Anne Arundel County : Buzz

Maryland Live Casino took home the jackpot in Casino Player magazine's Best of Dining & Nightlife Awards.

Local restaurants the Prime Rib and Phillips Seafood won best steakhouse and best seafood restaurants, respectively. Casino Player surveyed readers to come up with the results. Readers selected Rams Head Center Stage as one of the best casinos to see a concert and the R Bar as one of best places to grab a cocktail. The Live Buffet, Bobby’s Burger Palace and the Cheesecake Factory were also recognized by readers.

See the entire list of awards here.

If you're flying out of BWI, you have some healthy alternatives to pizza or a burger and fries.

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport came in at No. 4 in a report that ranked airports according to how many of their restaurants serve a plant-based, cholesterol free entrée. BWI tied with Washington Dulles International Airport in the report from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The report found that 33 of BWI's 41 eateries offer some sort of healthful fare. 

Denver International Airport came in at No.1. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Chicago O'Hare International tied for No. 2. Los Angeles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport tied for the No. 3 spot.

Though it may have closed its longstanding restaurant in Fells Point two years ago, Obrycki's airport spots are still garnering good reviews.

CNN named it one of the 10 best airport restaurants that give travelers a taste of the hometown. Obrycki's Restaurant and Bar is located in Concourse B and Obrycki's A-Bar is located in Concourse A at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

"The BWI locale sticks pretty close to the formula that made the restaurant a Charm City classic," CNN writes. You can also go Obrycki's at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. 

The article also has recommendations for barbeque in Memphis and shrimp etoufée in New Orleans. Read the entire story here. 

“House of Cards” isn't the only show shooting in Maryland anymore, as this week filming in Maryland turns from the political to edible.

Food Network show “The Great Food Truck Race” filmed in Annapolis June 21, the Baltimore Sun writes. The multi-week, coast-to-coast challenge pits food truck vendors against one another to see who can sell the most tacos, burgers and other fare.

The Indian-Mexican inspired Tikka Tikka Taco, the Hawaiian-style Aloha Plate Truck and cheese-steak vendor Samboni Boys took part in the Annapolis challenge, the Sun reports.

The Annapolis episode will air Sept. 15. Read the full story here.

Wanna know where to find all the farmers' markets in your area? The Maryland Department of Agriculture has released a database of the state's 131 farmers' markets, MDBizNews writes. 

"The Maryland’s Best website now includes extensive, searchable information on market locations, hours, producers, vendors and product listings. A paper version of the 2013 Maryland Farmers’ Market Directory will also available in mid-May from MDA’s Marketing Division in Annapolis," MDBizNews says.

To find your local farmer's market, go on the Maryland's Best website and enter "farmer's market" in the search category. 

An Annapolis company called Solar Wind Energy Inc. wants to build a massive energy tower on the U.S.-Mexico border, Forbes reports.

"Known as a downdraft tower, the project by Solar Wind Energy Inc., is an untested and hugely ambitious endeavor," Forbes writes. "It has, however, attracted some heavyweight partners, including GE Energy and Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., which has built everything from steel foundries to the Baltimore Ravens’ football stadium."

You can read the rest of the story here. 

Next time you're in Austin, Texas, pick up a "Keep Austin Weird" T-shirt. It's among the Austin Bergstrom International Airport's best-selling items, USA Today writes.

And in Baltimore, airport travelers like to sink their teeth into Obrycki's crabs. "During the month of February 2013 alone, travelers bought more than 4,000 crab cakes and an equal number of deviled crab balls," USA Today writes. "Sleepless in Seattle" T-shirts are a hot item in Seattle, even though it's been 20 years since the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks movie came out. 

Obrycki's closed its Fells Point restaurant in 2011 and has airport locations in Cleveland and at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Maryland's largest casino is getting ready to test its luck with roulette, poker and craps.

