Jimmy's Restaurant |
|
| 801 S. Broadway | |
| Baltimore, MD 21231 | |
| 410-327-3273 | |
|
Hours:
Daily: 5 a.m.-9 p.m. | |
| What's nearby: | |
Jimmy's remains cheap and satisfying
Ham and eggs after dark or a beer or a milkshake
By Karen Nitkin
Special to The Sun
Originally published on May 27, 2004
When dining at Jimmy's, I often start
with a foie gras appetizer, followed by a
delicate seafood risotto. While
I'm waiting for my first course, I
tear off pieces of artisan bread
and dip it in bowls of fruity
deep-green olive oil.
OK -- I'm joking.
As everyone who has ever
been hungry in Fells Point surely
knows, Jimmy's is not a foie gras
place. Instead, the Fells Point
landmark is where you'll satisfy
that craving for an enormous
egg-and-pork-product breakfast, a slab of homemade spinach pie or one of the best milkshakes around.
In a city full of diners and coffee shops, Jimmy's has earned a
place in the hearts and minds of
both local eaters and tourists,
who keep the small restaurant
hopping at all hours of the day
and night.
Three specific things make it
stand out. First is its location
right in the Fells Point square,
just a grease splatter from the
water; second is its wine and
beer license; and third are its
unbelievably low prices.
Jimmy's also has a down-to-
earth desire to please, and unlike many eateries in Hampden
and elsewhere, the old-style Baltimore charm is delivered without a trace of irony. When your
server calls you Hon, she means
it, and she'll deliver your food
and top off your coffee without
reciting the day's specials or
even telling you her name. She
won't bat an eye if you order a
meatloaf sandwich and spinach
pie before 11 a.m., as I did.
Jimmy's opened as a candy
store in 1946, according to Nick
Filipidis, whose father-in-law
purchased it from his father in
1980. The place became a diner
in 1987 and hasn't changed
much since then.
The counter is worn-down
Formica, the tablecloths are a
red and white pattern, and the
ceilings are nothing but the
plainest of drop tiles. Paper
menus serve as placemats. No
oversized muffins, designer coffees or wireless Internet access
here, but if you're looking for a
meatloaf sandwich that costs
less than $3, a ham and eggs
platter for $4.25, or a beer at 6 in
the morning ($1.50 for a
16-ounce draft), Jimmy's is your
place.
The menu sticks to coffee-
shop basics -- burgers, a veal
parm sub, omelets, fish sandwiches and crab cakes. Most of
it is made on the premises and
cooked to order.
One of my favorite items is the
spinach pie, perhaps the most
exotic item at Jimmy's. The generous mint-flavored spinach filling, light on the onions and
cheese, was graced with just the
thinnest sheet of greaseless
phyllo, creating a fresh-tasting
and filling dish. It arrived with a
small salad, dressed with a tart
and chunky feta dressing, which
was unfortunately too cold. Another favorite was the rich,
malty chocolate milkshake,
thick enough to make a straw
stand up straight but thin
enough to sip through said
straw.
The meatloaf sandwich was
too bland and soft for my taste
and arrived without a ketchup
topping. I don't like my meatloaf
to actually taste like meat, but
that's a personal thing. Sausages, on the other hand,
boasted a nice garlicky zing and
a pleasant snap of skin with
each bite, a great foil for perfectly scrambled eggs. Pancakes
were dense and buttermilky,
served with a syrup that clearly
had no relation to a maple tree.
A malted Belgian waffle was
wonderfully fluffy, though the
fruit topping was nothing more
than small, shriveled blueberries.
For desserts, Jimmy's offers
homemade bread pudding and
rice pudding, as well as ice
cream and pie.
One charming anachronism
at Jimmy's is that the credit
card machine isn't set up to include tips. The only way to leave
some money for the unfailingly
efficient servers is simply to
plunk the cash on the table. The
system seems to work, so why
change it? The same can be said
for Jimmy's itself.
