Brian Lawrence Live
Fri., Oct. 23
My friend Lisa Shenkle was kind enough to invite me to a small media dinner this evening to meet ‘60s singing legend Darlene Love. It turns out that her autobiography, “My Name is Love,” has just been optioned by local firm Reel Good Productions for possible development as a feature film. It was an intimate dinner in a private dining room upstairs at Pazo, and I and Style social columnist Anne Boone Simanski headed to Pazo at 8 p.m., after stopping by the new Pizzazz at Pier 5 to meet up with some friends, including Cindy & Kerry Plackmeyer, Denis Nash, Jonathan Wilkin and Dennis Porter. While there, I also ran into chef Kevin Miller and chatted with Pizzazz owner Deanna Cook. At Pazo, I met Karen Braithwaite of Reel Good Productions, as well as Chris Kaltenbach of The Sun, another media guest— he’d had the presence of mind to bring his copy of the classic Phil Spector Christmas CD that features vocals by Miss Love. It’s one of my all-time favorite holiday records, and I play it repeatedly every holiday season. I did get an autographed copy of her book, though, so that was almost as good. I talked for a while with Darlene Love, and heard lots of fun, dishy behind-the-scenes stories from her long career— singing back-up on the ‘68 Elvis comeback special, recording with Doris Day (she sang back-up on “Move Over, Darling”)— she even sang back-up on “Monster Mash”! Younger folks know her as Danny Glover’s wife in the “Lethal Weapon” films. I asked her who should play her in this film, and she said she thought Alicia Keys might be a good choice. I gave her my suggestion: hometown girl (with a great voice) Tracy Toms! The resemblance is eerie!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/27/09 at 03:58 PM
Oct. 19-22
The week started out with a brief stop at the opening party of the new Stoney River Legendary Steaks in Towson Town Center. There was quite a crowd on hand, and I didn’t sample any of the food, but did have time to say hello to Greg Harris of Weinberg Harris, writer Mary Medland and J Shoes honcho Myles Levin. Then a guest was on the floor with a medical issue, choking or suffering a heart attack, and as the EMTs entered, I took my leave.
On Tuesday night, I was invited to dine at John Stevens in Fells Point by the tavern’s owners’ Andrew Burke and Michael Farmer. Excellent food, by the way, if you haven’t been in to this landmark in a while. After dinner I enjoyed some cocktails with PR maven Dot Fuchs and town bon vivant Jim Burger. Michael gave a few of us a private tour of the long-unused second and third floors of the historic building. They have great views of the water and of Fells Point, sitting high over the corner of Thames & Ann streets.
Wed. night it was up to Renaissance Galleries in Pikesville for a private Scotch tasting hosted by my pal Mike Fishman of Quarry Wine & Spirits. Signatory’s Ed Kohl presided over the lecture, and we sampled 9 single very nice malt Scotches over the course of the evening.
And on Thurs. night, I headed up to the Octagon at Mt. Washington for a cocktail party to celebrate designer Rita St. Clair‘s 40 years in business. It was a beautiful setting for a party, and I mingled with sculptor Joe Sheppard, designer Brian Thim, TV personality Rhea Feikin, PR pro Amy Elias, photographer Betty Rosen, Chesapeake Home editor Dennis Hockman, designer Richard Taylor and lots of others. After that, it was on to the F.O.P. lodge in Hampden for a fundraiser for Irish Charities. Eight local Irish restaurants competed for top honors in coming up with a dish using Guinness. Judges included my friends Celeste Corsaro of Baltimore Eats and “Downtown Diane” Macklin, so I hung out in the judges room for a while. Then I got to sample some of the food, all of it excellent.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/23/09 at 12:12 PM
Thurs., Oct. 15
This evening, Urban Chic held a festive fashion show in the main building at the American Museum of Visionary Art. Well turned-out fashionistas swarmed around the staircases on the first and second levels as two parades of models decended, all wearing the season’s latest. Guests enjoyed cocktails and some excellent hors d’oeuvres and strolled the museum’s galleries. Then it was over Corvino for the after-party, and the bar and restaurant quickly packed up with party guests enjoying the poured wines and comparing notes on the show. We stayed for a bit, then met up with friends Melissa & Chris Whisted and Scooter Holt down the block at Corks, where the bar wasn’t quite as congested.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/16/09 at 09:42 AM
Sat., Oct. 10
Today, I spent the afternoon out at the Padonia Swim Club for the first annual Party in the Park. An all-day event to raise funds for the Nikki Perlow Foundation, the day included three bands, lots of activities, craft booths and food. After greeting party organizer Randi Rom, I spent the afternoon in the Backstage area, hanging out with friends Filippo Lapides, Mary Frances Mondo, Celeste Corsaro, Diane & Larry Macklin, Colby Bearch, Denis Nash and Nancy Surosky.
