Mmmm…sandwiches. We personally would like to thank the Earl of Sandwich for his part in establishing this lunchtime trend, now extended to all hours of the day. According to legend, the hungry 18th-century nobleman refused to leave a gaming table and asked his valet to bring him meat between two slices of bread. It may have been just a humble salt beef, but the name "sandwich" and a fast meal were born. Centuries later, the advent of sliced bread sent Americans into their own sandwich frenzy. The possibilities were endless.

Sweet Léla’s leads a double life. It hides under the guise of a market café by day and then cleverly struts itself as a multi-course, tablecloth restaurant at night, at least on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. And the manager, Vincenzo Diferrante, is so irresistibly charming that you’re won over long before the vegetable antipasti arrives on a pretty orange plate with thick slabs of fresh mozzarella, tender eggplant, black olives, and summer-licious tomatoes.

The word "McDonald's" evokes images of hard plastic booths, fluorescent lights, and outdated colors. Not exactly the kind of place you'd imagine armchairs and signed artwork. But that is just what franchise owners Barbara and Bob Houck have in mind for one of their four McDonald's. After 41 years, the 502 Reisterstown Road location has come face to face with a wrecking ball, and the Houcks are reimagining what a McDonald's can be.

Back-to-school sales are just about wrapped up as our collective pride and joys trundle off to another year of academic pursuits. A summer full of relations, vacations, stay-cations, and Play Stations has come to a close, and, now, there's an empty house. Whew! It's time to enjoy a little back-to-school shopping of our own, and what better way to usher in the beginning of a new school year than with the offerings of L'Ecole No. 41, Walla Walla, Washington's, attractive, high quality winery?

When you drive by York Garden Restaurant and Bar (9726 York Road, Cockeysville, 410-666-5303), you can't help but do a double take. A big sign out front announces that there is Indian and Mexican cuisine being served at what was formerly Asiana Indian Cuisine. Whoa, this is taking fusion to a whole new level.

Once inside and settled in the hushed dining room with pink overtones, we asked our server why the restaurant had chosen to serve two seemingly divergent types of cuisines. She explained the owners were hoping to draw in more customers that way. Fair enough.

You know how some restaurants bring your bread with ice-cold butter that is impossible to spread? Jay Cohen, the owner and executive chef of three-year-old Mia Carolina in Glyndon, gets really annoyed by that. So at his restaurant, he makes sure the butter is warm enough to spread easily.

For the first time in 50 years, a Sanders isn't on the premises at Sanders' Corner (2260 Cromwell Bridge Road, 410-825-5187), although the restaurant name will live on. Ron Sanders recently retired, and new owner John Naudain is seeking to leave his own imprint on the well-known Baltimore County spot. A new chef, Cindy Lee, is also in the kitchen for the changeover.