troubling story of violent death in our neighborhood

My boyfriend just discovered this story of a man killed inside his own home in the 6100 block of Glenoak.

RecycleMORE BaltiMORE

It would be nice if the City would publicize this kind of thing a little more, but eh, whatever. We'll do our civic duty and tell you about some good news for all of us. The acceptable items list for recycling has been expanded, making it even easier to send your trash to be recycled instead of taking up space in the landfill. Most notably:

To be included in your curbside single stream recycling bin—January 2009:

• Wide-mouth plastic containers used for margarine, yogurt, cottage cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream.
• Empty prescription bottles (lids and caps do not need to be removed)
• Plastic drinking cups
• Aluminum foil and aluminum pie pans
• Clean milk and juice cartons

These can now be included with your usual recycling, which already includes:

Acceptable Recycling Material:

• Clean paper - all colors and types. - This includes catalogs, magazines, junk mail, newspapers and non-metallic wrapping paper Cardboard and paperboard boxes (including cereal boxes without liners and frozen food packaging)
• Books (including paperbacks, textbooks and hardbacks)
• Aerosol Cans (empty)
• Glass containers such as jars and bottles
• Metal food and beverage containers
• Narrow-neck plastic containers (other than for motor oil) which carry codes 1 through 7 on the bottom.

You can find out more at the Baltimore City DPW Recycling website.

I'm ready for Spring ....

Pedaling down Harford Road?

There's been a lot of chatter on the WNIA listserv about the newest addition to the world of Hamilton restaurants, "50's Diner." So far the reviews are mostly positive, although there is one suspect upset stomach issue -- which may be a virus after all -- and the open hours seem a little inconsistent. I haven't been there yet, but what impresses me the most about this news is the enthusiasm of the neighborhood to try out yet another new restaurant.

I'm really looking ahead to the spring. The heart of Hamilton seems just a little out of walking distance (especially the uphill trip back home!), but the newly paved street seems perfect for a bicycle. I've lived in other cities where I rode my bike around town, and because I now have an hour long drive each to work, I would love to be able to give my car a break and pedal down to the CVS, the Hamilton Tavern, the bank, the yoga studio, etc., etc.

But bicycles don't seem to be part of the culture here in Northeast Baltimore (except for that guy I pass sometimes in the morning on Walther Blvd at 6:30 am who appears to be riding to work). I'm wondering what you all think about bicycling in our neighborhood. Do you do it? Where do you park your bike? Do drivers respect you? Harass you? See you?

Let me know in the comments section.

We're a democracy here, too

The voting booth is closed here at Harford Road, Hon, and the results have been tallied. First let me say that I am slightly disappointed that so few readers took the time to vote, because there are many more of you on the site meter. But for whatever reason, only a few of you voted. Well, that's your right, too.

And t certainly makes it easy to count the votes! The results are as follows: 50% Love the new design; 30% Hate it and want the old one back; 20% couldn't care less.

So with apologies to the 30% who hate it, we're going to stay with the new look. I promise to do some tweaking as possible and improve on what we have at the moment as much as I can within the confines of blogger.

Request for Photos

Hey there Westfieldians -- I know that some of you lurk here, too shy to post or comment. Or perhaps you even think that you don't have anything worth writing about -- that's just silly! Look at the piffle I post -- and yet you still come back, don't you?

So how about some photos? When you take your jog through the neighborhood, or walk the dog to the park, or amble up to the 7-11 for smokes -- take your camera with you. We have lots of photo-worthy sights in our neighborhood, down every alley and up every street.

Then, just email your photos to me at pookyshoehorn@gmail.com and I'll take care of the rest. You can even stay completely anonymous, if you'd like.

C'mon, You know you wanna ....

Legum's New Line

Passing along a great new blog covering Maryland politics: Legum's New Line. I'm always happy to have new sources of information, and hope you will enjoy this new blog as well.

