April Food Day

Yes, today is April Fool's Day. But more importantly, it's also April Food Day, which was created in 2009 by bloggers Pigtown Design and Easy & Elegant Life as a way to bring a bunch of bloggers together to raise awareness - and money - to help make a dent in hunger.

April Food Day's official charity designee is Feeding America, the leading hunger-relief charity in the U.S. Feeding America works with food banks across the country, helping purchase food and fundraise on a national level, among other things. To donate directly to Feeding America, click here.

Of course, Feeding America isn't the only worthy food-related charity out there. Here in Baltimore, the Maryland Food Bank and Moveable Feast both also do a lot of good work. And April Food Day isn't so much about giving to one group as it is about raising awareness (and money) to fight hunger on a national and global scale.

So if you can, please consider giving something - time or money - to help. The people who write - and read - food blogs are lucky. Food is fun for us, a hobby or a profession. We get to enjoy it...and that's because we have enough of it. Fighting hunger as a part of April Food Day - and beyond - brings us closer to the point when everyone will have "enough."

Going on around Town: This Week

Maybe it's the weather - that glimmer of spring that we saw last week - but my email inbox has been filled to the brim lately with announcements about events around Baltimore. Everybody's ready to get out of the house - so it's lucky that there are some fun-sounding events coming up:

• Tomorrow (!), Thursday, February 24th, the Maryland Science Center is holding one of their "Science Uncorked" series of wine tasting and learning events. This one, called "Que Syrah Shiraz," focuses (obviously) on syrah/shiraz. These events sound like so much fun - one day I'm going to make it to one! (Tickets are $50 non-members, $45 members.)
• On Friday February 25th, starting at 9 PM, there will be a "Midnight Burger Run" at The Reserve (1542 Light Street). Chef Sammy Davis will be making the burgers out of Creekstone Farms beef, which I have not had, but have on good authority it's amazing (that authority is Nathan Stambaugh, CF employee, meat guru and husband of Liz). The burgers will be available from 9 until midnight, unless they run out first. So get there. (Burgers are $16.)
• On Sunday the 27th, Moveable Feast will be hosting their second annual chili cookoff, benefiting the Ride for the Feast. The cookoff, which starts at 6 PM, is at the Moveable Feast Kitchens at 901 Milton Avenue. Ride for the Feast, which takes place in May, is a two-day bike race that raises funds for Moveable Feast. (Tickets are $15.)

Finally, this isn't actually an event, but it was a press release that I read to the end: Baltimore Magazine has won a Best Feature Design awared in Folio Magazine's Eddie & Ozzie Awards for their October 2009 best breakfasts "Rise and Dine" spread. I mention this not only because I'm a fan of good graphic design (I am) and a fan of Baltimore (I obviously am), but also because I was one of the contributors to that piece. Not on the design end, but still - it's always nice to be a part of something that wins.

It's a lot going on on a short time, I know - but really, don't you want to get out of the house? Especially after yesterday?

Going on around Town

It's still fall, so things around Baltimore are still busy, busy, busy. Unfortunately, since I was so busy last week, I missed announcing a ton of great stuff that took place last weekend. I don't want that to happen again this week - so here it goes (click on the links for more information about each event):

• Beer: Right now it's Baltimore Beer Week and there's a lot going on for that. Of course, if I was still in a position to go out on a regular basis, I'd be posting up at Elliott's Pour House for the week.
• Winey: Apparently it's wine season. Boordy is having its annual Autumn WineFest every Sunday in October from 1 to 5 PM. Plus, the Maryland Autumn Wine Festival is taking place next weekend, the 16th and 17th in Salisbury and the 2010 Reggae Wine Festival is on at Linganore in Mt. Airy the same weekend. Lots of choices!
• Pink: Throughout October, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, Sullivan's Steakhouse is offering a special "Palate in the Pink" menu - three courses for $39.95, $5 of which will be donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation. Last year the restaurant raised $170,000 for the foundation, which is pretty great.
• Bivalves: Next week is the first annual Downtown Baltimore Oyster Week - a concept that I am firmly, firmly behind. Sixteen restaurants are participating this year, offering tons of different oyster dishes.
• Famous: On October 21st, the Celebrity Chef Tour, benefiting the James Beard Foundation, will be at the restaurant in the Baltimore Renaissance Hotel. The celebrities involved include, among others, Jennifer Carroll, who was one of my favorite Top Chef contestants ever.
• Sustainable: The next "Fresh Thoughts" dinner at the National Aquarium will take place on November 16. The focus of the Fresh Thoughts series is on sustainable seafood (perfect for the Aquarium, right?) and the chef on November 16th is Tamesha Warren, of Top Chef fame.

