If you want to ask about Hampden, I think that Frazier's deserves another look. The chef that is there now does a pretty decent job. They always have good daily specials and everyday favorites. And the price is right.

I go for the Holiday House on Harford Road just below Northern Parkway. Great daily specials from what I remember.

Peter's in Upper Fells has absolutely amazing food on a consistent basis.

Someone mentioned Fort Charles in the string that prompted this discussion. Taps, the bar that took its place, has incredible food as well (EL, there's a Myspace page with pictures.). I don't know that it's necessarily a dive bar, but its close.

Is Fort Charles still a dive bar? I'm under the impression that it's been "yuppified"

i haven't been there in about a year, but when in lived in the village, charles village pub was my 'i don't feel like cooking, going out for food spot.' the honey ranch dressing in the house salad was great, and the sandwiches always satisifed. particularly the chicken cheese steak that was strips of boneless skinless grilled chicken.

I don't think dive bars have a house salad.

Excellent definition! EL

The only vegetable in a dive bar is French fries.

The only vegetable in a dive bar is French fries.

What, no onion rings?

Close Owl, but not quite. Regarding vegetables, REAL dives bars only have a bowl of stale potato chips on the bar that most likely has a Band-Aid in there somewhere. Now that's a dive bar.

Well, I dont know if its really a "dive" but Patrick's in Cranbrook Station is a out dated restaurant & bar in a strip mall and I'll tell you what, they have one of the best crab cakes I've had in the Baltimore area. Who would have thought.

I hear the iBar in Old Goucher has good wings. The last time I went there it was pre-smoking ban and we couldn't make it work. I keep meaning to get back over there now that we are smoke free.

I wonder if Zissimos on the Avenue or Dimitry's on Falls Rd. near 39th St. serve any food...

Any establishment with an "i" at the start of its name cannot be a Dive.

While French fries may be OK, it is NOT acceptable for a dive bar to serve rosemary garlic fries, as in a poster's comment on Mahaffey's under the original topic.

Don't know if it's still there but Linwoods in Parkville had great fries and gravy served on a paper plate, messy!

It's too bad Lulu's Off Broadway in Fells Point closed down. It had great food and certainly was a dive bar.

I think it's important for any dive bar to have the mandatory jar of pickled pigs feet (or at least pickled eggs) on the bar. A dirty mirror behind the bar and pool tables don't hurt either. Oooh and what would really be perfect would be a glittery disco ball covered with cobwebs.

bmoreteach - The Lulu's chef is now at Annabel Lee Tavern and he brought his tasty lamb burgers with him. Lots of daily specials that are always changing...it's not a dive bar, but a great neighborhood spot.

The Poncabird Pub just off Boston St on Ponca has great burgers, decent shrimp salad, and terrible service. Not to mention the Night Shift crowd that frequents....

Surprisingly, J. Patrick's in Locust Point (LoPo) has decent food. One of my favourites on the menu is "small boneless chickens" aka deviled eggs.
They also have some good Irish traditional food.

I'll have a bowl of your finest band-aid chips, please!

When I lived in Locust Point, J.R.'s had great food for a dive bar. Decker's did, too (before it closed).

Great burgers and steak sandwiches at Poncabird Inn...end of Holabird Ave in Dundalk(?) under thruway
Not exactly a dive
A dive to me has pool tables, pinball machines,pickled pigs feet, and the drinks are served in styrofoam cups

The Poncabird pretty much qualifies as a dive on its location alone.

I live in Locust Point. Please for the love of God, don't call it LoPo. I'm not even a Locust Point native, but the mere thought of that term catching on turns my stomach.
BTW, I'm not sharing my fave neighborhood dive with excellent food for fear it becomes more crowded than it already is.

ah lessee, PoncaBird Tavern, Long Johns in Remington (there was a time when nearby Dizzy Issie's would have qualified). LP Docks in Locust Point has a fine array of potato chips, does that count? What about someplace like Duda's in Fell's Point? They have a great menu and a low brow feel, but are they a dive?

And for the record, iBar is kind of a dump, but a very nice place with a decent menu.

And another thing... Does anyone remember Mike's in Fell's Point on Broadway? Microwave tex mex (not a bad mole, actually). I still miss that place.

Miz... I lived in LoPo from 1993 to 2004 and we always called it that, mainly because no-one knew it even existed then and it was our insider code.

Does anyone remember Mike's in Fell's Point on Broadway?

Yes, there was a bar cat who lived there, and would sometimes jump up on to the stool next to you. How the place escaped being busted by the health department I have no idea, but I thought the cat was a nice touch.

Duda's: People have mentioned their crab cake, but the real draw here is the chili bake.
Poncabird: Great burgers, but you can also chow down on baloney wrapped, chili-topped hot dogs for the triumverate of mystery meat (it would make Homer Simpson proud)
Mahaffey's would've counted before they fixed up the upstairs, no longer would qualify as neighborhood dive bar.
Wharf Rat in Fells: Stick with anything fried.
Most dive bars in Baltimore: Those bottles of onions and other pickled nastiness that sound great after you start working on the second sixer.

Dive bar - do we go there to eat or to drink? Do we go there for haute cuisine or for bar food (not to be confused with comfort food)?

Sam Sessa's recent review of Bad Decisions deserves a visit, if only for its limited kitchen after sampling Sessa's suggestions.

I keep on wanting to get over to the Curb Shoppe in Mount Washington. I know City Paper has named them "Best Dive Bar"

Also, it's out of our normal area, but I'll give my nod to the Susquehanna Inn in Conowingo/Rising Sun. Southern Rock music plus Busch Beer in a can makes for a great dive bar.

The Emerald in Parkville has pretty good food, the steamed shrimp is great and goes well with a Sierra Nevada. They've jazzed up the place a little, it is one of my favorite stops on visits up north.

The Holiday House, farther south on Harford Road, is not though. I've been in there many times, and was friends with several of the old bartenders. They used to make a humongous cheesesteak sandwich.
Too dank and too many bikers nowadays.
Just a little farther south on Harford Road is the Shamrock Inn. Now, that place is a dive. 3 pool tables and live music on the weekends. If you like your rock and roll LOUD, go there.
The owner, Terry is a nice guy but the food is pretty basic stuff.