Hey, Baltimore, food fight! Nope, not the kind where you throw food around a room, just onto a stove.
Food Fight is the name of a series that will premiere next spring on the Food Network. Each week, the series will tape a show from a restaurant in a U.S. city, pitting two teams of two local cooks against one another.
The cooks will be given a surprise "regional specialty" (brush up on your crab recipes, dearie). They can zip over to a nearby supermarket to pick up $20 worth of additional ingredients. Then it's back to the restaurant, where each team has to whip up a dish, which will be critiqued on its presentation, creativity and taste by three local judges.
The whole cooking battle will take no more than two hours. Start to finish. Including the shopping.
Two Food Fight shows will be taped in Baltimore in two yet-to-be-announced restaurants. That means the network is looking for eight local contestants.
"We're looking for people who are really into cooking, but the teams should also have something else in common," says associate producer Scott Michnick. Such as, the cooks could be related, work together or share a common interest (maybe both might belong to the same motorcycle club).
Michnick says contestants can be amateur or professional cooks. "Say a guy is a chef for the Ravens, and he teams up with [a] fan," Michnick says. "Or maybe it's just two guys who are tailgaters." (Not to worry, women are included, too.)
Most important of all, Michnick says he's looking for loads of personality.
"We want the most wacky, Baltimore-y people we can find."
If you're interested in auditioning, e-mail Michnick at smichnick76@yahoo.com. Send him short bios of both team members, state your relationship to each other and your cooking backgrounds, and tell him why you want to be on the show. If you meet the show's criteria, he will contact you.
Auditions for the two Baltimore shows will be held the week of Jan. 6; taping will be Feb. 28-March 2. Tentative air dates are June 27 and Aug. 22.
Bo Brooks brunch
"Elegant" is not the first word that comes to mind when you think crab house. But that's exactly the image that Bo Brooks, the venerable Baltimore crab house, is going for with its brand-new Sunday champagne brunch.
Manager Christopher Hannan says the restaurant's owners recently decided that their Canton waterfront locale (2701 Boston St.) was a perfect setting for a nice, traditional brunch.
That translates to a sumptuous buffet that includes seafood Newburg, smoked salmon, eggs Benedict, an omelet station, steamed shrimp, Belgian waffles, French toast, fresh-baked breads and fruit. Oh, and your choice of champagne, mimosa or Bloody Mary.
Hannan says there also will be a special dish each week. Last Sunday, it was fried chicken. This Sunday, it'll be chicken pot pie.
For your listening pleasure, the Calvert Duo - a flutist and acoustic guitarist - plays light jazz and pop.
Brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $19.95 for adults, $12.95 for children 7 to 12. Kids 6 and under eat for free. The restaurant is offering a 25 percent discount through the holidays.
Table Talk welcomes interesting tidbits of restaurant news. Please send suggestions by fax to Sloane Brown at 410-675-3451, or by e-mail to sloane@livetabletalk.com.