Dempsey's at Oriole Park -- Great (last reviewed Sep 12)

I don't know what Dempsey's replaced but it is definitely a keeper -- nice onsite microbrew and a step-up from typical brewhouse food.  Bonus was that Rick Dempsey was there and he was gracious enough to pose for a couple of pics.  I must say that I thought he was dead when Bo Jackson ran over him at home plate a loooong time ago so its good to see that he is still doing his thing with announcing and now being a restauranteer.  So the microbrew was nice and the nachos with pulled chicken where really well prepared as were the three different kinds of sliders.  And, the price was actually very reasonable especially for an in-the-park restaurant.  As far as pointers, hmmm, I'm stretching here but the place was chaotic due to the big crowd and they had a little of the bar food season-all going on where everything has a bit of a bland, fried taste.  They also could not accommodate a pulled chicken sandwich although they had pulled chicked on the nachos.  Say what.  Overall, way to go Rick!

Pho Van - Blackball (last reviewed April 2012)

I first visited this Vietnamese, low brow restaurant when I was recovering from a cold and needed something more than chicken noodle soup to get me over the hump. I ordered pho (pronounced /fah/) tai chin as a to go order and came with lots of stuff to assemble -- bean sprouts, hot paste, cilantro, lime, noodles and the meat (that's the tai chin part). It was quite the effort and after the fourth ingredient I got frustrated and dumped everything into the bowl. It was very unique and quite tasty although the meat had a funky sweet taste. Round 2 was a disaster. I took my bride back to Pho Booger and it started and ended wrong. We went to seat ourselves and the table nazi grunted for us to sit elsewhere. Next, I tried to make nice with the host by asking him if he knew my Vietnamese buddy and even flashed him a photo. Nope, never heard of him, don't recognize him and he looks Mexican to me. Thanks, for the hook-up, Bach. My wife was seated so that she was facing the kitchen and as it turns out, that was a big mistake. She had a look of horror and I calmly inquired. She said that the kitchen help also most have had a cold. I'll spare my faithful followers some of the details but let's just say this would have been a good time for hand sanitizer. (Note to self -- my policy here is to leave more than enough money for the drinks on the table and just walk out.) Lucky day, he brought out our food. My wife convinced me that only the top layer of beans my have been compromised and the steaming broth would kill any germs. I was hungrier than the Andes plane crash survivors and decided to do what I had to do. Needless to say, I didn't like it but then horror upon horror, my wife spots another picker in the kitchen. We declared it over, paid, rolled out. Blackball.

Diablita's - Blackball (Last reviewed Apr 2010)

Strange how this place is connected to Lemongrass, on my list of fun restaurants, and I walked away with the opposite opinion. We held a work function at this place and to a person, no one liked their food -- ranging from not tasty to nasty. The dining crowd, as you know a good leading indicator of success, was sparse. There really was nothing to write home about -- food, menu, atmosphere, anything. Given its challenging location on Central Ave just a couple blocks too far away from Harbor East, Nostradorkus predicts this place is headed for closure by the end of 2010.

The Grilled Cheese & Company - so so (Last reviewed Apr 2010)

Well, I liked the concept of a brand new place that serves up gourmet grilled cheese and a cup of tomato soup. The novelty of the idea may not carry the day as there are a few issues here. Where do I start? Firstly, it's located on gangster alley -- Edmonson Ave right near 695 interchanges. So, I'd suggest lighting up the parking lot like an O.R. and not so dimly lit. The menu was interesting but I botched it ... ordered a veggie grilled cheese which included olive spread. The cook went a little crazy on the olive spread so it was more like an olive sandwich, not my favorite. The tomato soup was good but was too thick and had too much cheese, kind of like eating a jar of warmed up Prego. Had the presentation been a little better, I might not have had that same impression. Everything was served to go and to me, that just doesn't cut it when dining in as I expect a real plate, silverware, etc. I think we filled up one trashcan alone on the excess stuff. The pricing is on the high end of what I would expect. While a great place for kids to get a grilled cheese sandwich and a drink, it will set you back about $10 per kid and x3, I'll just go to Deusenberg's. I want to see this place do well but I'm afraid its days are numbered.

Deusenberg's (5 star) -- Last reviewed Apr 2010

As an old bschool professor used to say, that place is too busy so no one goes there anymore. That is the only problem with Duesenberg's (and also I don't know how to spell the name). The restaurant has a seating capacity of about 25 and on nice days, they have outdoor seating for another 15 or so. Catonsville's best kept secret is out and it is not uncommon to have a 30 minute wait for two. The food is reasonably priced and is my favorite spot for breakfast and lunch -- it's only open until 3PM daily and closed on Sunday. I'd suggest starving yourself for a late afternoon lunch around 2 so you have half a chance of finishing the meal and can avoid most of the crowd. Favorite picks include Route 66 Chicken sandwich with avocado and side of green bean fries, lobster roll with sweet potato fries, and really anything off their breakfast menu. Portions are huge, service is great, and selection is unusually wide for a small diner style resaurant. Note that this place is one of the select few 5 star rated restaurants. I understand that the owner will be expanding soon so that is great news.

El Nayar-- So so (last reviwed Feb 2010)

Located in downtown Catonsville, I was hoping for a better experience at the only Mexican restaurant in town but it doesn't do anything special worthy of a highly coveted "good" rating. Although the place was crowded and we were dilly-dallying while waiting for the rest of our party to join, the waiter demonstrated Ghandi like patience. They brought out frosty mugs for our BYOB and didn't seem to mind while our kids dumped drinks and other things on the floor, each other, etc. I had the 4 'especial' enchilladas and it was very well prepared, good portions and price. Also, the guac and chips were excellent which is a disqualifier if not up to par. I didn't like the atmosphere -- too barren, seating uncomfortable, not musico, cold (especially following the blizzard), and lacked anything to give it a personality. Beef up the menu and give the interior a make-over -- both easy fixes and I'll give you a good.

La Tasca - Blackball (last reviewed Jan 2010)

So it was restaurant week and we thought it would be a good idea to check out this tapas restaurant in the Light Stree Pavillion. We made reservations but painfully, the place was completely empty so I felt both silly and like bolting for the door (per my previously established critieria). Let me start with something rather obscure -- the bathroom. It was both about 80F and a boy/girl restroom. Both things confused me and it just got uglier. The waiter was very attentive (no one else there) and ordered our appetizer for us (say what) at this all you can eat but one order at a time. This authentic Spanish restaurant had a caliente unisex bathroom both no spice, in fact, rather bland food. To be fair, there were a number of tasty plates -- fried eggplant, primerib, calamari -- but the rest was forgetable and holy crap, we were in there for 2 hr. I'm thinking of blackballing the entire Light Street Pavillion based on this experience.