Buzz

USA Today recently featured the latest trend in hotel bars: fizzy bottled cocktails. They look like old-fashioned sodas, but there's booze in 'em.

The article highlights a drink at downtown Baltimore's B&O American Brasserie, located in the Hotel Monaco. The Grape Drink is a bottled, carbonated cocktail with homemade Concord grape syrup with cardamon and cinnamon, USA Today writes. 

"They are popped table-side and served with a striped paper straw."

Read the entire story here. 

Home improvement magazine This Old House has chosen Locust Point as one of the best neighborhoods in the Northeast with charming, historic old homes.

The publication chose neighborhoods that have "plenty of New England charm, plus main streets and marinas that embrace East Coast living."

Of Locust Point, the magazine says it has a "gritty feel that celebrates its industrial past." It highlights Fort McHenry and Fort Avenue, with its local bars and crab houses and says the neighborhood is "the kind of place that would make Baltimore native and avant-garde filmmaker John Waters proud."

Norwich, Conn., Middletown Del., and Castine, Maine were some of the other towns that were honored for their historic houses.  

Baltimore was ranked No. 12 on a list of cities that make the best use of their resources and use less energy.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranks 34 of the most populous U.S. cities and ranks them according to how well their policies and actions advance energy efficiency. Baltimore was cited for its low transportation energy consumption per capita, shipping freight via rail and sea, and the city's goal to reduce energy consumption by 15 percent by 2015. 

Boston came in at No. 1, followed by Portland, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Austin.

Are you good at answering multiple choice questions and phoning a friend.

"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" — yes, that show is apparently still on the air — is scouting potential candidates in Baltimore for its game show, Mix 106.5 reports. Host Cedric the Entertainer will hold auditions in Towson Sept. 12. 

"Contestant auditions consist of a timed multiple choice test and for those people who pass, an interview with one of the show’s producers," Mix 106.5 says. "Auditioners will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis and producers will audition as many people as they can throughout the day."

You must be at least 18 to audition. Read the entire story here. 

 

USA Today has compiled a list of the 51 best burger joints in America, choosing one from each U.S. state and the District of Columbia.

The recommendations came from local foodies. The winner in Maryland? The Abbey Burger Bistro in Federal Hill. 

"The Abbey Burger Bistro has a patty for every taste: Black Angus beef, bison, lamb, elk and turkey," USA Today writes. "The build-a-burger menu offers cheese (including brie, Swiss, blue, American), avocado, peanut butter, truffle oil, and a fried egg along with the usual suspects."

The pick came from Baltimore writer Martha Thomas, whose most recent BmoreMedia story was a Q&A with Mink Stole.  

USA Today has published a list of the 51 Great Pizza Parlors in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia, based on recommendations from local foodies and writers.

Highlandtown's Matthew's Pizza — known for its deep-dish pie — makes the cut in Maryland. 

"In Baltimore, everybody loves Matthew's Pizza," USA Today writes. "It's just a hole in the wall, but it dishes out pies with volume: thick, with soft-but-chewy crust, rich tomato-y sauce and the right amount of gooey, salty cheese."

USA Today notes that the pizza joint has been around since 1943. Local writer Mary K. Tilghman chose the spot on behalf of the publication. You can see the entire list of favorite pizza joints here. 

Farmers' markets have become popular across Baltimore, but according to Inhabitat.com, Real Food Farm is taking the farmers' market idea one step further.

The design and sustaintability weblog reports that Real Food Farm has established a "mobile market" food truck that brings fresh produce to the area surrounding Clifton Park in northeast Baltimore. This area is a food desert, a place where residents may not have access to a supermarket.

Designed by students at the Maryland Institute College of Art, the truck delivers fresh produce from the Real Food Farm's location in Clifton Park and makes scheduled stops at farmers' markets, private houses and schools.

Maryland has opened a call center that answers residents' questions on health care reform, writes the AP in a story that ran in the Washington Post.

