr., co-owner of Kisling's Tavern -- an East Baltimore saloon where some of Baltimore's more colorful characters traded tales and toasts -- died of cancer Sunday at Good Samaritan Hospital. He was 79.Sometimes working 18 hours behind the bar at the Fleet and Chester streets gin mill, Mr. Gittings welcomed burlesque queen Blaze Starr, east-side political legend Dominic "Mimi" DiPietro and athletes such as Paul Blair of the old Baltimore Orioles as customers.Kathryn Gittings, his widow and the tavern's other co-owner, said local luminaries blended with longshoremen and Canton residents "because it was that kind of place, real Baltimore.

While gabbing online with "Homicide: Life on the Street" fans last summer, Maura Crowther, a technical writer from Toronto, tossed out a suggestion: Why not meet in Baltimore, munch a crab cake and get to know one another in person?The first unofficial "Homicon" took place in October. About 30 "Homicide" fanatics, including Crowther, came from as far as California to experience Fells Point, drink at Koopers Tavern -- where the NBC show's cast and crew really hang out -- tour taping sites and just maybe bump into someone like Reed Diamond, the good/bad cop whose permanent dark night of the soul speaks eloquently to this mordant ilk and who was in town for a guest appearance after being banished from the force.

It was the lifelong dream of John Henry Thormann III to own a tavern filled with happy and noisy people.Mr. Thormann, who was 54, died Saturday from complications of pneumonia at Sinai Hospital. He had been the owner and proprietor with his wife of J. R. Tee's Restaurant and Sports Tavern in Essex since 1991."He had worked as a sprinkler fitter for 27 years with Local 536 and after retiring in 1992, went to work full time in the bar that we had bought a year earlier," said his wife of 13 years, the former Rayna Deshner.

Baltimore police yesterday identified three suspects, including a man off-duty sheriff's deputies shot Tuesday night, in the attempted robbery of an East Baltimore bar, a department spokeswoman said.Edrice Howard, 22, of the 2200 block of E. North Ave., will be charged with three counts of assault by pointing, armed robbery and handgun violations, on his release from Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Agent Angelique Cook-Hayes, a police spokeswoman, said. Howard was in fair condition yesterday with gunshot wounds to his arms and legs.

A man was shot by off-duty city sheriff's deputies in East Baltimore last night during a holdup that took place a block from a Fraternal Order of Police union meeting on Pulaski Highway near Clinton Street.Police said three armed robbers entered the Me Too bar in the 3200 block of Pulaski Highway about 8: 50 p.m. and announced a holdup. In the tavern were three customers and two bar employees. All of them fled. The employees ran to a nearby tavern -- Looney's Santa Fe -- where about a dozen off-duty deputies from the Baltimore sheriff's office were holding an FOP meeting.

Ann Lickle Scotland, 74, owned decorating firmAnn Lickle Scotland, who had owned an interior decorating company in Riderwood, died April 14 from complications of throat cancer at Union Memorial Hospital. The Cross Keys resident was 74.She began her career as an interior decorator in the late 1950s, working for Peggy Hook Interiors in Towson. After Mrs. Hook's death, she opened Ann Lickle Interiors in 1972 and did residential and commercial decorating. She retired in 1990.The former Ann Brigham was born in Macon, Ga., and moved to Baltimore as a child.

Shenea Counts, suffering through another humid night in Baltimore, grabbed a quarter, stepped onto South Bentalou Street and walked to Rosie's corner bar, where a sign in the window advertises: "Cup of ice: 25."The 13-year-old, slurping on the fast-melting cubes, walked back toward her small rowhouse across the street. She was shot just steps from her front door -- struck in the chest by a stray bullet fired during what police said was a drug dispute at the corner.Shenea ran inside and collapsed.

Sometimes I think I could show up once a year at the spot where the South Harbor Tavern has just opened and find a new restaurant there every time.I can't figure out why. This location has everything going for it. It's a beautiful space right on the water, an intimate restaurant as opposed to some of the food factories around the harbor. Sure, it's a bit out of the mainstream; but to balance that there's plenty of free parking. The food is always pretty decent, the staff pleasant. But then one day, poof!

Franklin J. Schissler liked to sit at the bar at Morsberger's Tavern in Catonsville, sometimes for hours, sipping a beer and watching whatever was on TV. He didn't talk much, people in the bar said, and when he did he was unfailingly polite. "He wasn't a drinker," said John Fromentin, a 63-year-old retired sales manager who had often seen Schissler around. "He'd just sit there and nurse those beers." But on Sunday afternoon, the mild-mannered Schissler, 66, got on the wrong side of Benjamin W. Shorter, a burly, 41-year-old steamfitter, according to Fromentin and others who returned to the bar Monday.