The Wilds of Westfield: Vulpes vulpes

It's been a while since we wrote about wildlife in our neighborhood, but Fritz the Dog and I had a wonderful siting the other night. I didn't get a photo, because it was quite unexpected, and rather dark, too. But the fellow (or gal) we saw looked like this:


This little furry friend was was a red fox (Vulpes vulpes), getting a drink from our fishpond out back when we stepped outside for a last trip before heading to bed. Furry friend was as surprised to see us as we were to see him/her. He/she slipped through the picket fence and into the alley before Fritz even realized an intruder was at the edge of the yard.

Much barking ensued!

Then what a beautiful sight it was to see this animal trotting away down the alley behind our house. But there was one last stop and we were given this very look in the photo above. Just too cool for school, was this one!

And before anyone gets worried about a fox in the neighborhood, let me assure you that this creature was doing exactly what it should be doing: out at night (nocturnal), fearful of humans and dogs (not a threat), and please don't forget: these guys eat mice and rats! (Cats are way too much trouble for them, if that's what you are thinking ....)

We have a lot of green space in our neighborhood, and I for one enjoy seeing the diverse wildlife that lives here.

We're One Degree Away from Greatness!

One of our very own contributors here at Harford Road, Hon has been nominated as a finalist in the 2008 Weblog Awards! Rachel of Coconut & Lime would never brag, but we're proud to let you know that she both blogs here and lives here.

So go show some bloggy love and vote for Coconut & Lime for the Best Food Blog. You can vote once every 24 hours. (Once from each computer, that is. Wink wink. Nudge nudge!)

Congratulations, Rachel!

$40,000 for Handmade Rugs?

I'm all for style, but this story in yesterday's Baltimore Sun is pretty unbelievable, given the state of our economy:

Fancy new threads for State House

From its new perch on the wall of an ornate State House meeting room, the recently unveiled portrait of former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. can finally gaze down on the $37,500 rug he ordered in early 2006.

The handmade custom piece from India - featuring an 8-foot-in-diameter replica of the Maryland seal - is one of several lush touches to a $10 million renovation receiving its de facto unveiling today. Less visible will be the rich red fabric that covers faded wallpaper in Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller's inner office - part of a separate $10,000 job paid for with Senate funds, according to Miller's chief of staff, Vicki Gruber.

As a furloughed State employee, maybe I'll take road trip on one of those days when I don't get paid, and go look at the "lush touches to a $10 million renovation." It's o.k. that State employees don't get paid, as long as our politicians can enjoy "lush" accommodations ....

The Parkside

I really can't express how disappointed I am in the Parkside. We were so excited when it opened within walking distance of our house but a couple of visits made it pretty apparent that it was not going to be a regular spot for us. The first time I went for lunch I got a dry, uninspired sandwich. Both the turkey and the bread was dried out and the olive spread was bitter. However, it was the first week they served lunch so I gave them a pass. Then tonight we went to dinner and I realized that it was just part of a larger issue.


I ordered the gumbo (which the menu warned had no okra) and received a bowl of soft rice in a thin broth with bits of shredded chicken and tiny wedges of sausage. I thought there was onions but not sure if there were peppers or celery, which is troubling in a gumbo. I had never seen gumbo served all stirred together like that. Normally it is a mixture of seafood, meat and some vegetables served over rice, not a thin soup.

After just a few mushy bites I bit into something hard. Really hard, it felt like a rock and clanked against my teeth. When I told the waitress, a second waitress (because I couldn't find our waitress at first) and then the manager, they all seemed completely unconcerned. The second waitress said she thought it must be a part of the sausage, but I have to say, I have never once found a rock in sausage before. The manager, when finally summonded, didn't even bother to apologize, just asking if I had saved the rock (I had daintily spit it out into a spoon and returned the whole mess to the "gumbo") and took it away. Our waitress finally did take it off the bill but still...rocks in mediocre soup? No concern from the staff? Not what I would expect from a new local business trying to stay afloat.

