September 30, 2008

The Economy of Catonsville's Business District is Growing!

El Nayar has finally opened their new location at 801 Frederick Rd. This casual restaurant is Authentic Mexican, laid-back and very down to earth. They are open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week and serve breakfast on Saturday and Sundays. The Restaurant is very tastefully decorated and every seat was taken at 11:40 am today. It was great to not only see the dining room full of new faces, but, to also notice that the other existing restaurants in town seemed to be having a good day as well!

The Owners and Staff of the Columbia Golf Center have been busy all week opening boxes of great inventory. Look for them to have a "Quiet Opening" next week, with a grand opening later in October.

Deusenburgs - American Cafe & Grill, on Mellor Ave., is nearly complete and should have their doors open by the end of October.

There is some construction going on in the old Printed Apparel space, between the new Record & Tape Traders and Morsebergers Tavern. The word on the street is that the Tavern is expanding and will soon offer live entertainment along with pub food.

Catonsville is the place to be! People are traveling here from all over to visit and dine here. ( I know of one couple from Crofton, that travels here regularly, to dine at their favorite restaurant - The Catonsville Gourmet.) Hopefully some of the people we are attracting will decide to open a few more shops down town.

September 29, 2008

A.W.O.L. Skate Shop

People were hanging out in front of 825 Frederick Rd. long before Ben Munoz came to town!

September 16, 2008

Atwater's Bakery in the News!

Although the Atwater's businesses are not located in the Catonsville Area. Many Catonsville residents regularly visit their stores. Recently, The Baltimore Sun Local Catonsville Resident Ned Atwater in this Article. The article was written by Jill Robin and was published in the You & Taste Section. Congrats Ned & La!

Late this summer, one of the top food books on Amazon.com dangled an enticing promise: ArtisanBread in Five Minutes a Day.The book's popularity is testament to how people love fresh bread but loathe the idea of losing a day to bake it.Bread intimidates. The time commitment is a huge part of that, but people also fear the mess or think they'll need an expensive mixer or an advanced yeast degree.And yet, they're drawn to it because, ironically, home-baked bread represents, like almost nothing else, the essence of simple living.

Tips for great bread
• 72 to 78 degrees is optimum room temperature to make bread. Drafts and drastic temperature change can damage dough.
• Flour or water your hands to work the dough.
• If you poke the dough and it springs back, it's not ready to bake. If it stays indented, it's ready.
• This same dough recipe can become the base of a flatbread pizza if, at the final stage, you stretch and flatten it instead of shaping it into a loaf. Baker Ned Atwater recommends topping it with roasted onions, garlic and goat cheese.
• Cover dough as it sits to keep it moist. Dry dough can develop a skin that can keep the dough from fully expanding as it bakes.
• Personalize the bread by marking it on top with a very sharp knife before you put it in the oven.
• Using a pizza stone when baking will give the bread more volume.
• Underbaked bread is harder to digest. Fully cooked bread also stays fresh longer.


At King Arthur Flour's baking hot line, company spokeswoman Allison Furbish says staffers have noticed increasing calls recently from first-time bread bakers and people returning to bread-making after a long time.The company thinks it's the faltering economy driving this craving for homespun comfort. The hot line also buzzed after the 2001 terrorist attacks.Bread: so basic, yet so complicated.It doesn't have to be.Ned Atwater can create a warm, crusty, wholesome loaf with six common ingredients and equipment no fancier than a bowl.He doesn't promise home-baked goodness in five minutes, but he can make it happen in less than six hours, about half the time it takes to bake typical artisan bread."It's something anyone could do with a little time and patience," says the owner of Atwater's bakery in Belvedere Square and other Baltimore locations. "Some people don't think it's worth it. I certainly think it is."As one of Atwater's mentors told him, anyone can take caviar and filet mignon and make a fancy dinner. But to make something impressive from simple ingredients - that's art."It's very satisfying to take something as simple as flour, add water and end up with something as wonderful as bread," he says.And his Country Wheat Bread recipe asks for little more than that.Atwater mixes all-purpose and wheat flours with salt and dry yeast - he likes SAF's granulated yeast but says any instant yeast should work. He adds honey and water. Dough done.The rest is a matter of watching the clock and giving the dough space to work its magic.As dough rests, it's actually working hard, bubbling and expanding, transforming from sticky and gooey to soft and pliant.To knead the dough, a step that occurs twice in the recipe, Atwater wets or flours his hands, lifts the dough and then folds it over - keeping the dough in the bowl. He lifts and folds, lifts and folds, lifts and folds, about seven times or until the gas bubbles have disappeared.When it's time to shape the loaves, Atwater cuts the dough in half. He stretches and pulls one ball into a long, flat oval, quickly folds it into thirds, then folds that three more times into a stumpy rectangle, which he drops into a lightly oiled loaf pan. He makes a boule with the other half, stretching and folding like before, but working the dough into a round. Any shape works.When the time comes, Atwater pulls the loaf from the oven. The crust, baked to a deep, caramel color, crackles as he cuts into it to reveal a soft, airy inside and releases that warm, tantalizing, dreamy aroma that could only mean freshly baked bread.

