Tavern

Over the weekend, a demolition crew turned One, a chic night club for most of the last decade, into a pile of brick, broken cinderblock and sand. If you're of a certain age and missed One's run as a nightclub, you will know this location, at Guilford Avenue and Saratoga Street, as House of Welsh Corner. Instead of big dance floors and theatrically-lighted bars stocked with Dom Perignon, you'll think of a classic Baltimore tavern that served sizzling steaks on metal plates and Maryland whiskey at a bar without stools.

Spring arrived officially weeks ago, but restaurants are just rolling out their spring menus now. That's our planet for you; real spring arrives when it's good and ready. Bluegrass Tavern in South Baltimore debuts its spring menu Thursday night. New among the First Bites on Ray Kumm's menu: spring asparagus served with Vermont quark ravioli and hazelnut honey, Taylor Bay scallops with egg-yolk vermicelli and oyster mushrooms and chilled English pea soup with smokehouse-almond gelato and crawfish oil. Main Bites on Bluegrass Tavern's spring menu include Pan seared grouper, with butter braised leeks and crispy Hen-of-the-Woods mushrooms; milk-braise rabbit thigh; roasted poussin; crispy smoked Creekstone beef belly and grilled Broken Ranch antelope with fried duck egg, antelope "Merguez" and fava beans.

A one-alarm fire caused extensive damage to an old boarded-up tavern in Pasadena yesterday evening.The fire broke out about 6:30 p.m. and burned through the roof of the Brick House Bar, in the 200 block of Mountain Road.It took firefighters one hour and 15 minutes to bring the blaze under control.No injuries were reported.Fire officials could not say Sunday what caused the fire.

Mount Washington Tavern , which was gutted by a two-alarm fire last Halloween, expects to reopen by the middle of autumn, co-owner Rob Frisch said last week. Meanwhile, the Baltimore City Fire Department has listed the cause of the fire as "not fully ascertainable. " That official listing does not suggest foul play. "It simply implies the damages and destruction was too great, which made it difficult and unsafe for investigators to narrow the cause to one specific source," said Chief Kevin Cartwright, Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman.

Robert and Alida Lowry's decision to reopen Cockey's Tavern next month is welcome news to Carroll residents who may have thought the historic restaurant on Westminster's East Main Street would never open again. Not only will eating and drinking continue in the building as it has for two centuries, the reopening of Cockey's Tavern may signal a change in direction for downtown businesses.Many people felt the closing of Cockey's Tavern last September signaled the death knell for Main Street merchants.

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.

The ghosts at Cockey's Tavern have no one to haunt except themselves until Jan. 27.At 10:30 that morning, the historic site, which has operated as an inn or tavern since the early 1800s, will be auctioned along with the restaurant equipment and some of the owners' personal property.Robert and Alida Lowry, who had owned it since 1985, closed the popular Westminster restaurant suddenly in September, saying the resignation of several longtime employees and the East Main Street reconstruction had hurt business.

Henninger's Tavern is the neighborhood restaurant you wouldn't mind having in your neighborhood. It's casual, intimate and loaded with charm; the stylish food is interesting and often quite good. The main drawback is that entrees average around $15 -- a bit more than you might expect to pay at a neighborhood tavern.Your best bet is not to go on the weekend: The dining room is tiny and no reservations are taken. Fewer than a dozen tables are snuggled together with a fine antique china cupboard; old-fashioned photographs crowd the walls.

Oysterback. -- A 30-year-old Cadillac, the worse for wear, original shocking salmon paint faded to pastel peach, bounced across the old wooden bridge over Oysterback Creek and rattled down the road.It turned into the parking lot of the Blue Crab Tavern, the huge fins seeming to heave as the brakes squeaked to a stop. A large man in sunglasses and a sagging black jumpsuit emerged and stretched, running one hand over his sideburns, then pulling a baseball cap over his thinning gray hair. He looked around at the empty streets, rubbed his aching back and ambled into the Blue Crab Tavern.

Historic Reynolds Tavern, where Annapolis merchants and lawmakers first quenched their thirsts 250 years ago, is set to reopen Nov. 23.The tavern, painstakingly restored several years ago, has been closed since summer 1989. The new operators, Sandy and Ramsay Stallman, plan to open the tavern for lunch and dinners, featuring American cuisine "with a different twist.""We're staffing up now," Mrs. Stallman said. Hiring began about two weeks ago.Business leaders and preservationists have been awaiting the opening of the tavern, which stands on Church Circle in the heart of the historic area.

