Centro Tapas Bar in Federal Hill opens at 5 p.m. tomorrow (March 20). It joins a growing number of restaurants in town offering small plates. Chef/owner George Dailey, who grew up in Venezuela, will focus on Spanish and South American tapas.

George isn’t new to the food business. He’s been operating On the Hill in Bolton Hill for five years. “We always wanted to do this,” says George, about Centro and referring to his wife Jessica. “We saw the Bicycle up for lease and fell in love with it.”

(Former Bicycle owners Nick Batey and his wife Saundra now run Ullswater in South Baltimore.)

George and Jessica, a Baltimore native, met in Boston before relocating here. They now have a five-year-old son named Jack. “We wanted to move closer to family,” George says.

Now that Jack is older, George was ready for the challenge of another restaurant. “I’m looking forward to being hands on and getting in there,” he says. “It’s exciting. That’s a good word to describe it.”

Looks like the reincarnation of Mount Vernon’s elegant Brass Elephant will have to wait a little longer. The potential buyer for the restaurant, which closed in August, backed out, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.

Wegmans in Hunt Valley is going all out for a fish-friendly weekend, showcasing varieties rarely seen in the U.S. The store is flying in an array of fish from the famed Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, considered the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world.

Uni (sea urchin), taki (prepared octopus) and masago (sweet and spicy capelin roe) are just some of the items that will be featured. Chefs will also be giving sushi, sashimi, and nigiri demonstrations. And you can also learn about nabe pots, often used for making soups.

And it’s free! The event is being held from noon-7 p.m. tomorrow (March 19) and Saturday (March 20).

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. America’s oldest Irish pub, Patrick’s of Pratt Street, is adding another chapter to its storied past. Chef Zu Pinsker is introducing a new menu tomorrow (March 18), focusing on seasonal, fresh, and local fare.

“It’s going to be good, hearty food at reasonable prices,” said Zu, who has been busy since the restaurant, established in 1847, reopened its doors last Sunday. Owners Patrick and Anne Rowley shut down Patrick’s for about 14 months while they opened an offshoot in Frederick. “We’re still alive and well,” assured Patrick.

But today, the downtown pub will offer just what you’d expect on March 17: traditional Irish fare. Look for corned beef and cabbage (of course), steak and Guinness stew, potato-leek soup, and steak and Guinness pie among other dishes.

Zu, who worked at the restaurant before its temporary closing, is excited to be back. “”It has such a great history and feel to it,” she said. “I’m just happy to get it up and open again.”

Actress Vivica A. Fox was at the new Milan restaurant yesterday, according to a tweet by chef Stephen Carey. She and a guest were enjoying small-plate specials during Monday’s happy hour, including fried lobster fritters, spinach dip, crispy polenta cakes, and lobster mac ’n’ cheese.

She also had a dirty martini with blue-cheese stuffed olives—and was wearing skinny jeans. She wears her food well! I was told she is performing in a play in D.C.

The Baltimore Farmers’ Market and Bazaar will open an hour earlier this year, at 7 a.m., which should please all you early birds. I just got an e-mail from Carole Simon, manager of special projects for the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, who shared the update.

And, honestly, if you go to the Sunday market under the JFX viaduct, you need to get there early to get the best produce and avoid the masses, who gather as the morning progresses.

The seasonal city market starts May 2 and continues until Dec. 19 this year. Can’t wait.

The chef’s table at Volt in Frederick has to be one of the most coveted seats in town. Demand was so great that it was booked through 2010. Now, there’s room for more.

The table, which offers 21 courses to the lucky diners who shell out big bucks for the privilege of sitting in the kitchen, has been expanded to seat eight now, according to the restaurant’s blog. The reservations have changed, too. Diners can book Table 21 at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. every night of the week.

Volt’s chef/owner Bryan Voltaggio may have come in second in Bravo’s Top Chef last season, but he’s got the magic touch. He’s also a 2010 James Beard Awards semifinalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic along with Baltimore’s Spike Gjerde, chef/owner of Woodberry Kitchen among other chefs.

But the old Table 21, which sat four, isn’t gone, says Hilda Staples, Voltaggio’s business partner who pens the Volt blog. It will live to see another day, “somewhere, somehow,” she writes.

Local crabs rule, of course. But McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant is showcasing a special menu from now until the end of April that tempts diners to “Discover America’s Crab!”

