With Restaurant 2110 closed since last fall, I assumed it would never see the light of day again. Owner-chef Benny Gordon has had his plate full with his jazz club, his work as a TV chef and various other projects. But I was wrong: The small French restaurant on North Charles Street reopened in December with no fanfare. Mr. Gordon says he spent the time doing badly needed structural renovation.
Look for some changes on the new menu, including more vegetarian and heart-healthy dishes. "I'm watching my fat and cholesterol," he says. "The trend is away from cream sauces and heavy dining."
* And yet another reopening: This one is even more surprising. Not many places reopen after being closed for renovations for two years. But Chip and Lauren Miller, owners of McCabe's in Hampden, both had other jobs and wanted to do the renovations themselves.
The bar-restaurant should open at the beginning of March, serving what Ms. Miller calls "basic American cuisine, but everything is made from scratch and nothing is frozen."
* A couple of weeks ago the Neapolitan in Little Italy dumped its fancy northern Italian menu and its tablecloths, and got back to its roots. Owner Joe Pizza, whose grandmother opened the restaurant in 1929, does the cooking himself now. The menu consists of the traditional pastas, red sauces and pizza Little Italy habitues know and love. The most expensive item is $6.95.
"It's pretty basic and simple," says Mr. Pizza. "But the amazing thing is since I changed, business has tripled."
* Nobody does breakfast like Southerners. If you don't believe me, try the Southern-style Sunday brunch at Weber's on Boston. You'll find dishes like corn fritters with fried green tomatoes, biscuits and corn bread, grits with cinnamon butter squares, poached eggs and country ham, bacon, local sausage and creamed chipped beef. The buffet costs $6.95.
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.