Veal

I love to set our dining table with good linens, dishes and flowers and treat our friends to a fine meal. I choose simple entrees that can be roasted, grilled or sauteed and look for interesting vegetable accompaniments that can be prepared in advance. Portobellos Stuffed With Spinach and Fresh Mozzarellawould make a fine addition to a dinner-party menu. Large 4-inch mushrooms are stemmed, brushed generously with olive oil and broiled until tender. For the filling, sauteed spinach and chopped garlic are combined with bits of snowy white fresh mozzarella, grated parmesan and a hint of nutmeg.

Ask a visitor to name three things about Baltimore, and they're likely to be crab cakes, the National Aquarium and Little Italy. But ask a Baltimorean where to eat in Little Italy, and he might not be able to tell you. If you don't know your way around the city's most famous neighborhood (at least as far as eating goes), we're here to help. We've grouped the restaurants in categories as a guide, but don't take them too seriously. You could argue -- and somebody surely will -- that most of these restaurants fit into more than one of the categories.

I remember, as a child, sitting on our kitchen counter top and watching Grandma Gambino create her homemade breads, sauces, pastas and homemade pizzas. The aroma would linger in our home. Her marinara sauce was heaven. Italian heaven. She would always start with the freshest, most ripe tomatoes. I can still see her squeezing the tomato seeds out by hand. She would add to the tomatoes a little fresh basil, onion, olive oil, oregano, garlic and her secret - a little fresh pureed carrot juice for sweetness.

When it opened almost a decade ago, Liberatore's was the hot ticket in Timonium. Surprisingly, this expensive Italian restaurant hasn't cooled down much since then. Even on a Tuesday night in August, almost every table was filled. Partly it's the location, in a fairly affluent area filled with family places and chains but not many upscale restaurants. But mostly it's because Liberatore's delivers the goods. So many restaurants that opened in the '90s were hip little bistros or fusion restaurants in the minimalist mold.

The concept is admirable: a restaurant that demonstrates how delicious Asian food can be without the fat and calories. From the moment it opened, Olive & Sesame was a hit. Owner John Luen, originally from Hong Kong, promised to use only healthful olive and sesame oils in his cooking. He would steam, grill and stir-fry his fresh seafood, white meat chicken and vegetables. He would use light soy sauce; and, of course, MSG would never make an appearance in his kitchen. The contemporary, angular interior of the restaurant had a look more Mediterranean than Chinese or Japanese, with a large painting of a Greek island dominating the room.

Last weekend, when we arrived at the home of friends for a dinner party, we were led to the living room where a fire was flickering in the fireplace and a coffee table was laden with an array of cheeses and glasses of wine. We spent an hour enjoying these appetizers and good conversation before being invited into the dining room. There we found a beautifully set table for eight. Our hosts had placed whimsical wrought-iron candlesticks carved with birds around a large rustic basket of crusty bread as a centerpiece and had set each place with attractive china, cutlery and stemware.

Q. I enjoy the taste of succulent veal, be it roast or chops. However, I am not always able to achieve the texture desired. Additionally, what seasonings do you recommend? A. The key is to not overcook the meat. Overcooking will toughen and ruin the texture. Also, depending upon the cut, it is best to sear the outside of the meat in a hot frying pan with a little oil, then finish cooking your veal in a moderately hot oven. Also, if you are cooking a roast or some other large cut, remember to let the meat rest for 15 to 20 minutes after cooking and before carving in order to set the juices.

Pecoraro's offers authentic, but not too fancy, Italian cuisine. Although surrounded by U.S. 1's dated roadside motels, the restaurant, which opened in 1983, stands in stark contrast: safe and clean, suitable for families, wholesome atmosphere - and it offers food to match. On any evening, a number of families can be found eating - or waiting to eat - in the restaurant. "The restaurant business is really a people business," says Nick Pecoraro, the owner. "The loyalty of our customers over the 19 years has meant a lot to us."

As early morning sun bathes the sidewalks in Charles Village, it seems a perfect day to chill out, to contemplate life or, perhaps, to protest the sale of veal. Kerron Ramnath is already sitting in his green plastic chair outside Eddie's Market on St. Paul Street. For several days he has been collecting signatures he hopes will lead the store to stop offering veal. Which, in turn, will end the cruel treatment of veal calves. The poster on his backpack reads "Say No To Veal." Photos of caged, miserable creatures stare reproachfully at cheerful passers-by.

Anthony C. Gambino, founder of Ciao Bella Restaurant in Little Italy, where he resided, died of lung cancer yesterday at home. He was 65. In 1991, Mr. Gambino opened his restaurant on South High Street, where he prepared Northern and Southern Italian specialties. Many of the Southern Italian dishes he had learned from his mother, who was born and raised in Palermo, the capital of Sicily. The restaurant's signature dishes included veal Marsala, veal parmigiana and a dish of his own invention called Veal Chesapeake, which features veal and crabmeat.