Written By Lisa Breslin Westminster has an Irish Pub. It has a wine bar that offers light fare, and family-owned restaurants that feature home style meals and gourmet cuisine. As of late August, the doors of a new Italian bar...

Written By Linda Morton As most Americans gather together to give thanks for their blessings on the most familial holiday of the year, others face the tradition alone. That harsh reality is addressed in Carroll County by members...

Written By Lisa Breslin The baked goods, truffles and treats that come from Rare Opportunity Farm take you back to your grandmother’s kitchen and through a kaleidoscope of unexpected flavors. Creativity meets flavor in...

Written By Michael Vyskocil On a late September evening, you can begin to feel it. It is the cooler air that signals the end of a season; summer is really coming to a close. Although there is no way to slow the passage of time,...

Written By Linda Morton The 25th annual Maryland Wine Festival¨ on September 20 and 21 and the 3rd annual Maryland Microbrewery Festival on September 27, both premiere Carroll County attractions, celebrate nature’s harvests of...

Written by Michael Vyskocil They are sold at ballpark concession stands and city street corners. Some individuals prefer toppings of relish, chopped onions, chili or melted cheese, while others are purists, insisting that only...

Written By Michael Vyskocil President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day as a national holiday in 1914. He thought the second Sunday in May should be observed in order to express “our love and reverence for the mothers...

Written By Linda Morton It is not official, but there is little doubt that espresso, the strong Italian coffee that spread throughout the U.S. like a caffeine jolt in the 1990s, is now readily available in Carroll County....

Written By Michael Vyskocil To say that ice cream is big business in America is an understatement. According to the FDA, the U.S. produced about 1.55 billion gallons of ice cream and related frozen desserts in 2006. And the...

Written By Lisa Breslin For months, Westminster resident Dena Rooney watched the burned shell of what was once the Fat Cat CafŽ come back to life. When she drove by the corner of Main Street and Center in Westminster and noticed...

Written By Michael Vyskocil THE MENU Jeweled Winter Salad Baked Ham with Raspberry Glaze Supreme Twice-Baked Potatoes Gingerbread Roll Every December, my kitchen fills with the chopping, mixing and baking associated with holiday...

Written By Cari Pierce Roland Mesnier has been baking for 50 years. “That,” he says, “is quite a few cakes. For 25 years, Mesnier made meringues and pies as the Executive Pastry Chef at the White House; baking for kings and...