So what are you going to do?

Going on around Town

For whatever reason, the end of summer also means the start of a whole lot. Within the next couple of weeks, there are a million things happening in Baltimore. Including:

• On Thursday, the 23rd, Baltimore International College is holding an open house for their food enthusiast classes - and it's focused on French food.
• September 23rd is also Dining Out for Life - Moveable Feast's annual fundraiser. Area restaurants donate a portion of their proceeds (from 20 to 50%) to to the organization which, among other things, delivers meals to homebound people with HIV/AIDS. This year, we're either going to Hautedogcarte or to Clementine - we haven't been to Hautedogcarte yet, but Clementine is donating the full 50% to Moveable Feast, and it seems like that kind of generosity should be rewarded.
• Finally, if you'd like, you can wrap up next week by trying out to be on The Next Food Network Star. On Sunday, September 26th, the show is holding auditions from 10 AM to 3 PM at the Pier 5 Hotel (711 Eastern Avenue, Baltimore). To audition, you'll need two recent photos, a resume, and a completed application (which you can download here). If you go, let me know please. I SO want to hear about it.

Cool Classes in Baltimore

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from someone at the Baltimore International College about a new series of classes they're offering for "lay people" (for lack of a better term). They're a mix of hands-on classes and demonstrations and cover a bunch of different topics, from ethnic cooking to holiday meals.

The classes are short - just one evening - but unfortunately I can't make any of them this semester. Truly unfortunate, too, because check out the description for the cheese tasting class on September 16th ($60):

Sample various domestic, regional and international hard and soft cheeses while
sampling and pairing with various wines.

Kind of my wheelhouse, right?

If you can make it, I highly recommend giving them a shot...

Going on around Town

I'm back from vacation and am jumping back into a super busy week of work and other things. So it's no surprise that the food world is busy, too.

Such as: this week (starting last Saturday) is Maryland's "Buy Local Challenge" week. It basically is what it sounds like - a week designed to encourage people to buy more local goods.

It's also time to start thinking about Baltimore's summer Restaurant Week, which runs from August 13 to the 22nd. I'm sure several restaurants will run restaurant week specials all month, or at least for an additional week or so, like they usually do. It's a great reason to go out...as if anyone needs a good reason not to cook in the middle of August.

Great Grapes Is Tomorrow!

Just a quick reminder that Great Grapes is this weekend at Oregon Ridge and tomorrow at 1 pm I will be facing off against the Minx and the Baltimore Snacker for bacon-cooking bragging rights. Hope to see you there!

What to Do Next Weekend: Great Grapes at Oregon Ridge

If you happen to be without plans and in the Baltimore area next weekend, get yourself up to Oregon Ridge - that's where I'll be, at the Great Grapes wine and food event. As I mentioned last week, I'm competing in a bacon-themed throwdown vs. two of my favorite Baltimore food bloggers, Kathy "the minx" and John "Baltimore Snacker."

We'll be competing at 1 pm - cooking for about half an hour, then being judged for who knows how long. The judges include Bernadette Woods and Jessica Kartilija from WJZ and Hugh Sisson of Clipper City (and formerly of Sisson's, which I always thought was a nice bar).

Who will win? Well, that remains to be seen. I've been doing some planning, but I also know that Kathy has had herself steeped in bacon for the better part of the month (John has had himself steeped in SoCal, which could be an advantage in itself).

What I do know, though, is that I have a pair of tickets to give away! I've never had a real contest on here before, so I'm going to make it simple: if you want the tickets, email me before Monday (kit at kitpollard dot com). On Monday, I'll pick one emailer at random. That's it - no quizzes or essays or anything else. Easy on both you and me.

Kyle & Mary's Wedding - and Upcoming on M&G

We've got a lot going on right now.

This weekend is Kyle and Mary's wedding, which feels like a long time coming, mostly because it's easy to forget that they're not already married. Today is the rehearsal at St. Ignatius Loyola (which is beautiful) followed by dinner at Sammy's Trattoria and an after-party at Maisy's on Charles Street.