Maryland Live Casino workers are installing the table games and wrapping up construction so the Hanover casino next to Arundel Mills mall can open them to the public April 11, Washington, D.C., TV station WJLA writes.

"It's an $800,000 investment that will take center stage at Maryland's premiere casino," WJLA writes. "The pristine red and gold tables will sit at the front of the floor, catching the eye of gamblers."

Table games arrived at the Hollywood Casino Perryville earlier this month. Maryland casinos will face competition from others across the East Coast, some analysts say.

Maryland voters approved a massive expansion of gambling on Election Day. The Free State is getting a sixth casino in Prince George's County and Maryland Live at Arundel Mills and other casinos will get table games.

But Maryland isn't the only East Coast state doing this, writes the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Toronto and New York City are considering casino developments and Philadelphia is getting a downtown hotel and casino.

"There isn't an end in sight," writes the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Two gaming analysts believe there should be. In separate research reports, they said the populous Northeast and Atlantic Coast regions are close to reaching a casino saturation point."

You can read the rest of the story here. 

The June 6 opening of Maryland Live at Arundel Mills mall got plenty of attention in local newspapers and TV outlets. 

It also caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal, which found the 4,750-slot machine venue unusual for its being on the site of a suburban shopping mall.

"Malls have become popular additions to casino complexes in Atlantic City and Las Vegas ever since Simon Property Group, which owns Arundel Mills, opened The Forum Shops as an extension to Caesars Palace on the Last Vegas Strip in 1992," the Journal writes in the article. 

The opening of Maryland's third slots parlor was marked by traffic backups on Interstate 295, celebrity-chef Bobby Flay -- on hand for Bobby's Burger Palace -- and feuding between executives in Anne Arundel and Prince George's Counties amid talks of a casino at National Harbor.

Maryland's largest slots casino, developed by the Cordish Co., has set a June 6 opening date. Restaurants at the 4,750-slot-machine venue will include Bobby Flay's Burger Palace, the Prime Rib and Philips Seafood.

"State analysts project that Maryland Live!, once it is fully operational, will generate more than $400 million a year in slots revenue — nearly half of which would flow to state education programs under current law," writes the Washington Post. You can read the rest of the story here. 

A recent study says that Baltimore has the potential to become an offshore wind power hub, given its port and a steel mill at Sparrows Point, writes the Huffington Post. 

"However, study author Nick Abstoss says attracting companies would require private investment in port facilities and other infrastructure," Huffington Post writes. "The studies released Wednesday come as legislators are considering bills supported by the governor and the MEA to require offshore wind power production in Maryland."

Remember the snakehead scare from several years back? It's not quite a "scare" this time, but one of the nefarious creatures was recently discovered near Annapolis.

From the Post:

A mature, egg-bearing northern snakehead has been discovered by scientists in a river just south of Annapolis, raising the possibility that low salinity in the Chesapeake Bay this year may have allowed the invasive fish to escape from the Potomac River.

The 23-inch snakehead was found in the Rhode River last Thursday by biologists from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center taking annual fish samples by net.

Read the story here.

Keeping it local is good way to get the vacay you need at a stacay price. Less than 30 miles away, Annapolis is an excellent option.

Here's why:

"The Reynolds Tea Room and Tavern is the oldest tavern in Annapolis and one of the oldest in the United States. Enjoy this historic and charming setting for lunch (selections to $12) or high tea, which ranges from tea with scones at $7.90 to Colonial High Tea (tea plus a choice of soup, salad or quiche) at $20.95."

Read the entire article here.

Wondering where the top locations are in Maryland for young people just starting their professional careers?  There're Glen Burnie, Towson and, of course, Baltimore, according to Helium.com

Here's an excerpt:

"Maryland has so many different options available to every class of people that live in the state. Young professionals seem to be on the increase in Maryland and therefore, there must be some areas that are more suitable than others for this group of people to live. There are several cities that are good areas for young professionals to live in Maryland."

Read the entire article here.