Saturday night was spent at the Owings Mills studios of MPT, to attend their 40th Anniversary Gala to honor Rhea Feikin. After entering the reception tent (can we please declare a moratorium on fake “paparazzi” assaulting people as they enter these kinds of events? It’s dated and it’s cheesy. Please stop.) we mingled with fellow attendees Doug & Catherine Hoffberger, Suzi Cordish, Cathy Byrd, John Waters, Curt Decker, Jay Jenkins, Paul Wohlman, Gail Kaplan, Barry & Maria Fleischmann, Hildy & Richard Eliasberg and lots of others. After an hour, it was into the dining tents, where a retrospective of MPT programming was shown and Mr. Waters entertained everyone with his comments.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/13/09 at 02:41 PM
Oct. 7 & 8
On Thurs. evening, I headed down to Silo Point where Sean Weiner of Starr Systems was throwing a bash in the lush lobby and out on the terrace. A live band was performing outside and guests roamed throughout the first level, sampling food, sipping cocktails and some ducked into the special room with a 3-D video presentation. I got to chat with designer Susan Major of the Hestia Group, as well as Silo’s Eric Turner and Holly Winfield. Wrapping things up there, a few of us repaired over to The Wine Market for some sustenance and some cocktails courtesy of the always-lovely Kelly.
On Friday, I accepted an invitation from Morton’s Judy DiGioia to come to a reception for Don Roberto Tequilas. A friendly group of 30 or so took over the private dining rooms to sample custom cocktails and some delicious appetizers coming out of the kitchen. I also met and talked to “Tequila Ambassador” Mike Friedrich. Other local foodies making the scene were blogger Dara Bunjon and Diane & Larry Macklin. Then I headed down to Cross Street Market to meet some friends to toast the approaching fall weather— too bad it was 84 degrees that night!
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/12/09 at 04:21 PM
Oct. 6 & 7
On Tuesday evening, I swung by Red Maple for City Paper‘s party to celebrate the release of their first-ever Baltimanual, a new city guide for Baltimore. Publisher Don Farley greeted me and I went on to run into friends Maggie Farley, Jenn Marsh, Hope Murphy, Jamie Campbell, Dru Bynum and Richard Gorelick.
