Buzz

Baltimore Ravens Score Big in TV Ratings

USA Today Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Baltimore Ravens not only scored big on the field in their winning game against the Denver Broncos, they scored big ratings for CBS, according to USA Today.

Even though Denver and Baltimore aren't particularly big markets, the Jan. 12 game drew the highest ratings for an AFC divisional playoff. The nail-biting game went into double overtime and ended in the Ravens' favor after Justin Tucker's 47-yard field goal.

It could have also gotten quite a few viewers since it's the last season for No. 52 Ray Lewis, who is retiring at the end of the season after a 17-year career.

Baltimore Named One of 25 Drunkest Cities

Daily Best Tuesday, January 08, 2013

For those of you who spend Friday nights carousing in Federal Hill bars, your efforts have not gone unnoticed.

The Daily Beast has named Baltimore one of the top 25 Drunkest Cities of 2012. Alas it only came in at No. 13, beating out Philadelphia, but coming in behind Washington, D.C., which earned a respectable ninth place on the list.

Boston earned the top spot, followed by Norfolk, Va., and Milwaukee, Wisc.

The Daily Beast, with the help of a market research firm, examined data on the number of alcoholic drinks per month each adult consumes in each of the metro areas. It says it also pulled data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the number of folks who are classified as heavy drinkers and binge drinkers. You can see the entire list here.

Maryland's Medifast Gains Points for New Weight Loss Ads

Business Insider Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Owings Mills weight loss company Medifast Inc. has rolled out a new ad campaign that has received attention from the New York Times, Mashable and Business Insider.

"Medifast has a clever TV campaign running right now that includes a heartbreaking ad featuring customer Tina Shelley, who appears as both her former (fat) self and her new (svelte) self," writes Business Insider. "You have to have a heart of stone not to get a little choked up," the online magazine writes.

Business Insider also talks to the creative director of Minneapolis ad agency Solve, who explains that the videos are before and after shots of actual Medifast customers who lost weight over a period of nine months.

You can read the entire story here. And here's a link to the New York Times story.

Forbes Says Ray Lewis Will Enjoy Success After NFL Career

Forbes Tuesday, January 08, 2013

So you may have heard something about Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis retiring at the end of this season, after 17 years on the field.

But No. 52 will likely remain in the public eye, according to Forbes. The publication speaks with the managing director of sports marketing agency Octagon First Call, who speculates that a stint with "Dancing With the Stars," speaking engagements and loads of endorsement deals are all in store for the football star.

Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated reports that Ray Lewis is expected to join ESPN as a sports analyst, citing "multiple sources."

New Yorker Names Dan Deacon Concert Among Best of 2012

New Yorker Tuesday, January 08, 2013

The New Yorker has reviewed the top classical music performances of 2012, which includes a March 26 concert that involved Baltimore-bred musician Dan Deacon.

"This event with So Percussion, Matmos, and Dan Deacon stood out for its anarchic, joyous spirit," writes the New Yorker. In its original blog review, the New Yorker writer Alex Ross describes the John Cage tribute as "one of the more entertaining and fulfilling evenings I've had in recent years."

Performances by the New York Philharmonic and the Birmingham Opera were also recognized in the list.

Electronic composer Deacon was featured in Rolling Stone magazine earlier this year.

Pizza Today Features Chazz Baltimore's Potato Pie

Pizza Today Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Potato pizza savored in Tuscany, Italy inspired restaurateur Sergio Vitale to serve a potato pie at Chazz: A Bronx Original restaurant, Pizza Today writes.

"Vitale’s coal-oven-fired white pizza is topped with sea salt seasoned potatoes, pecorino and fontina cheeses, rosemary and garlic," the magazine writes. "After baking he drizzles calabrese chili oil over it."

To prevent the pizza from getting too soggy, Vitale says he places a layer of shredded fontina cheese underneath the spuds, which he spaces out carefully.

“ 'Too many spuds cropped up in the center will make a soggy pizza,'” Vitale says. You can read the rest of the story here.

Gordon Ramsey Visits a Reinvented Cafe Hon

Baltimore Sun Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Denise Whiting and her restaurant Cafe Hon are once again the darlings of the Hampden neighborhood, according to a recent episode of Gordon Ramsey's "Kitchen Nightmares."

Ramsey revisits Cafe Hon a year after his first visit to find a bustling restaurant, humble owner and good food.

"The food was better, they said, the staff seemed happier -- the first piece portrayed them as primed for a full-scale revolt -- and the community seemed ready to let bygones be bygones, especially once Whiting made good on her promise to let go of the trademark," writes Chris Kaltenbach in the Baltimore Sun.

Whiting, of course, faced a public relations nightmare after trademarking the word "Hon." She then later abandoned the trademark and her decision was broadcast on MIX 106.5 and on "Kitchen Nightmares."

