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Get on Track, You!

Just when I think that Amtrak may not actually be headed, full speed, toward a solid brick wall... they come up with another very expensive PR move. One that may or may not play to a new, younger rider audience, which is what they need. Especially a younger vacation & excursion rider audience.

The first annual National Train Day is Saturday. Major celebrations in the largest rail stations they service. It celebrates the day the Golden Spike was driven in Utah. Al Roker will be heading up the festivities in Washington, DC.

Their releases do make some good points: "Now, 139 years after the golden spike connected east and west, there’s never been a better time to take the train. Huge crowds and the frustrations that go with them burden our highways and airports. And at a time when we all share the same pressing concerns about ecology and energy conservation, trains are a more energy-efficient mode of travel than either autos or airplanes. Riding the rails is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. Not to mention meet interesting people and see breathtaking scenery".

Now, that's not bad copy... though, I'm not sure about that 'interesting people' business.

Also, Jacob and I were threatened with expulsion from Baltimore's Penn Station while we were waiting for our train to DC. I was taking photos of the stained glass dome in the ceiling. Apparently that was a security breach. The security guard was large... and armed. I put the lens cap on the camera and sat down.

Don't get me wrong. I love riding the train. I just wish this PR push would let me know why the Amtrak tickets from BWI to NYP are so expensive as I'm reducing my carbon footprint.   

After January Each Year: The Ho-Hum Press Releases Hit Baltimore

Odd, but true... Take this urgent message from the Live Baltimore Home Center:

Need a makeover? Want to be on national TV? Then head down to the Harborplace Amphitheater on Monday, February 18, where one lucky person will be "glambushed" live on TV during the CBS Early Show. [Say now, that sounds like a good time to be had by all.]

The Early Show's Dave Price will be LIVE in Baltimore on Monday morning. All Baltimoreans are invited to show their support by joining him as part of the show's audience from 5:30 - 9:00 a.m. One lucky audience member will be selected for a makeover by designer to the stars, Bradley Bayou - author of "The Science of Sexy." WJZ-TV's Ron Matz will also be broadcasting live. We want to show support for the CBS Early Show and proudly represent the city of Baltimore, so come out and don't miss your chance to be on national television. 

[They've got to be kidding, right?]

And, this just in from "The Insiders Club" at 1st Mariner Arena:

WWE PRESENTS BACKLASH - Sunday , April 27^th AT 7:45 PM

As a member of the 1st Mariner Arena Insiders Club [I'm on their mailing list, yes. But, I had no idea that I was a member of anything so very special...] you are invited to take part in an exclusive presale for WWE Presents Backlash, at 1st Mariner Arena on Sunday. Attendees must be 14 years of age.

[Oh swell, let's round up all of our young teens and head out to see this smart little package. Oh and yes, the best tickets are $175 each...]

He doesn't look like another Hanna Montana so I think I'll hold-off on this one and not stand in line.

If you've ever read this blog before, you know that I'm a rah-rah, full-on supporter of Baltimore and 21201. It just gets creepy on the PR front around this time of year. Stay tuned for some of the truly worthwhile notices of late winter.

And, if you see huge guys walking around downtown Baltimore in tights... well, consider yourself warned. It's not altogether pretty.

Would You Party With This Man?

Tomorrow is the birthday of that Baltimore son and rascal, Edgar Allen Poe. The 199th to be exact. I've never really thought about his birthday until I read the MetroMix suggestions on how to observe Poe's special day.

Metromix says, "We at MetroMix think this calls for a celebration. You could pay homage by killing your loved one and stashing her dismembered limbs in walls and under floorboards, but the police (dare we say the Poe-Poe?) wouldn't be too fond of that. Instead, pay your respects at the Poe house and his grave at Westminster Hall, then do as he did and go on a Baltimorean bender. We've staked out the spots—all you need is a glass and a penchant for thinking in rhymed couplets."

NOTE: I'm not advocating here, I'm just reporting.

MetroMix also provides a couple of pick-up lines. They begin this way:

"Let's drink a whole Cask of Amontillado and put my Pendulum in your..."

You get the idea. One final thought... Don't Try Any of This at Home.

