Tao Asian Bistro in New York City hosts Jimmy Fallon and Lindsay Lohan

Where to dine in New York City during Hurricane Sandy and celebrity watch seems to have been Tao Asian Bistro in midtown. Tao boasts a huge 16 foot Buddha over a virtual reflecting pool and high vaulted ceilings. The building was the 19th century Vanderbilt stables. One can dine on mixed Asian cuisine from fatty toro to Sunday’s Dim Sum.

Read the full story and watch the video HERE

Chazz celebrates A Bronx Tale's anniversary

Mark your calendars and put on your best Bronx accent. Harbor East’s Chazz: A Bronx Original is having a very special Happy Hour from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, July 23. as members of the  original cast of the classic movie A Bronx Tale will attend. This special Happy Hour that will commemorate the upcoming anniversary of the production of the movie and to launch a new charitable fundraising campaign at the restaurant.

photo courtesy of Chazz: A Bronx Original

Read the full story HERE

Save Adam Richman - Man v. Food

Adam Richman, host of Man v. Food which completed the 4th season and final episode this April was about gluttony. Man v. Food was about who could eat the biggest, the most, the Scoville chart hottest food challenges and its host, Adam Richman, is our era glutton personified. One had to wonder how he could consume so much food at one seating and in a real limited time frame. More over you had to think of his health and how he could survive these gargantuan high cholesterol meals and eating challenges.

Read the full story HERE

Shut Up and Get Out – Which Seinfeld star was spotted at a Baltimore restaurant

If you were close by, I would push you and say “shut up”.  A typical character move for Elaine Benes  played by actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the television series Seinfeld.  The perky actress, who happened to play a Baltimorean in Seinfeld has been filming the HBO comedy VEEP. Bmore Media reported, “Dreyfus stars as a former senator and newly elected Vice President who finds that the job isn't quite what she thought it would be when she first joined the campaign ticket."

A good source revealed to this writer that Dreyfus was spotted dining at Salt.  Have you seen JLD, let us know and we will report.  Tweet @daracooks and give it a hashtag #VeepJLD. Welcome to Baltimore JLD! This gal won’t say shut up or get out but welcome to Bawlmer Hon!

Meet Master Chef Jacques Pépin up close and personal

If all had gone well I would be on the bus on my way to New York City for the launch at the French Culinary Institute tonight for Jacques Pépin’s new compendium cookbook, Essential Pepin.  Illness had me cancel the trip but it doesn’t mean you can’t meet the iconic chef instructor who broke ground for all the “celebrity chefs” we see today.  Read more on Jacques Pépin’s 700 recipe cookbook,  Essential Pepin.

My first choice

Probably the best opportunity, well the best choice is a luncheon on Friday, November 18th - Get all the details HERE

Chazz Palminteri teams up with Visit My Baltimore

Yes, I spend a lot of time on the internet, a lot of time on Facebook but it pays off. Great story ideas, new friends and getting some scoops.  Tonight I picked up on a new  video that Chazz Palminteri made about Baltimore and of course his restaurant, Chazz for www.visitmybaltimore.com.

Continue reading  Chazz Palminteri teams up with Visit My Baltimore

Actor Chazz Palminteri takes his storytelling to the table

Oscar nominated actor, writer, playwright, and director Chazz Palminteri is taking his artistic passion in another direction, to the table. Known for his A Bronx Tale one man show on Broadway, later adapted to the movies, Palminteri, a storyteller at heart, is now expressing his memories of Bronx with his restaurant, Chazz: A Bronx Original.

Opening a restaurant has been a dream of his for a great deal of time. The actor Robert DeNiro, a very successful restaurateur and friend to Chazz, advised him to look for trustworthy associates, people who are dedicated and a quality product. In the interview he quipped, “At times I would find two out of the three prerequisites that DeNiro suggested but never all three.”

Continue reading, check out the slide show and video:  Actor Chazz Palminteri takes his storytelling to the table

Obama, Trump and Omaha Steaks – 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner

Oh yes, I was a deer in headlights watching Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice episode where the teams were given the task of creating an infomercial for Omaha Steaks. If you have watched it or heard about it at the proverbial “water cooler” you know that the actor Gary Busey is an uncontrollable, unpredictable character that probably should have been fired from the show at the very beginning but that doesn’t make good TV. Trump, finally made the executive decision to fire Gary Busey two weeks ago.

Check out President Obama roasting Donald Trump:
Obama, Trump and Omaha Steaks – 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner

Dining deal of the Week – Best of Baltimore Dinner

Make your reservations NOW! Harbor Magic Catering and award winning Executive Chef Bryan Sullivan, CEC, are hosting the “Best of Baltimore” Food and Wine Dinner this coming Saturday, March 5th at the Pier 5 Hotel Ballroom.

For me, what constitutes a great food and wine event are top-notched chefs and restaurateurs, a great menu and a good value for the dollar. This has all three.

Continue reading and see snaps HERE

Dine with Tom Colicchio, José Andrés as Eric Ripert prepares dinner

For my food loving friends here in Baltimore this culinary event is being held so close, Washington DC, that I had to let you know. This is an amazing opportunity for someone with dollars to spend, even a consortium of friends, to have Eric Ripert fix a four course dinner for you. Also joining you will be Chef Tom Colicchio and Chef José Andrés. This dinner auction package benefits D. C. Central Kitchen.