Atwater's Country Wheat Bread
(makes 2 loaves with 8 to 10 slices each)3 cups all-purpose flour3 cups whole-wheat flour1 tablespoon salt1 tablespoon dry yeast3 cups room-temperature water2 tablespoons honeyIn a big bowl, stir dry ingredients together.In a separate bowl, stir together the water and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix thoroughly. The dough will be sticky.Cover the dough in the bowl and let it rest for 1 hour.Wet your hands with water (or dust them with flour) and fold the dough 7 times. Re-cover it and let it rest for 1 hour.Cut the dough in half. Shape each half into a shape of your choice. You can either put the shaped dough into a baking pan or rest it on a cookie sheet. Cover it with a damp towel and let rest for 1 hour.Bake in a 450-degree oven for about 40 minutes. The crust should be a rich, dark brown and should sound solid when tapped.Courtesy of Ned AtwaterPer serving (based on 20 servings): 137 calories, 5 grams protein, 1 gram fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 29 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 350 milligrams

September 13, 2008

Wicked Willow

Later this month, Randy Woods and Tina Marie Owens, Owners of, Wicked Willow,
will be opening a New Location
at 633- rear Frederick Rd. (Behind Parks DryCleaning and Shoe Repair)


Wicked Willow is a baltimore based floral studio that creates wonderful elegantly styled, finest quality floral design accents for home and office interiors and planned events. They service the Maryland and DC areas. With over 30 years of professional design expertise, their designers always create distinctive designs for clients with discriminating taste. Permanent materials are hand selected for quality and realism for years of lasting beauty. Wicked Willow also creates artistic, elegant and sophisticated fresh floral designs and decor for weddings and all planned personal and corporate events. Contemporary, softly elegant, old world, structural, and sculptural/abstract are just a few special design styles they can create to set the mood for your space. Randy and Tina believe that in a world full of mass production and sameness, that fine quality of hand crafted, individually made and designed accessories and accents are more important than ever. Uniqueness and customization is what they strive for…
Wicked Willow does not operate a retail showroom. Consultations are by appointment only. phone 410.925.7990 http://www.wickedwillow.com/index.shtml

Wicked Willow will occupy the space where for more than 23 years Edmondson TV Repair has operated a Catonsville Location. If you need a Television repaired You can still reach Ken Lang at his Eldersburg Store 410 795 0800.

September 12, 2008

FREDERICK ROAD FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 12TH CANCELLED

Due to the Threat of Hurricane Ike ,
Tonight's Friday Night Event has been Cancelled.
Since This Was The Last One Scheduled For This Year, We Hope to See You Next Spring.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in making these fun nights such a huge success!
The Committee From The Chamber of Commerce That Worked So Hard To Make This Idea A Reality:
George Brookhart
Teal Cary
Emory Knode
Cathy Schneider
Jeff Utzinger
Eric Ebersole
Jeff Mohler
Lisa Achins
Special Thanks to the Following Individuals and Organizations
For Stepping Up When Their Assistance was Needed:
Omar Jennings III
Brian Higgins
Jamie Lite
Tom Ward
ABC Rental
Baltimore County Rec & Parks
Bond Distributors
The Columbia Bank
The Baltimore County Liquor Board
And of Course Our 2008 Sponsors
Who Funded These Events:
Record & Tape Traders
George Brookhart – Long & Foster Real Estate
Appalachian Bluegrass Shop
Molher and Gary Realtors
Edible Arrangements
Catonsville Optical
Peace of Sunshine
The Collectors Edge
Objects Found
The Catonsville Groomery
McFarland & Master's Attorney's at Law
ABC Rentals
Disabled Sports USA
Bill's Music House
Delmarva Farms
Cary Creative Design
Dusenberg's - An American Cafe & Grill
UMBC
Jennings Cafe
The Columbia Bank
Please be sure to Patronize these businesses and
Thank Them for supporting Catonsville's Frederick Rd. Fridays.