The à-la-carte choices include: California sushi roll with Dungeness crab, lobster ravioli with blue crab, crab cakes (Maryland style, pictured, $22.95)), 1 1/2-pound king-crab leg dinner, and a create-your-own crab surf and turf dinner (includes a 6-ounce filet mignon). Sounds like a great way to prepare our palates for our own steamed crabs, coming soon.

Bobby Flay was in town yesterday (March 9) for another Throwdown show. You may remember that the Food Network cooking star was here not too long ago filming an episode with our local cooking priest Father Leo Patalinghug. This time, we find out that real men do eat quiche.

Here’s senior editor Evan Serpick’s experience at yesterday’s cook-off:

Late last week, Food Network producers asked me to come to Luckie’s Tavern on Tuesday morning for a new show they were filming called Rock n’ Kitchen, about chefs who also play in bands. They said they were doing a segment on Baltimore’s own Rodney Henry, the founder of Federal Hill’s Dangerously Delicious Pies who also plays in his own rockabilly band, the Glenmont Popes. It wasn’t entirely clear what my role would be—especially since my food expertise doesn’t go much further than Pepe’s vs. Papa John’s (totally Pepe’s, btw)—but it seemed to have more to do with my previous job as a music writer at Rolling Stone.

It seemed like an odd concept for a show—are there that many chefs who also play in bands?—but I checked on Luckie’s website, and there was a call for people interested in watching a taping of Rock ‘n Kitchen to come to Luckie’s at 9 on Tuesday morning.

When I got there, the place was filled with about 100 people, many of them heavily tattooed friends or fans of Rodney’s band. Also, there was Bobby Flay—my first clue that something was amiss. With all of the people and the production lights, it was pretty hot, but Flay and Henry were both working away on quiches: Flay’s had broccoli and jalapeños, while Henry’s “cowboy quiche” was filled with potatoes and bacon, among other ingredients, (he called it his “kitchen-sink quiche”).

Finally, slices were passed around, and, I’m sorry to say, it was night and day: Flay’s quiche had a delicious, creamy texture and just the right amount of heat—I could’ve easily downed another slice or two. Rodney’s quiche wasn’t terrible—a bit bland with a more solid texture—but it truly suffered by comparison. To ask the assembled to try our local boy’s fare after giving them a taste of Flay’s masterpiece seemed downright unfair.

I was interviewed briefly about the Flay quiche—luckily, this was before I tried Rodney’s, so I didn’t have to compare them. Then, the crew began setting up for a judging table, including our local food celebrity Cindy Wolf. I was told that they might want to interview me again after the judging, but that it would likely be a while—maybe a couple hours—and at this point, I still wasn’t sure what show they were filming. I don’t watch the Food Network and I’ve never heard of Throwdown with Bobby Flay, but I’ve since learned that it’s a show where Flay faces off with local chefs. The network has since confirmed to me that that’s, in fact, what they were filming. In any case, I was full of quiche and way behind on work, so I left.

I’m not sure why all the subterfuge was necessary, but it was a great boon for Baltimore and for one of our more colorful local chefs.

Maryland gets a shout out in the new Southern Living cookbook Farmers Market Cookbook: A Fresh Look at Local Flavor, which will be released March 16. And mark your calendars now. Two top cookbook authors will be here in May signing books.

The Farmers Market Cookbook is a beautifully photographed book ($29.95) with numerous tips and seasonal recipes (see one below) and a section on local markets around the country. It notes the Baltimore Farmers Market (under the JFX) and Lexington Market among others.

Baltimore native and grill expert Steve Raichlen’s new cookbook Planet Barbecue is scheduled for release May 1. He’ll be signing cookbooks at 7 p.m. May 21 at the Columbia Borders.

Also, foodie Adam Borden, former executive director of Marylanders for Better Beer & Wine Laws, tells me that Joan Nathan will be here May 23 (details to come). Nathan, a DC resident, is regarded as one of today’s prominent Jewish cookbook authors. She’s currently working on a book about Alsatian Jewish cuisine, Adam says.

Here's a recipe from the Farmers Market Cookbook. Now's the time to make it. Broccoli is at its peak from October-April.

Broccoli with Caramelized Garlic and Pine Nuts

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 pound broccoli florets

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Toast pine nuts in a large skillet over medium heat 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from skillet, and set aside.

Heat butter and oil in same skillet over medium heat until butter melts. Add garlic, and sauté 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned.

Add broccoli, salt, and crushed red pepper. Sauté 8 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Stir in pine nuts before serving. Serves 6.