By late January, Pikesville will be getting its own Donna's, the sixth in the popular group of coffee bars/Mediterranean restaurants (the fifth, a Donna's Express for carry-out only, opened this week at Calvert and Centre streets). It will happen when the Festival at Woodholme gets a new Encore Books, inside of which will be the jazzy new coffee bar selling sandwiches, salads, a few hot entrees and, of course, specialty coffee drinks.
* Don't be put off by the fact that it's part of the Holiday Inn on Baltimore Boulevard in College Park. The Moose Creek Steak House sounds as if it will be a serious restaurant, with a charming rustic setting -- twig furniture, fireplace and all. The specialty will be beef, from steaks to stew, but non-meat eaters will find plenty to like on the American menu. Plans are for an early December opening.
* Dessert lovers alert: The Baltimore International Culinary College has opened the Sweet Shoppe at 25 S. Calvert St. for pastries, pies, cookies and 16 flavors of Lee's ice cream. Hours are weekdays 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (You can get breakfast breads and pastries in the morning.) There's a two-for-one bakery sale every Friday from 12:30 until closing.
* When a writer from the most prestigious food magazine in the country visits Baltimore, what restaurants does he choose to include in his article? Bertha's, the Brass Elephant, Hampton's, Haussner's, John Steven Ltd., Louie's Bookstore Cafe, Obrycki's and the Prime Rib are featured in Ian Keown's story on Charm City in this month's Gourmet.
* Piccolo's at Fells Point will hold live opera nights monthly starting Nov. 22. If you'd like a little "La Boheme" with your seafood risotto, curtain time is 8 p.m.
Table Talk welcomes interesting tidbits of restaurant news. Please send suggestions to Elizabeth Large, Table Talk, The Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278, or call (410) 332-6197..