The Inner Harbor’s newest restaurant, Brio Tuscan Grille, opened at 11 a.m. today at the corner of Pratt and Calvert streets. The space was formerly a Legal Sea Foods.

Brio is a chain, serving northern Italian cuisine, with 46 locations around the U.S. I always enjoyed my meals at the Brio in Easton Town Center in Columbus, OH, when I lived there.

Menu items include brushetta, pictured, Tuscan-grilled pork chops, lasagna Bolognese al forno, crab cakes (that should be interesting), grilled salmon salad, and tiramisu.

Brio Baltimore will offer a Bellini brunch on Saturdays and Sundays and a Tuscan taster bar menu for $2.95 on certain hours Monday-Friday. There’s also a children’s menu.

This the Columbus company’s first Baltimore restaurant. There is also a Brio in Annapolis Towne Center.

Photo courtesy of Brio Tuscan Grille

Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen, Bryan Voltaggio of Volt in Frederick, and Cindy Wolf of Charleston, pictured, are among the nominees for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in the annual James Beard Awards.

Charleston also received nominations in the Outstanding Restaurant and Outstanding Wine Program categories.

There are a few steps to go before the winners are announced on May 7. The lengthy semifinalists' list will be pared down to the finalists on March 19.

It’s an honor for the nominees to get this far. But maybe this will be the year we get a Maryland winner.

Former Top Chef contestant Timothy Dean is ready for his comeback­—this time at The Boulevard at the Capital Centre in Largo. He plans to operate Timothy Dean Burger, according to a press release. The restaurant is scheduled to open in winter 2012.

Dean, who had a string of restaurants in the same location on Eastern Avenue in Fells Point, faced several legal challenges until his last restaurant Prime Steakhouse was shuttered last fall.

Before that, he operated the acclaimed Timothy Dean Bistro and then TD Lounge, which drew the ire of the neighborhood because of its music.

When we talked to Dean in May 2010 as the seventh season of Bravo’s Top Chef was set to air, he remained upbeat about his financial woes. “I stand in prayer," he said. He’s still very much into the power of God and positive thinking as friends learn from his Facebook page.

Dean’s new “fast casual” restaurant in the complex called The BLVD will also feature gourmet pizza, the press release said.

“The addition of Chef Dean’s restaurant reinforces The BLVD’s commitment to provide unique restaurant options to its diverse community and tourists traveling along I-95,” said Kenneth Baker, general manager of The BLVD.

We wish Chef Dean good fortune in his new venture.

Rockfish will get star billing at several city restaurants starting tomorrow as part of a promotion by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore to honor our local fish.

Participating restaurants and their menu specials include:

Charleston—rockfish with wine pairing.

Waterfront Kitchen—roasted rockfish with black truffle au jus.

Ryleigh’s—fried or roasted rockfish with a variety of sauces.

TEN TEN—grilled rockfish and Chesapeake oysters.

Regi’s American Bistro—“Dynamite Style” rockfish and crab imperial.

The Oceanaire—rockfish cakes.

Pickles Pub—rockfish bites with Buffalo sauce.

The Prime Rib—crabmeat-stuffed rockfish.

La Scala—rockfish imperial and rockfish San Remo.

McCormick & Schmicks—rockfish with other local seafood.

Phillips Seafood—rockfish and tomato ragout over goat cheese polenta cakes.

The rockfish promotion continues through Feb. 26. For a complete list of restaurants, visit the Downtown Partnership’s website.

Photo of fried catfish courtesy of Food Network

Italian or Geman cuisine? You can have both on Valentine’s Day. The new Calle’s Cucina in Charles Village and Cafe Einstein in Fells Point are teaming up to present both cuisines at Calle’s that evening.

Calle’s chef/owner Carl Vahl is a lawyer turned chef who studied cooking in Parma, Italy. Einstein’s kitchen wizard is Claudia Phillips, who prepares dishes she learned from her mother in her hometown Ulm, Germany, the birthplace of Albert Einstein—hence, her restaurant’s name.

On Tuesday, the duo will be offering a menu featuring entrees like sauerbraten with red cabbage and German spaetzle, osso buco, seafood risotto, and much more.

Desserts will include homemade Black Forest cake, panna cotta, and one of Claudia’s specialties, strawberry-caramel cake.

You may remember Claudia from the short-lived The Diner in Little Italy, where she was preparing German cuisine. A year ago, she started cooking again in a charming space on Eastern Avenue, where Teavolve was once located.

She’s already looking for a larger place with a kitchen for Cafe Einstein. Now, she makes everything with one convection oven.

Carl and Claudia often share their creations at each other’s restaurants. Carl carries Claudia’s desserts, and he occasionally provides appetizers for hers.

Calle’s is BYOB, and if you purchase your libation of choice at Charles Village Discount Liquors, across the street, you will receive a 10 percent discount, according to Calle’s website.

Sounds like there will be a good vibe at the restaurant on Valentine’s Day with Carl and Claudia running the kitchen.

Photo of one of Claudia’s desserts

The anticipated Heavy Seas Alehouse opened yesterday, even though the official opening isn't until next week on Feb. 15. But the restaurant is indeed ready for diners, a hostess told us.

I haven’t visited yet, but I do have a copy of the menu. It’s fancy pub fare, and I can’t wait to try it. The chef is Matt Seeber, a former executive chef at Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Matt, who lives in Baltimore now, is using fresh and local ingredients and sourcing locally whenever possible.

The menu, or rather Bill of Fare as they call it, is divided into:

First Try This, with dishes from the raw bar like oysters, smoked mussels, and crab salad, and other items like beet pickled eggs, braised bacon, and charcuterie and cheese.

And Then Try This, with bigger plates like 24-hour beef short rib, roasted chicken, and a Heavy Seas Burgers. What's great is that these dishes are paired with a recommended beer. For instance, the grilled hanger steak is matched with a Loose Cannon American IPA.

With Something on the Side, with offerings ranging from traditional onion rings and fries to Brussels sprouts with smoked pancetta and caramelized onion and farrotto risotto with pork confit, Portobello, and Parmesan cheese.

And, of course, there are lots of great drinks, including bottled beer, red and white wine, cocktails, and a nice rum selection.

Read more about the restaurant in our February issue.

John Mariani came to Baltimore for a few days and writes about his experience in the newsletter Virtual Gourmet. Mariani, a well-known columnist for Esquire and Bloomberg News, has been an author and journalist for 30 years.

Dara Bunjon shared Mariani’s thoughts on her blog Dining Dish today. I hope you’ll check out what he has to say about his visit, too.

He’s pretty upbeat about the city, though he wasn’t too impressed with most of the restaurants in Little Italy, quipping, “All the menus are the same.”

He was wowed by Aldo’s, dining room pictured, and nearby Chazz: A Bronx Original. Both restaurants have the Vitale family in common.

Of Aldo’s, Mariani writes, “Don’t take my word for it: Both Baltimore magazine and Baltimore City Paper say Aldo’s is the best Italian restaurant in the city, which means one of the best, period, an opinion I readily share.” (Nice mention of our magazine and City Paper!)

Of Chazz, he says, “Palminteri and the Vitales have got all the flavors nailed, starting with pizzas that have the perfect crust, the ideal char, the bubbles, and the good ingredients to compete with the best in the U.S.”

The national attention is great for all the restaurants in Baltimore.