Right now the new Rowhouse Grille (1400 Light St., 443-438-7289, the rowhousegrille.com) in South Baltimore is more bar than restaurant. The spot where Light Street Station used to be has been fixed up with a new oak bar and cherrywood floors, but the kitchen and upstairs dining room are still works in progress.

"We're cooking out of the prep kitchen," Patrick Dahlgren, who owns the Rowhouse with Joseph Flynn, told me. By necessity, the food is light fare such as appetizers, sandwiches and salads.

Once the kitchen's hood-exhaust system is in place and the Rowhouse gets through the necessary inspections, the owners are hoping to start serving a full menu, perhaps as soon as the beginning of next month. They are also in the process of remodeling the second floor with a dining room that seats 36 and a bar-lounge. The lounge will feature a 22-foot high ceiling, granite bar and, when a gas line is put in next year, a fireplace.

When Dahlgren and chef Damon Krasauskas first started talking about the menu, the plans were for "eclectic New American" cuisine.

"But it might end up that it might be upscale comfort food," Dahlgren said. "With the economy, we're going toward that."

That would mean entrees in the $10 to $15 range.

Dahlgren called Krasauskas a "soup wizard," turning out creations such as a "chipotle sweet potato jumbo lump crab bisque." The chef had his own restaurant on the Outer Banks in North Carolina, so there's a Southern influence there.

The Rowhouse is open from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday, with lunch on Saturday only. Once the new kitchen is ready, the restaurant will be serving lunch Tuesday or Wednesday through Saturday.

Southern flavor We might have a local trendlet going here; Southern cuisine seems to be the Next Big Thing in Baltimore. Of course, you could argue that Charleston in Harbor East has made it the Current Big Thing. But I'm talking about new restaurants, such as Langermann's in Canton and now Bluegrass, which is scheduled to open soon at Fort Avenue and South Hanover Street, where the Vine wine bar used to be.

This is where the Federal Hill Hospitality Group, which includes Ryleigh's Oyster and Taverna Corvino, had planned to open a restaurant called Avery's Pearl. When they bowed out, chef Patrick Morrow and general manager Jorbie Clark from Ryleigh's decided to go it alone.

I asked Morrow how he would compare his menu to Langermann's, and he described it as "more refined. It's not barbecue and collard greens."

He mentioned game, local red meat and dishes such as rabbit salad with roasted beets and an apple mostarda; tacos of wild boar, venison leg or braised oxtail; and Piedmont Ridge chili-rubbed bison short rib with spoon bread and red-eye gravy. The entrees should run from $18 to $29.

The location has been completely redone, with a kitchen in the basement, bar on the first floor with high-tops and a "finer" dining room in back that seats 22. Upstairs has room for 30 more diners and, if warmer weather ever gets here, there will be seating outdoors along Fort Avenue.

Morrow said they are hoping to be open for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch Tuesday through Sunday.

Porter's to reopen That's not the end of the openings. Porter's, the Federal Hill bar that closed in October, should open its doors soon under new owner Kevin Cooper, whom folks may know as a former bartender at Regi's American Bistro. The liquor license transfer hearing was postponed by the snow, but he's still targeting the beginning of March for the opening.

The name and the feel of the place will be the same, he said, but he wants people to think of it as "a grown-up hangout, where you're not going to be pushed, bumped or [have] stuff spilled on you."

His co-chefs will be Peter Livolsi, who helped create the menu at Pazo and worked at Woodberry Kitchen for a while, and Livolsi's fiancee, Jennie Cafferly, who was at Three... (where she and Livolsi met) and Regi's before that. While Porter's might feel the same, Cooper said, his chefs "will be concentrating on the menu and taking it to a higher level."

That includes fresh seafood specials and comfort food such as meatloaf. Dishes will cost from $8 (for sandwiches) to $21 or $22.

Hours will be dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, till 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Deal of the Week Where: Pappas Restaurant, 1725 Taylor Ave., Parkville

The Deal: House Specialty Night, crab cake, fried oyster or (in season) soft crab dinner for $12.95, with two sides

When: Wednesdays

Call: 410-661-4357

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