visit baltimore : Buzz

Port Discovery, a children's museum in downtown Baltimore, has gotten national recognition from Forbes magazine. 

Forbes named it one of the 12 best kids' museum in the nation. 

"This 80,000 square foot facility resides in a renovated fish market and is one of the anchors of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor," Forbes writes. "Both the permanent and temporary exhibitions are heavily thematic, so when kids enter Adventure Expeditions, they travel back in time to 1920’s Egypt and search for a Pharaoh’s lost tomb, decoding hieroglyphics along the way in an educational detective puzzle of sorts."

Children's museums in Indianapolis, Boston and Brooklyn also made the cut. 

Baltimoreans all know that Woodberry Kitchen is the city's original and most popular farm-to-table restaurant. Well it seems that word has gotten out to the editors of GQ magazine.

Woodberry Co-owner Spike Gjerde was recently featured in the magazine's food and travel section. Gjerde talks about his favorite spots in Baltimore, which include Hampden's Spro coffee shop, Wit and Wisdom restaurant in the Four Seasons Baltimore and the Thames Street Oyster House in Fells Point. You can read the rest of his picks here. 

It certainly won't be the last we hear of Gjerde. The restaurateur is opening a coffee shop of his own and a fast-casual eatery this spring. 

Esquire contributor John Mariani has featured Baltimore in a new section of his website that highlights good day-trip destinations.

He focuses on restaurants in Mount Vernon, Harbor East and Little Italy, including Tio Pepe, Charleston, Aldo's Italian Restaurant and Chazz: A Bronx Original. 

"A good deal of the charm of the surrounding neighborhoods are its townhouses, built along British lines, with their identifying marble stoops, and there is a thriving Little Italy, adjacent to the Inner Harbor," Mariani writes. 

You can read the rest of his description of Charm City here. 

Everyman Theatre's "Fifty Words" gets a stellar review in Broadway World. Reviewer Charles Shubow calls it a "powerful play with an exceptional cast."

The play takes place over the course of one night in a couple's Brooklyn kitchen. "There are many problems in the household which come alive during the 90 minute play under the capable hands of Director Donald Hicken," Shubow writes.

Just in time for Valentine's Day. You can read the rest of the review here. 

Baltimore leads the nation in overall hospital care, according to a report from ratings service HealthGrades. 

The survey got Baltimore national attention from a variety of news outlets, including U.S. News & World Report, which ran a HealthDay News item on its website. 

"Baltimore had nine top-performing hospitals out of 19 eligible hospitals in the city," the website says.

Phoenix, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Richmond, Va.; and Cincinnati rounded out the top five. 

You can read the rest of the story here. 

Baltimore may have had its share of challenges when it comes to race relations.

But Charm City has come a long way and is now more progressive than its counterparts throughout the nation, according to the Daily Beast. The website ranked Baltimore No. 5 in its list of 20 most tolerant cities. Miami, San Francisco, Honolulu and Durham, N.C. ranked above Baltimore.

The Daily Beast looked at the number of hate crimes, same-sex couples and the percentage of African Americans and Asian residents. You can read more about Baltimore's status here.

A Baltimore County sports shop will be the subject of a new reality TV show, according to the Baltimore Sun's David Zurawick.

ABC will follow the owners of Robbie's First Base in Timonium in 12, half-hour episodes. You can read more about the planned TV show in Zurawick's blog.

While concert sales are slowing down nationally, two Baltimore venues sold more tickets last year compared with 2010, the Baltimore Sun writes.

Rams Head Live saw success with pop singer Sara Bareilles and punk band Rise Against, while First Mariner's U2, Kanye West/Jay-Z and Sade shows propelled ticket sales at First Mariner Arena, the Sun's Erick Maza writes.

"In addition, Rams Head Live and Rams Head on Stage in Annapolis both made a recent list of the top 30 clubs in the country, and the nearly 50-year-old 1st Mariner was named top-selling arena of its size by Billboard Magazine," the Sun writes. You can read the rest of the story here.

If you're an art lover, you are probably used to getting the occasional stern warning from security guards when you step a little too close to the Monet.

Well, at the Walters Art Museum's new exhibit, you can get as close as you want to the art. You can even touch it.

The Huffington Post previews the exhibit, which runs January 21 - April 15, 2012.

"The Walters Art Museum is merging the tactile pleasures of art with the neuroscience of how our brains respond to tactile stimuli," the Huffington Post writes. "The museum is teaming up with the Johns Hopkins University Brain Science Institute to invite viewers to touch works of art and meditate on why this physical contact is so appealing."

You can read the rest of the story here.

A website that covers environmental news has recognized Baltimore as its destination of the week.

Mother Nature Network says Baltimore -- once a "victim of Rust Belt decay -- is now an "ideal East Coast destination."  The article highlights eco-friendly retail outlets, LEED-certified hotels and restaurants that serve dishes sourced from local farms.

"Like other aged East Coast cities such as Philadelphia and Boston, Baltimore has walkable historic sightseeing routes," Mother Nature Network writes. "These, coupled with the city's parks, markets and user-friendly transit options, make it a good addition to low-impact travelers' East Coast itineraries."

You can read the rest of the story here.

Carnival Cruise Lines has launched a new ad campaign that touts the benefits of taking a vacation on sea versus one on land, writes the New York Times.

And its is concentrating these ads on 19 markets that have ports in or within driving distance of one of its ports, including Baltimore. That is according to Carnival Chief Marketing Officer James Berra, quoted in the Times article.

" 'Half of the United States is within a five-hour drive from one of our ports,' " Berra says in the story. " 'We’re de-emphasizing the Nebraskas and Wyomings of the world and putting more emphasis on places like D.C. and Baltimore.' "

You can read more about the ad campaign here.

Ever wish you could see more public sculptures on display in Greater Baltimore?

Well now you can, if you drive out to Howard County. The Howard County Arts Council has selected 12 sites that will feature public sculptures in 2012, according to Broadway World.

The spots include the George Howard Building in Ellicott City, which will feature "Daddy Longlegs" by Carl Billingsley, and Howard Community College, which will feature Hanna Jubran's "The Cycle."

Read about the other sites and selected artwork.

First Mariner has remained true to its name.

Billboard magazine has named it the top-grossing arena of its size. It grossed nearly $16 million this year, making it No. 1 among arenas that seat between 10,000 and 15,000 people, writes the Baltimore Sun. It's the second year in a row that First Mariner has been first.

Recent acts at the arena include Sade, Kanye West and Jay-Z. You can read the rest of the story here.

U.S. News & World Report has included three Baltimore hotels in its annual list of Best Hotels in the USA. The honored properties include the Hyatt Regency Baltimore, Baltimore Marriott Waterfront and the InterContinental Harbor Court Baltimore.

You can read reviews of the hotels here.

Oriole Park: It's not just for baseball anymore.

Planned renovations to the Baltimore Orioles' home will make Oriole Park at Camden Yards a year-round destination, stadium officials told the Baltimore Sun. A picnic area behind the center field will be turned into a park where visitors can stroll, even when there isn't a game playing.

The plan also includes more concessions and a rooftop viewing area, according to the Sun article.