Soft-Shell Crab Celebration begins Friday

Some two dozen Baltimore restaurants are adding special soft-shell crab specials to their menus for Baltimore's fifth annual Soft-Shell Crab Celebration.

Ice cream trail opens in time for holiday weekend

Imagine a trail, a trail made of ice cream! Well, that's not what this is.

Hampden gets a new cafe

Hampden has a new cafe. It's called "CHOUX, the cafe at Ma Petite Shoe," and its official public opening is Friday.

From Ocean City to Lewes, a peek at beach eats

Over at the beaches in Maryland and Delaware, from the Ocean City Inlet to Lewes, your favorite restaurants are getting ready for another summer season.

Wit and Wisdom debuts new patio, menus and burgers

The new outdoor bar and dining space at Wit & Wisdom has a name: Wit on the Water. The bar seats 12 with additional waterside seating for 85.

Top 10 Tuesday: Baltimore crab decks [Pictures]

Get to know our favorite Baltimore-area crab decks and patios. Because crabs just taste better when you're sitting outside.

Spike Gjerde will take over Crush space in Belvedere Square

Spike Gjerde is coming to Belvedere Square. Gjerde will move his Woodberry Kitchen's canning and preserving operations into the Belvedere Square restaurant space that was most recently Crush. There is no firm opening date for Gjerde’s new project at Belvedere Square, which will include what he described as a "small diner" operation in addition to the canning kitchen.

Food Market to host first birthday party

It’s only been a year? A hit from the start, the Food Market opened on the eve of last year's Honfest. Co-owners Chad Gauss and Elan Kotz, the Food Market's executive chef and general manager, respectively, are celebrating their great first year with a birthday party at the Hampden restaurant on June 5.

Linganore Winecellars starts up festival season

Linganore Winecellars in Mount Airy is kicking off its 2013 schedule of two-day concert events on Saturday and Sunday with the Caribbean Wine, Music and Art Festival. The event includes tastings of Linganore wines and performances from Pan Masters and the Image Band.

May 30 wine event to benefit HopeWell Cancer Support

McCormick & Co. and The Wine Source are hosting a wine-tasting fundraiser for HopeWell Cancer Support on May 30 at the non-profit’s Lutherville headquarters. Fine Wine’s Fresh Frontier: The Southern Hemisphere will include wine tastings, cheese pairings, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction.

Patterson Park's annual wine evening is Thursday

Thursday night is the ninth annual Wine Tasting at Sunset in Patterson Park. The evening event will include samplings of cuisine provided by merchants and restaurants like Bistro Rx, V-NO, Todd Conner’s, Di Pasquale’s and Chesapeake Wine Co.

Sidewalk chefs serve up taste of Pimlico

After 25 Preaknesses, Annette Thomas has her routine, and recipes, down pat.

Food trucks from Baltimore and Washington to square off on Rash Field

Get ready to roll.

Preakness 2013 to introduce new Maryland oyster, the Skinny Dipper

Guests at Saturday's Preakness will get the first slurp of the Skinny Dipper, a new oyster from True Chesapeake Oyster Co., an oyster farm in St. Mary's County.

Heavy Seas Alehouse to open location in Rosslyn, Va.

Heavy Seas Alehouse is opening a second location in Rosslyn, Va.

Guy Fieri's new 'Diners' book features Sip and Bite

Baltimore's Sip & Bite restaurant is one of the restaurants featured in Guy Fieri's new book, "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: The Funky Finds in Flavortown," in which Fieri takes readers back to some of his favorite finds from recent seasons of his long-running Food Network show.

Where are the food trucks on this beautiful Monday?

