Baltimore’s first Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant officially opened to the public today in Harbor East despite the crazy storm that has thrown many restaurant schedules into turmoil. Restaurants are advising diners to call ahead before venturing out.

Richard Gorelick of The Sun has done us all a favor by suggesting that restaurants use the hashtag #openinbalto on Twitter to let people know what they’re doing. It’s an easy way to check before you go.

I’m housebound today or else I would have headed to the new Gordon Biersch for lunch. They’re conveniently located on the first floor of my office building at 1000 Lancaster St. I’ll get there soon.

General manager Jon Jones had this to say in a press release about opening during the deluge of Hurricane Sandy:
“After spending the last few months preparing for our grand opening, my staff and I could not be more excited. … We are eager to join the vibrant and growing Baltimore dining scene and get our taps flowing!”

Gordon Biersch offers a made-from-scratch menu with California-inspired cuisine, featuring items like lobster and shrimp tacos, a grilled chicken and avocado sandwich, and bistro steak medallions, plus handcrafted German beers. The Baltimore restaurant has a 279-seat dining room and bar, a 50-seat patio with views of the waterfront (maybe not a good idea today!), and an on-site brewery.

They opened at 11 a.m. this morning, but it’s a good idea to give them a call at 410-230-9501 to see if the weather conditions affect their hours for the rest of the day and week.

Miss Shirley's Cafe now offers Kids Crazy Boxes for its young diners ages 10 and under. The bento-like boxes are $7.77 each.

Children can choose from breakfast combos like French toast, mini Belgian waffles, pictured, and a bagel with cream cheese, served with scrambled eggs and fresh fruit. Lunch options include grilled cheese, benne-seed fried chicken pieces, and mac and cheese, served with sweet potato fries and fresh fruit.

This is a great idea. I wish they had an adult version.

Photo courtesy of Miss Shirley's Cafe 

Big reveal: The name is Johnny’s. After months of secrecy, restaurateurs Tony Foreman and Cindy Wolf are sharing details about their newest place, which opens at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

“It’s about as all-American as you’re going to get,” Tony said of the restaurant’s name, which ties in nicely with its American menu. The food also has West Coast influences, reflecting the cuisines of that area’s Mexican and Asian immigrants, he said.

Johnny’s is located in the lower level of the Roland Park Shopping Center, pictured, where Petit Louis, another Foreman Wolf restaurant, can be found on the other end.

Tony doesn’t see Johnny’s as being competition for the decade-old French bistro. “It’s very complementary,” he said.

Johnny’s also has a lower price point than the other Foreman Wolf restaurants (including Charleston, Cinghiale, and Pazo), with dinner entrees in the $14-19 range.

The décor is retro charming—a throwback to the ’40s and ’50s— with brick walls, zinc-topped tables, a counter with stools ala a diner, colorful Chesterfield banquettes, and a plaid carpet.

In front of the 1890s building, there’s a vintage metal porch glider.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served daily in the refurbished space that once housed the Roland Park Bakery & Deli. Various coffees will be offered as well as fountain sodas and milkshakes. There’s also a whiskey bar with a TV (the only one in a Foreman Wolf restaurant).

You’ll find breakfast items like omelets, pancakes, and oatmeal, and lunch and dinner offerings like hoisin BBQ pulled beef brisket on a baguette, burgers, and grilled shrimp and tortilla.

Evening specials feature bacon-wrapped meatloaf, fish and chips, and sesame-fried chicken breast.

As I toured Johnny's yesterday, the restaurant was already bustling with staff activity in anticipation of its first diners. 

“It should be cool,” said Tony, who grew up eight blocks from the new restaurant and still lives in the neighborhood.

Reservations are not required.

Photo courtesy of realestateseen.com

Neiman Marcus's annual fantasy gift list is keeping food lovers (albeit filthy rich ones) in mind this year by offering a $250,000 private dinner for 10, prepared by four prestigious chefs.

It'll take place in your home, so you'll probably want to clean out the fridge. But, no worries, a professional event planner will be on hand to help that evening.

The impressive lineup of chefs is: Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, Richard Rosendale, and Jerome Bocuse. In addition to the dinner, a professional tequila tasting is also included.

They don't say anything about cleanup.

But you'll be happy to know that the money goes to the Bocuse d'Or USA Foundation, an organization that promotes culinary excellence among young professionals.

If that doesn't appeal to you, Neiman Marcus is also offering a Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Woody-Tailgate Trailer for $150,000.

