Wine And Food

It was a night of eating, drinking, shopping and fundraising at Towson Town Center's Sip Savor Shop event Thursday night, benefiting the United Way of Central Maryland. Wineries, restaurants and big name retailers teamed up to provide guests with an enjoyable approach to raising money for charity. Some guests turned the event into a girl's night. Paula Phillips of Baltimore heard about the benefit through her friend. "I like the variety. There's food, wine and coupons," Phillips said.

There's something to be said for getting back to one's roots, literally. Howard County schoolchildren are being introduced, some for the first time, to where their food comes from. Not just its origins, but how good fresh food tastes, too. Days of Taste, a national nonprofit connected with the American Institute of Wine and Food, teaches fourth-graders how food goes from the farm to the table and how eating fresh food can also help them feel good. Partnering with the Nutrition and Physical Activity Coalition in Howard County and local chefs, Days of Taste spends three hands¿on sessions with students where they discover how different foods taste, take a trip to a local farm to see how vegetables and fruits are grown, then prepare a salad and dressing.

Kitchen Tip tonyforeman.blogspot.com When he's not working at one of the three Baltimore restaurants he oversees with his wife, chef Cindy Wolf, Tony Foreman -- co-owner of Pazo, Petit Louis, Charleston and the wine store Bin 604 -- blogs about the wine and food he tastes during his travels, evaluating restaurants from Las Vegas to Paris. Kate Shatzkin

It was a night of eating, drinking, shopping and fundraising at Towson Town Center's Sip Savor Shop event Thursday night, benefiting the United Way of Central Maryland. Wineries, restaurants and big name retailers teamed up to provide guests with an enjoyable approach to raising money for charity. Some guests turned the event into a girl's night. Paula Phillips of Baltimore heard about the benefit through her friend. "I like the variety. There's food, wine and coupons," Phillips said.

Call it a wine and food extravaganza. The mammoth Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival is taking place at the Washington Convention Center this weekend. Bring a designated driver, because there'll be more than 800 wines from 220 international and domestic wineries to sample. Top chefs from the area will present demonstrations and offer samples and recipes. Food Network personalities Paula Deen and Marc Silverstein will make appearances. And 18 wine seminars will be held, including talks on red and white wines from educator, writer and Master of Wine Mary Ewing Mulligan.

Wine and Food Festival If an afternoon of sampling fine wines and delectable foods sounds like a perfect day to you, then hop in the car, bring a designated driver and attend the seventh annual Washington, D.C., International Wine and Food Festival today. More than 280 domestic and international wineries will be serving samples of more than 1,200 wines to visitors. Renowned (and celebrity) chefs, including the Food Network's Michael Chiarello and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star Ted Allen, will present cooking demonstrations, offer food samples and hand out recipes.

Ah -- the taste of the pasta con pesce spade e melanzane(pasta with swordfish and eggplant) ... the flavor of a superb '96 La Grola Valpolicella (Italian wine) ... served al fresco in the midst of rolling hills, lush with greenery. A dinner in Tuscany? No, the "Italian Wine & Food Dinner" at West Friendship's Lichendale Farm, put on by the Italian Wine and Food Advocates and Dionysus' Kitchen. This year the event benefited St. Mary's College Maryland, raising $2,000 for its Italian American Scholarship program.

Founding member Richard Graff will be on hand to discuss wine when the new Maryland chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food holds its gala kickoff tomorrow night at the Hyatt Regency."

Paul E. Welsh, retired public affairs manager for McCormick & Co. and a former reporter for The Sun, who was active in civic affairs and gourmet groups, died early yesterday of heart failure at his home on St. Dunstans Road.Services for Mr. Welsh, who was 78, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Mitchell-Wiedefeld Home, 6500 York Road.Mr. Welsh retired in 1978 after working for McCormick for 21 years. He was public relations director for the Orioles from 1955 until 1957.He worked for The Sun from 1940 until he went to work for the Orioles in 1955.

Wine and food experts, chefs, vintners, authors and celebrities will gather in New Orleans for a conference to support the rebirth of the city's culinary community. Participants in the event, sponsored by the Viking Range Corp., include Emeril Lagasse, Robert Parker, Cat Cora, John Besh, Susan Spicer and Julia Reed. The summit will be held in the French Quarter Feb. 9-12 and the weekend will feature wine-education seminars, tastings and intimate wine luncheons. A highlight will be the opportunity to dine in private Garden District homes with cuisine prepared by the city's finest restaurants.

