Brian Lawrence Live

Thurs., Jan. 17
Style magazine and sister publication PaperDoll threw a bash this evening at the American Visionary Art Museum. The day’s snowfall kept some away, but some 250 hearty souls packed the Jim Rouse Center and mingled, noshed on a buffet supper from Classic Catering and met guest of honor Saleisha Stowers, winner of this year’s ‘America’s Next Top Model’ competition on the CW network. Guests were treated to a live fashion show that featured looks from local boutiques Form, Babe, Diva, Bella Sopresa, Horse and Saucy. Also on hand were the designers of the upcoming House of Style at the Ritz-Carlton: Patrick Sutton, Michelle Miller, Jay Jenkins, Dan Proctor, Mona Hajj and Tiffany Zappulla. On their way out, guests were sent home with an awesome gift bag (one of the best I’ve seen, of all the parties I attend in town).

View photos and video from the event.

Jan. 11-13
A group of pals took over the front room of the new Junior’s Wine Bar on Friday night. We’d originally booked a table for 2, then 4, then 6— by the time we became a party of 10 we had to take over the joint. What started as a casual dinner amongst a few friends stretched into a long evening. The restaurant was bustling with patrons all night, and between the multiple courses on our table, everyone was raving about the food. After running into some more friends who’d been at the bar, we all decided to take a trip across the pond over to Lemongrass. The scene there was crowded and lively, and our little group didn’t disburse until after 1 a.m.
Saturday night turned out to be fairly quiet in Federal Hill— with so many people being out the night before, most must have decided to stay in and anticipate Sunday’s playoff games. I kicked off Sunday with a terrific brunch at Abacrombie with a group of 7 friends. After a round of champagne, Jack Hoffberger had brought along a magnum of wine to go with the meal, so that made things even more festive. Then we moved on to Mick O’Shea’s to settle in for the afternoon and watch the NFL playoff games. Jerry Pellegrino and Cork’s chef Levi Briggs joined up with us, fresh from a round of skeet-shooting. It turned out to be the perfect place to catch the games accompanied by endless rounds of munchies and pitchers.

Thursday, Jan. 10
Those folks at McCormick & Schmick’s are at it again. Always ones to throw a fun media party with the help of Dorothy Fuchs at Purple Dot, they hosted a Crab Night for 30 or so of Baltimore’s press-types. In a cozy private room, we mingled over cocktails, then played a lively game of ‘Gone Crabbin’’ and finally settled in for a three-course meal of— you guessed it— crabs. I invited my comrade-in-crabs Jim Burger, and we joined Downtown Diane Macklin, Anne Boone-Simanski, Eddie Applefeld and The Sun’s Happy Eater, Rob Kasper, among many others, for a rollicking night of fun. I had to depart after the dessert course for another engagement, but Burger tells me the party kept going for quite a while.

Friday, Jan. 4
This evening I’m scheduled to meet my friend Celeste Corsaro from Baltimore Eats for a drink at Woodberry Kitchen. When I arrive at 7 p.m., the restaurant is already buzzing with activity, but co-owner Nelson Carey greets me with a glass of champagne and I quickly find a small table in the bar area. Presently we’re joined by Jim Halle and then we decide to stay for dinner. Over several courses, we chat and I enjoy a sazerac or two. It seems lots of people are out tonight, back in town and catching up after the holiday rush. While we’re there, I talk with Marla and David Oros as they’re waiting for their table, Stan and Edie Brown as they’re on their way out, Susan Dunn and her family as they’re finishing dinner, Jay Jenkins on his way in, Matt Fisher and Sherri Chambers (their wedding is featured in the new issue of Style) at the bar, and Jenn Marsh and Jamie Campbell as we prepare to leave. Fun! Did I mention this is one of my new favorite hangs? And it’s a two-minute drive from my house— bonus.

Then we decide to head downtown to Lemongrass to meet my friend Christian Johansson. It proves to be a popular night here, too. I stop and say hello to Reed Cordish, who’s ensconced in a booth with a group of friends, and run into friends Tiffany Zappulla, Tracy Kwiatkowski, Joe Wohlman and a few others at the bar. Everyone’s catching up about recent or imminent trips— tropical beaches, Miami visits and skiing trips out West— this time of year it’s hard to keep track of people due to travel schedules, so it’s always fun to see familiar faces back home in Charm City.

Thursday, Jan. 3
The recent cold streak of weather has kept a lot of folks indoors the past few nights, and the bars and restaurants have had a post-holiday quietness that seems odd after the past few weeks of buzzing activity. I hadn’t caught up with my friend, writer/photographer and all-around bon vivant, Jim Burger, since way before the holidays, so we decided to meet up for a drink at Harbor East. We started out at the Oceanaire Seafood Room, where their seasonal stone crab promotion is just getting underway. My girlfriend has an aversion to seafood (she claims it’s an allergy), so I don’t get into the Oceanaire as much as I’d like. Burger and I settled in at the bar and ordered up two Maker’s Mark Manhattans, right off the bat, to take off the winter chill. We’re both official Maker’s Mark “Ambassadors,” so it’s always nice to spread the love, plus anyone who knows me knows that Manhattans are my only cold weather cocktail of choice. Next thing you know, the kitchen sends out cups of the smoothest, creamiest crab soup you’ll find. Generally being conscious of saturated fats, cream soups are not part of my diet, but I gladly made an exception for this stuff. By then it was time for another round of Manhattans and then a big, iced platter of huge stone crab legs. Owner/manager Nate Beechler and chef Benjamin Erjavec tended to our every need, and the evening flew by. We also discovered that Nate is a fellow Pittsburgh boy (I’m originally from the Steel Town, and Burger is from Uniontown, outside of Pittsburgh). After trading a few more stories and sampling some desserts, we headed out. Nate assures me that the stone crabs will be offered at Oceanaire through March. We decide that a post-prandial cocktail is in order, and walk around the block to the bar at Cinghiale. More bourbon is poured and I stop to say hello to Linel Srochi Meyerhoff and her husband John, and Doug and Erin Becker, visiting their hometown briefly before heading back to China. All in all, I’d have to say, if we have to endure a few more months of cold weather, Manhattans and stone crabs are one way to get through it.

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