Yesterday afternoon, Tom and I broke one of our golden rules: "Never Eat in an Empty Restaurant!". We learned from experience it's usually a bad sign..... However, after hiking for two hours in Rocks State Park we were so hungry we would have eaten anything, anywhere!
"How about the Gunpowder Lodge?" I suggested. We had been wanting to visit anyway, but kept

putting it off at the request of our wimpy kids -- who swore it was a biker bar! So silly. Pulling up we noticed two older women leaving the restaurant and no they did not drive off on their Harleys! So, we figured our kids must be a little mistaken. Oh yes they were, it's not a biker bar, it's more of a ski lodge with warmly painted walls adorned with snow

shoes, big wooden canoes and ski bindings cleverly fastened to the booths for hanging your jacket.
Entering through the rustic bar we were greeted by a friendly waitress and led to a comfy booth. A soccer match was playing on the huge flat screen TV hanging on a stone fireplace flanked by sunny windows and one other group of "safe" looking diners were happily eating in the other corner. "Whew,

I think we're gonna be OK in here!" One thing that's so great about this place is it's location across from the Big Gunpowder Falls parking area. Belair Road is too dangerous to cross so it's best to drive. I suppose you could swim across the river and climb up the embankment, however the hostess might be a bit upset. There is plenty of outdoor seating on the deck and grassy picnic area below. Perhaps she'd let

you sit there? Oh and there's a fun wooden jungle gym for the kids! Being it was mid-afternoon (no man's land between lunch and dinner) we were a little skeptical about what to order. We decided to share the Ahi Tuna Wrap Sandwich and a large house salad. I let Tom splurge by ordering Potato Salad as our side. Yum! The wrap was delicious! And as you can see in the photo, the salad wasn't

too shabby either. We had asked for the tuna to be medium rare and it really was -- Kudos to the chef. I swear some restaurants cook everything to the same temperature no matter what you order. We happily ate every single bite and it wasn't just because we were famished. Our only complaint was they were playing different music in the bar and the dining area. We were sitting on the

borderline of the two sounds and so we listened to mixed up music the entire time. Perhaps they might consider playing the same music or reworking the speakers a little. Stuffed, we skipped dessert and asked for the bill. I handed the waitress my "Hon Fun" business card and explained what I do. She immediately disappeared and returned with an oval bumper sticker. Cute!

Then she excitedly told me the owners had bought a second location in Essex, "The Old Duck Inn." she said as I earnestly wrote this down. "No," she laughed. "It used to be the Duck Inn!" Embarrassed, I quickly crossed that out. "They renamed it 'Sunset Cove'".  Apparently it's on (or close to) the water and if it's as good at the Lodge, it'll be another nice place to eat. That evening we 

told our kids all about it, assuring them it's a wholesome environment and no need to worry about 'bikers', which by the way, I want you to know I have no prejudice against. So, the next time we go, they're coming too!

Gunpowder Lodge
10092 Belair Road 
Kingsville, MD 21087
(410) 256-2626

They say food is the way to a man's heart. I say a great cup of coffee (followed by a wicked sense of humor) is the way to mine and Tom knew where to find it.... Zeke's Coffee shop on Harford Road in the up and coming city neighbohood called Lauraville.

"Founded in 2005, Zeke’s Coffee is a family owned and operated company. Fresh-roasting each pound with a small fluid bed roaster, and using only the finest available beans, Zeke’s boasts high quality, locally roasted coffee." -- www.zekescoffee.com

I've had Zeke's coffee before at Hamilton Bakery and bought from his roasting facility but this was my virgin visit to the cool new digs.

The quaint shop looks like it was transported from some charming town's main street -- which is an aesthetic treat in an otherwise ugly strip of buildings. The bright white interior looks like an old fashioned general store. There's a huge go cart hanging next to the vast front window

and the walls are adorned with funky posters and rusty car hoods re-purposed into pieces of art.

The pastry case was stuffed with amazing looking goodies from Hamilton Bakery (see my review). I salivated over the Almond Dipped and Poppy Seed Hamantashens - whatever they heck they are?