Matt didn't fare much better-his "Tuscan chicken" open-faced sandwich could be charitably described as a homemade french bread pizza (think chicken and peppers with lots of red sauce and covered in cheese served on thick, tasteless bread) and was served with an "antipasto" salad which contained what appeared to be long, flat Asian noodles and a creamy sauce. The sauce on the sandwich tasted like it came from the jar and the the 3 mushrooms we were told about were missing. Matt said the sandwich reminded him of something he would have made as a hungry teenager with leftovers from the fridge.

The food was amateurish at best, the staff apathetic and the menu is rather overpriced for what you get. I just didn't get the impression that the chef or the staff was very interested in or familiar with food which, for a restaurant, is pretty shocking. Perhaps the Parkside should refocus what they want to be a kiddy destination? a bar? a sandwich shop? a bakery? a market? a full service restaurant? because it is pretty clear they can't handle doing it all. I love to support local businesses and I love our neighborhood but it is just not good. If you go there, I would recommend just sticking to drinks or the risotto cake which was bland, but not bad. The fact that the food was awful was bad enough but the fact that they didn't seem to care at all was worse.


We are going to be taking all of our business to the delightful Hamilton Tavern further down Harford Rd where the food, staff and drink have all been top notch no matter when we've been there.

The Parkside Fine Food & Spirits

I haven't been yet but I noticed that The Parkside (4709 Harford Road)Restaurant now has a sign out that says they are open for business! I can't wait to try them out.

Early voting? Maybe next time

You may have heard that there's a Presidential election coming up in a couple of weeks. We don't usually get too political here, so I'll just say it's basically a race between two guys. Again. Hmph.

Anyway, here in Maryland we actually have some other pretty important stuff on the ballot, as well. And you don't want to get caught trying to read the ballot initiatives for the first time -- on the ballot. Two biggies include an initiative to allow early voting in the state of Maryland, as well as to allow slots here.

The Maryland League of Women Voters has an awesome web site with explanations of the pros and cons of these initiatives, as well as information on all the candidates running for all the offices. Click here and then click on "Election 2008 Voters Guides. "

It's important that you get out and vote on these important changes being proposed for our State. No matter how you vote, just vote.

(But seriously, you should vote "no" on the slots thing.)

Chameleon Café - Eat in Season Challenge

The Chameleon Café steps up to Slow Food Baltimore's Eat in Season Challenge this month.



Chef and restaurant owner, Jeffrey Smith, always serves a seasonal menu and he has created a special our-course meal for the Challenge based on local, seasonal fall foods.

Available: October 11 - 18
The $35 prix fixe seasonal offering features:

Corn Chowder
George's silver queen corn and peppers; Martins Farm garlic;
Briedenbaugh Farm potatoes and onions; Krakos smoked polish sausage

Fried Green Tomatoes
George's green tomatoes and Truck Patch Farms smoked
bacon

Grilled Pork Loin with Succotash
Truck Patch Farms pork loin; farmers'
market lima beans, crowder peas and butter beans; George's corn and
Briedenbaugh potatoes

Seasonal Fruit Tart
Reid's Orchard fruit

The Chameleon Café
4341 Harford Rd Baltimore, MD 21214
410.254.2376

I think the menu sounds great although I am a little skeptical of the "in season" corn being offered. It is late in the season for local corn but I am sure it will be tasty!

Yes, we're still in business, but Hon, I need your help!

Okay, so I apologize for letting such a long time go by without posting. I honestly didn't realize it has been this long -- August?

I guess you can see that this blog is in serious need of some new blood -- fresh energy. I know there's a lot going on in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, due to family commitments out of state, I haven't been able to stroll through our streets. Hopefully I'll get back to that soon.

In the meantime, I'm looking for contributors. Doesn't have to be great prose -- jeez, look at some of the lame stuff I post here!

So if you're at all interested in being a contributor to Harford Road Hon, please send me an email to:

pookyshoehorn@gmail.com

and I'll get you set up. Imagine how impressed your friends and family will be when you tell them you're a blogger!

On second thought, you're right. Better keep that to ourselves ....