The Mays Chapel spot vacated by Cafe Isis is about to have new tenants. Chef Roddy Domacasse, formerly of Brasserie Tatin and Linwoods, is opening Restaurant Sabor with two partners on Saturday (Dec. 13) in the Roundwood Center where Graul’s is located off Padonia Road. Look for a classic menu with seasonal, freshly prepared items, Roddy says.

The restaurant will be open for dinner seven days a week with lunch available Wednesday-Friday and brunch Saturday and Sunday (starting the following weekend). Roddy wants to keep the prices affordable with dinner entrées in the $15-28 range. There will also be early-bird specials from 4:30-6 p.m. The restaurant is BYOB with a $5 corkage fee per table, no matter how many bottles of wine you bring. "We’re trying to accommodate everyone," the affable chef says. "We want it to be a neighborhood place."

There is also a community table, where you can join other diners for a meal. The décor by Rita St. Clair is warm and cozy with floral fabrics, banquettes, and lots of wood in an American Arts and Crafts style. Roddy says he feels fortunate to have found the space and area. "We fell in love with it and the people."

Restaurant Sabor is offering a pre-fixe, four-course menu for New Year’s Eve for $65 a person, featuring dishes like Caesar salad, lobster ravioli mushroom ragout, prime rib, duck l’orange (wow, when was the last time you saw that on a menu?) and a dessert sampler. Reservations: 410-628-7227. There’ll be a website soon.

Sadly, the beautiful Pisces restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore is ending its a la carte service for dinner and brunch on Dec. 7, according to an email from the restaurant . The space will be used for private meetings and events. But the restaurant—with its wonderful view of the harbor—will still be having its New Year’s Eve party.

The hotel’s Bistro 300 will remain open, and its menu will soon be updated to reflect American bistro dining. For more info, call the hotel at 410-528-1234.

After "two years and a ton of money," Miss Irene’s is opening for business on Dec. 1, says owner Benjamin Greene, who also runs the Waterfront Hotel in Fells Point. The restaurant at 1738 Thames St. was completely gutted and now has the look of a modern-day bistro. It will operate from 5 p.m. to close the first week. Then, it will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, with brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, starting Dec. 8. A grand-opening celebration is planned for Dec. 12. Ben has lots planned, including martini lunches on weekdays. Look for French influences on the menu.

It must be getting close. There are menus posted on the door of the once scruffy, old-time Fells Point bar, which has been renovated into a spiffy, modern-day bistro. The web site still proclaims an Oct. 28 opening. Obviously, that didn’t happen. I have a call into owner Ben Greene to see if I can pinpoint another date.

From the looks of the menu, there’s definitely a French influence. Lunch items include: frisée aux lardons, croque madame (and monsieur), coq au vin, and omelet du jour. For dinner, look for carpaccio of beef, calamari, and charcuterie appetizers; duck risotto, ahi tuna, steak frites, house-made pasta, and moules frites for entrées. Hopefully, we’ll get to try these soon.

Oceanaire’s executive chef Benjamin Erjavec is still trying to catch his breath after a whirlwind visit to Alaska (his first) last month to see exactly where the restaurant’s Alaska king crab originates. "We got to see the whole process—from ocean to plate," he says.

During the trip to Dutch Harbor, Ben went out on the boat Arctic Sea during a catch and was pretty impressed with what he saw. "I have a whole new appreciation for it, for sure, what those fishermen go through," he says.

Back home, the chef is offering fresh king crab clusters for $42.95 a pound. He’s steams them and encourages diners to eat them without butter. "They’re that sweet and delicate," he says.

During the king crab season, from now till the end of December, Ben will also have whole live king crabs, which he’ll steam whole. Usually, eight to 10 people feast on the giant crustacean at a table, he says. He sold out of 120 pounds of king crab last week, but is expecting a new shipment on Wednesday. "To think we have live king crab in Baltimore is amazing," he says.

Four of us wanted to share a pizza in the office. But we all had different ideas about who has the best pizza. The tiebreaker was Zella’s Pizzeria (1143-45 Hollins St., 410-685-6999, zellaspizzeria.com) in Sowebo. None of us had ever tried its pies, despite great reviews and a Best Pizza nod from the City Paper in 2007. It was definitely time to weigh in on it. The only drawback: It didn’t deliver to our Harbor East location. So we sent our hungriest colleague to pick it up. (Thanks, Max.)

We’re not sure we’d give up our favorite pie palaces, but we all agreed the Sicilian with mozzarella, crispy prosciutto, roasted red peppers, and kalamata olives was a wonderful taste sensation—salty, sweet, and acidic. We also tried a traditional Margarita with mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil, and had mixed reactions. It wasn’t as piquant or bold as the Sicilian, but I really liked the assertive burst of fresh basil leaves. The dough at Zella’s is handmade and hand-tossed. If you like puffy, chewy crusts, this is your pizza. You can also custom make your pizza with a bunch of ingredients, from artichokes to gorgonzola cheese. We’ll definitely try Zella’s again.

When chef Joshau Hill left Night of the Cookers last year, the Howard Street restaurant fell off the foodie radar screen. Maybe it’s time to give it another look.

I got a call from Patrick Shirk, the head server and only original wait staff left, praising its new chef, Danielle Kposowa, a Baltimore International College grad who came on board in June. It seems Danielle is whipping up some great stuff in the kitchen, according to Patrick. In addition to entrées like rockfish with red-pepper coulis, she also turns out fancy desserts like Grand Marnier cheesecake. Patrick calls her style "sexy Southern cuisine."

I should mention that Patrick is also the restaurant’s lead cheerleader? He’s planning to send invitations to Mt. Vernon residents welcoming them back to the restaurant. "I believe in the place," Patrick says. I like his spirit.