A 65-year-old man died after a Sunday afternoon fight at a landmark Catonsville bar, according to Baltimore County police. The altercation between two men, whose names have not been released, began at Morsberger's Tavern in the 700 block of Frederick Road. Police and emergency medical technicians were called at 1:33 p.m., said Officer George Erhardt. The injured man was found in the tavern's bathroom and died later at St. Agnes Hospital. Both men walked into the bathroom, and only one came out, police said.

The handsomely renovated Don't Know Tavern bills itself as a "sports bar and grill." The surprising thing about it is how good the grill part is. The menu is really smart and exceptionally well balanced between pub grub and more upscale fare. So, appetizers comprise not only nachos, wings and steamed shrimp, but blackened scallops, chipotle hummus and ratatouille, too. There are strip steak and braised ribs among the entrees, but also a sea bass cioppino, an enterprising duck-and-goose creation and an herb-roasted rack of lamb in a three-mustard cream.

Baltimore is a city that can use more bagel shops. Now we have a new one, the Roland Park Bagel Co. (500 W. Cold Spring Lane, 410-889-3332). This is the latest in the Crazy Man Restaurant Group, which includes Loco Hombre, two Miss Shirley's, Alonso's and S'ghetti Eddie's. The new shop replaces Sam's Bagels, so I asked owner Edward Dopkin why he thought another bagel shop would succeed in the same location. For one thing, he says, it's a more ambitious endeavor, offering sandwiches made with "quality meats" on wraps, flatbread and ciabatta rolls as well as bagels.

With the opening of the Diamond Tavern in the Hilton Baltimore and now Frank & Nic's West End Grille (511 W. Pratt St., 410-685-6800, frankandnics.net), the area around Oriole Park at Camden Yards just got a little more elegantly casual, or maybe a little more casually elegant. Frank and Nic are Frank Zafonte and Dominic Lascola, and their new restaurant is at the base of the luxury Zenith Apartments. Their place serves as a more upscale alternative to the pubs and sports bars that used to be all that was available around the stadium.

Williamsburg Holiday Decorations Package What's the deal?: Take a step back in time to a simpler Christmas at historic Colonial Williamsburg, Va. Candles, decorations, costumed performers and musicians set the tone for a spirited, down-home 18th-century holiday. The Holiday Decorations Package includes accommodations, lunch at a tavern, passes to the historic area, a walking tour of holiday decorations and the book Christmas Decorations from Williamsburg. What's the savings?: Rates start at $81 per person, per night at the value hotel The Governors Inn. The Hotel Guest passes, which include general admission, also give 50 percent savings on evening programs.

The person who walked off with a hunting stand and related paraphernalia from a wooded area in Gambrills might have had a second thought if he knew who owned them: Sheriff Ronald S. Bateman. Bateman had left three hunting stands and related items in a 12-acre wooded lot behind Kaufmann's Tavern in the 300 block of Gambrills Road. The wooded area and the tavern belong to Maryland Delegate James J. King, a Republican from Anne Arundel, who had given Bateman permission to hunt there. The sheriff and his 13-year-old son hunt deer with bows and arrows, although they have not bagged one this year.

This Top 10 Tuesday, dive bars with good pub grub, is a joint effort of readers of Dining@Large, Sun reviewers and me. Note that these aren't dive bars in the negative sense, but they are all a little funkier than neighborhood taverns. The list is in alphabetical order. 1 Bertha's in Fells Point: In spite of the afternoon tea, the live music and the famous mussels, it still has some of the good dive-bar elements. 2 Daniel's on Route 1 in Elkridge: Bikers' dive extraordinaire; all the food is good.

The Neville Brothers Fusing blues, jazz and soul to create their signature funk, the Neville Brothers have been a major force on the music scene since the '60s. Brothers Art, Charles and Aaron Neville have each had successful solo careers, but are at the best when they play together, blending their skills into one harmonious sound. They bring their keyboards, saxophones and smooth voices to the Rams Head Tavern on Monday. The show starts at 7 p.m. The tavern is at 33 West St., Annapolis.

Owners of a North Laurel tavern were fined $175 by the Howard County Alcoholic Beverage Hearing Board for allowing people to drink inside after the 2 a.m. closing time Nov. 11, and for keeping the blinds closed, which is a violation of county rules. Jeffrey Hunt, one of the owners of the Game Sports Bar and Grill in the 11200 block of Scaggsville Road, Laurel, was on the premises that morning when county police Cpl. Martin Johnson found the blinds closed and several people drinking beer at 2:15 a.m. The incident was a mistake, the owners said, and would not happen again.