I would give a strong "second" for Gregs. Hard to beat a the husband and wife duo. The bagels are the best outside of NYC or my mothers kitchen. They are a class act.

Attman's.

And Tio Pepe.

Isn't Greg's bagels the one with the fake bagels that are fluffy and maltose sweetened? A bagel that isn't boiled first is like an uncircumcized Jew. Just not kosher.

Greg's Bagels - With the Soul of a Connecticut Unitarian

Shame shame shame comparing that stuff to a New York bagel. I guess Pat Boone has soul then. He was popular.

NOT Cafe Hon. Maybe several years ago, but I'm pretty sure if there's a gift shop in the restaurant, there's no soul. If that's not a rule, it should be.

I would nominate the Mount Vernon Stable and Saloon. That place has the best ribs, in a "gay denny's" sort of feel. That in my book takes something, let's call it soul.

Is there a difference between "soul" and "character." I think there is but I'm not sure how to define it. For example, Golden West and Paper Moon certainly have character, but I'm not sure they have soul. Two Sisters, on the other hand, has soul. I think it's the personal touch over sheer quirkiness. That said, I imagine this will end up like the diner definition, I advocated for definitional clarity but the sandbox argued for "you know it when you see it."

I agree with Matt... a gift shop is an immediate disqualifier!

how about Rocket to Venus? or is it not old enough? I would have said Birches, but I'm kind of "over" it after the check brouhaha.

gay denny's: is that snarky or a compliment. Never been there so I can't decide. Either way, its funny.

Gay Denny's? They already have a rainbow of variety on their menu including the Fabulous French Toast Platter, Meat Lover's Scramble, and Lumberjack Slam®.

Not a restaurant, per se, but I would say that Atwater's has a lot of soul...you can tell that great love and care goes into everything Ned makes and sells.

I had a dream one night that I'd opened a restaurant in one of the old huge houses on Main St in Reisterstown. I had a huge variety of appetizers & entrees ranging from every cuisine I think I've ever had and enjoyed. To further enhance the cool vibe of the place, I had stuff for sale from SERV (I think I spelled it right - the 3rd world country stuff) and the music I heard in my dream was Marianne Faithful doing Broken English. If anyone cares to steal the idea, it's yours. And I promise to become a regular patron.

Terriermom -- rainbow of variety -- I'm still laughing.

My benchmark for a restaurant with soul is Dimitri's, now long gone from Main Street Annapolis. It was family owned and run, with Dimitri's photography on the walls and his sister Alexandra holding down the counter. Gazpacho I still dream about, but since everything was figured out each day according to what was fresh, you never knew when it would show up on the chalkboard. Taking an 11:00 AM walk to scan the offerings became a habit.

If the definition of soul is broad enough to include a little kitsch, I nominate Chick & