An unusual take on a local holiday favorite Season 5 of the sitcom “Happy Days” premiered in September 1977. In this episode, the character Fonzie, played by Harry Winkler, jumps his water skis over a shark. He wore his character’s iconic leather jacket during the feat. Since that time, when a brand has gone so off-brand that it has become silly, or a trend sunsets, people use the idiom “jumped the shark.” So it goes with the -tini. A martini is a classic drink made with vodk

Easton’s new restaurant Taste offers small plates and craft cocktails. A few recommendations for ordering: Servers recommend 2 to 3 plates per person. Order 3. Order plates to share with a group. Opt for cocktails over beer or wine. Save room for dessert. Recently, I implemented a rule for myself when dining out: order the thing you can’t get anywhere. For example, I recently selected a poached egg dish served with fried oysters (unusual) over a poached egg dish served with c

While scientists estimate that Mother Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old, homo sapiens, my species, has only been here for a brief 200,000 years. And isn’t it remarkable to think, that of all the miraculous phenomena to witness or consider — molten meteors that blaze the summer sky, a unique snowflake among the billions that fall in a dusting, the ancient movement of tectonic plates, fire — so much of modern life depends on a humble invention that most of us take f

When I think of June cocktails, breezy sophistication comes to mind: stems of iced champagne offered from silver platters at an outdoor wedding reception; tall, cold vodka Collinses garnished with wheels of lime before an alfresco supper of soft-shells and silver queen succotash; savory, grapefruit salty dogs downed with a can of mixed nuts off the back of a friend’s boat. I’ve never actually had any of these experiences (yet — I’m only 47), but they sound mature, and I’ve se

Although Colonial author Washington Irving’s “A Knickerbocker’s History of New York” (1809) is a satirical farce, current residents of The Free State may take pride in his acknowledgement that the cocktail, a concoction of alcohol, bitters, water, sugar and botanicals, came to prominence right here in Maryland. Irving labeled us Merry-landers, as we “were prone to make merry and get fuddled with mint-julep and apple-toddy.” Our geographic ancestors “were, moreover, great hors