Brian Lawrence Live

Tuesday, July 24
Cal Ripken Jr. is headed off to Cooperstown this weekend for his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and there’s a special send-off ceremony at tonight’s O’s game vs. the Marlins. My friend Edie Brown and I are guests of Steve Geppi, erstwhile entrepreneur and owner of Diamond Comics, a part-owner of the Orioles and publisher of Baltimore magazine. The seats, understandably, are amazing: first row, just overtop the home dugout. It’s a great place to see the send-off ceremonies, where Cal gave a moving speech, and former teammates like Eddie Murray and Brooks Robinson participated, and interim mayor Sheila Dixon was roundly booed by people in the stands. Cal threw out the ceremonial opening pitch, and did a victory-lap around the park to wave to fans and toss out some baseballs. The stands were crowded— more so than I’ve seen in years. Then the O’s proceeded to best the Marlins 3-0, which was a nice capper for the night. My only regret: they ran out of bobbleheads by the time we got seated, so we didn’t get ours. I heard they were fetching up to $85 the next day on eBay.

Monday, July 23
One of the perks of this job is getting to preview new clubs and restaurants ahead of the public. I received an invitation from PR maven Cynthia Glover to invite three friends and have dinner at the new Watertable downtown, before it opens officially. So, along with pals Eleanor Landauer, Dave LeTourneur and Melissa Lembo, I ventured in for dinner on Monday night. The restaurant is located on the 5th floor of the Renaissance Hotel, and offers a spectacular view of the Inner Harbor. Cynthia introduced me to chef Dean James Max, and we proceeded to embark on a four-course meal. We all started with a clever “shot” of gazpacho. I had the organic roasted chicken with summer potato salad and baby spinach. The meal’s highlight was undoubtedly the blue crabcake appetizer served with a small composed salad of smoked bacon, green beans and red pepper— excellent!  High marks to the bartender, too: our Belvedere martinis were ultra smooth, some of the best around. Of course, there were plenty of other media types out in abundance. Over the course of the evening, Baltimore Eats’ Celeste Corsaro, Downtown Diane, and freelance writer Christianna McCausland all dropped by our table to say hello.

Saturday, July 21
Everyone knows that Artscape weekend is invariably the hottest weekend of the summer. Always. Not this year, though. After having taken a break from the summer arts festival for a year or two, this year I was in town and the weather was inviting enough that I took the plunge. Twice. After parking and hiking through the throngs, I met up with a group of friends on Friday night for the Los Lonely Boys show, and then on Saturday night was lured out again for the Old 97s. I’ve been a fan of this Texas bar band for a few years (and was surprised when they turned up in the Jennifer Anniston/Vince Vaughn film, “The Break Up” last year). They always put on an excellent live show, and Saturday night was no exception. The fact that the weather was so pleasant only made the evening all the more enjoyable.

Wednesday, July 18
The long-anticipated film remake of ‘Hairspray’ finally made it to Charm City this week. After a packed, star-studded premiere screening at The Charles (I must say, it felt weird not seeing a Baltimore film premiere at our beloved Senator Theater), the event moved further downtown to the swank Tremont Grand for a full-on party. The crowds packed three cavernous ballrooms of the Tremont, and the partygoers included everyone from 6-year-old ‘Hairspray’ fans to folks in their 80s. On hand from the film cast were stars Nikki Blonsky, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden and teen heartthrob Zac Ephron. After posing for countless pictures with fans, they even took to the dancefloor and treated the crowd to a dance routine from the film, “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” I ran into a ton of Baltimore City film folks, who turned out in spades: Maryland and Baltimore film honchos Jack Gerbes and Hannah Byron, Dreamlanders Vince Peranio and Dolores Deluxe, Waters film hair mavens Hep and Ann Preston, casting agent Pat Moran and of course, filmmaker John Waters, who brought his mom.

Over the course of the evening, which included ‘60s tunes, open bars and food stations from top restaurants around town, I chatted with Leelee Durkee, photographer Ron Solomon, Jon Kaplan and Joel Pearson, Center Stage’s Michael Ross, the Creative Alliance’s Megan Hamilton, Lola and Bob Jones, veterinarian-to-the-stars Dr. Kim Hammond, Marshall Snively, Downtown Partnership’s Faith Deutschle and Joe Bello, and Maryland first lady Katie O’Malley. I stopped by Chris Spahn‘s Wine Market table for a bit, and the evening capped off with the cutting of the official ‘Hairspray’ cake (shaped like a giant can of Aqua-Net, natch), made by our own Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes.

