In Canton and Federal Hill, getting a read on the future

September 4, 2008

Tell me if this sounds familiar:

Recent columns

• Two new high-end clubs have low-end attendance

  August 28, 2008

  If you're going to open a high-end lounge or club in this city, do your homework first.

• Spirits Tavern in Fells Point makes for a great local-bar haunt

  August 21, 2008

  When Chad Ellis and his father, Dan, bought a Fells Point corner bar a couple of years ago, they didn't change it much.

• Boomer's on the Hill: uninviting outside, snazzy inside

  August 14, 2008

  So many brand-new bars look "meh" on the outside.

• Good points keep stacking up at the Hudson Street Stackhouse

  July 31, 2008

  The DeSantis family has another hit bar on its hands.

• Quarry House in Silver Spring is an old-school beer bar

  July 10, 2008

  With its chain restaurants and strip malls, Silver Spring has a serious lack of good bars.

• Discovering the charms of Dundalk's pubs

  June 26, 2008

  Let's start with a confession: For years, I dodged Dundalk pubs.

• Bobby's cigar bar has all that jazz and more

  May 29, 2008

  Consistently filling a bar or club gets tougher the longer it's open.

• New pieces of Mosaic don't add up to a pretty picture for high-end club

  May 22, 2008

  Few high-end clubs reinvent themselves as fast as Mosaic.

• Drifters changes tack with new name, different decor

  May 15, 2008

  It was time for a change at Drifters Raw Bar.

• Pull a stool up at these pubs worth another visit

  May 1, 2008

  When most bars first open for business, it takes a little while to get their bearings.

• Schaefer's, full of colorful characters, oozes old-Baltimore charm

  April 24, 2008

  Down in South Baltimore, near where West Randall Street dead-ends into the railroad tracks, you'll find an old corner bar called Schaefer's.

• Singer-songwriters' creativity flows, as does the beer, at Red House Tavern

  April 17, 2008

  Baltimore needs more Red House Taverns.

• Go crazy over changes at Looney's Pub

  April 10, 2008

  The first time I went to Looney's Pub in Canton, I liked its laid-back feel and worn-in decor.

• An unpredictable night at the Kitty Kat Bar

  April 3, 2008

  One of the best things about going out in Baltimore is that anything can happen.

• The name says it all -- Muggsy's Mug House doles out mugs of beer

  March 20, 2008

  The new owners of Muggsy's Mug House looked to the past to help shape its future.