Directory of Diners: Maryland

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Frank's Diner

7395 Cedar Ave., Jessup. 1/2 mile S. of MD 175 on US 1. A 1959 Kullman originally called the Olympia Diner and located in Carney's Point, N.J., Frank's has been a quiet addition to the Maryland diner scene. Located very near the city of Columbia, and just minutes off of I-95, I am a bit surprised that it is rarely crowded. With about a dozen booths, additional free-standing tables and a counter with stools, this diner could hold many more diners than it usually gets. That is a shame, because the food is pretty good, the service is friendly, if not always too swift, and it has a real diner feel. Though the menu features an extensive 24-hour breakfast, several more pages of other typical items and a nice selection of desserts, some more attention could be paid to kitchen. On occasion the food has been much too salty and overcooked. The soups I find a bit bland, though I must say my seven year old loves their home-made chicken noodle. Stay away from the crab soup if you want to sample that local favorite as it has none of the needed bite. A nice touch is the option of biscuit, roll or cornbread with all the meals. The coffee is hot, fresh, and flows freely. Prices are reasonable, with the dinners a better value than ordering ala carte. The cd-based juke box is reached from each booth, has a very nice variety with an emphasis on classic rock and country, but is expensive at $.25 a play. The sound quality is only fair.- Review by Bill Bell.

Hollywood Diner

400 E. Saratoga St., Baltimore. I have a thing for "chrome" diners, so once while traveling through Maryland, I decided to check this place out. (I had bought a postcard of the Hollywood at a collector's show.) I arrived the night an exciting high school football game and the place was all abuzz about the local victory. The waitress seemed to know everyone and there was a genuine sense of community. I only had a cup of coffee (average) and read my maps but it was fun to eavesdrop. The place was clean, bright and glittering. On the downside, smoking was everyone's habit and because of that I didn't stay very long. Review by Paul Coyne.

According to William Bell, the Hollywood Diner was the one used in the movie,"Diner", which was written about some real characters who went to the Forrest Diner in Northwest Baltimore. "And yes," he says,"gravy on crinkle-cut fries is a Baltimore thing."

Plato's Diner

7150 Baltimore Avenue (US 1 S), College Park.
7/18/98: Well, I'm spending a few weeks in Maryland, attending a class at the Goddard Space Flight Center on High Performance Computational Physics. Anyway, we're being housed at the lovely and scenic University of Maryland at College Park. Just down the road aways is Plato's Diner.

Now that I've gotten the grandstanding and shameless self-promotion out of the way, a review of Plato's seems almost anti-climactic. In a nutshell, it's a pretty damn good diner. The prices are nothing to write home about (and indeed, I haven't), but the servings are big, as is the menu. I had what they termed a chicken wrap, but which seemed to me more of a burrito concoction (oh, I realize that in the hiearchy of such things, they are very close cousins [I further realize that hierarchy and cousin shouldn't be in the same metaphor]). Anyway, it was delicious. I got a side of slaw which gets an A-, though truth to be told, I am really leaning toward actually giving it the full A. For dessert, I got a very delicious fudge brownie.

The decor is basically everything you'd expect. There is a register, pastry case, and counter up front. There are jukes at the tables. There is neon and chrome. There is a sign out front proudly proclaiming that the place is open all the time. However, upon closer inspection, it appears that Plato's is only open 24 hours on the weekends. One thing that surprised me somewhat was that the place was pretty barren on this Saturday evening outing. I'll have to find out whether the night comes alive at Plato's...

Princess Diner

10055 Balto, National Pike, Ellicott City
10/7/98: The Princess Diner is brand new and large. It has lots of glass and chrome, but doesn't resemble the old railway car diners such as Frank's Diner. The menu selection is impressive with a large variety of baked goods. I've only been there for breakfast, but the food was really good and the prices were fine for the area. PA diners still have the cheapest food. The interesting fact is that it's been built next to the Forrest Diner which has been there for years. The Princess Diner carries more business, but the old timers will probably keep the Forrest Diner in business for awhile. I encourage everyone to patronize the Princess Diner instead of the "over a billion served" chains.-- Review by Michael Eisenberger.

Tamber's Nifty Fifties Dining

3327 St. Paul (near Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus). Baltimore. Tamber's is a small and relatively expensive diner with mediocre food and poor (bordering on rude) service. A telling example: they water down their Heinz -- if indeed it really is Heinz. I believe that according to Hammurabi's Code of ancient Babylon such offenses were punishable by drowning. Ah, 'twas a more civilized time ... Review by Michael Blanton (who has complained on more than one occasion that there are no decent diners in Maryland).

Lori Simpson