Tomorrow is the big day, with the wedding and the reception at the Tremont Grand. I am looking forward to every step of it, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. Dixon is the ringbearer. As soon as he makes it down the aisle, I'll be fine, but there's a lot of room for showboating on that walk. He'll be with Maddy, the flower girl, and that could go either way. They could be sweet and walk down like little angels. Or they could do something else. We'll see.

Since we've got a lot of primping to do today (Dixon was just doing his own nails - seriously), I'll make this short, with just a quick preview of a few things I'll write about next week, including:

• The upcoming Great Grapes event and my bacon throwdown vs. the Minx and the Baltimore Snacker. I'll have a pair of tickets to give away, too, so watch out for that.
• My review of Cinghiale. And this time it's for real. I've even made a little PowerPoint chart to summarize what we ate, so I promise, I really will write the review.
• My long, long, long overdue review of Pappas' and their amazing crab cakes. Yes, we went there before Alicia and Mike's baby was born and yes, Maggie will be seven weeks old tomorrow. I'll get on it, really.

Until then, have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Things Are Happening in Baltimore

It's springtime and that means that people are leaving the little cocoons that kept them warm all winter, to actually do stuff. And that means that my email inbox is filling up with press releases and newsletters announcing all the great new things that are going on. Including:

• Brunch at Milan: Milan (410-685-6111), the swanky new Little Italy spot that I reviewed here, started serving brunch yesterday. I'm sure it's delicious and it would be a fun, fancy way to start a Sunday.
• Face Forward Initiative fundraiser at Ellie: Ellie, which took over the Pink Crab space by Graul's in Ruxton, looks completely adorable. So adorable that it's probably for the best that I haven't made it in yet, since that would be the end of my checking account. This Thursday (April 8th), though, the store is hosting a fundraising event from 6 pm to 8 pm, with a portion of proceeds going to the Face Forward Initiative. The FFI is an organization, founded by a Hopkins doctor, that provides free surgical treatment for children with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities. The event is free, though guests are asked to bring a new toy or clothing for children between the ages of 3 months and 12 years. For more information, call 410-823-8544.
• Best Dressed Sale Collections: In somewhat related news, I learned from Glamour Girl Lisa Simeone that today and tomorrow (April 5-6), the Johns Hopkins Women's Board is accepting donations for their annual Best Dressed Sale. Donated clothes should be very nice and in good condition. The sale itself takes place in October and proceeds benefit the Johns Hopkins Hospital. I know this is short notice, but at least start thinking about what you've got that you no longer wear - there will be additional donation days in June and September.
• Sugarloaf Crafts Festival: In a couple of weeks (April 16-18), the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival makes its annual appearance at the fairgrounds in Timonium. This year, vendors include a whole bunch of fancy food folks, from Terra Verde Farms to Virginia's own MeadowCroft Farm (which looks like it carries amazing stuff).

Also, as the new president of Slow Food Baltimore, Liz is doing a great job of organizing and announcing events. She's updating the organization's blog pretty regularly, and is really on top of food-related stuff happening in and around Baltimore.

April Food Day

Today is April 1st, which means that it is a) my Uncle Larry's birthday, b) April Fool's Day (which I've never been very good at) and c) the second annual April Food Day.

April Food Day is the brainchild of two bloggers: Chris Cox of Easy & Elegant Life and Baltimore's own Meg Fairfax Fielding of Pigtown Design and Pigtown Pigout. It's a blog-driven day of awareness and donation for Feeding America, an organization that provides food and groceries to food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters.

Right now, Feeding America is providing food to 37 million (one in eight) Americans - an increase of 46% over 2006. Of those, 14 million are children. Over one-third of households receiving food have at least one person working, but still need help.

Most of the pantries and nearly half the soup kitchens that receive assistance from Feeding America have no paid staff at all, relying entirely on volunteers.

In short, it's a great cause and I can't think of a better one for a food blogger to promote.

If you're interested in donating to Feeding America, you can find their April Food Day donation page right here. And please pass the message on.

Thanks very much!

Entertaining Friday: Restaurant Week

Last night we headed downtown for wine tasting at the super nice wine shop Bin 604 with our friends Tommy, Matt, Amy, Matt's parents, and a bunch of Amy's friends. This is an extension of the Roy's wine tasting we did in November. It was fun, even if seven of the eight wines we tasted were from California, which just isn't our favorite wine region. (And the eighth, from Australia, had a crazy tomato flavor that everyone but Cooper and I liked.)

