Brian Lawrence Live

Saturday, June 21
I had three events to work my way through this evening. First up, a stop at the Maryland Science Center’s annual Solstice party, held at the Center on the Inner Harbor. The party had a New Orleans theme, with lots of Big Easy-style dishes being served and music by Buckwheat Zydeco. Next, if was uptown to the Tremont Grand for designer Dan Proctor’s over-the-top 50th birthday party. The cocktail hour had an all-white theme, with guests dressed accordingly, then at 11 o’clock, the theme went psychedelic, and guests were bedecked with colorful Indian-inspired accessories and bangles. Joining in the fun were Marla & David Oros, Bob & Lola Jones and Dorothy Hamill. A Beatles tribute band was on hand to serenade guests and the party went long into the night (look for pictures from the party in our Sept. issue). Finally, it was over to Canton for the season-opening party at outdoor poolside lounge Aqua. The huge crowd of several hundred were chilling in the pleasant night air when we arrived, and the thumping music could be heard from blocks away. We quickly spotted a group of friends who’d claimed a lounge area next to the pool and proceeded to relax, knowing that it was the final stop of the night.

Friday, June 20
The streets of Federal Hill were the backdrop for a “funeral” procession to celebrate (or grieve) the 70th birthday of neighborhood resident Len Homer. Ensconsed in a leopard-print lined coffin, Homer was paraded from his home through the streets to a big bash of a party at Junior’s Wine Bar. There, a New Orleans-style band kicked the party into high gear as guests nibbled Big Easy-style dishes from chef Mike Russell. On hand were lots of Len’s friends from the neighborhood like Patrick Sutton, Sheryl Segal, Dick Leech and Steve Ward; Camilla Carr handled MC duties in announcing the winners of the “best epitaph” contest. We stayed throughout the evening, since our seats at a table out on the sidewalk were the perfect vantage point for the festivities.

Thurs., June 19
The beautiful pool at Clipper Mill was the setting for the latest Smalltimore cocktail party, held in conjunction with Maryland Lawyers for the Arts. A large, good-looking crowd mingled around the pool while sipping wine and beer. It was a perfect evening to be outdoors, and I ran into lots of folks who stopped in for the evening: Tom Brinkley, Chuck Gardner, Jacquie Ruane, Tracey Kwiatkowski, Ayda Said, Tiffany Zappulla, Michelle Mutert, Steve Rouse, Deni Tabor, Patti Neumann, Jim Halle and Denis Nash. After the event ended, it was just too easy to walk across the street and claim a big table at Woodberry Kitchen for a bunch of us and order dish after dish from the menu there, long into the evening.

Friday, June 13
Thanks heavens the weather for this year’s black-tie blow-out at the zoo was more tolerable than it’s been in the past. It was merely hot, rather than unbearable, as it was last year. The crowds turned out for a beautiful evening of strolling through the grounds, sampling foods from lots of Baltimore restaurants and enjoying bands at several tents set up throughout the Druid Hill campus. The crowd looked sharp in their gowns and tuxes, and I encountered lots of friendly faces as we made our way through the crowd: Jordan Faye Block, Max Weiss, Heidi Slacum, Baron Scarlett, Mary and Sarah Moran, Kerry & Cindy Plackmeyer and lots of others. And hosts Stuart & Suzanne Amos were on hand to greet me personally as I made my way up to the mansion house to check out Duff Goldman‘s award-winning cakes.

Friday, June 6
The intense summer heat didn’t prevent a great turnout at the annual Evening of Traditional Beverages at Johns Hopkins’ Homewood House. The topic of this evening’s talk and sampling was wine, specifically from the northern region of Italy. An Italian prosecco was sampled first, followed by four more wines after the talk. As in previous years, I volunteered to man one of the bars for the evening, so I was kept on my toes uncorking bottles and pouring throughout. Jim Burger was on hand to do bartending duties as well, and in the course of the evening I got to say hello to Sylvia Parker, Mark Letzer, Amanda Krotki and lots of others who turned out for this fun outdoor event.