James C. Koliha, a retired CSX executive who later became an owner of a landmark Towson tavern, died Saturday of complications from Alzheimer's disease at the Maples of Towson, an assisted-living facility. He was 86. The son of a Swift & Co. executive and a homemaker, Mr. Koliha was born in Cleveland and raised in Brecksville, Ohio, where he graduated from Brecksville High School in 1943. He enlisted in the Navy that year and served on Guam and Tinian as a carpenter's mate in the Seabees.

Mt. Washington Tavern, which was gutted by a two-alarm fire late last year, expects to re-open mid-fall, co-owner Rob Frisch said this week. Meanwhile, the Baltimore City Fire Department has listed the cause of the fire as "not fully ascertainable. " That official listing does not suggest foul play. "It simply implies the damages and destruction was too great, which made it difficult and unsafe for investigators to narrow the cause to one specific source," said Chief Kevin Cartwright, Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman.  The tavern is a city mainstay and a favorite among lacrosse players, and jockeys and horse trainers from nearby Pimlico Race Track.

Chef Brent Shellem reflects: Being from Annapolis and growing up on the Chesapeake, rockfish is what we know. Just the thought of rockfish reminds me of fishing on the bay, and what better way to fish than with a cold beverage in your hand? I decided on Carolina Iced Tea because the Carolinas have great fishing as well, but mainly because my wife loves it and it pairs well with the citrus and the light nature of the fish.  Pokomoke rockfish Ingredients: •    8 ounces rockfish •    1 ounce extra-virgin olive oil •    Juice of 2 fresh oranges •    2 ounces vodka (3 if you're thirsty)

It's busy season at the Baltimore Liquor Board. Every April, right before all liquor licenses are due for renewal in May, the Liquor Board docket swells up with protests of renewal. This year, 12 hearings on license renewals have been set for April 19 and April 26, the board said Tuesday. Two of the protests  - against club Lust and a JHJ Saloon, on Eastern Avenue - were initiated by the board itself. The rest, which include Dionysus and Butts & Betty's Tavern - were brought on by neighbors.

After a run of the best of the '80s, Lighthouse Tavern's music selection hit its nadir with Eddie Murphy's "Party all the Time. " Most bartenders would have quickly pushed 'skip,' but not mine, who pumped up the volume - and, when asked if the singer was Eddie, said, "[Expletive] yeah!" and did a little jig. Like its music, much of Lighthouse, a bar that opened a month ago, seems caught in a time warp. It looks like a dive in a John Landis movie, its decor as vintage as the music playing on the speakers.

The Manor Tavern in Monkton is teaming up with the Oyster Recovery Partnership for a Sunday afternoon Oyster Festival. The event will feature more than 20 types of different oysters, shucked by Maryland and World Champion Oyster Shucker George Hastings. The Oyster Festival will include displays of local arts and crafts, children's activities -- including a pirate ship moon, bounce -- and live bluegrass music by Slim Pickinz. Smyth Jewelers has donated a pearl necklace and earrings, raffle tickets are $15 with all the proceeds benefiting the Oyster Recovery Partnership . Admission to the Oyster Festival at Manor Tavern is free.

Several pieces of Carroll County history will be on the auction block tomorrow as the O'Farrell Auction Barn sells pictures, mirrors and other furnishings from Cockey's Tavern in Westminster.Cockey's, open as an inn or tavern since the early 1800s, closed in September. At the time, owner Robert E. Lowry said some longtime employees had resigned and the Main Street reconstruction project had hurt business at the restaurant, at 216 E. Main St.Among the items for sale is a portrait of Confederate Gen. J.E.B.

For the better part of two centuries, the stately circa-1804 Dielman Inn has been a dominant features of New Windsor's quiet Main Street and a centerpiece of the town's architectural and cultural heritage. But for nearly a decade, this cornerstone of New Windsor's historic district has stood vacant and dilapidated, ravaged by roof leaks, termites, occasional vandalism and general neglect. Those contrasting factors — the building's overriding historic importance and its precarious condition — have earned the Dielman Inn inclusion on Preservation Maryland's 2010 Endangered Maryland list.

The Manor Tavern sits in the in the thick of beautiful Monkton, where the land is big but the community is tight, and folks know the names of their neighbors' ancestors, children, horses and hunting dogs. Change, when it comes here, comes slowly, which makes the Manor Tavern an interesting case study. The 250-year-old Baltimore County property, in the thick of world-famous horse country, was purchased last summer by two teams of experienced restaurateurs. William and John Mitcherling own Towson's An Poitin Stil, and Patrick Russell and Bill Irvin operate businesses in Fells Point, including Kooper's Tavern, Slainte and the Chowhound Burger Wagon.