After dinner, Cooper and Tommy and I bailed on dinner downtown so we could get ourselves closer to home in case of some sort of kid-related disaster. Unsurprisingly, we stopped in at Crush for a snack on the way home. I was all ready to tuck into the shrimp and grits appetizer, maybe with a side of truffle fries, but my plans quickly changed when I discovered that Crush was starting Restaurant Week a day early. Their three-course prix fixe is $35.10 (the official price, though some places are going $30.10) and their selection is strong (the regular menu is still available, too).

I started with the pumpkin ravioli, which I've wanted to try for a while. It was very good, if you like sweet appetizers - if you like The Helmand's kaddo, you'll like this. For my entry, I had duck over cauliflower puree and it was fantastic. Great flavor, tender meat, not too fatty. Dessert was a little less exciting - I think I won the round with an almond and blueberry sponge cake topped with blueberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. It was good, if a bit like a glorified blueberry muffin.

All of this is a long way of saying: if you live in Baltimore, don't forget that it's Restaurant Week! The list of participating restaurants is here, along with links to menus and logistics.

My Restaurant Week tips:

• Go someplace that's expensive enough to make the $35.10 worth it.
• Pick spots that also offer their regular menu. In my experience, the overall quality of the food is better at these places - maybe because the kitchen's not completely thrown off (and bored).
• Don't get frustrated if it's really crowded. That IS the idea behind the week. Be a little patient with the service.
• Go at off times and for lunch if you want to cut down on the potential for crowding.

Wherever you go, hope you enjoy. Bon Appetit!

Old Bay Holi-Bay Recipe Contest

I'm feeling pretty warmly towards Old Bay these days, and not just for the usual reasons. I love the stuff, of course - I didn't grow up in a bubble inside Maryland - but now I also kind of love the people.

Here's what happened: I got an email the other day from Old Bay's PR people. They were announcing their holiday contest, which is open to Facebook fans (details below). I'm already a fan, so I knew about the contest, but I emailed back saying that of course I'd mention it on the blog. Why not?

I mentioned that I'd recently sent some Old Bay to Eve Martel, a blogger who lives in Montreal (I interviewed her a while back for Houzz) - I thought it might make a nice anecdote for the Old Bay crew. I also mentioned that I was planning to send some to my high school friend Bert, who's just been deployed and will be spending the next year in Afghanistan. Immediately, I heard back with a note saying that Old Bay would be happy to send my friend something themselves.

I know it's a little thing, but it does take time - and imagine how great Old Bay would smell in the middle of the very-far-away desert.

And that, my friends, is why I'm an even bigger fan of Old Bay today.

If you're not already a Facebook fan of Old Bay, you can become one by going here. And here are the details of their holiday contest:

Celebrate the Holi-Bays Contest:

November 19th through December 25th, Old Bay wants to hear from its Facebook fans* on how they use their favorite spice blend during the holidays - it could be whipping up an Old Bay recipe, sprinkling it on a holiday favorite, using it as a holiday decoration or giving it as a gift.

To enter the contest, post a photo showing how you zest up your holidays using Old Bay – (Entries are limited to one photo posting per week).

• Each post will be voted on by the amount of “likes” it receives from fellow Facebook fan members.
• The photo post with the most “likes” will receive an “Ultimate Holi-Bay Gift Basket” ($140 value) that includes:
• A $25 gift card, a steamer pot and fryer, tons of Old Bay products, 5 sample packs of Old Bay for you to share with friends and family, as well as some items for the ultimate Old Bay fan – branded t-shirts, cups, temporary tattoos, and an inner tube for sledding (or relaxing in the water for those who live in warm weather all year round)!
• One winner will be announced each week, starting the week of November 30th.
• We will mail out all gift baskets upon receiving each winner’s address information.

*You must be a Facebook member and fan of OLD BAY’s Facebook page to enter contest

Upcoming Events: All About Wine

You know what I like about the fall? Everybody's back to work and back at home after summer vacations, so there's a lot going on.

