The new Harbor East sandwich/pizza shop looks more spacious than its former Elevation Burger rendition. It’s because the kitchen was moved to the back of the room, said owner Alex Smith, who was overseeing opening-day operations today.

The menu looks interesting, featuring signature sandwiches like the Harbor Beast (roast beef, horseradish mayo, and Swiss, lightly heated, on a sub roll, $7.99) and The Godfather (a crab cake with lettuce and tomato, $12.99, named after baking magnate John Paterakis Sr., Alex’s grandfather, he said).

Pizzas are available by the slice or whole (18 inches), either plain cheese or in combos like BBQ chicken or the Heart Attack (ham, bacon, sausage, and pepperoni). There’s also beer on tap, including Clipper City, Stella, and Blue Moon).

Even at 3 this afternoon, there were several diners in the restaurant at 655 Aliceanna St. "We’ve been really busy," Alex said.

A website is in the works. Hours are still being determined. For now, the deli opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m. on weekdays. For late-night chowhounds, it serves food till 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. It's open daily.

Make the recipe, that is—not necessarily do the Latin American dance. This is an easy salsa dish that will go with just about anything you throw on the grill this weekend. I paired it with a pork tenderloin rubbed with an allspice-cayenne mix. Enjoy!

Pineapple-Avocado Salsa

1 cup (1/4-inch dice) fresh pineapple
2 plum tomatoes, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 firm-ripe avocado, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh jalapeño chile, including seeds
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil.

Stir all ingredients together and season with salt.

From epicurious.com

Fresh Bakery opens on Saturday (May 1) in Towson Town Center. And it’s taking a different geometric approach to cakes and cupcakes. They’re in the shape of squares. So cute!

You’ll find the bakery, which uses natural ingredients for all its desserts made from scratch, on the mall’s second floor. Check out its Facebook page for a coupon for a free cupcake on Saturday while supplies last.

Other cupcake news: Baltimore Cupcake Company has closed its Fort Avenue shop. It’ll be relocating to another Baltimore location, according to its website.

In the meantime, you can still order their delicious cupcakes and get free delivery until they set up shop elsewhere. The cupcake company also has locations in Olney and Bethany Beach, DE. It’s planning to open an Ocean City store soon, too.

We had roasted chicken breasts with lemon cream sauce, salad, pasta, and chocolate-chip cookies. Kelly is down-to-earth, has a great sense of humor, and makes you immediately feel like you’re her best friend.

When I asked her about her easy friendliness with people, she said, "I’m a Corrigan. We’re connectors. We start every interaction like we’ve known and loved you for years."

Okay, I wasn’t exactly alone at lunch with Kelly, who wrote The New York Times bestseller The Middle Place and, most recently, Lift. There were about 115 other people there, too, including some of her Baltimore aunts and cousins.

Kelly is on a national tour to promote her new book. She’ll be on the Today show on Thursday (April 29) if you’d like to see her. This evening, she’ll also be at Talbots in Annapolis Town Centre, signing books at 6 p.m. (She’s a "real-woman" model for the clothing store’s catalog. She shares, "They photoshopped out the shamrock tattoo on my ankle.")

At today’s sold-out luncheon at Mercy Medical Center, Kelly read excerpts from Lift, which is an 89-page letter to her daughters Georgia, 8, and Claire, 7, about their childhoods. It’s sweet, funny, and sad.

I sat in Piedigrotta reading it one afternoon and realized I had tears dripping into my latte. Her first book, The Middle Place, is also poignant—and laugh-out-loud funny in its honesty. Kelly, who now lives outside San Francisco, writes about growing up in Philadelphia and her breast-cancer diagnosis while her girls were still in diapers. At the same time, her dad, George or "Greenie" as he’s called, was also diagnosed with cancer.

I know this is a little off topic for the In Good Taste blog, but I wanted to share my experience with Kelly, whose parents grew up in Baltimore. Greenie went to Loyola High School and the University of Maryland, where he was All-American lacrosse. Her mom, Mary Dwyer, grew up in Homeland, went to Notre Dame, and was a teacher in Baltimore for a while. Her brother Scott is a teacher and lacrosse coach at McDonogh.

Also, Kelly worked here for United Way as a fund-raiser in the early ’90s. It was her first job after she graduated from the University of Richmond.

I asked her about her life at that time. "I was single and broke, so we did a lot of happy hours. And we slept in until 11 a.m. and then made our way down to Fells Point for eggs and bacon. And if we weren’t careful, we’d stay there until midnight."

Yes, she definitely has Baltimore genes.

Today’s luncheon was a benefit for The Red Devils, a local organization that helps breast-cancer patients and their families. "We’re one of Maryland’s best-kept secrets," said Jeanne Backof, the nonprofit group’s president. "We want more people to know about us."

I’ll be writing more about Kelly and The Red Devils in our June issue. Kelly had a lot more to say about our city, like, "I love the size and the crabs and the accent and the people and the O's." Bless her heart for the part about our struggling Orioles!

Kelly certainly made an impact on today’s crowd. Shane Powers of Frederick (and the one guy in the group), said, "It was very inspirational. I’m the single father of three girls. I’m going to have my children read her books."

Photo: kellycorrigan.com

Woodberry Kitchen is welcoming summer by saying goodbye to local oysters on Sunday (May 2) at its beautiful outdoor patio from 3-5 p.m. There is no admission charge.

There will be oysters and an assortment of beer, wine, and cocktails for purchase. The restaurant is bringing in professional shuckers to serve four to five varieties of oysters. There will also be oyster fritters, grilled oysters, and oyster soup.

If you’re not an oyster fan, Woodberry will have other snacks, too. Kids are welcome. The area is big enough for them to run around and enjoy the music that will be playing. And, don’t worry, Chesapeake Bay oysters will be back in the fall.

Miss Shirley’s is making it easier to jump to the front of its waiting line. Customers who "check in" the most at the restaurant’s Roland Park or Pratt Street locations via Foursquare—the social network that allows users to let their friends know where they are—have an opportunity to bypass the line.

The person who has checked in the most at either restaurant and has been chosen "mayor" can show his or her mayor card via a mobile device and then head straight to a table.

"By rewarding our customers for their frequent visits through this emerging social network, we are hoping to better connect with them," said Eddie Dopkin, owner of Miss Shirley’s, in a press release.

Also, Dopkin’s other eateries (S’ghetti Eddie’s and Roland Park Bagel Co.) will reward frequent diners who use Foursquare. Throughout April and May, customers who check in five times at S’ghetti will get a free slice of pizza. If they check in five times at Roland Park Bagel, they’ll get a free bagel with cream cheese.

There’s more. Become a Facebook fan of Miss Shirley’s and receive one free order of sweet potato fries (with a minimum $10 purchase), a fan of S’ghetti Eddie's and get a free cone or cup of ice cream, and a fan of Roland Park Bagel and a free bagel with cream cheese will be coming your way.

Disclosure: I am the chef’s mother and none of this applies to me, except now I'll have to become a fan of Miss Shirley's so I can get some free fries!

The B&O American Brasserie is gearing up to celebrate Earth Day on Thursday (April 22). The restaurant will hand out seed packets to dinner guests and will also give a complimentary glass of champagne to diners who wear sneakers and walk to the restaurant. It's counting on your honor!

Additionally, the restaurant will post tips on how diners can "go green" at the restaurant and on its Facebook page. Guests can also submit a green tip for a chance to win a gift certificate from the restaurant.

Diners can also count on chef E. Michael Reidt to continue his commitment to organic and local food. "On any given day, I estimate that nearly half of the food we work with and serve at B&O American Brasserie is organic," he said in a press release.