Ratings:
Food: ** 1/2
Service: ***
Atmosphere: *** 1/2
Rating system: Outstanding: ****; Good ***; Fair or uneven **; Poor *
Ham and eggs after dark or a beer or a milkshake
By Karen Nitkin
Special to The Sun
Originally published on May 27, 2004
When dining at Jimmy's, I often start
with a foie gras appetizer, followed by a
delicate seafood risotto. While
I'm waiting for my first course, I
tear off pieces of artisan bread
and dip it in bowls of fruity
deep-green olive oil.
OK -- I'm joking.
As everyone who has ever
been hungry in Fells Point surely
knows, Jimmy's is not a foie gras
place. Instead, the Fells Point
landmark is where you'll satisfy
that craving for an enormous
egg-and-pork-product breakfast, a slab of homemade spinach pie or one of the best milkshakes around.
In a city full of diners and coffee shops, Jimmy's has earned a
place in the hearts and minds of
both local eaters and tourists,
who keep the small restaurant
hopping at all hours of the day
and night.
Three specific things make it
stand out. First is its location
right in the Fells Point square,
just a grease splatter from the
water; second is its wine and
beer license; and third are its
unbelievably low prices.
Jimmy's also has a down-to-
earth desire to please, and unlike many eateries in Hampden
and elsewhere, the old-style Baltimore charm is delivered without a trace of irony. When your
server calls you Hon, she means
it, and she'll deliver your food
and top off your coffee without
reciting the day's specials or
even telling you her name. She
won't bat an eye if you order a
meatloaf sandwich and spinach
pie before 11 a.m., as I did.
Jimmy's opened as a candy
store in 1946, according to Nick
Filipidis, whose father-in-law
purchased it from his father in
1980. The place became a diner
in 1987 and hasn't changed
much since then.
The counter is worn-down
Formica, the tablecloths are a
red and white pattern, and the
ceilings are nothing but the
plainest of drop tiles. Paper
menus serve as placemats. No
oversized muffins, designer coffees or wireless Internet access
here, but if you're looking for a
meatloaf sandwich that costs
less than $3, a ham and eggs
platter for $4.25, or a beer at 6 in
the morning ($1.50 for a
16-ounce draft), Jimmy's is your
place.
The menu sticks to coffee-
shop basics -- burgers, a veal
parm sub, omelets, fish sandwiches and crab cakes. Most of
it is made on the premises and
cooked to order.
One of my favorite items is the
spinach pie, perhaps the most
exotic item at Jimmy's. The generous mint-flavored spinach filling, light on the onions and
cheese, was graced with just the
thinnest sheet of greaseless
phyllo, creating a fresh-tasting
and filling dish. It arrived with a
small salad, dressed with a tart
and chunky feta dressing, which
was unfortunately too cold. Another favorite was the rich,
malty chocolate milkshake,
thick enough to make a straw
stand up straight but thin
enough to sip through said
straw.
The meatloaf sandwich was
too bland and soft for my taste
and arrived without a ketchup
topping. I don't like my meatloaf
to actually taste like meat, but
that's a personal thing. Sausages, on the other hand,
boasted a nice garlicky zing and
a pleasant snap of skin with
each bite, a great foil for perfectly scrambled eggs. Pancakes
were dense and buttermilky,
served with a syrup that clearly
had no relation to a maple tree.
A malted Belgian waffle was
wonderfully fluffy, though the
fruit topping was nothing more
than small, shriveled blueberries.
For desserts, Jimmy's offers
homemade bread pudding and
rice pudding, as well as ice
cream and pie.
One charming anachronism
at Jimmy's is that the credit
card machine isn't set up to include tips. The only way to leave
some money for the unfailingly
efficient servers is simply to
plunk the cash on the table. The
system seems to work, so why
change it? The same can be said
for Jimmy's itself.
Ratings:
Food: ** 1/2
Service: ***
Atmosphere: *** 1/2
Rating system: Outstanding: ****; Good ***; Fair or uneven **; Poor *
