When Sam Curreri opened Sammy's Trattoria in Mount Vernon in June 2006, he thought he was well prepared to own his own restaurant. After all, he'd spent a dozen years as general manager at one of Baltimore's busiest restaurants, Chiapparelli's. Curreri figured he had seen it all.

Then his sprinkler system failed. And flooded the restaurant. The day he had a big political dinner booked.

"It almost flooded the whole dining room," Curreri recalls. "I kept calling it Venice and joking that I wanted to put a gondola in there."

It's a dessert lover's dream, a Fort Knox of foodstuffs. Stacked on racks inside a refrigerated corridor in a warehouse in Pikesville are hundreds upon hundreds of sweet slabs of cheesecake, each sealed inside an individually sized plastic container like Snow White in her glass coffin. Some slices are marbled with flamingo swirls of strawberry or smoky streaks of chocolate, while other unadorned pieces have the glowing, creamy complexion that only fresh eggs and real dairy ingredients can supply.

The owners of Fresh Fresh Seafood (507 York Road, Towson, 410-821-3474) are so proud of its namesake ingredient, it had to say it twice. They also display much of it at the counter on ice: gleaming gray clams, pearly scallops, and big, fat shrimp the size of your fist all greet you as you approach the cash register. Darlene and Ricky Parker—who moved their restaurant from its original Greenmount Avenue location seven years ago—are adamant about making everything from scratch.

There is a pig in Tio Pepe's kitchen and it smells great. The pig has been gutted, slit belly to throat so that it can lie flat in the roasting pan. Its teeth are bared, its ears singed black and crispy at the tips. Its skin has reached a deep shade of bronze, but it is the meat inside that is the real treat—the rich odor of roast pork wafts up from the pan, which is coated in a layer of drippings mixed with water that will later be reduced into a sauce.

We have good news for those of you who have endured the lunchtime lines at the Stone Mill Bakery in Greenspring Station: They've now opened a new, quick-service operation right next door called Stone Mill Gourmet 2 Go (10751 Falls Road, Lutherville, 410-821-1310). The place stands in stark contrast to the old bakery/sandwich shop—bright, modern, and open.

A couple of times in the last week, I've mentioned that I recently ate at an Indian restaurant in Towson, and the other person's eyes have lit up. "Cafe Spice?" they say. "Isn't it awesome?"

Well, yes, it kind of is. For one thing, there's the satisfaction of having found a secret gem: The place is hidden away in a basement below a 7-Eleven. The owners have done as much as they can to make the windowless, brick-lined room feel gracious, including the addition of an exuberantly decorated corner fountain guaranteed to mesmerize any children in your party.

When Carolyn's Cafe (aka Ras Doobie's) closed earlier this year in Ridgely's Delight, you could hear foodies moaning all over town. The tiny and tucked-away Jamaican eatery had been a favorite of many (and a perennial Cheap Eats winner within these pages) for its spicy jerk chicken, generous vegetarian options, and friendly island vibe. But moaners, take heart: The place has re-opened as the Penn Street Tavern (213 Penn Street, 410-752-5858), and the new owner happens to be a longtime friend of Ras Doobie.