The year is just half over, but it looks as if the most competitive category in 2010 local dining is shaping up to be … the hot dog.
Stuggy's, which specializes in regional versions of the American classic and opened in Fells Point in May, looked to have a lock on the prize, but then came word about the Haute Dog Carte, which is now open for business in Mount Washington, at the corner of Falls Road, just south of Lake Avenue, on the grounds of Bonjour Bakery.
Both contenders are trafficking in good-quality, conscientiously sourced ingredients. Stuggy's specialty, which is doing very well, is the re-creation of regional variations of the American classic such as the Manhattan Dog and the Motor City Special. The Haute Dog Carte, which is owned and operated by the veteran caterer and event planner Daniel Raffel, takes a more gourmet approach, promoting the three different cooking methods it uses for its lineup of specialty dogs — European steam, charcoal grill and roller grill. The HD Signature dog, according to a news release, is a "quarter-pound Berk's certified Angus beef hot dog finished with homemade tomato and onion jam, served on a grilled bun."
Haute Dog 's hours of operations are Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 pm. The price range is $2 to $5, with the exception of the "Chef Dog," menu items that change weekly created by local chefs such as Christian deLutis, Sascha Wolhandler and Spike Gjerde.
Half-yearly catch-up There were other compelling stories in the first half of the year, which added the insult of crippling snow storms to the injury of an uncertain economic climate.
New restaurants opened and won favor, some more than others, of course. The most talked-about opening in 2010 has been Milan, the super-stylish multilevel Little Italy restaurant that seems to have placated, at least for now, the anxieties of some querulous neighbors.
And by far the most-talked about reopening has been that of Timothy Dean's joint in Fells Point, now called Prime steakhouse. Dean's current adventures as a "Top Chef" contestant have so far failed to ignite as many dramatic sparks as his entanglements with the Baltimore City liquor board.
And speaking of "Top Chef," former contestant Jesse Sandlin has resurfaced as executive chef at the winning new Harbor East wine bar Vino Rosina, and, back in late May, frequent judge Eric Ripert joined his chef-pal Anthony Bourdain for a memorably raucous evening of gossip and opinion at the Hippodrome for the theater's first Foodie Experience event.
The opening of Miguel's Cocina y Cantina in the surreal Silo Point complex marked Blue Agave founder Michael Marx's successful return to his beloved Mexican cuisine. Two Southern-influenced restaurants opened in the spring — Langermann's in Canton and Bluegrass in South Baltimore. It seemed like a trendlet, but then it turned out that these two restaurants were as different from each other in Southern style and substance as the "Sound and the Fury" and "Mama's Family." Langermann's is doing very well, and Bluegrass is my favorite new restaurant this year.
A new, very much cleaned-up McCabe's returned in its original Hampden location under new ownership, and the old Bicycle spot was given new life this spring when the people behind Bolton Hill's On the Hill opened Centro tapas bar. A new Moroccan restaurant named Tangier's opened in the revolving-door Canton space most recently occupied by Meridian 54.
In Catonsville, the owners of last year's big hit, Catonsville Gourmet, recently opened Regions, a smaller, more intimate arena for their talents. Howard County dining perked up considerably with Honey Pig Barbecue, the exemplary Hunan Taste, the very satisfying Italian restaurant Portalli's and the crazily successful Italian eatery Facci, one of best examples of build-it-and-they-will-come shrewdness I've seen in years.
And at last count, 1,417 kebab joints have opened in the greater metro area since Jan. 1.
Chef movements Other chefs besides Sandlin were on the move. Will Bauer left Hampden's 13.5 and was replaced at the stove by Sarah Acconcia. Two moves seemed sudden. In April, Michael Costa departed Pazo and was replaced as executive chef by Tony Foreman, and in May, Christian deLutis, whose cooking at Alizee earned a four-star review in this newspaper, parted ways with the Tuscany- Canterbury restaurant. The most notable departure, though, was not a chef's but a writer's — Sun restaurant critic Elizabeth Large retired in February after more than 30 years of reviewing restaurants.
Closings were relatively scare, seldom very surprising, and seemed to come in pairs. Lemongrass and Tapabar closed in different corners of Little Italy. Within weeks of each other, two Fort Avenue restaurants, Luca's Café and Ullswater Restaurant and Wine Bar, shut their doors. The beloved New Systems Bakery and Café closed and the not-as-beloved CakeLove closed in Canton.
Looking a little bit forward, there should be a resolution very soon concerning Qayum Karzai's negotiations to take over the old Chesapeake restaurant. Looking forward only a few hours, there is a double-elimination tonight on Top Chef.
Kasper column
Rob Kasper is on assignment. His column will not appear today.
In addition, Wine Find and Recipe Finder will return next week.