Actually I just googled them, so now I know.....

I noticed on the chalkboard menu they serve "Make Your Own" custom sandwiches, but more importantly
Peanut Butter and Nutella sandwiches! Perfect if you have  kids or in my case just happen to love them as well. Plus they'll customize the temp of the hot chocolate so it won't scold your little ones.

Tom knew just what to get, a 32oz pot of French Press coffee for -- drum roll here -- $5!!! Five dollars? What a great deal and thank God
I'm a cheap date and didn't get offended by his frugality. At the Barista's recommendation he chose the Panama Boquette, one of the Conventional Coffe blends.

The press came with two cups and a cute little timer set for five minutes. I anxiously sat in anticipation watching the time count down while Tom prepared our cups with cream and sweetener (Splenda is my dirty habit). Beep beep! Aha, time to plunge.... You need to understand where I'm coming from. Tom makes an amazing cup of coffee. So delicious I

find myself drinking 3-4 cups of it a day. I'm a tough critic, but I was very much satisfied. We managed to eek out five whole cups, really enough to fuel four normal people (but we are hard core).

I spoke with Jo, the sprightly barrista, about the shop. There isn't a paper menu yet but she's working on that. So in the mean time here's a photo of their drink menu. Hopefully you can read it and please, give Zeke's a shot (pun intended)!

Zekes Coffee Shop
4607 Harford Rd
Baltimore, Maryland 21214
(410) 254-0122
http://www.zekescoffee.com/

Hours:
Mon - Sat, 7am-6pm
Sunday, 7am-4pm

Last week we brought our tabby cat, Colleen, for her manicure/ pedicure at Perry Hall Animal Hospital. Actually they clip her claws and apply Soft Claws so she can't scratch our furniture and especially our 5 year old - who she mistakes for a scratching post from time to time. We do this in lieu of removing her claws. We adopted

Colleen two years ago from the Maryland SPCA on Falls Road. She was already six and the vet discouraged us from declawing her at such a mature age. We reluctantly tried the Soft Claws, but they have been great. The vet clips her claws and then applies the rubber tips with a special glue. They come in lots of fun colors. FYI, the sparkly pink ones stayed on the longest.

Anyway, on this trip to the vet we were greeted by a huge black and white cat named "Mugsy", who happily resides there (even has his own web page!) I laughed and said "I guess you can't complain about my cat being overweight anymore!"  The tech whisked Colleen away and Eamon immediately got fidgety. He was

amused by the funny dog poster on the ceiling, illuminated by a fluorescent light, for about 30 seconds. Scrambling to come up with the next diversion (as all parents do!) I remembered we had just bought Colleen a new toy called the "Cat Dancer". It's a springy wire with little rolls of cardboard attached at the end. As soon as we took it out of the plastic bag, Mugsy was all over us. And it wasn't the toy he liked, it was the stupid plastic bag! Eamon and I laughed so hard. I tried to pull it away but he climbed on top of me to get it so I gave up

and let him lay on it. Eventually he noticed the toy and Eamon had a blast playing with him. Out came Colleen looking rather perturbed in her cat carrier. The tech placed her on the floor while Mugsy loomed over her from the waiting bench. I imagined him asking her in this deep, funny voice (like Patrick from Sponge Bob) "Hi, my name's

Mugsy, what's yours?" to which Colleen looked up at him and replied "Hissssssss....." Haha! He wasn't fazed, hopped down and nonchalantly sauntered off, probably to go have a snack.

In all seriousness, we like this vet and haven't had any issues. It's under new management and

they've made some cool changes to the waiting area. Colleen's vet, Dr. Tara Klimovitz, is super sweet (I like the little voice she uses to talk to the animals) and takes our entire family situation into account when treating Colleen.
Dr. Amy Brazil is originally from our very own Perry Hall. Several people came in to purchase

specialty pet food and I signed up for "Pet Portals" –- a free secure, private pet health website that gives you direct access to manage your pet's health.

Well, it was time to go. Eamon didn't want to leave while Mugsy and Colleen completely ignored each other. Not the best first date! But by the look on Eamon's face I think you can see it was a pretty good visit.

