RA Sushi Bar Restaurant is offering complimentary Tootsy Maki today only (June 18) to celebrate the made-up International Sushi Day. There’s some fine print.

You have to go to RA’s Facebook page, click “Like,” and then you’re eligible to print out a coupon. Look at the site closer and you’ll see that the offer is only good for the first 250 respondents. So you have to hurry to the Harbor East restaurant with coupon in hand to qualify.

But it might be worth it. The Tootsy Maki is an $8.25 value. The popular roll has kani kama crab mix, shrimp, and cucumber, and is topped with crunchy tempura bits and drizzled with a sweet eel sauce.

If you can’t see the coupon online—I can’t—RA advises customers to send them an e-mail.

Is there anything better than soft- shell crabs in season? This recipe is easy and delicious. I found it years ago in Bon Appétit magazine. The best part: The originator is chef Cindy Wolf of Charleston.

Cornmeal-Crusted Soft-Shell Crabs with Lemon Brown Butter

1 cup buttermilk
4 fresh soft-shell crabs
1 cup yellow cornmeal
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
peanut oil (for frying)
½ cup (1 stick) butter
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large bunch watercress, thick stems trimmed
1 English hothouse cucumber, peeled, seeded, cut into 2-by-1/4-inch strips (about 2 cups)

Clean crabs, or ask your fishmonger to do it. Pour buttermilk into a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Add crabs to buttermilk; turn to coat. Let soak in refrigerator one hour, turning occasionally.

Whisk cornmeal, flour, salt, and cayenne in medium bowl. Drain crabs; add to cornmeal mixture and turn to coast both sides generously.

Pour enough peanut oil into heavy large skillet to reach depth of two inches; heat oil to 360 degrees.

Meanwhile, melt butter in small skillet over medium heat. Cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about four minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.

Working in two batches, add crabs to hot oil and cook until cornmeal coating is golden and crabs are cooked through, about 1 ½ minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Toss watercress and cucumber in large bowl; sprinkle with salt. Divide among four plates. Top each serving with one crab. Drizzle with brown butter. Makes four first-course servings.

Photo by Rita Mass/epicurious.com

What Fed Hill restaurateur is growing tomatoes on his roof? Baltimore magazine summer intern Elizabeth Laseter gives us the scoop. Here’s what she has to say:

Alan Morstein, pictured, owner of Regi’s American Bistro, is taking the ever so popular “farm to table” trend to the next level. Trek to the top of the colonial row-house-style restaurant and you will find an unusual sight—a carefully cultivated rooftop garden of heirloom tomatoes.

In nearly a month, the heirlooms will be full-grown (nearly 10 feet tall) and ready to make an appearance on the menu. Expect to see items such as homemade gazpacho, fried green tomatoes, tomato pie, and BLT sandwiches.

“Heirloom tomatoes are unique and special,” says Morstein. “It’s much less expensive to grow your own, rather than buy them from a farmers’ market.”

Compared to a conventional tomato, the heirloom has a more rounded oval shape, and comes in a greater variety of colors. Morstein describes the taste of an heirloom as “rich, sweet, and flavorful with low acidity.”

He grows an array of heirlooms, including Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Mr. Stripey, Yellow Boy, and Beefsteak. Each variety has its own distinctive shape, color, and flavor.

Morstein’s interest in local produce and foods ignited nearly four years ago when he began to frequent local farmers’ markets, including Waverly Farmers’ Market, Towson Farmers’ Market, Bel Air Farmers’ Market, and others. He obtains the freshest produce and meats for his restaurant, making weekly reports on his findings as well, he says.

“How can you not give your customers ‘the real deal’?” Morstein remarks. “If I can provide my guests with better quality food, then I am going to do that.”

He purchased heirloom tomato seeds from Knopps Greenhouse of Severn at the Waverly Market in April. Morstein first raised the plants under grow lights on the second floor of his restaurant, eventually repotting the plants on the roof to catch the sunlight. Morstein also installed tinsel foil strips around the plants to repel birds, squirrels, and other pests.

