Exit 3
Governor Ritchie Highway, Brooklyn / Glen Burnie
Grand Palace (6721 Ritchie Highway, Brooklyn Park, [410] 636-8333), located along Ritchie Highway in one of Baltimore's innermost aging suburbs, offers some of the best and most authentic Chinese food within or without the big asphalt ring. The Americanized menu offers the usual gloppy sops to the local palateyour moo goo gai pan, your chop sueybut in-the-know eaters check the specials board. Here you'll find the shining kitchen's best workcrispy whole flounder; gingery green-lipped mussels; relative rarities such as conch and shark. (C'mon, be adventurous, try the jellyfish.) And we're pretty sure Grand Palace is the only place hereabouts offering dim sum every day of the week (except Tuesdays, when it's closed).
It's happening 24/7 at the Honey Bee Diner and Carry Out (7346 Ritchie Highway, Glen Burnie, [410] 761-0477), a veritable Glen Burnie institution. The cozy art deco diner serves up bountiful breakfasts, lunches to linger over, and super suppers, all at super low prices. They've got your roast-turkey dinner, your meat loaf, your fries with gravy, and your bona fide milkshake. We knew the place was the real thing on one midnight visit, as we snarfed ice cream on waffles and watched the counterman fry up a mountain of home fries.
Haussner's may be gone, but there will always be a little piece of it alive as long as Sunset Restaurant and Lounge (625 Greenway Ave., Glen Burnie, [410] 768-1417) is around. We love the crowded little rooms with dark wood and etched-glass dividers. We love the mirrors, the servers who attend without intruding, and the huge meals. You don't see people leaving the Sunset with a simple Styrofoam container, no. They cart food out of here in shopping bags. Try the crab melt, tasty imperial atop two English muffin halves. Even simple dishes like fried chicken are beautifully done, and vegetable orders are big enough to share (although you might want to keep the smoky-good stewed tomatoes all to yourself).
Price Point (3/3/2010)
EAT: City Paper's annual dining guide
Central (3/3/2010)
Harbor Area (3/3/2010)
812 Park Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 523-2300
All parts of this site Copyright ©2013 Baltimore City Paper.