Pikesville restaurant regroups after fire

The matzo ball soup orders will just have to wait, along with the pastrami sandwiches, the house special "coddies" and the camaraderie that were all parts of the Suburban House Restaurant on Reisterstown Road. A fire there late Wednesday shut down the restaurant and with it a chunk of Pikesville's...

3 from Md. to compete on Bravo's 'Top Chef'

Chefs from Maryland are finally getting the recognition they deserve - at least as far as reality TV is concerned.

Grocers jump on 'local' produce bandwagon

Signs atop the produce case in Baltimore-area Safeway stores promoted "local" apples from Virginia and New Jersey. But the Granny Smiths and galas in the case hailed from Chile and New Zealand.

Oceanaire restaurant chain files for bankruptcy

MINNEAPOLIS - The high-end seafood restaurant chain Oceanaire Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed four of its 16 restaurants, but not the one in downtown Baltimore. Chief financial officer Glenn Massey says its flagship Minneapolis restaurant will remain open and remains profitable....

Tahina's offers good food, and fun

There never seem to be enough places around here to get good and healthful Mediterranean food, things like pita sandwiches, hummus and falafel. Especially falafel. This makes a nice little place like Tahina's especially welcome. Tahina's is sandwiched on a small strip between the popular chains...

A new way to farm fish and feed the world

Yonathan Zohar beams like a proud parent as he cradles the freshly netted fish in his hands.

Supermarkets rank on sustainable seafood

The wine's still flowing but from cheaper bottles

The recession hasn't stopped people from popping the cork off a bottle of shiraz or chardonnay.

Drinkers to recession: We don't care

Urban farmers on the rise

If you asked Josh Smith where breakfast comes from, the Baltimore teen would likely say, "the girls." That would be Sugar and Spice, his family's pet chickens.

Greening the summer BBQ

Brass Elephant for sale

Natural sugar versus high-fructose corn syrup

Wine now comes in a plastic bottle

Remembering Ed McMahon as beer pitchman

Good restaurant, heavy on crepes

Crepe du Jour is a pleasant spot that may have fallen off your radar.

Red Canoe: Muffins and more

Before anything else, I want to say right away that this place makes the best sweet and savory muffins I think I've ever had. Really, really great muffins.

Fruit of the vine; good food, too

I was a fan of Marc Dixon's cooking when he was at the Iron Bridge Wine Company six years ago, and I was delighted when he resurfaced last fall at the new Bistro Blanc in Glenelg after a stint at Cafe de Paris. But somehow, other restaurants closer to home kept me busy until it struck me recently...

Fazzini's could be so much more

Would the industrial hum of refrigeration in a dining room bother you enough to keep you from fully enjoying your evening? Maybe it's nothing you'd ever notice, and when Fazzini's is crowded with diners, you might not hear it even if you tried to.

Si Salsa offers familiar fare

It's a brave restaurateur who'll open a Mexican place just a few blocks north of what are probably the two most popular Latino establishments in the area.

Friendly Boheme still pleases

There's a wide and shady plaza in front of the RTKL's still-handsome 400 E. Pratt St. building that was once one of my favorite downtown eating spots. I don't get over there much anymore, but I was glad to see the Boheme Cafe still fronting the plaza, still super-friendly and still doing good...

A new/old place to bite, imbibe

Storefront once home to Vespa and Juniors finally gets it right

New Dog sticks with old tricks

Federal Hill's Pub Dog, formerly known as the Thirsty Dog, does a few things reasonably well, and that's been its formula for success since 2001 in a very crowded neighborhood marketplace - successful enough to add a second location two years ago in Columbia.

Comfort at China Taste

The best thing about China Taste is that there are absolutely no surprises there, at least when it comes to the menu and the food

Turning to 'coastal' Indian

Besides the change of cuisine, the Carlyle Club now has a fixed-price menu as well as a regular one.

Alizee gives bistro food an Asian accent

There's a vaporous sound to that name, Alizee, that fits a restaurant that doesn't yet feel substantial, or where the food doesn't match the carpeting.

Sascha's still delivers good, affordable food

Cafe menu is long on 'taste plates'

Delectable Ethiopian fare at Elfegne

Elfegne Ethiopian Cafe is a peach. Owned and operated, pretty much single-handedly, by former mortgage broker Emu Kidanewolde, this small and tidy 20-seat storefront cafe is more than just a great place to feast on inexpensive home-cooked Ethiopian food. Elfegne also acts as a de facto community...

At Laughing Pint, a nice time is on tap

The Laughing Pint bills itself as the nicest little bar in Baltimore. I won't argue. Niceness was the first and last impression I got from this east-side outpost, from both the staff and my fellow customers, one of whom literally invited me to eat off his plates. Part of the Laughing Pint's charm...

La Famiglia: A taste of Little Italy outside the neighborhood

Can a restaurant be a neighborhood place and also a fine-dining establishment? La Famiglia, the restaurant that replaced Brasserie Tatin, is trying to be both, as many upscale eating places in this economy are. For the most part, it succeeds.