Thurs., June 5
It was ‘First Thursdays’ in Mt. Vernon this evening, with a big crowd in the park at Mt. Vernon square and lots of people strolling the Charles Street galleries, but my destination was the Walters Art Museum for an event being held by the Pratt Contemporaries, a new friends group of young supporters of the Enoch Pratt Library. Sharon Connell had invited me to the event, which featured a wine reception followed by a private tour of the “Maps” exhibit at The Walters. During the reception, I got to catch up with old friends Jamie & Meg Kelley, and with museum director Gary Vikan before I had to dash to two more events before winding up the evening meeting some friends at Tark’s.

Monday, June 2
I headed down to AVAM this evening to check out the Taste of the Nation fundraiser, where some of Baltimore’s top restaurants donated their time and their best dishes to help the cause to prevent childhood hunger. Restaurants like Red Maple, Capital Grille, VIN, Kali’s Court and IXIA all had stand-out dishes to be sampled. A number of national brand liquors and wines were also on hand to serve up samples– the concoctions being offered by Woodford Reserve Bourbon were particularly tasty. I hung out with a contingent of media mavens for part of the evening: Downtown Diane, Sloane Brown from The Sun, Anne Boone Simanski from The Examiner, Reagan Warfield from Mix 106, Eddie Applefeld from WCBM and photographer Jim Burger. I also got to hang with some of my pals in the restaurant business like Jerry Pellegrino of Corks and Karen Patten of Kali’s Court/Mezze. I also compared notes with friends like Karen Tong from Nevins Associates, Marc Kantrowitz and Patti Neuman. Everyone agreed, it was an enjoyable evening for a good cause.

Thurs., May 29
Started off the evening at the gala to celebrate the opening of the new wing at Learning Inc. The weather was perfect for the outdoor tented event, held at the school’s Hampden campus. During the cocktail hour there I spoke with Mary Ann Mears, photographer Bill McAllen, Sloane Brown, Steve Sobelman, Suzi & David Cordish, Dr. John & Petey O’Donnell, state senator Catherine Pugh and a ton of other notables as we toured the new facilities. Dinner by Linwoods was awaiting the crowd of 170 guests in a tent set up in the field behind the school, but I had to jump in my car and drive downtown to the grand opening gala for the Ritz-Carlton, held in the beautiful waterside courtyard at the new complex off Key Highway. Several hundred invitees were milling about, noshing on foods catered by Carlton, sipping specialty drinks and having cigars hand-rolled at one station. Several model units were open for touring, but the big attractions were a performance by jazz great David Sanborn and a private fireworks display set-off in front of the crowd. Ran into designers Rita St. Clair, Brian Thim, Patrick Sutton, and chatted with guests Anna Custer of Live Baltimore, Monyka Berrocosa, Christian Johansson, Living Classroom’s James Piper Bond, developer Adam Sabloff and a slew of others. Perfect evening, and the fireworks were spectacular!

Tues., May 27
I was invited to attend a preview screening of the new “Sex and the City” film tonight at Loew’s in White Marsh. The film was enjoyable enough (though a bit on the long side, I thought) and the ladies were out in force to get caught up in the SATC mania. The after-party was held across the street at Bayou Blues cafe, so we wondered over to check it out. The crowd was easily 95 percent female. There was some low-end food on a buffet table— chips with a spinach cream dip, cheese quesadillas— that I figured most people would ignore. There were also some passed hors d’oeuvres. What I witnessed was a bit shocking. The women in the crowd lined up and started shoveling that high-calorie, high-saturated fat junk food onto their plates like there was no tomorrow! (My two sisters were brought up to believe that ladies are seldom seen eating in public, other than in a restaurant or club with friends or family. In a social situation, maybe a polite passed appetizer or two, nothing more.) I would think that in a social situation, where you’re expected to chat with people and mingle, this sort of display of poor manners would be at a minimum. Not with this crowd!

Monday, May 26
What a great day for a ballgame! After obligatory pre-game beers at Pickles Pub, we were in our box seats in a nice shady section behind home plate and watched as the O’s proceeded to trounce the Yankees 6-1. But I have two questions: 1) Are Camden Yards fans the only ones left to attempt the pathetic “wave”? The Wave was fun back in 1987. As far as I can tell it’s been dead everywhere else for nearly 20 years now. Why do some wrongheaded fans still attempt to do it here? Stop.
2) “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”? Seriously? Last time I checked, Baltimore was a major metropolitan city. Enough. Move on.