Of course, that's also sort of what I don't like about fall, since I end up so busy that I can't go to a lot of cool stuff. Such as these two, very fun-sounding wine-related events:

• This Thursday (October 22nd), the Maryland Science Center (601 Light Street) is hosting its second "Science Uncorked" event. This one is all about "the genius of wine" - fueled by the museum's DaVinci exhibit. Wine Market wine experts will be leading a talk on the wines of Italy - and there's wine tasting and food pairings. Sounds kind of awesome, right? And so perfectly food + artsy? I wish I could make it. Tickets are $40 for Maryland Science Center members and $45 for non-members. To RSVP, or for more information, call 410.545.5960.
• Next week, I'll be missing another fabulous-sounding wine-related event, when Morton's hosts a champagne and chocolate tasting, featuring three Piper-Heidsieck sparkling wines, paired with several Vosges chocolates (and a handful of Morton's appetizers). This also costs $45 per person and sounds like a kind of delicious night out. Call 410-527-8255 to make a reservation.

There's more happening out there, of course, but these two events caught my eye - as wine, artistes, and chocolate often do.

Entertaining Friday: Keeping Busy in Baltimore

Fall has arrived and with it, about a million and one things to do every weekend (and weeknight, if you're young enough and have that kind of energy). My inbox has been stuffed full of announcements and notices about fun things going on in and around the city over the next few weeks - and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some of them here:

Saturday, October 3rd: This weekend is Fells Point Festival, that annual 48-hour stretch of debauchery and hilarity. If you're there (and coherent), stop by the new Fells location of Nectar Boutique (1628 Thames) - it's just moved from O'Donnell Street in Canton.

This is going to sound a little convoluted, but Nectar's owner, Christine, is Mike's cousin Jeff's girlfriend. I've known Jeff forever, since he was a bartender at Claddagh's back in my younger, crazier days (and now he's the proprietor of Elliott's Pour House, a very nice, very neighborhoody bar in Canton). Christine is great and, most importantly, has awesome style that is totally reflected in her boutique.

Sunday, October 4th: As I've already mentioned, Dixon and Cooper and I will be saddling up to local chefs at the JFX Farmers' Market, where the Toyota Hybrid Farm-to-Table Tour will be making a stop.

Unfortunately, we already have plans in the afternoon, otherwise I would be all over the Chesapeake Oyster Festival at Woodberry Kitchen. From 3 to 5 p.m. on the patio, guests can enjoy four types of oysters on the half shell for $1 each, or oysters grilled on the half shell, four for $5. Plus, wine for $5 a glass, which is enough reason as any to head over. Also, cheese + music. Sounds amazing. Call 410-464-8000 for more details.

Thursday, October 8th: Plastic surgeon Dr. Dean Kane will spend the evening channeling his inner House (who did some outrageous cooking this week, btw) when, under the guidance of executive chef Bill Krouse, he takes over the kitchen at Sotto Sopra, serving a five-course meal that sounds amazing (lobster ravioli? lamb with mint caponata, pumpkin souffle? yes please!), alongside wine selections from The Wine Merchant.

Dinner is $70 per person and Dr. Kane will also be selling his pop art, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Dinner, plus a good cause! Call 410-625-0534 for reservations or more information.

And that's just in the next week. There's a lot more to come later this fall...

Stuff to Do this Weekend: Toyota Hybrid Farm-to-Table in Baltimore

I don't get to the Sunday farmers' market below the JFX nearly enough - but I'm headed there this Sunday morning, with Cooper and Dixon in tow. What's getting me there? The Toyota Hybrid Farm-to-Table Tour.

Toyota has been traveling to farmers' markets around the country to help promote local food products...and to show off the third generation Prius and the 2009 hybrid Highlander. It sounds like a fun event, with prizes and giveaways and fresh herbs (pictured at left, in Portland).

Toyota has partnered with local farms and chefs to showcase Baltimore-made products. The chefs will man booths throughout the farmers' market, on Toyota's behalf, giving away free sample tastings of dishes made with local farmers' products.

The list of chefs is impressive - it's kind of a who's who of local ingredient-loving chefs:

• Jesse Sandlin of Abacrombie
• Chris Paternotte of Taverna Corvino
• Patrick Morrow of Ryleigh’s Oyster
• Michael Costa of Pazo
• Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen
• Ben Troast of Regi’s American Bistro
• Kiet Philavanh of Pizzazz Tuscan Grille
• Sandy Lawler of Feast @ 4 east
• Rashad Edwards of Meli Patisserie & Bistro
• Brian Martin of Kali’s Court
• Bill Crouse of Sotto Sopra
• Jason Gehring, pastry chef of Cinghiale

Not bad, right?

