Chef Marta Quintana decided to take a detour from opening Havana Road, a Cuban restaurant, in the space occupied by Grano Pasta Bar on The Avenue in Hampden. She is focusing instead on her Cuban line of products, which are available now at Whole Foods in Mt. Washington and Annapolis.
But she’s not ruling out having [...]

By now, you probably know that the American Visionary Art Museum finally has a new restaurant. It’s been a long culinary drought, but the intriguingly named Mr. Rain’s Fun House officially opened this week.
I was perplexed, though, when I checked out its website. There’s no hint as to what’s actually on the menu, which is [...]

I had a nice chat on the phone Friday with Bryan Voltaggio, chef/partner at Volt restaurant in Frederick. Bryan is one of this season’s contestants on Top Chef. Out of 17 chefs who started on the Bravo show, only six are left, including Bryan and his brother Michael. It’s getting really hot in the [...]

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 [...]

Jesse Sandlin of Abacrombie was told to pack her knives on last night’s Top Chef episode. But, on Food Network, Father Leo bested Bobby Flay in a fajita throwdown. I’m proud of both of them. They put Maryland in the food spotlight.
This season’s Top Chef contestants are topnotch. Jesse hung in there for a while, [...]

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.

Maryland’s Father Leo or grillmeister Bobby Flay? We’ll find out on Wednesday (Sept. 9) when the Food Network airs the episode pitting the cooking priest against the Iron Chef in Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 9 p.m.
I wrote about the fajita cook-off earlier this summer. Now, the day of reckoning is almost here. To show [...]

Look for Federales, a Mexican cantina, to open in Federal Hill later this year, says Brian McComas, a partner with the Federal Hill Hospitality Group (FHHG). The chef will be Francisco Lopez, who was born and raised in Mexico.
Of late, Francisco has been a sous chef at nearby Ryleigh’s Oyster (also part of the Fed [...]

The Brass Elephant has closed, according to its Facebook page. The building has been for sale for a couple of months, but I kept hoping this elegant restaurant could hang on. It didn’t.
That’s the fourth restaurant on our 2009 Best Restaurants list to shut its doors. The others are Jordan’s Steakhouse, Ixia, and The Bicycle. [...]

Hey, guys. It’s Max Weiss guest blogging for Suzanne. Last night I went to a press dinner at the newly renovated City Cafe in Mt. Vernon, hosted by my dear friend (and PR maven extraordinaire) Edie Brown.
Other media types in attendance: WJZ’s Tanya Black and Pete Amorgeanos, social columnist Anne Boone-Simanski, CityPeek’s Patti Neumann, and [...]