Centerpoint to Get WOW Factor

The WOW is World Of Wings. Coming this spring to Baltimore's westside Centerpoint complex: WOW Cafe & Wingery. Based in Covington, LA the WOW chain offers up wings in dozens of flavors.

What's looking good to me are their Texas Toast Burgers. The Philly, for example, is 1/2 pound of beef on buttered Texas Toast dressed with Monerey Jack, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, peppers, mushrooms, and spicy mayo.

What really brings the WOW factor (and seperates this from your average hot wing and burger joint) is its full bar with some signature drinks that might just set you on fire even without the wings. Check out their Chamation: This 32-ounce cocktail is filled with Smirnoff Vodka, Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, pineapple juice, orange juice and grenadine. (I'll stick with Johnny Walker on the rocks with a twist, thanks.)

These Architecture-Types Know How to Party

And suddenly Groundhog Day is something to look forward to. Get your tickets today.

BAF's Executive Director, Adam Blumenthal will answer any questions. Give him a call at 410-539-7772. The theme is Light and Shadow so get your black and white cocktail attire to the cleaners and prepare to party.

Catering is by the new Woodberry Kitchen so we're sure to be in for some special treats.
I'm sort of hoping for Woodberry's little lamb meatballs with red pepper sauce and fried sage! And maybe their brick oven clams. Or griddled scallops...

I Love Kraut

And most of all, I love it on a Sabrett hot dog from any street vendor in New York. A Sabrett with natural casing, covered with kraut and mustard in a steamed bun is the perfect food.

So I may have to check out Gertrude's Fifth Annual Kraut Festival. At first blush John Shield's menu seemed a tad kraut-excessive... a day later, not so much.

Gertrude's at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Friday, January 11th. 6 to 11 PM with Polka Music. And these fine eats:

Kraut & Roasted Beet Borscht
Kraut Stroganoff
Braised Pulled Pork with Kraut and Apples
Stuffed "Kraut" Cabbage Rolls - meat and veggie
Ziti with Kielbasa & Sauerkraut
Kraut, Tofu and Braised Mean Greens Fettuccini
Charcuterie Platter - Binkert's Bavarian Brautwurst, Knackwurst, Weisswurst, and Bauernwurst and Ostrowski's Kielbasa and Veggie Wursts
Kraut Braised Red Potatoes and Carrots
Pumpernickel rolls and German rye
Desserts
Grandma Wissman's Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake
Sauerkraut & Apple Flan
Double Chocolate Tart with Caramel Kraut

And yes, the cash bar will have a Krautini along with some "specality" vodkas. $22 in advance, $25 at the door. Reservations: 410-889-3399.

Finally. After months, NEW SPIRITS in downtown Baltimore. And at great prices, too.

After months of anticipation and waiting - on my part - Jim Amato's Urban Cellars is finally open next door to the Peanut Shoppe's new location and just a few steps away from 21201's new SuperFresh grocery store at 222 N Charles Street, Baltimore.

I've written before about the oddness of having to go to RiteAid for a bottle of wine or scotch when friends were coming over.

No longer do we, as residents of downtown Baltimore's City Center, have to buy our Band-Aids and Brandy and Benedryl in the same store. That change is a wonderful, wonderful thing!

Here's the very best news: Jacob and I were at Urban Cellars last week shopping for our Friday cocktail party and for our private New Year's Eve celebration. Jacob had been to Urban Cellars before. I hadn't. He asked me to check the shelf prices and I expected them to be high due to the store's location.

THEY WERE NOT!

Every bottle of wine (Urban Cellars has an International Collection), every six-pack of beer (Urban Cellars offers the finest and coldest and some of the most unusual), and every bottle of liquor (their selection blew my socks off) was priced equal to or less than what you'd pay at any Maryland liquor store. And, certainly less than you'd pay at the drug store.

Stay tuned. Amato tells me that Urban Cellars is planning some extradorinary tastings and events.

Baltimore & The Women's Industrial Exchange & Sock Monkeys

This just in from Johns Hopkins and Baltimore Heritage:

"Because there is no such thing as having too many sock monkeys (and other great hand-crafted items), we are pleased to end the 2007 Behind the Scenes Tours calendar with a holiday visit to The Women’s Industrial Exchange."