The event runs from 8 am to 12 pm. Really, is there a better, healthier-feeling way to start off a Sunday morning? OK, yoga. But this is pretty close, and way more fun if you ask me.

[Photo courtesy of the Toyota Hybrid Farm-to-Table Tour.]

Trendy Monday: Recession Dining

At the end of last week, the NYT ran an article on how people are scaling back and turning thriftiness into the newest trendy obsession. Like many NYT trend pieces, it seems possible that the entire article is built around a couple of the author's more obnoxious friends, but unlike some of those articles, the overall point of this one is valid. The economy's tight and people are trying to make the best of it with some new habits.

The article, and the new appeal of the thrify lifestyle, reminded me of a conversation I had last Christmas. We were out with a bunch of my high school friends, doing our semi-annual "get together, drink and talk about the old days" thing on a random Sunday night at a bar in Fells Point. One story lead to another, but the theme of most of them "remember that time when we did that thing and we were so young and so loud and so annoying but it was SO funny? And how did we drink that much anyway?"

After the 10th or so story, my friend Mike, an environmental scientist who's kind of a hippie (more than the rest of us, anyway) and lives in Seattle with his awesome wife Polly, looked at everyone and started laughing. "Back in Seattle," he said, "when we get together with friends it's all 'what are you doing with your CSA' and 'we're thinking of growing flax so we can make our own clothes'." It's never about this stuff."

Which cracked all of us up. Obviously.

I can guarantee that things won't get so bad around here that I'll start weaving my own clothes. But I do have plans to, at the very least, be a little more efficient with my CSA vegetables this year. Thrift isn't a bad thing.

Fortunately, being thrifty doesn't always mean scaling back. This week, for example. On Wednesday, Sotto Sopra (410-625-0534, 405 North Charles Street, Mt. Vernon) is "celebrating" tax day with a Dollar Pasta Night. For a donation to either the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or Our Daily Bread, plus just one dollar, diners can choose from a menu of nine pastas. Choices range from spaghetti alla puttanesca to penne with salmon and Pernod.

Not exactly the dollar menu at McDonald's, but it'll do, right? It's definitely the kind of thrifty living I can get behind.

(I'd recommend calling to reserve a table in advance. Sotto Sopra will be taking reservations from 5 to 10 p.m. And really, I would recommend going, especially if you've never tried the restaurant before. The food is delicious and really, what a great deal.)

Dictionary Friday: Gift

gift 
1. something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone, honor an occasion, or make a gesture of assistance; present.
2. the act of giving.
3. something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned: Those extra points he got in the game were a total gift.
4. a special ability or capacity; natural endowment; talent: the gift of saying the right thing at the right time. –verb (used with object)
5. to present with as a gift; bestow gifts upon; endow with.
6. to present (someone) with a gift: just the thing to gift the newlyweds.

I've got gifts on my mind lately. For one thing, yesterday, Cooper's mom watched Dixon for the day and I did nearly all of my Christmas shopping - which was a huge relief. It's different to shop when you've got a two year old in the house (Dixon's letter to Santa was pretty hilarious, but he did make Mommy proud by asking for a kitchen and a toolbench.)

On top of that, today's Cooper's birthday. Really, we'll be celebrating all weekend, but we kick off tonight with dinner at Mama's on the Half Shell. We haven't been there in a while, and I've been ready to eat there ever since October, when we used dinner at Mama's as a cover for Bill's surprise 35th birthday party (related: apparently I never wrote about that party? Well, it was fun.)

And finally, I've been busy over at Examiner.com writing a short series about great gifts for foodies. I've got one more to write next week (the "over $100" category) but if you're looking for gifts for...I don't know...me, you could do worse than something on this list or this one.

Also, if you're looking for some cool places to shop, try one of these:

• The MICA Art Market. In the Brown Building - that newish, cool, modern building on Mount Royal. I went to the art market yesterday and bought two gifts for other people and one for me. There's a ton of cool stuff there.
• Gore Dean Antiques. This newish location in the old Smith & Hawken building in Mt. Washington is full of tons of cool stuff. Especially if you have an unlimited budget.
• A Carroll Colonial Christmas at the Mount Clare Mansion. This is this afternoon (2-4) and all day tomorrow (10-4) and kickass local food and design blogger Pigtown Pigout (aka Meg) will be there, selling her wares.
• Also, think about buying some jewelry from theminx. Support your local bloggers!

