The restaurant known as Goodfellas Pasta, Sea & Grill on Route 17 at White Marsh has been at the same site, known called Lighthouse Restaurant, since 1979. It is known to diners far and near for its excellent dishes and its family-friendly atmosphere.

To ensure continuation of the restaurant’s ideals of good dining, Chef Brian Stanford is serving as head chef. With three line cooks beside him Brian says, "I plan to continue doing what this restaurant has always done: give quality with quantity of food at an affordable price, putting the emphasis on fresh, especially our seafood."

Brian, a native of Menchville and a graduate of the Boston Culinary School, has been practicing his profession for 27 years, all the while incorporating his knowledge of foods and cooking learned from his vast experience. "I spent 17 years in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada, in the food service business in the large casinos. Spent 3½ years in New Mexico at a ski lodge. I worked at Nick’s Seafood Pavilion in my early years and amidst all of this I served in the military for a while." Brian’s return to Virginia was the result of his desire, "so my children could be near family." He has two girls 10 and 12 for whom he cooks dinner at home, "on my days off" and is teaching them how to cook. "They like to eat, so they like to learn about it."

To view this article in its entirety, subscribe here. Already an online subscriber? Login Here