Blogs: Arts and Minds

My colleague Brandon Weigel posted yesterday about his experience at the 2013 Preakness, his first. He talked about his vantage point from the grandstand, his bets, his entry into into the cushy confines of the VIP section. I was moved to respond, first, to tell the young whippersnapper how things were “in my day,”...
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It would be easy for City Paper to take the position the Preakness sucks. The crowd, after all, is overwhelmingly stuffed shirts, blue bloods, and what our art director Joe MacLeod referred to as “Easter Catholics,” people who turn up to the race track once a year for the high holiday of Maryland racing...
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I grew up in the Dundalk area of town and graduated from Patapsco High School way back in 1988. I’m a Baltimore Boy through and through – if you cut me I bleed Old Bay and Natty Boh. It took many years for me to accept this about myself. When I was growing up...
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Hallelujah! After virtually universal agreement (by the people we talk to, anyway) that the MARC train should run from Baltimore’s Penn Station to D.C.’s Union Station on weekends (which has been promised since at least 2008), it will finally be so, according to a report in the Baltimore Business Journal. The additional service was...
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The Skinny Dipper oyster is certainly upping the ante when it comes to suggestive foods. The alluring bivalve with the even more alluring moniker will be making its debut on Preakness day (May 18) at Preakness Village for a VIP slurping session. The Skinny Dipper will be proffered at Chef Mike Isabella’s raw bar...
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This week marks the celebration of a made-up marketing gimmick, but one that’s a little easier to swallow than many: American Craft Beer Week, from May 13-19. High-end beer-drinking opportunities abound. Old standby Max’s Taphouse highlights a different style of beer every day this week. Today, May 13, it’s mouth-puckering sours, including Allagash’s oak...
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We say CNN ripped us off. You be the judge. On May 1, City Paper published this story, with the headline “Robocop: Retired city policeman takes refuge among droids,” about former city police officer Mark Haygood (pictured) who now makes robots out of old toys and alarm clocks and the like. On May 10,...
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Fleet Street Kitchen and Ten Ten Bistro are trying to capture the clandestine vibe of a secret supper with their seasonal chefs menus this Friday night only. Both of the Bagby Group restaurants (both helmed by new chefs) will offer special prix fixe, three-course menus ($45 at FSK, $35 at Ten Ten) highlighting ingredients...
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It was one year ago today Baltimore Orioles fans and local media outlets were starting to recognize that there was something special about last year’s team. The day before, on May 6, 2012 the Orioles outlasted the Boston Red Sox in a grueling 17-inning, six-hour epic that just might have been the defining moment...
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When the Fells Point Farmer’s Market opens tomorrow at 7:30 a.m., there will be a stand in tribute to Mick Kipp, who died suddenly of a heart attack after a hike last week. He was 51 years old. Kipp, who is remembered as much for his colorful personality as for the bright bandanas he...
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The fire that roared through a building housing several auto shops as well as the Open Space Baltimore gallery and arts space and several apartments Tuesday night did significant damage, but residents are safe and grateful for all the support they’ve received. Jasmine Sarp, an artist and CP designer who works with the thriving DIY...
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That big collective groan you may have heard or felt reverberating throughout the city last night and this morning was for the loss of one of contemporary Baltimore’s most loving and well-loved citizens, everyone’s friend Mick Kipp (City Paper‘s “Best Pirate,” 2004). I can’t remember the exact moment I met “Mick the Pirate” because...
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