We're making a few tweaks to the Baltimore Sun Food Truck Finder. Here's where your Baltimore food trucks are today:

Preakness dining, from the 1930s to Mike Isabella [Pictures]

It all started, in 1868, with a dinner party. Milton H. Sanford's late-summer party at the Union Hall Hotel in Saratoga, N.Y., was apparently such a great time that the guests decided it needed to be commemorated. There ought to be a stakes race, one guest proposed, the Dinner Party Stakes. Well, absolutely there ought, agreed Gov. Oden Bowie of Maryland. And I'll build a racetrack for it in Baltimore. Two years later, the Dinner Party Stakes was run at the inaugural meeting of the Maryland Jockey Club at the new Pimlico Race Course. The winner was a horse named Preakness, who would be honored in 1873 when Pimlico introduced its stakes race for three-year-olds. One hundred and forty years later, the Dinner Party Stakes is now the Dixie Stakes, which is held at Pimlico on the same day as the Preakness. And food still plays an important role in the Preakness story. Take a look. Photos: Infield party scene | Your #Preakness photos Oxbow wins | InfieldFest concerts | Celebrities

May food holidays: burgers, strawberries and asparagus [Pictures]

May is national burger month. And it's national barbecue, salad, asparagus, salsa and strawberry month, too. Check back for more food holiday fun.

Mother's Day dining in Baltimore [Pictures]

The good news is that more and more restaurants are offering special menus for Mother's Day dinner. If mom isn't naturally an early-riser, consider skipping the brunch, letting her sleep in, and treating her to a great evening meal instead.

Wineries get streamlined rules for selling at farmers' markets

Starting June 1, there will be fewer restrictions for Maryland wineries that want to sell wine and offer samples at farmers’ markets. New rules passed by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley will remove limits on the number of days a winery can attend markets each year.

Friendly's searching for best burger builders

Friendly's is celebrating National Hamburger Month, and promoting its new Build Your Own Burger concept, with a "Build Your Own Burger" contest.

Gluten-free evening coming to Blue Hill Tavern

Blue Hill Tavern in Canton will host a gluten-free evening on Wednesday.

Pabu throws itself a first birthday party

Pabu Izakaya is celebrating its first birthday at the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore on Wednesday. The party will include an all-night happy hour, a special dessert by Four Seasons' pastry chef Chris Ford and a special "sake greet" for diners.

Hollywood Diner operator given time to secure funding

The Hollywood Diner will continue with its current operator, Richard T. White, at least for the immediate future. The Board of Estimates pulled the diner’s lease termination from its agenda after Comptroller Joan M. Pratt agreed to give White more time to secure funding.

City asked to terminate lease with Hollywood Diner operator

The Baltimore City department responsible for leasing the Hollywood Diner is asking the Board of Estimates to to terminate the rental agreement with the restaurant’s operator. But Richard T. White, who runs the diner, is vowing to continue at the city-owned property, made famous by Barry Levinson’s nostalgic 1982 movie “Diner.” 

Food trucks rallying all weekend long

Baltimore's fleet of food trucks are rallying again this weekend.

Johnny Monis wins Mid-Atlantic James Beard chef award

The James Beard Foundation announced the winners of the 2013 James Beard Foundation Awards on Monday night at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, capping a weekend of gastronomic events in New York City.

United Way launches Healthy Food Week campaign

In its first 15 months, the United Way of Central Maryland's Access to Healthy Food Initiative distributed more than 3.4 million pounds of groceries to low-income individuals and families, the organization said.

Top 10 Tuesday: Outdoor dining spaces [Pictures]

Let's get outside and enjoy some fresh air. These are our favorite outdoor eating spots in Baltimore.

A lemon stick in a glass at Ryleigh's Oyster

In honor of FlowerMart and its signature lemon stick treat, Ryleigh's Oyster in Federal Hill is featuring a limited edition Lemonstick Crush special Friday and Saturday.

Cyrus Keefer leaving Birroteca for Fork & Wrench

Cyrus Keefer is leaving Birroteca to take over the kitchen at Fork & Wrench. He will replace Sajin Renae, who will be moving to New York City.

Fundraiser on Saturday for Erika Brannock, injured at Boston Marathon

The friends and family of Erika Brannock are hosting a fundraiser at Mothers Federal Hill for Erika Brannock, the 29-year-old teacher at a Towson preschool who was injured at the Boston Marathon.