Weekday Dining Deals at Cunningham's - Three Course Dinner - $39

Probably one of best upscale, quality dining spots in Baltimore County, if not the best is Cunningham’s. The surroundings are lush, warm and inviting, the service is on point – not intrusive, free interior valet parking and their cuisine is pure Americana with a couple nods to Italy. READ MORE and watch the slideshow at Baltimore Post Examiner Dara Cooks

Taste of the Town at Baltimore County Public Library Towson branch

No secret password for this speakeasy, the Foundation for Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL) kicks off their 5^th annual Taste of Towson with a roaring 20’s theme at the BPCL Towson branch at 320 York Road on Saturday, May 14^th from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.   Sample food and drinks from some of the Baltimore County’s finest restaurants and caterers, enjoy live jazz music and bid in a fun, eclectic silent auction, all for a great cause! Tickets are on sale now at $75 per person, and can be purchased at any BCPL branch, online at www.foundationforbcpl.org.

Participating local restaurants include BB's Cafe, Bill's Seafood, Cafe Troia, Charles Village Pub & Patio, Jake's New York Deli, Kathmandu Kitchen, La Cakerie, Kooper's North/Kooper's Jacksonville, McFaul's IronHorse Tavern, Nando's Peri Peri, Noodles & Company, Prigel Family Creamery, Truffle Butta Bistro and Wegmans Hunt Valley.

This year's event will be hosted by local authors, Gregory and Nicole Priebe, the "alcohologists" behind A History of Drinking, the cocktail blog that pairs random and often obscure historical events with appropriate cocktails. Active in the national and online cocktail communities since 2009, they have created custom cocktails for Hiram Walker, Crown Royal and many other brands. Gregory and Nicole will demo one of their favorite Maryland cocktails, and each guest/couple will receive a complimentary copy of their book Forgotten Maryland Cocktails: A History of Drinking in the Free State. The Priebes will be signing books at the event. There will also be signature cocktail for the event.

The Foundation for Baltimore County Public Library provides additional resources to enrich the Baltimore County Public Library’s commitment to empower the citizens of Baltimore County to explore, learn, create and connect. The Foundation funds important early childhood literacy programs like the Read Rover bookmobiles, Summer Reading Club and both Storyville early learning centers, as well as many other vital programs such BC Reads in Baltimore County. For more information, visit their website at www.foundationforbcpl.org.

New food hall R. House announces the first of 10 concepts: Ground & Griddled

Chef Dave Sherman, owner of Hampden’s Café Cito is the first confirmed concept for R. House and it’s called Ground & Griddled.  “Ground & Griddled will be a destination where both the food novice and super foodie can come and enjoy unpretentious breakfast and brunch cuisine with ridiculously warm hospitality,” Sherman said. “My mission is to make people feel completely comfortable asking questions about different coffees, techniques, and menu ingredients so that they can really enjoy their experience. I just want to share my love for coffee and eggs with everyone in Charm City.”

Read the full story and watch the video - Examiner.com/Baltimore Dining

Dining Dish is 10 years old - time flies when you are having fun.

Ten years ago blogging was at its infancy. There were no conventions for bloggers, who knew the term social media – no Instagram, Reddit, 4-Square, Twitter, and Facebook was in its infancy.  It was a whole new world and the start for a handful of Baltimore bloggers.  The Baltimore food bloggers were a small group – in fact, we would get together for blogger parties at each other’s homes. The snapshot above is probably a good eight years old, a panel of the Baltimore Food Bloggers I assemble for a food and wine show here in Baltimore.  

Today, less than a handful of us remain. We’ve all grown and expanded what we were doing into extended careers.  Two of my favorites, good acquaintances have celebrated the 10 year anniversary recently.

Mango and Ginger by Kit Pollard  celebrates her 10^th anniversary today, September 8^th.  Kit has written nearly 1900 posts.  Kit is writing for the Baltimore Sun, featured articles and restaurant reviews and other Maryland publications. The question now, will she take over the permanent position as the Baltimore Sun’s food columnist and reviewer. 

Minxeats by Kathy Patterson celebrated her 10^th anniversary August 14^th. Food reviews, her honest take whether positive or negative have been the heart of Minxeats. Kathy has shared recipes as well as her dining experiences.  Minxeats and her other blogs on perfume, Top Chef have led to opportunities for her and her husband, Neal, to write two books on regional food and restaurants Baltimore Chef’s Table and Food Lovers’ Guide to Baltimore. Come June 1, 2016 their 3^rd book, Maryland’s Chesapeake: How the Bay and its Bounty Shaped a Cuisine will be hitting the shelves. 

Dining Dish turned 10 years old September 1^st – a mishmash of stories on food: reviews, raves, rants, recipes and reminiscences of the days of yore. Personally, I have written over 1500 posts.  The past 10 years saw me leave the comfort of a corporate marketing job, create my own public relations and marketing company, Dara Does It – Creative Solutions for the Food Industry, a business that would be my cushion in my retirement years.  

My extracurricular activities over the past 10 years have been amazing; mentoring high school culinary students for competition, organizing the kitchen stage at the Food and Wine Festival at National Harbor with talent like Elizabeth Falkner, Sara Moulton, Nathalie Dupree and other notables, Steven Raichlen’s personal assistant during the filming of the first Primal Grill series for PBS, co-authoring with Jeffrey Spear, Yum-Tasty Recipes from Culinary Greats that benefited the Kidney Foundation, and much more. 

Eventually, I took the path of writing regularly for Examiner.com both a food and a dining column, and currently I’m the Baltimore restaurant reviewer for www.Gayot.com. I am well entrenched with the national organization of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs as well as managing their Facebook and Twitter pages.  I’ve rubbed shoulders and dined with my culinary heroes that 10 years ago I wouldn’t have believed possible. Let me know forget my Dining Dish podcasts on Baltimore Internet Radio.

Prior to blogging, I organized cooking classes in the restaurant kitchens, before there was the Food Network and members of  my Epicurean Club of Maryland vied for the limited slots to see the behind the scenes of Baltimore’s top restaurant kitchens.  I had a newsletter, it was old format – typing it, copying it, folding it, labeling it and putting on postage. It evolved to e-newsletter which evolved to the Dining Dish blog.     

It has been an amazing 10 years for all three of us and I only see better things yet to come.  Well at my age, where will I be in 10 years at 78 – hopefully, above ground and still able to enjoy a great meal with friends and family?

Thank you to all who have followed, commented and spread our good food words.

Successful pop-up dining club debuts in Baltimore

Dinner Lab, a two and a half year old supper club, has been offering dining events in multiple cities from San Francisco to New York, New Orleans to Chicago showcasing up-and-coming culinary talent in unique venues. Dinner Lab announced today they are opening up membership for their eleventh city, Baltimore. The chefs who create these multiple course pop-up dinners might just be the sous chef from a favorite local restaurant or it could be a commis from any one of New York City’s finest restaurants. Members are asked to critique their meals and those chefs receiving high scores end up taking their food on the road, a passport to a culinary tour de force in multiple Dinner Lab cities.

Learn more and watch the slideshow HERE.