On Wednesday evening, Pat Morrow, chef at Ryleigh’s, had invited me to be part of a tasting panel to judge pairings of oysters and wines for their upcoming Oyster Festival this weekend. It’s the third year they’ve been kind enough to invite me to judge, and it’s always a blast. I’ll also note it’s the one time of year that I eat oysters, but I always manage to get through it. This year, my fellow judges included locals Steve Ward, Bruce Dorsey, Chris Coker, and a few more fun-loving souls. Six flights of 5-6 wines each, plus a sparkling flight, and two and a half hours later, we had our winners. Stop by the festival going on at Ryleigh’s this weekend to see if you agree with our choices.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/08/09 at 04:49 PM
Sat., October 3
Started the evening by meeting up with friends at M&T Bank Stadium for the party hosted by “What Not to Wear”‘s Stacy London to benefit the Believe in Tomorrow Foundation. With pals Bruce Alderman, DJ Lamdin and Tiffany Zappulla, we trooped into the VIP lounge where the meet-and-greet with Ms. London was going on. As people approached her to have their photo taken with her, she doled out a bit of fashion advice to each. I didn’t subject myself to such musings, but she seemed quite pleasant and charmed everyone. Fashionistas and wannbes swanned around the room, and Sun columnist Sloane Brown was on hand to snag some subjects for her “Glimpsed” column. I caught up with Sloane’s husband, Dr. Steve Sobelman, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, and he introduced me to former Baltimore Colt Bruce Laird. Also on hand were MIX 106 radio personalities Maria Denis and Reagan Warfield. Then we moved into the main party, which featured some tasty dishes from City Cafe, Ra Sushi and lots of others. After a brief stop at Corvino, it was over to Silo Point for the Creative Alliance’s Rock the Silo party. Developed Pat Turner regaled me with stories of rappelling down the side of the 24-story building, which he and 80-some others had done several days before as part of a charity event. I also had time to chat with Sun reporter Julie Bycowicz, whom I hadn’t seen in a while. The party was held in the “catacombs” underneath the main lobby. This subterranean space has been converted into a fun party space for residents of Silo Point, and with pool tables, lounge areas and several DJs providing music, it was a fun spot to end the evening.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/06/09 at 12:38 PM
Friday, Oct. 2
Although this is essentially the same party every year, it’s always a good one. So many people, and from so many different social circles, all crossing paths at this event that benefits the Living Classrooms Foundation. Each year I consider not attending, then end up going, knowing absolutely everyone will be there, and afraid I’ll miss something. Way too many names to mention here, but my friend and Living Classrooms honcho James Piper Bond greeted us warmly and welcomed us to the party. He was being trailed by a film crew, who were taping for an upcoming documentary. Highlights: the new Kooper’s Chowhound wagon was the hit of the party. Guests endured long lines to sample these truly delicious burgers. My pal Bill Irwin, who handles marketing for Kooper’s, was feverishly helping out in the wagon to keep a steady stream of the popular burgers coming out to waiting partygoers. And my pal Jimmy Kinney, of Capital Grille, was serving up tasty slices of beef tenderloin and mashed potatoes, always a hit. The tacos from Chipoltle and the mini-burgers from Abbey Bistro were also popular, as were the Sweet Tea Vodka samples. This party always has lots of energy, and a big part of that is the bands. There were several really good ones, capped off by the New Riders of the Purple Sage. Even the periodic light rain sprinkles couldn’t dampen the party spirit.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/04/09 at 11:11 AM
Thurs., Oct. 1
The fall party season is in full gear, and tonight there were three parties to hit. First, the Grand Opening party at the new Hotel Monaco. Several hundred invited guests turned out to see this beautiful new addition to downtown, housed in the historic B&O Headquarters Building. Guests filled the main lobby, the mezzanine lobby and two ballrooms to schmooze and sip. In the course of the evening I spoke with Edie & Stan Brown, Marty & Sharon Bass, Paul Wohlman of P.W. Feats, designer Andrew Zill, Mary Ann Cricchio of Da Mimmo, Greg & Lisa Barnhill, Dorothy Fuchs and media folks Reagan Warfield, Diane Macklin, Donna Hamilton, Sloane Brown (who was shooting for her ‘Glimpsed’ column in The Sun), and lots more. Everyone seemed impressed with the design of the hotel and its rooms— it’s worth stopping by just to roam around and gawk, then stop for lunch or dinner at the B&O American Brasserie next door.
From there, it was down to Harbor East and up to the top floor of the new Legg Mason tower for the Urban Land Institute’s awards gala and reception. Guest roamed the raw space inside and the full wraparound terraces outside, which offer beautiful views of the city and water all around. Grabbed a scotch’n'soda and proceeded to socialize with Kathleen Ward, Eric Turner, Holly Winfield, Kevin Wesner, Scott Plank, Tracy Gosson, Pat Turner and Tracy Kwiatkowski.
Last stop (almost): Meli in Fells Point, where a benefit for House of Ruth was underway. Caught up with Sloane and Downtown Diane there (again— they party-hop as much as I do) and also John Hargrave, Celeste Corsaro, mistress of ceremonies Rhea Feikin and Jen Berg. Of course the evening wouldn’t be complete without a final stop at 13.5%, and grabbed a beer with Ben Greenwald and John Angelos.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/02/09 at 12:06 PM