It includes elegant glassware, and a top-notch entertainment system, including a flat-screen TV, Blu-ray Disc player, and a state-of-the-art sound system, plus a one-year supply of Bulleit Bourbon and Bulleit Rye.

Tailgating at the Ravens games will never be the same.

Photo courtesy of Neiman Marcus's website 

Find out about the Greenhouse Project while enjoying cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and a four-course dinner with wine on Thursday, starting at 6:30 p.m., at Maritime Park.

The benefit is being held to raise money to expand Living Classrooms' BUGS (Baltimore Urban Gardening for Students) program to allow more inner-city children to learn about fresh vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

The BUGS greenhouse on Caroline Street will be replaced with a larger, more modern facility, while the older building will be moved to another Living Classrooms location.

Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Waterfront Kitchen works with the students in the greenhouse and gardens, and brings them into the restaurant's kitchen to cook meals based on the vegetables they grow.

The cost of the party is $125 a person. Tickets can be purchased online.

Photo courtesy of Waterfront Kitchen's website 

Yum! Mermaid's Kiss Oyster Fest and Oysterfest VI promise fun and oysters to those who attend these events. Both benefit good causes, too.

The Mermaid's Kiss party raises funds for the Oyster Recovery Partnership, which works to restore oysters to the Chesapeake Bay. The event is being held from 6:30-9 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at the National Aquarium.

Guests will enjoy sustainable seafood dishes and freshly shucked oysters while exploring the Aquarium. The cost is $65 at the door; $50 in advance. The VIP reception is sold out.

Dress is business casual or attendees can wear a bay-themed costume for a chance to win prizes. For more information, visit the Partnership's website.

In its sixth year, Ryleigh's Oysterfest will feature 25-plus varieties of shuck-a-buck oysters, the second annual Baltimore Oyster Shucking Championship, and a bull-and-oyster roast among other entertainment.

It's being held Oct. 4-7 in Federal Hill. For a complete lineup of the schedule, visit the event's Facebook page.

A portion of the proceeds benefits the Oyster Recovery Partnership and Chesapeake Bay Foundation. 

Rohan Marley, a son of reggae legend Bob Marley, arrived unfashionably late for an interview on Friday. "He has his own timeline," an employee at the Marley Coffee exhibit explains. Ah, Jamaican time, of course, which has absolutely nothing to do with real time.

Rohan was in town to introduce visitors to his coffee and tea drinks at the Natural Foods Expo East at the Baltimore Convention Center. His coffee company features Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee grown on his farm there as well as fair-trade beans from local farmers all over the world.

The former University of Miami linebacker didn't set out to be a coffee farmer, he tells me when he arrives almost an hour and a half past our scheduled meeting time. "It wasn't the plan," he says, with his megawatt smile, mischievous eyes, and thick dreadlocks.

He's so charming that it's hard to be irked about his lateness, especially when I find out he blew off a CNN interview earlier in the morning.

He's mellow, Mon, as a stream of people come up to him at the exhibit, asking to have their photos taken with him or to get his autograph. Grown women gawk and gush as they approach him. He clearly enjoys the fandom.

But Rohan is quite earnest when he talks about his desire to employ organic and sustainable practices in his business endeavors as he carries on his father's legacy. "Our first responsibility is to the earth and social consciousness," he says.

Rohan began his foray into the world of coffee when he fell in love with a 52-acre plot of land in Chepstowe, Portland, Jamaica, atop the Blue Mountains. "I purchased the farm because of the beautiful river, " he says, referring to the meandering Spanish River.

But after he bought the property, he felt committed to the workers toiling the fields of the coffee farm. He didn't want them to be out of work. "The key was to keep it going," he says. And he did.

Rohan, 40, who was a professional Canadian football player after college, also is involved in the Marley Beverage Company, which promotes healthy natural drinks. "It's a young company, young and passionate," says Kevin McClafferty, the fledgling beverage company's president, as he hangs close to Rohan at the exhibit. "It has the potential to be one of the biggest enterprises in the country."

Growth is important for another reason. A portion of the coffee company's proceeds benefits Kicks for Cause, a foundation that builds soccer fields and soccer camps for the children of coffee-producing communities.

There's an additional component to Rohan's mission, too: the House of Marley, which produces sustainable audio products. In fact, after the Baltimore expo ended on Saturday, Rohan headed to Austin, Texas, for a House of Marley event.

When I asked him what he did while he was in Baltimore, he said he watched a lot of football, being coy about specifics. But he seemed genuinely pleased to be here.

"I love Baltimore," he says. "My best friends live in Baltimore."

I have a feeling everyone thinks they are his friend.

Photos by me