New York Times Bestows Music "Award" to Baltimore Symphony

New York Times Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The New York Times has recognized 10 classical music orchestras that have made great strides in the past year and bestows upon each its own little award — without any statues or cash to go along with the honor.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is among them and the Times honors the arts organization with the "Chicken Droppings-into-Chicken Salad Award."

"The financially troubled Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which was looking for a way to boost revenue and occupy the players during quiet summer weeks...wins for its summer academy aimed at amateur classical musicians, who pay to spend a week rehearsing and performing alongside the orchestra’s professionals," the Times writes.

You can see the list of recognized orchestras here.

Report Says Baltimore is a Buyer's Market for New Homes

Forbes Tuesday, December 18, 2012

If you're in the market for a new home in Baltimore, negotiate hard.

That's according to Zillow, which analyzed the best markets for home buyers and sellers and concluded that Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Baltimore were among the top buyers' markets. In its list of buyers' markets, Baltimore came in at No. 7, behind Cincinnati, New York and Pittsburgh.

The study, featured on Forbes.com, was completed using Zillow's third quarter 2012 market data.

"In buyers’ markets, homes for sale stay on the market longer, price cuts occur more frequently and homes are sold for less relative to their listing price, giving buyers more negotiating power," Forbes writes. You can read the entire article here.

Baltimore Restaurant Owners to Star in Reality TV Show

Citypeek.com Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The owners of Hampden's Alchemy restaurant are starring in a new reality television show, according to tourism and hospitality website Citypeek.com.

Baltimore-based RLTV is featuring the couple on a show called "What's Next," scheduled to air in the spring.

"The foodie show uses the small 75 seat venue ALCHEMY's partners Sommelier/Pastry-Bread-Sweets Debi Bell-Matassa and Executive Chef Michael Matassa to cover and tackle issues like: how do you run a business, how do you manage to work side by side your spouse," Citypeek.com writes.

Founded by John Erickson, cable channel RLTV caters to the 50 + crowd in its programming.

Steelers' Land Shows Some Love to Charm City

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens is pretty intense — to put it mildly.

But the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers' hometown newspaper, tells its readers to spend some of their time and money in a "city that abounds with great food and art."

The travel story tells readers to check out the Baltimore Museum of Art, Fort McHenry, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Little Italy restaurants and other venues. "Today, its most famous site is the landmark Inner Harbor, a historic seaport that was redeveloped from the late 1960s through the '80s," the Post-Gazette writes about Baltimore.

We'll ignore the little tidbit on picking a good Steelers bar.

Travel Channel Films in Federal Hill

SouthBMore.com Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Cross Street Market or Eastern Market? It's a showdown between Federal Hill and Capitol Hill on the Travel Channel.

The cable network was in Baltimore Dec. 7 and filmed at the Cross Street Market, writes Kevin Lynch in SouthBMore.com.

"Get down to the market and let people know how great the area is," SouthBMore.com writes. "And, while you are there, grab something at one of the many merchants and support local business."

We can't wait to see the show when it airs.

New York Times: Woodberry Kitchen Stocks Up for the Winter

New York Times Thursday, December 06, 2012

How do restaurants serve up the freshest produce in the winter? They can, store and preserve, says the New York Times, which prominently features Woodberry Kitchen in its feature on how restaurants are saving up for the winter.

"At Woodberry Kitchen, the chef Spike Gjerde collaborates with local growers to stock an abundant pantry, serving diners at his 162-seat restaurant," the Times writes.

" 'We got in the kitchen and froze 10 cases of tomatoes and roasted, peeled and seeded 10 cases of peppers,'” Gjerde tells the Times.

The story also mentions Carroll County's Black Ankle Vineyards, which supplies grapes to Woodberry.

You can read the entire story here.

Science Study: Baltimore and Minneapolis Look Alike

New York Times Tuesday, December 04, 2012

If you think a lot of cities are starting to look the same, you may be onto something.

The National Science Foundation is undertaking a massive, four-year study to examine the urban ecology of six cities: Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Baltimore. And researchers have found so far that the ecosystems in each are starting to resemble one another, the New York Times writes.

"Scientists studying the function of urban ecosystems are developing theories of what they refer to as ecological homogenization," the Times writes. "Places like Baltimore, Minneapolis and Phoenix appear to be becoming more like one another ecologically than they are like the wild environments around them."

You can read the entire story here.

Matthew Porterfield's New Film to Premiere at Sundance

Indiewire Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Baltimore filmmaker Matthew Porterfield is debuting his latest film, "I Used to Be Darker," at Sundance next month. The movie tells the story of a runaway who goes to live with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore and confronts a family struggle afterwards. "Darker" is one of ten films in the film festival's NEXT program, which highlights innovative storytelling in film.

You can read more about the NEXT films here on film site Indiewire or in this writeup in the New York Times.

Porterfield garnered rave reviews for "Putty Hill" in 2010. The Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University selected the Hamilton native for its 2012-2013 Artist Residency Awards. Porterfield has also won the Sondheim Prize and was included in the Whitney Biennial.