Get ALL the details: Dine with Tom Colicchio, José Andrés as Eric Ripert prepares dinner

Michelin-starred Chef Fergus Henderson of St John Restaurant's offal food takes Manhattan

Chef Fergus Henderson of London’s St John Restaurant was in Manhattan yesterday, at Chef Jonathan Waxman’s Barbuto Restaurant in the West Village. This is one of four stops in the United States for the chef who took the awful out of offal. The architect-turned-chef is promoting the forthcoming opening of his London St John Hotel in September.

Yesterday was the east coasters only chance to dine on Fergus’s cuisine.

Check out the video, photo slide show and details on this unique luncheon:

Michelin-starred Chef Fergus Henderson of St John Restaurant's offal food takes Manhattan

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Just One Night, Just One Dinner – Baltimore Ravens will be your servers at Morton’s The Steakhouse

No lie, Baltimore Ravens football players Matt Birk, Joe Flacco, Michael Oher, Ben Grubbs, Ray Rice, and Cam Cameron will be your official servers at Morton’s The Steakhouse on Monday, May 10th benefiting the HIKE Foundation.

The Baltimore Ravens will be passing the plates not the football

Imagine having your order taken by Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco or offensive tackle Michael Oher, drinks poured by guard Ben Grubbs, dinner served by running back Ray Rice or offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and dessert brought to you by Matt Birk.

Get all the details:
Just One Night, Just One Dinner – Baltimore Ravens will be your servers at Morton’s The Steakhouse

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photo by Jason Knauer© www.jasonknauer.com
courtesy of Morton's The Steakhouse

What if Martha Stewart came to your house? Martha in Baltimore

It isn’t all that far fetched. The marvelous Martha Stewart amtracked it to Baltimore with friends on February 14th for a very special Vietnamese celebratory dinner at Mr. and Mrs. Phung Doan home for Chinese New Year. Many Asian cultures celebrate this holiday, not just the Chinese.

Read the full story: What if Martha Stewart came to your house? Martha in Baltimore

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Former New York Times food critic Frank Bruni on local radio today

Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun columnist, WYPR Midday host.interviews New York Times former food critic, Frank Bruni. Bruni is promoting his book:

Former New York Times food critic Frank Bruni on local radio today

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The blizzard is coming and Kim Kardashian’s video shows salads are sexy

I was at Trader Joe’s by 9 a.m. looking for specific items for baking; after all, the blizzard is coming and one bakes and cooks during blizzards- at least I do. It was a simple in and out.

Get the full story and a peek at the upcoming Kim Kardashian's sexy salad commerical

The blizzard is coming and Kim Kardashian’s video shows salads are sexy

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Dinner with Joan Nathan and Wolf Blitzer - great Hanukkah recipe - exclusive sneak peek

Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: In Search of Jewish Cooking in France is Joan Nathan’s next cookbook published by Knopf. Joan an author, international authority on Jewish cooking and television personality shared with a small group of guests at her home, including myself, a dinner featuring recipes from her cookbook due out next fall.

It was a memorable evening: the exclusive tasting of these Jewish recipes of France, Chef François Dionot’s, founder and owner of L’Academie de Cuisine, deft culinary touch and an amalgam of women chefs and media types. As for the media, Wolf Blitzer of CNN and his wife who are long time friends with Joan and her husband, Allan added an additional dimension to the evening.

There is a lot for you in this story:

1. The evening’s menu
2. Joan has graciously given her permission to share with you her Moroccan Braised Lamb Couscous recipe and back story from filmmaker, Claude Lelouch. The recipe is ideal for Hanukkah
3. Video snippets of the group pre-dinner table and dinner table
4. Photo slide show

Check out the complete story:

Dinner with Joan Nathan and Wolf Blitzer - great Hanukkah recipe - exclusive sneak peak

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I haven’t gotten my invitation to the White House State Dinner

Shunned again, I am back to the Kathy Griffin’s D List of food; I have not received my invite to the White House’s state dinner in honor of India and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this coming Tuesday, November 24. Did you get yours?

Read the complete story:

I haven’t gotten my invitation to the White House’s state dinner

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Eat, drink and do good – tis the season

This Saturday, November 14th at Linwoods Restaurant you can enjoy a fabulous cocktail party to benefit The Robert and Claire Peter Foundation that ships medical equipment and supplies to disabled children and adults in the United States and South Africa. The event is called A Night for Humanity which will honor international celebrity event designer, Colin Cowie; Certified Master Chef Edwin and Allison Scholly, and local philanthropists, Henry and Dot Rosenberg, long-time supporters of the Foundation.

Eat, drink and do good – tis the season

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Man versus Food Baltimore episode premieres tonight on the Travel Channel

For a short, previously svelte person, I have a “healthy” appetite. My late mother-in-law used to say I ate like a stevedore. It was never an appetite large enough that I would enter an eating contest and make money, nor do I think I would admit it here if I did. Eating contests brings me to Adam Richman host, star and glutton of Man Vs. Food on the Travel Channel. Here is a man with an appetite who takes eating challenges seriously enough to tackle a 10 lb burger, a pizza the size of a conference table or the omelet that ate the world. “HUGE man,” I say and “HOT too” with habanero and scotch bonnet peppers, heat off the Richter scale.

Read the full story and watch the video

Man versus Food Baltimore episode premieres tonight on the Travel Channel

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10 Restaurants where you can watch celebrities

A number of years ago at a restaurant in Beverly Hills on Rodeo Drive , my sister and I decided to have lunch. I ordered a sandwich which had sprouts as an ingredient. I can’t tell you the type of sandwich but I sure remember the spouts. Sprouts tend to cling together, pulling unwanted ones along for the ride

Read the whole story: 10 Restaurants where you can watch celebrities

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