Perry Hall Animal Hospital
9022 Belair Road,
Baltimore MD 21236
410-256-4888

Gino's is back in town and primed to open it's second store on Monday the 5th in our very own Perry Hall! My daughter was lucky enough to land a job with Marchetti's famed franchise and has been busy training for the past week with her fun co-workers.

Yesterday, she admitted she'd forgotten to get her work permit signed and so - as teenagers often do - begged me to get it all worked out. Ugh, grumble, grumble... but the upshot was I met her awesome manager, Debbie, and scored an invite to come to a trial run for a

free meal for me and my family! Ok, so all was forgiven.

We eagerly arrived at 5 not really sure what to expect. No paparazzi, but there was a guest list and "whew" we were on it! Still a little unsure and overwhelmed by the group of amazingly cute greeters we inched ourselves up to the well-manned counter three deep with helpers (During training they have 3 times as many workers as will be there during a normal shift).

We ordered a variety of burgers - including the Perry Hall Burger - a chicken sandwich and a huge basket of onion rings and fries! Drinks are self serve, but unlike Five Guys we were given a number (similar to Noodles & Company) and so sat down and waited while we watched old time Ginos ads play on TVs hanging on the brightly painted red walls. Did you know Soupy Sales, Dom Deluise (aka The Gino Genie) and Muhamad Ali all starred in ads?

Ahhh, here comes our food delivered by the cutest server in the world (my daughter)! Wow, she's good. Look at her balancing all those baskets! OK, now that I've thoroughly embarrassed her I'll move on to the food.... All I can say is I over heard my two teens exclaiming it was "much better

than Five-Guys or Z Burger", my four year old devoured his adult size burger and not one single fry or onion ring was left in that basket! The deliciously spiced onion rings are long and stringy and my youngest got a kick out of pretending he was eating long worms!

Something special about Gino's is the friendly wait staff who make sure everyone is ok, getting free refills and taking away your trash - yes, no need to bus your own mess! Debbie and the restaurant's owner, Sophie, have hired a wonderful, enthusiastic team - mostly local

teens from Perry Hall and Dundalk. My daughter said everyone's really nice and super funny. There's a genuine desire to include and benefit the local community and the restaurant is sure to increase the traffic to the shopping center. Debbie came and encouraged my teen to come work there when he's old enough. A real ego booster!

Before we left we checked out the well-stocked condiment counter/display case filled with Ginos t-shirts, caps and mini Colts helmets. My littlest of course couldn't care less about the A1 Steak Sauce but thought the helmets were super cool!

Couldn't leave without taking a picture of my daughter with Debbie while her co-workers flirted with my youngest. I'm sure my teen thought all the girls were equally as cute - but he'd NEVER admit it. My guess is he and his friends will be there a lot! For that matter I think we will too......

Ginos is located at:

Honeygo Village Shopping Center 5001 Honeygo Center Drive
Perry Hall, Maryland 21128
410-870-2746

Hours are 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily

A few weeks ago I nabbed an amazing deal from Restaurant.com via The Today Show. $500 worth of dining certificates for only $30! Wow! We made our maiden voyage to Alexander's Tavern in the historic waterfront area of Baltimore called  Fell's Point. Tom checked the tavern's score on UrbanSpoon and it was rated 93% so we figured it was a pretty good bet.

It's located on Broadway across from the Broadway Market and next to CapitolMac (looks really cool in there). When the weather's nice you can sit out front under a bright red umbrella. It was chilly so we went inside. The interior is rustic with exposed brick walls, wood floors and black & white photos of Baltimore as it was years ago. Tom sat next to the little toasty fireplace.

We immediately liked our waiter, Brian (who was skillfully manning the entire dining room). He patiently recited their on tap beer list (twice) and when Tom wasn't sure if he'd like the Old Chub Scotch Ale, Brian quickly went and got a little sample. Turns out he really liked this brew made by Oskar Blues in Colorado. I ordered a Blue Moon on tap with an orange slice and that tasted nice as well.