From now until Sept. 30, the call center will help prepare individuals and small businesses for open enrollment. It will employ 125 on Oct. 1 when consumers can begin selecting a health insurance through the state-run online health exchange, the Post writes.

You can read the entire story here. 

A New York Times article puts the spotlight on Towson-based Mally Beauty, which is one of QVC's top five beauty vendors.

Founder and makeup artist Mally Roncal recently appeared on the shop-from-home network to tell the story behind her line of beauty of products, including a mascara made from an Italian formula, Japanese pigments and a French lash comb, the Times writes.

Two Baltimore establishments, Charleston and Woodberry Kitchen, made Wine Spectator's list of the 100 Best Wine Restaurants in the U.S.

The restaurants selected for this list all "serve up a true passion for presenting mind-blowing wine-and-food pairings," Wine Spectator writes.
 
"The global wine list—boasting more than 800 selections—was designed to complement the modern American menu, showcasing fine wines as well as excellent wine values," Wine Spectator says of Harbor East's Charleston.

The magazine praised Woodberry Kitchen for highlighting regional and organic wines. 

"The wine list aims to provide exposure for wines from the Mid-Atlantic, specifically Maryland and Virginia, followed by organic and biodynamic wines from Europe and South America." 

You can see the entire list here. 

When Baltimore native Michael Phelps finished competing in the 2012 Olympics in London, he insisted that he was finished with competitive swimming for good.  However, NPR reports that the most-decorated Olympian's decision isn’t as cut and dry anymore.
 
While touring in Barcelona, Spain, for the World Swimming Championships, Phelps was asked about whether he'll compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, and he said he hasn't planned that far ahead in his life.  Far from a confirmation, but far from the black-and-white denial he offered after his time in the London games, as well.
           
While not currently training, NPR notes that there would be plenty of time to get into competitive shape for the 2016 games, were he to start preparing by 2015.

 
You can read NPR's full story here.

On Sunday night, ABC’s premiere of “Secret Millionaire” brought Anne Beiler, founder of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels out of her life as a millionaire in Pennsylvania to downtown Baltimore.

In Baltimore, Beiler searched for charities to support under the show’s premise – a millionaire goes undercover to find ways to help those in need. 

According to TWC Central, Time Warner Cable’s news website, Beiler visited four Baltimore charities: Miracle Garden, Moveable Feast, Casey Cares Foundation and the Rose Street Community Center.

In the show, Beiler learned the stories behind the people the charities benefit, such as that of a woman who Casey Cares helped after she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Now that she is in remission, the woman volunteers with the organization.

After interacting with the volunteers from the charities, Beiler donated money to support all four.

Read more about Beiler’s experiences in Baltimore here.

Baltimore sportswear maker Under Armour has unveiled a new approach to making running shoes – shoes that fit like bras.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the shoes will be called Speedform and will hit the market at $120. The look is inspired by spacesuit design and their production will take place in a bra factory. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the Speedform shoes are a part of Under Armour’s campaign to triple its revenue in its footwear division in the next two years. Last year, footwear sales accounted for 13 percent of the company’s revenue.

Under Armour Senior Creative Director Dave Dombrow told investors that no shoe has ever fit so well, Bloomberg Businessweek writes.

Read the full story here.

The Maryland Historical Society is inviting expert quilters and the public to help it recreate a copy of the American flag, USA Today writes.
 
The Mount Vernon museum recently assembled about 100 or so expert quilters to create a copy of the flag originally sewn by Mary Pickersgill in 1813—the same flag that would eventually inspire Francis Scott Key to write “The Star Spangled Banner.”
 
Staying true to Pickersgill's flag, the society is using wool bunting, rather than nylon, to craft the banner, USA Today writes.
 
And on Aug. 3 and Aug. 11, the historical society will open its project to the public, who will be able to add a stitch to the flag. Featuring several exhibits and costumed actors, the event will take place from noon-3 p.m..
 
Read more about the event here, and register for the event here.