Earth Wood & Fire

Earth Wood & Fire21407 Clarkview Road, Baltimore410-200-9858 Maybe I’m spoiled having lived in New York until I was ten. When it comes to pizza, I have a high standard. Admittedly, I have yet to taste any pizza I like as much as Phil’s Pizza in Massapequa, Long Island, and believe me, I’ve tried. So with that background, let’s move on to our dining experience at Earth Wood & Fire. It was a busy Wednesday evening, the dining area was completely filled, so we were seated at a high-top table over by the bar. We were pleasantly surprised how spacious the […]

The Baltimore Eagle

The Baltimore Eagle2022 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218410-200-9858 • TheBaltimoreEagle.com Typically, on a Friday night, we would have dinner out before hitting the bar for a few drinks. However, now that the Eagle has opened its kitchen, we could dine AND drink all at once.  As most people that have been to the Eagle already know, there was a great deal of hype and anticipation for the food to roll out.  We had heard about the credentials of Master Chef Scholly, which include accomplishments, such as earning the 1996 German Master Chef of the Year, and of some of […]

Being Present

In the past, I have written about the magic of the “Fish! Philosophy” and its four principles: Choose your attitude, make their day, be there, and play. I have found myself, and others around me, struggling with one of the these four, namely “Be there,” or as I call it, “Being present.” There is so much going on around us all the time – cellphones, TV screens, laptops – our brains are almost always over-stimulated. Even watching CNN is a chore, playing into our need to be overstimulated by not only a multi-panel discussion, but a quick moving news scrawler […]

A Well-Kept Secret

When Nick and I were invited to the Underground Kitchen launch in Baltimore earlier in the week, we had no idea what fun and adventure was in store. The Underground Kitchen is a secret supper club that hosts pop-up dinners in various locations. The idea originated in Richmond, Virginia, and later expanded into the Mid-Atlantic. On March 20th and 21st, the Underground Kitchen, the “ultra-luxe, super-secret, pop-up dining society featuring buzzed-about chefs, unconventional locations, and tickets that routinely sell out within minutes” came to Baltimore.

Culture Club

Last week, I was facilitating a discussion in class regarding cultural differences in the workplace. Specifically, we had a lively discussion regarding differences in the approach to performance management practices across the globe. For example, in the U.S., we are always focused on formally documenting performance discussions, mostly to protect us from potential employment related lawsuits. In most Latin American countries, as well as in southern Europe, the attitude toward performance management is very informal, usually completed as on-the-spot conversations, and not at all focused on anything written. Perhaps this distinction is a direct result of civil law vs. common […]