Our appetizers were excellent. The Tuna Takati (Seared Ahi tuna slices served with cucumber salad, thai chili sauce and wasabi mayo) was absolutely delicious and substantial. This, with a little side salad, would be a perfectly light meal. I forgot to mention our $25 certificate stipulated we needed to order $50

of food (alcohol not included), so we didn't stop there. Our table quickly filled up with a bowl full of Sweet Potato Tots (yum), a Falafel Pita Sandwich and a plate of Fish and Chips. I wish I could say our entrees were as successful as the appetizers. In hind sight I wished I had ordered the Veggie Burger or the Cubano Panini as recommended by other satisfied diners on UrbanSpoon.

Overall it was a nice lunch. James Brown was playing in the back ground, plenty of fun people watching, the bathroom was clean and Brian was great. I think he noticed we were taking pics and I was writing notes. Not sure if that prompted this kind gesture, but he gave us a free Dale's Pale Ale beer glass.

A little tip: rather than paying to park on the street we landed a free 2-hour parking spot on a nearby side street. After lunch we walked around a bit. Broadway Market is a great place to get fresh seafood, grab a slice of pizza or a fresh pastry.

"Established in 1786, Broadway Market was the first of three markets built to accommodate the dispersed population of Baltimore’s boom years. The market,

out with $3 and a glass bowl I really needed to complete a broken set!

I love Fell's Point with it's cobblestone streets, funky stores and tug boats. There are plenty of fantastic restaurants and bars spewing live music out onto the sidewalks. Unlike New Orleans, you can't walk around with alcohol, but it's the

closest thing we have. For those who don't know, this neighborhood was home to the acclaimed TV show, Homicide: Life on the Streets. The faux police station door and lamp posts still exist on the monolithic building and an official plaque immortalizes the location as if it was part of the civil war or something. I hope this and the gritty drama, The Wire, won't deter you from visiting Fells Point and Alexander's Tavern...

I have a confession. Up until about 6 months ago I had never stepped foot into a barber shop. For years I had brought my two sons to my salon (which is terrific by the way) only to be subjected to pinched cheeks and ladies gossip about J lo's derriere -- you get the point.

Now that Thomas is taller than me I thought it time to switch to a more manly environment. Lucky for us Brian Bunce Barbers is in our very own Perry Hall, hon! (Located next to Outback Steakhouse)

Brian's shop is a mixture of modern amenities with plenty of barbershop nostalgia. Inside you'll be welcomed by warm wooden architecture and a shiny tin ceiling. A flat screen TV tuned to a sports station (what else, right?) hangs on the wall above 100 year-old opera chairs. Eamon loves the candy machine. Being a bad mom, I failed to warn him the

red candies were spicy! Truthfully I was just distracted...

Bunce welcomes walk-ins, but I recommend making an appointment. Last Halloween I brought my boys and my mom (who is a combination of Martha Stewart and Shirley McLean) in on an extremely busy Saturday. Talk about culture shock! I don't think my Mom had ever been around

so many crew cuts and testosterone in her life and first-come-first-serve was so foreign to her, poor thing.

Luckily I'd made an appointment, so Brian took us quickly. He and all his staff were dressed as the oldest barber in the shop with wrinkly face make up and gray wigs. Pretty funny. Next to Brian was a large, creepy sound-activated spider hanging on a web. Every time I went over to talk to him a kid would scream or a cupboard would slam and the insect would drop on me. Of course my family thought it was hilarious!

Brian's always so kind to my kids, tuning the private TV to their favorite stations and patiently helping my little one into his chair.

He skillfully cuts their hair exactly how they like it. Thomas, not the most conservative kid, looks so handsome with a cut that's edgy enough for him, but not too Justin Bieberish. Believe me, I'd know if he wasn't happy....

The shop caters to men and women and all kinds of cuts and shaves. A hot lather neck shave is included with every man's haircut. I don't have a beard, but that sounds nice! Legs maybe? :-)

Men can get a Straight Razor Shave (head or face) and of course any one can choose the Super Close Clipper.

