Jerry’s Tavern
5928 York Road
Baltimore, MD 21212 • 410-435-8600

Having lived in the Belvedere Square area for a little bit of time, I must have walked past Jerry’s Tavern many, many times, and just never went inside.  On a night where we were looking to eat out, our original destination was fully booked with reservations, so Jerry’s turned out to be our “Plan B”.  I had no idea what to expect, but when we walked in, it felt like a step back in time, maybe the 1970’s era? Picture the paneled walls, well-worn carpet, and sort of a darkish ambiance. But, I was ready to roll with it.  We were seating in the dining room. Other than a large table of 10, it was just us and maybe another table or two of patrons there for a Thursday night dinner out.  Adjacent to us was the bar area. While I never did walk into it, it certainly sounded much livelier.

Our waitress was very friendly, and brought over menus and pointed out the specials board.  While she quickly did take our drink orders, the remainder of our experience wasn’t quite so expeditious.  No exaggeration, we waited over 20 minutes for our drinks to arrive, and even at that point, our waitress hadn’t come by to take our dinner order. Once she did, she was very graciously apologizing for the delay.  Lucky for her, we were not in a rush, so it wasn’t too bothersome. I ordered a cup of the chicken rice soup ($3), which was one of the soups of the day, while Nick ordered the Maryland crab soup ($4).  The Besides our choices of soups, other options included Beef Stew ($4) and Navy Bean ($4). All soups can be ordered in cups or bowls (for slightly higher prices). For main meals, I ordered the hot open roast beef ($11) served with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy.  Nick ordered the cheese steak sub ($12), and Jordan ordered the Fish & Chips ($13).  Yes, we did wait awhile for our soups to be served.  The chicken rice soup was plentiful and tasty.  I could tell this soup was not from a can, and was prepared on site.  Nick wasn’t as enthused about his soup, as the crab was a bit too “fishy” tasting for his liking.

Jerry’s Tavern’s menu offerings are similar to what you might find at any traditional diner, with a variety of appetizers, soups, salads, subs/sandwiches, main entrée platters, and delectable desserts, however, on average, prices are slightly lower, which is a good thing!  Let’s review some of the menu highlights, shall we?  Beginning with appetizers, there are common items (chicken tenders $6, mozzarella sticks $5, and buffalo wings $9), and not so common items (hot cheese balls $6, spicy fried green beans $6).  There are also seafood starters with a variety of mussels, clams, shrimp, crab, and calamari options (from $8-12).  Salads include a house, Caesar, Chicken Sante Fe, Julianne, Buffalo Chicken, and Shrimp Salad (from $5-12 depending on size).  As you would imagine, there is an assortment of subs, sandwiches, clubs, and burgers.  Jerry’s does offer an Italian Specialty section of Spaghetti (with homemade tomato sauce $12, meatballs/meat sauce $14, manicotti $14, or lasagna ($14).  Finally, the steaks and entrees, which include a rib eye ($19), NY strip ($18), and chopped sirloin ($15).  All steaks and entrees include a choice of two side dishes.

So, back to our dinner, we were all very pleased with the portions and presentations of our meals, and even pleasantly surprised of the quality and taste.  Unlike some diners where food can taste a bit bland, that was not the case here.  The hot open roast beef was absolutely delicious, and the type of meal that sticks to your ribs. If my memory is still intact, it was a cool rainy night we had gone there, so I was hoping for some hearty, comfort food. Jordan thought his fish was just the right amount of fried without being too greasy, and Nick thoroughly enjoyed his cheese steak.

The moral of this story is that sometimes the unexpected can be much better than the expected. Our Plan B turned out to work well for us.  I ran out of space here to write about the delicious desserts, but rest assured, I will return to Jerry’s and be sure to tell you about it next time!