Now this is a wonderful thing! And, because I want every word of this post perfect, I quote from JHU:

"Launched shortly after the Civil War by Mrs. G. Harmon Brown, The Women’s Industrial Exchange was founded for the purpose of endeavoring by sympathy and practical aid to encourage and help needy women to help themselves by procuring for them and establishing a sales room for the sale of Women’s Work.

"In 2007, the Exchange is still pursing this mission of helping small entrepreneurs, with over 250 consigners who make hand-crafted products especially for the non-profit organization.  The third oldest women’s exchange in the country, this one in Baltimore is the oldest in its original building.  The building at 333 North Charles was constructed in 1815 and had been used as a boarding house before the Exchange bought it in the late 1880s. The Tea Room, consignment shop, and upstairs apartments all date to this period. 

"The Exchange underwent extensive renovations in 2004 (incidentally, winning a Baltimore Heritage historic preservation award for the work). The renovations maintained the original materials (and charm), while modernizing the apartments and commercial kitchen. The guided tour will include spaces that many have visited, as well as spaces that most have not:  the Abell board room, an apartment upstairs, and the depths of the basement where the legendary tomato aspic and chicken salad were magically concocted.  Please join Kathy Sanders, author of The Business of Charity about the Exchange and a former board member, Sarah Moberg, executive director, and Jenny Hope, president of the board of directors, for a fantastic holiday tour of this cherished Baltimore landmark".

But wait, there's more! The tour concludes with wine and those extraordinary crepes that could only come from Sofi's.

Yep, crepes and Bacon do go together. Be there. Wednesday December 12th. 6 - 7 PM. 333 N Charles Street. RSVP by Email only - Space is limited. Hopkins@baltimoreheritage.org

Questions? Call 410-332-9992

Charles Plaza Attracting Nuts

Almonds, peanuts, macadamias. Brazilnuts, filberts, walnuts and pistichios. Pecans, chestnuts and seeds of all kinds. And my favorite, warm salted cashews -- extra large, please!

Bonnie Scible opened her Peanut Shoppe at 101 W Lexington some years ago and was forced to move to make way for Baltimore's promised Westside redevelopment. She reopened next to the Mechanic Theatre at 13 W Baltimore Street. Now that the Mechanic is headed for redevelopment Bonnie's moving once again. She's planning to reopen at 222 N Charles Street, in Charles Plaza, by the end of November.

The Peanut Shoppe will be located next door to Jim Amato's new Urban Cellars, also opening soon. Now, that's what I call a prime location. We all can pick up some great wine and cocktail fixins and go next door to grab wasabi coverd peanuts for our next cocktail party.

Welcome to Charles Center, Bonnie. Now, warm up those cashews -- extra large, please!

Bee Movie and Martinis - Now, THAT'S BeeMore

The COMING SOON signs are being taken down in Harbor East today. Landmark Theatres' newest project opens tomorrow. 7 screens, leather stadium seating, gourmet concessions, and - YES - a premium bar. What's not to love? Oh, I almost forgot to mention digital sound and digital projection.

Could anyone think of a better theatre company to open in Baltimore's hottest new area? I can't.

Landmark has only been around since 1974 and started out with just one screen: the historic  Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles. Landmark is still extremely small by exhibitor standards: 59 theatres in 23 markets.

However, whatever Landmark does it does exceedingly well. They not only open state-of-the-art movie venues, they also restore historic theatres across the country and fill them with the finest technology available. I've seen their work at the wonderful Inwood Theatre in Dallas, the Embarcadero in San Francisco and the Sunshine in New York City.

I'm guessing - just guessing, mind you - that one of the reasons all of their projects come together so perfectly, and so technologically aggressive, is due to one of Landmark's owners: Mark Cuban. If you don't know about him you really should check out the bio of a 49 year-old guy that began working in Dallas as a bartender and is now a Multi-Billionaire. (Yep... that's Billion with a B.)

 

Cuban (above) also owns the Dallas Mavericks. I'm betting that he would have some sage advice for our Orioles management. Let's hope someone asks him.

And, no I'm not comparing apples and oranges. I'm comparing bad management with good.