September 11, 2008

Raven's Tailgate to Benefit The Catonsville Comets Booster Club

Catonsville High School’s Comet Booster Club
RAVENS TAILGATE

Sunday, October 12th
12 noon – 5pm

@ The Knights of Columbus Patapsco Council – next to the Catonsville Library

All proceeds benefit renovations at Comet Park!
Help us finish the project –
The new scoreboard is up and it is awesome!

Come see the plans that include new bleachers with seating for 2000 fans, a state of the art press box, restroom facilities
and a new concession stand!


Watch the game on big screen TV’s –
Game time is 1pm
RAVENS vs Indianapolis Colts

$50 donation

Menu Includes -
Bay Country Maryland Crab Soup * Southern Style BBQ Shrimp * Wings *
Full Blitz Chili * Midwestern Pit Beef * Pit Roasted Turkey *
Sweet Italian Sausage * Salads * Ms. Desserts *
Beer, Wine and Soda


Checks made payable to: Comet Booster Club


Tickets available at Opie’s Soft Serve & Snowballs or
Beth Reymann 410-788-3147
reymann1904@verizon.net or
Kevin Beard
kevinlbeard@comcast.net

September 10, 2008

Jimmy K 5K

JIMMY K 5k
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!The Jimmy K5K will be held at Mount St. Joe High School on Sunday October 19th, start time is 9am.

We will be celebrating Mass in the MSJ Chapel at 7:30 am that same day.
If you plan to attend Mass please email Michelle Knighton at
http://us.mc525.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mdk1634@yahoo.com
For more race info. and registration go to www.charmcityrun.com
or call
Russ Keagle @ 410-869-9057 or Jeanne Deboy @ 410-579-1716

September 9, 2008

Jail House Rock!

On October 4, 2008
The Wilkens Police and Community Relations Organization presents:
Jail House Rock
Put on your dancing shoes and step out to the sounds of DJ Entertainment "The After Dinner Spinners". The WPCRO invites you to enjoy an evening of music and laughter as local celebrities spend a little time behind bars trying to raise "bail". Its all in good fun to establish a fund for educational programs for the officers of Precinct One.
Arbutus Town Hall
1349 Stevens Ave.
8PM til Midnight
Contact Lorna Rudnikas 410-247-9639
Featured Guests:
Senator Nancy Murphy as "The Parole Agent"
and Chalres Kountz as the "Judge"
Tickets are $20. per person
includes beer, and set-ups, BYOB

September 5, 2008

The Next Frederick Road Friday Event Is September 12th!

Frederick Road Fridays WILL NOT BE HELD on Friday September 5th
Please Come Sunday Afternoon to hear your Favorite Local Bands Play at
the Arts & Crafts Festival
Frederick Rd Fridays will return September 12th when we welcome the
U.M.B.C Accapella Group The Mama's Boys
along with Red Sammy

September 3, 2008

Catonsville - Arts & Crafts Festival

35th Annual Arts & Crafts Festival
Presented By The Greater Catonsville Chamber of Commerce
September 7, 2008
10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Come Hungry There Are Many Great Restaurants Here and
They Will Be Ready For You
*New This Year - Beer Garden at Jennings Cafe*
Musical Entertainment
(Egges Lane Stage)
10:30pm Fiddlin' Around
11:45pm Blue Streak
1:00pm 3 Wise Men
1:45pm 5 Oaks
3:00pm Midlife Crisis
(Melvin Ave. Stage)
11:50pm League of Trees
1:15 pm Bootcher
2:30pm Panning Out
Visit The "KidZone"
Look for The Clowns!
Held in the Courtyard at Strawberry Fields
Games, Moonbounce, Entertainment, Pie Eating Contest, Relay Races
presented by Girl Scout Service Unit 51


A Note From One World Emporium:

Since our shop wasn’t open in Catonsville last year, Alexey and I can’t wait any longer to shout about our September Surprise Santa Sale!

Please visit us on Sunday, September 07, 2008 (the day of Catonsville Craft Festival) as we showcase some of our unique, hand made Christmas items!

Since we are already feeling the Christmas Spirit, we will be raffling free gifts for the children in the Kids Zone (located at Strawberry Fields - Right Next to Our Gift Shop.) We will also have some kid-friendly items for sale.

Please join us for what we know will be a Fun Filled Day.
Larry Mernaugh
Alexey Mernaugh
Proprietors One World Emporium

On the Lighter Side!