Baltimore Grand Prix: You can still get to your favorite restaurant

I got a call from a resturateur on Thursday night who worried that diners were freaking out about the TV news coverage of Thursday’s traffic snarl. The images and reporting, this person said, made it look like every street in five counties was gridlocked.

Apparently, it was pretty rough out there, but it wasn’t everywhere.

Restaurants and other small businesses took a big hit last weekend from Hurricane Irene. I’m encouraging you to try your best to get out and support them.

Restaurants in Canton, Harbor East and Fells Point should be easy to get to provided you don’t try to go the same way you always do (e.g. south on St. Paul, left on Pratt). Take the JFX to St. Paul St., and make a left on Biddle. Take Biddle all the way to Central and make a right. Should be clear sailing!

The general idea is to stay is to approach the city’s southeast neighborhoods from the southeast.

If you own or work in a restaurant, go ahead and tell your customers how they can get to you tonight. If your restaurant has a Twitter account or a Facebook page, you’d be foolish not to use them this weekend to keep your followers posted.

Obviously, if your favorite restaurants are to the north and west you should have no trouble getting to them, and if you don’t dine out on weekends anyway you shouldn’t feel compelled to.

But if you were planning to go out to dinner in Little Italy, Canton, Fells Point or Harbor East, or if you were headed down for the Gathering or the Little Italy midnight block party, you shouldn’t throw in the towel.

Just whatever you do, don’t call up and cancel your reservations -- every time someone does that, a restaurant owner dies a little death.

Here’s a recent post about the special menus restaurants are offering during Grand Prix weekend.