Could the Orchard Landing Restaurant on Joppa Road in Towson become a Mo’s seafood restaurant? That’s what a recent Baltimore County liquor-license transfer would lead one to believe. However, none of the principals is talking yet.

For months, the Orchard Landing (not to be confused with the nearby Orchard Market and Cafe, which serves Persian food) has been undergoing renovations, according to a sign out front. I haven’t been inside, but the outside looks like it could use a good overhaul.

It’s come a long way from its heyday as Hersh’s Orchard Inn, a classic Baltimore special-occasion place, where charming host Hersh Pacino greeted guests by name and regaled diners with insider stories. It was a hot spot for celebs, too, like Jim Palmer and Sammy Davis Jr. When it closed in 1997, executive chef Michael Gettier took over. He eventually left to head the kitchen at Antrim 1844 Country Inn in Taneytown to continued acclaim.

The liquor license transfer to Mo’s was approved "subject to a checklist," a routine procedure of checking inspections, permits, and owners’ backgrounds. That can take 30 days. I’ll let you know what happens.

Okay, now the phone number at The Dogwood in Hampden has been "temporarily disconnected." It must have happened recently. I just called the restaurant a few days ago, and it rang several times, never switching to a voice mail. However, the website says it is "continuing to work to reopen." It’s been closed since July 24.

I also tried to call the nonprofit Plates Cafe and Catering in the Woman’s Industrial Exchange on North Charles Street, where chef Galen Sampson, co-owner of the Dogwood, was on the board and his wife Bridget was its acting executive director this summer. Its phone recording says that it’s closed from Oct. 12-16 for maintenance and staff training. Of course, we know today is Oct. 27.

Sadly, the whole situation isn’t looking good.

Freda’s Kitchen will soon have new owners and be renamed The Falls. It’s amazing. I was out on medical leave for four weeks and I came back to a crazy quilt of restaurant news that I’ll catch up with soon. I also recently went to Volt, where Top Cheftestant Bryan Voltaggio holds court. More to come later on that experience.

But, in the meantime, I was surprised to see in the minutes of a recent Mt. Washington Improvement Association meeting that Freda’s, which has been owned by the Emmer family for about 18 months is already changing hands. Its Witness Protection sandwich (yummy corned beef, coleslaw, and Russian dressing on rye) won a "Best of Baltimore" award this year from our magazine.

When I talked to Josh Emmer today—who owns Freda’s with his parents, Linda and Martin Emmer—he said the family was ready to move on to other things. "We built a great business. We had a great time there," he said. "But our great passion is construction."

A tentative settlement date for the restaurant transfer is Oct. 30 with new owners Mike Sproge (who owned Evergreen Cafe on Cold Spring Lane from 2003 until 2007) and Tim Hofmann, whom Mike has known since they were high-school freshmen in South Jersey. Mike later went to Loyola College.

I also caught up with Mike today, who said he and Tim will close Freda’s for a couple of weeks and that they hope to reopen in mid-November. They plan to be open seven days a week, starting around 6:30 or 7 a.m., and are still determining what the menu will be as they search for a chef. It'll be light fare to start, Mike said. But what’s really important to the partners is that The Falls be a comfortable place.

"We’re not out to reinvent the wheel or have too pretentious food," Mike said. "We’re out to build a community space."

Oh, yes, another plus, they’re keeping the corned beef sandwich!

Moveable Feast’s fund-raiser on Thursday (Sept. 17) has particular meaning to me this year. First, if you’re not familiar with the nonprofit group, it delivers nutritious meals to people who are living with AIDS or breast cancer.

You can help by dining out on Thursday when many restaurants in the Baltimore area will donate at least 20 percent of their sales that day to Moveable Feast. Some restaurants, like Gertrude’s, Brewer’s Art, and Woodberry Kitchen (chef/owner Spike Gjerde is chairman of the event) are sharing a whopping 50 percent of their sales. Check out a full list of participating restaurants.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to dine out this year because I’m having surgery for my own breast cancer tomorrow (Sept. 15). The prognosis is good, and I’m very fortunate to have many people cooking meals for me during my recovery, including my favorite chef, daughter Brigitte, who dishes up great food at Miss Shirley’s.

But I hope you’ll support Moveable Feast for all the people who don’t have access to home-cooked meals.

I’ll be back to blogging soon.

Chef Gianfranco Fracassetti—originally from Bergamo, Italy—has joined the kitchen staff at the popular Little Italy restaurant. The menu at Cafe Gia will stay the same, assures owner Gia Blattermann Fugate.

But chef Gianfranco, who has worked in several high-profile Italian restaurants in the area, will showcase his cooking talents through specials and seasonal fare, she says.

Look for margaritas on the go next. Kooper’s Chowhound Burger Wagon has been on the road for a week now, and already owners Bill Irvin and Patrick Russell are looking ahead to having more burger wagons. They also envision re-creating a Woody’s Rum Bar—another place they own in Fells Point besides Kooper’s Tavern and Slainte— on wheels.

They’ve got all the licenses in place, said Patrick, who’s 40 and has been working in Fells Point since he was a 21-year-old bartender. I talked to him this morning on the phone before he headed out with the truck.

Currently, he contracts with businesses and office parks to park the burger wagon at predetermined locations. Today, Tide Point. Tomorrow, Johns Hopkins. For locations, check Twitter updates @BRGRwagon or the Chowhound Burger website.

This Saturday (Sept. 5), you’ll find the burger wagon, representing Maryland, at the sixth annual Hamburg-er Festival in historic Hamburg, PA, about two hours from Baltimore. It’ll be pitting its burgers against 20 other vendors. Patrick said they plan on serving about 500 burgers.

One of the reasons behind the mobile burgers is to spread the word about Kooper’s Tavern, he said. The wagon was in Hunt Valley recently, and many people weren’t familiar with the restaurant or its burgers. He said he and his partners are also exploring the possibility of opening a Kooper’s Tavern in the Baltimore County area.

Patrick also said the wagon—which has hot water and refrigeration—provides access to people who aren’t able to get to Fells Point that often. But perhaps the biggest plus, he said, is, "What we’re offering is not only safe food, but restaurant quality food on the road."

After last night’s game at Camden Yards, Yankees Derek Jeter and catcher Jorge Posada headed to Sullivan’s Steakhouse for a victory celebration, I guess. (The O’s bowed to the Yankees, 5-1, in the first of a three-game series.)

The duo downed cowboy rib-eyes, lobster tails, and margaritas, according to Andrea Kunicky of Maroon PR. I hope they enjoyed their meal, but, hopefully, we’ll make them lose their appetites tonight.