If sipping vino, gourmet noshing and watching boats glide along the Potomac River is your idea of a delicious weekend, then zip down to Maryland's other popular harbor for an outdoor foodie fest. The 2011 National Harbor Wine & Food Festival, in its fourth year, is a two-day event this weekend in Prince George's County, along the banks of the Potomac. The 300-acre resort community — simply called "the Harbor" by local residents — opened in 2008. The destination is just outside Washington and across the river from Alexandria, Va. The expansive waterfront site — still expanding with future offerings from Disney, among others — boasts a bevy of restaurants, hotels, shops, entertainment venues, upscale residences and office space.

Trend alert: Wine bars are opening where the food is as good as you can find at some of Baltimore's best restaurants - and you can buy a bottle of wine to take home with you. (Well, you know me. Three's a trend.) The Iron Bridge Wine Co. in Columbia started it all five years ago, with a wine bar, a small-plates menu critics raved about and a dining room that's also a wine shop. The Wine Market in Locust Point successfully followed the same game plan a couple of years later, although its liquor store is a separate room.

Luca's Cafe (1230 E. Fort Ave., 443-708-5694) is open for business and producing pizzas in Locust Point. This has been a much-anticipated opening because Chris Maler, one of the owners, is also involved with Matthew's Pizza in Highlandtown. He's quick to say that these are completely different pies, thin-crusted and cooked in a convection oven. The choice is steak, Mediterranean, seafood, hoagie, vegetable or a "fold" pizza. (That last is something like a calzone.) Still, Luca's isn't just a pizzeria.

James Krometis, a retired insurance broker and financial planner, died of an apparent heart attack Thursday at Blakehurst Retirement Community in Towson. He was 84. Born in Zanesville, Ohio, he moved to Baltimore's Forest Park as a child and was a 1940 graduate of City College. He served in the Philippines during World War II as an Army code breaker. He attended the Johns Hopkins University and Loyola College, then briefly owned a restaurant before joining New England Mutual. He subsequently worked for Bankers Life, later Principal Financial Group.

For some travelers, a good meal, perhaps with a glass or two of native wine, adds a lot to a vacation. For others, culinary experiences are the main reason for the journey. Either group may be interested in what the following trips are serving up: Food fans can look forward to a memorable meal aboard the new Emerald Princess cruise ship. The Chef's Table experience begins with predinner cocktails and hors d'oeuvres with the executive chef in the galley, then a multicourse tasting dinner in the dining room.

EVENTS Cocktail Party Class -- Learn how to make tapas for a summer cocktail party at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 23 at Donna's in Columbia, 5850 Waterloo Road. $35.00. Call 410-659-5248, ext. 112. Dinner at Salt --The Baltimore chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food will sponsor a dinner with summer wines at 6 p.m. Aug. 27 at Salt restaurant, 2127 E. Pratt St., Baltimore. Members $69; nonmembers $79. Call 410-244-0044, e-mail AIWFBaltimore@yahoo.com or visit aiwf.org. japan-guide.com Peruse a playbook on who sits where, how and why at the Japanese table, information that might come in handy on vacation or in the neighborhood tearoom.

James Krometis, a retired insurance broker and financial planner, died of an apparent heart attack Thursday at Blakehurst Retirement Community in Towson. He was 84. Born in Zanesville, Ohio, he moved to Baltimore's Forest Park as a child and was a 1940 graduate of City College. He served in the Philippines during World War II as an Army code breaker. He attended the Johns Hopkins University and Loyola College, then briefly owned a restaurant before joining New England Mutual. He subsequently worked for Bankers Life, later Principal Financial Group.

Wine and Food Festival If an afternoon of sampling fine wines and delectable foods sounds like a perfect day to you, then hop in the car, bring a designated driver and attend the seventh annual Washington, D.C., International Wine and Food Festival today. More than 280 domestic and international wineries will be serving samples of more than 1,200 wines to visitors. Renowned (and celebrity) chefs, including the Food Network's Michael Chiarello and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star Ted Allen, will present cooking demonstrations, offer food samples and hand out recipes.