Thursday, July 12
This evening starts with a dinner and wine-tasting at Morton’s steak house. It’s part of a ‘Women of Spirit’ event that benefits the Red Cross, and tonight’s dinner is in honor of local wine maven Monyka Berrocosa. I arrive for the pre-dinner wine reception and sample some of the wines provided by Frederick Wildman & Sons importers and wine merchants. I’m introduced to Odila Galer-Noel, a VP at Wildman based in New York; she’ll also be speaking this evening and giving tasting notes on the dinner wine courses. I catch up with local PR guru David Nevins and a few others, then we head in to dinner. My pal Tom Brinkley, who is the Mid-Atlantic regional manager for Wildman is at my table, and he provides running commentary on the wines as they arrive for each course. My favorite of the evening is a crisp rose (’06 Rioja Rosado, El Coto de Rioja) from Spain that accompanies the salad course (I’m stocking up with a case of it). A dinner of excellent filet mignon served with chive mashed potatoes and roasted tomato stuffed with sauteed spinach follows, then a cheese course, then dessert of chocolate-covered strawberries. I have to dart out before the live auction begins, because I’m already late to a party uptown at the BMA.

When I arrive, “Crab-eret” is in full-swing. This annual party that benefits the House of Ruth is a garden party with a crab theme. Outside of Gertrude’s restaurant, the BMA’s sculpture garden is a series of billowing white curtains, tents and tables, where the crowd of 400 mixes and mingles. A lively New Orleans-style band is providing the entertainment. Guests are scooping up samples of all types of crab dishes on offer, and sipping wine as they saunter about in the pleasant night air. Event co-chair John Yuhanick heaves a sigh of relief regarding the weather. “Last year it was 104 degrees for this. This is so much better!” I see House of Ruth director Carol Alexander rush by, and I run into Paul Winicki from Radcliffe Jewelers. Inside, at the bar, I pause to chat with society reporter Sloane Brown, Mix 106’s Reagan and Heidi Slacum, owner of Fresh! boutique. After comparing notes on our guilty pleasures (Sloane’s is soap operas; mine is an addiction to TMZ.com and Perez Hilton), among other topics, I bid all a good evening. Then it’s off to Federal Hill to meet up with some friends and check out the new Stalking Horse pub for the magazine— you’ll be reading about that in the Sept. issue!

Wednesday, June 27
Spent this evening at the opening reception for the model unit at the new Ritz-Carlton Inner Harbor Residences. Midtown Properties, the developer of the project, selected Patrick Sutton to design and decorate the 2,600-square-foot, 2-bedroom unit. After donning hardhats to walk through the live construction site to the waterside unit, guests were treated to sumptuous catering by Carlton & Co., and serenaded by a live classical guitar combo playing in the dining room. Circulating through the party were real estate agents from all over town, eager to get a first-hand look at the dazzling digs. Midtown’s Adam Sabloff was thrilled with how the rooms came together. Patrick personally took me on a tour of the unit, which he and his firm designed using a palette of high-contrast neutrals. The master bedroom is done in the style of a grand old ocean liner, the living room is subtly divided into two areas for entertaining, and the smart, masculine study was a particular favorite. It was a particularly warm evening, and many guests congregated on the waterside outdoor porch, where a bar had been set up. I had a chance to catch up with Tracy Kwiatkowski, Mindy O’Malley, Chris Dahdah and Jeff Bresnei, the assistant construction project manager. By 8 o’clock, thing were winding down, and I headed to the valet queue. I offered to return my hardhat to Greg Harris, whose PR firm is handling the project, but he told me to keep it as a souvenir. (I’ll need it, given that our new ‘House of Style’ project at the Ritz will have me on the premises quite a bit over the next few months.) Patrick was kind enough to extend an invitation to join him and his office associates at a celebratory dinner at the Capital Grille, and so the group of 10 of us made our way over the Pratt Street, where the dinner ran long into the evening.

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