Happy 60th birthday, Bill Kelly!

Today is a very special day, indeed, as it marks the 60th birthday of blog fan and food lover extraordinaire, Bill Kelly (also known as Alicia's dad). His official celebration started earlier in the week, with beer and fun at the Elmira, NY chapter of the Ancient Order of the Hibernians (50 cent beers! Parties for only $50 + a keg!), but as Mr. Kelly is a celebratory kind of guy, I expect that it will continue on for more than a few days.

In honor of his birthday, here are five of the most entertaining things that I know about Mr. Kelly (although, I'm sure that there are many, many more):

1. Born and raised in Elmira, Mr. Kelly goes way back with, of all people, Tommy Hilfiger. TH also grew up in Elmira and his first store was there - a jeans shop called "People's Place". Elmira legend has it that Mr. Kelly's mom, Mary Kelly, used her washing machine to help Tommy apply some sort of special treatment to some of his stock. I don't know if that's true or not, but I can attest to the fact that Mr. Kelly tells a really, really great story about TH, or "Hi-Fi", as he calls him.

2. Some people have skills on the grill. And some people not only have skills, but also have the personality and gumption to be truly daring when it comes to grilling. Mr. Kelly happens to fall into group #2. Known as the "unofficial grillmaster of Keuka Lake" (where the Kellys have a lake house), he's been known to throw bacon, eggs, hash browns and anything else on the grill, no matter what the weather. And it somehow ends up tasting good.

3. Mr. Kelly is oddly well-versed in video game technology. A few years ago, when we were visiting the lake house, he taught Cooper how to download his own music onto Xbox games. He creates all his own soundtracks. That kind of skill is really useful. In certain circles, at least.
As a mildly food-related correlary, at the time, Mr. Kelly's favorite song was "Candy Shop" by 50 cent. You know, obviously. Because all retired state police officers loooove 50 cent.

4. Despite having grown up in New York, Mr. Kelly hasn't ever been a fan of New York teams. But he is obsessed with Philadelphia sports, especially the Phillies. (He did spend 20 years nearby in Wilmington, DE.) A couple of years ago, he and his brother set out to make that manly pilgrimage that baseball fans love to make: the baseball (and food and beer)-themed road trip. Starting in Cleveland (where they ate hot dogs at the stadium), they then drove on to Baltimore (Boog Powell's BBQ) and finished their odyssey in their adopted athletic home, Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, where they continued eating healthy and pure with cheesesteaks from Pat's.

5. I'm fairly certain that one day soon, Mr. Kelly's going to be renting himself out as entertainment for parties. He can start with his storytelling skills, move on to DJ and finish up by demonstrating his superior air guitar skills. He even has his own wooden guitar, given to him by a friend, to give his act authenticity.

Mr. Kelly is due back down in Baltimore in a few weeks, to celebrate Christmas with Alicia and Mike and Patrick (Alicia's brother/ one of my favorite local artists). While here, he's planning to take a step up from his standard Baltimore fare (bar food and beer of the, um, less expensive sort), to dine at The Prime Rib. As he put it, "once a year, it's fun to go uptown."

So if you're at The Prime Rib just before Christmas and you see the festive Kelly/Barger family, wish Mr. Kelly a fantastic 60th!

Quotable Tuesday: Bahamas!

I am sure I will feel at home in the Bahamas. I've been involved in gambling in the Bahamas. I've been involved in gambling in Nevada and I've been involved in banking. - former American Ambassador to the Bahamas, Chic Hecht, on his qualifications for the job

I'm not much of a gambler, but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to feel right at home in the Bahamas, as well.

Tomorrow morning we leave for a long weekend on Grand Bahama Island with Mike and Alicia and Jen and Bill. Our plan is to spend a lot of time sitting on the beach, to drink many drinks out of coconut shells, and to eat a lot of fish.

Sadly (kind of), I won't be bringing my laptop, so M&G will go without update for the next few days. But I'm sure once I return I'll have lots of good food stories. And a tan. Well, maybe on the tan. But definitely on the food stories.