The prices are so affordable. Seniors and kids get a discount and "Babies First Hair Cut" is absolutely free. The first time we went, Eamon sat in the vintage 50’s era fire-truck for his hair cut - how cool! If your kids have been good, treat them to one of the free lolli-pops (which I'm embarased to say my kids help them selves to

the moment we walk in....).

I need to mention, the barber shop is cash only, so come prepared, or in a pinch use the ATM in the waiting area. My boys truly love this place. If they're happy so am I... 3 thumbs up Brian!

Brian Bunce Barbers
8911 Belair Rd Perry Hall, MD 21236
410-248-0370

While slogging away at our computers the other day, Tom asked me out of the blue if I wanted to go with him to the BMA for a couple of hours. Sure, I love art and even better, there's no entrance fee! Even the main exhibit, Print by Print: Series from Dürer to Lichtenstein, is free! For those who've never been to this local gem in Charles Village right next to Johns Hopkins University

"...the Baltimore Museum of Art is home to an internationally renowned collection of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. Founded in 1914 with a single painting, the BMA today has 90,000 works of art—including the largest holding of works by Henri Matisse in the world."  Under the watchful eyes of the guards, we meandered through the print exhibit. Having sliced my fingers a few times creating my primitive woodcuts in printmaking class, I was excited to see Albrecht Durer's amazing Apocalypse

series. Did he even have any fingers left after wards? A less heavy series of prints I really liked were created by an incredibly patient Japanese artist named Yukinori Yanagi. During a self-imposed 14 day imprisonment 

at Alcatraz Prison, he spent hours tracing the path of an ant in red pen! The squiggly crazy criss cross of lines reminds me of the gray mesh filters we use in our furnace! Another mind-blowing series of prints were portraits of ex-prisoners of Abu Ghraib created by Daniel Heyman entitled The Amman Project. The artist spent time interviewing them via a translator and was so inspired by their intense experiences he inscribed their stories around their images. Being etchings, he needed to quickly write every word backwards. Can you imagine?

Thanks to the eccentric and wealthy Cone sisters (circa 1900) - who were probably OCD hoarders - the museum has an amazing display of Matisse's paintings - a personal favorite. The museum has recreated their living room with original pieces of furniture and paintings. A large cabinet has slide-out drawers filled with collections of objects like gorgeous jeweled purses. On the wall is a large touch screen with a 

computer generated interior of their Druid Hill apartment. You can manuever your way around, and for more detail, touch the objects and paintings (even the nudes!).
Another temporary exhibit, Interior Worlds, features Candida Höfer's amazingly large and detailed photos of some of the worlds coolest spaces, including Baltimore's own George Peabody Library (marvelous!) and The 

Walter's Art Museum (wonderful!). Shown along side French and Italian interiors, our city's architecture is just as impressive! Ok, so not to be too serious, besides the visually stimulating art, the BMA is the home of John Shield's restaurant, Gertrude's. It's elegant and fun. The outside wall is all glass and overlooks the sculpture gardens and has a long privately-cozy bar. Finally, there's

the BMA Shop filled with objects to die for including a large children's gift section (disclaimer: do not bring your kids in here if you do not intend to buy them something!). I think the museum is worth the visit, just for the store alone! Well, maybe not, but kinda......
Here's a tip: There's Pay to Park on the street, but if you go during a week day, you can nab 2 free hours by parking on a side street.

Recently while working in Owings Mills, my famished husband, Tom, happened to find the Hummus Corner with the help of what else but his handy dandy App, UrbanSpoon. This little gem in is rated a whopping 95%!  Whilst in Hummus heaven, he was texting me, raving about his meal and the lovely Lebanese couple who own the place -- Johnny and Carla Mattar. Carla is amazingly personable and somehow

remembers everyone's names! So, the very next day we went back together. Sure enough, a la the 80s sit com "Cheers", Carla immediately said "Hi Tom"! The affordable eatery is set up similar to a Noodles & Company, where you order at the counter and your meal will be brought to your table. We each chose the Falafel Platter (at Tom's insistence) and planted ourselves at a table for two lit by a warm pendant lamp - an arty 

photo of chick peas hung next to us. Johnny himself delivered our meal and gracefully placed our plates in front of us as if we were royalty. Time to eat! Nothing but "uhms" and "yums" while we devoured our 12 Falafels, Hummus, Baba Ghanouj, Pita Bread and the most delicious Lebanese salad with a "mystery" ingredient in the olive oil/lemon dressing. 