Growing heirlooms takes extra time and care. “My wife now calls me ‘Farmer Al,’” jokes Morstein.

Alan Morstein, owner of Regi’s American Bistro in Federal Hill, is a Waverly farmers’ market regular and keeps track of what’s local at the stands.

On Saturday, new arrivals included blueberries, apricots, cucumbers, and snap peas, he said. But the big news is that many farmers told him that Maryland corn should be ready in the next week and a half to two weeks.

Don’t you just love summertime?

Photo by Suat Eman/Free DigitalPress.net

It’s not a weight-loss program, that’s for sure. But it is a delicious prescription for recovery.

I had surgery last week, and my daughter Brigitte, who is the chef at Miss Shirley’s, has been nourishing me with food from the restaurant (like Born on the Bay-O Salad with a cornmeal-encrusted soft-shell crab and fried green tomatoes, pictured, yum) and from her own kitchen.

I am so glad I taught this kid how to cook. Of course, she’s taken it way beyond tuna casserole and lasagna. She’s a pro. I’m a home cook.

But she still enjoys fixing meals at home, especially on the grill. Last night, we had barbecue ribs and chicken. Here’s a recipe that Brigitte serves as a side dish. It’s not exact (everything is "to taste," she says), but that’s typical of most chefs’ recipes!

Summer Corn Salad

4 ears corn on the cob

Squirt lemon juice

Bit (about a tablespoon) of red-wine vinegar and olive oil

Sprinkle Old Bay seasoning

Grape tomatoes, halved, (enough to look pretty)

1 teaspoon fresh, chopped basil

Shuck corn. Cook corn in boiling water for about 3 minutes. Drain and cool. Cut corn kernels off the cob and place in a bowl. Add lemon juice, red-wine vinegar, olive oil, Old Bay, grape tomatoes, and basil. Gently toss. Serves a couple of people as a side dish.

Photo from yelp.com

Buy a beverage and get a free order of Mini Street Tacos on Wednesday (June 2) from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Qdoba Mexican Grill in Ellicott City (9050 Baltimore National Pike, Suite 101).

The restaurant’s newest menu item is a spin on traditional Mexican street fare. Each taco features a soft corn tortilla filled with slow-roasted pulled pork or seasoned shredded beef, topped with red onion and cilantro relish.

An order of the mini tacos (four tacos) is regularly $5.49. They’re available at eight Baltimore-area Qdoba stores and a new one that is scheduled to open in mid-June at 1325 Liberty Road in Eldersburg.

The blue-and-white Food Network flags on Lancaster Street this afternoon were a giveaway. What’s going on? I asked a guy with a camera crew hanging around Cinghiale. He turned out to be the producer of Chefs vs City.

The show pits Food Network chefs Aarón Sánchez and Chris Cosentino against two local foodies—in this case, chefs Annmarie Langton and Thomas Looney, both of Helen’s Garden—in a race around a particular location to find the most interesting, challenging food places.

The day-long, multi-stop sprint around Baltimore in the sweat-producing 90-degree heat came to Cinghiale for one of the challenges. A sign out front read: Prepare egg ravioli, make no mistakes, you’ll have to start over, if any yolk breaks.

The show’s executive producer described the program as a culinary Amazing Race and Iron Chef challenge. The TV crew couldn’t speak on the record, though. I have to get in touch with the Food Network’s PR machine for more answers.

But it was fun watching the teams pull up to the curb in Suburbans, jump out, and run to the restaurant owned by Tony Foreman and Cindy Wolf. Each group of two had to read the challenge out loud. (I did overhear that they had been to Bertha’s, too.)

After the Cinghiale competition, they had to race to the finish line at the Welcome Center at the Inner Harbor.

As soon as I get more details from New York, I’ll let you know when the Baltimore show airs. Chefs vs City can be seen at 9 p.m. on Sundays.