Interrogating Carla, we discovered the lemony flavor is a spice called Sumac - no, it's not the poisonous kind - and looks like reddish brown pepper. I must admit the Hummus was a little mild for my taste buds and, although scrumptious, the Falafel was a little too crispy. However, the smoky flavored Baba Ghanouj was perfect and as I mentioned before, I loved the salad. Unfortunately I didn't have time to try one of their plentiful selection of teas, but, we will go back and at Carla's recommendation try their "House Special": the Chicken Wrap or perhaps one of their Kabab Platters. Yum. I'm staring at their menu as I write this and it's making me salivate! Owings Mills is super lucky to have the Hummus Corner. I wish we had one on the east side of town (hint, hint Carla and Johnny!).

Hampden's 34th Street at Christmas time is a stunning masterpiece. Now in it's 64th year, this is the penultimate example of Baltimore kitch and we LOVE it!!! Every single house on the block is lit up to the hilt, lights are strung across the road from house to house and plenty of amazements pay homage to our beloved Baltimore.

A purple Raven's tree (new this year), metallic crabs, Mr. Natty Boh and of course the tree made from old vinyl albums with a pink flamingo on top! I'm sure John Waters loves this street--maybe he secretly lives in one of the houses. One talented resident is artist Jim Pollock, known for the hubcap Christmas tree displayed prominently on his lawn, along with his white snowmen made of bicycle wheels. Gosh, I'd die for one or two of these on my suburban lawn.

I think they'd be pretty good competition for all the ginormous Christmas inflatables! I actually saw one the other day in Perry Hall that was Santa emerging from an "outhouse" with a little elf holding his nose! What the heck?  The street is visually crazy, and truly is a gift from these faithful Hampdenites to the rest of us. I can only imagine the BGE bills that arrive in January. The street is lit

until January 1st and is completely free. You gotta go, don't save it to your "Bucket List"!

Helpful Tips:

• Try to go on a warm night (or should I say a less frigid night)
• Go during the week it's less crowded
• Bring your camera
• Not sure what to say about parking. Just don't do anything illegal!
• Do not give any money to so called "residents"

November is such a cold dreary month. Last Thursday seemed extra dreary. Tom and I were out working and decided to grab an afternoon coffee in Charles Village. We contemplated Starbucks for a nano second and decided "nah". Urbanspoon to the rescue! The snappy app suggested Carma's Cafe on 32nd between Charles and St. Paul a couple of blocks from Johns Hopkin's University, tucked along

the side of the large stucco apartment building that also houses Video Americain. I had previously noticed customers sitting outside in the summertime, but this day only a charismatic elderly gentleman, enjoying his afternoon coffee and cigarette (ever so French looking!), was brave enough. Carma's is very tiny, cozy and has a real Parisian vibe. I find it awkward to enter a....

neighborhood cafe for the first time staring at the menu on the wall while everyone else around you knows exactly what they want. Thank God the guy behind the counter was super welcoming and quickly gave us the run down on the specials cleverly written on plates displayed on the wall. Feeling the presence of other cold and hungry customers looming behind us we quickly chose two large coffees - extra cream - and

scrumptious looking (and tasting!) cookies. We laughed when he handed us these cups that were as large as bowls. Mine was so heavy I had to use two hands, but gosh was the coffee goooood and much cheaper than you know where. The cafe was crowded, full of an eclectic mix of college students on lap tops, relaxed adults and a few nerdy guys who probably invented the Hubble

Space Telescope or something! The "Spicy Jack" and "Spicy Jeremy Paninos" looked delicious and were swiftly delivered to the tables by two waitresses that looked like hipster Gypsies. Everyone on Yelp raves about the Icelandic Yogurt, but it was just too darn cold, I'll try it in the summer. Next time I'm sticking with hot coffee and looking forward to trying the Vegan Gypsy Soup. Good Carma!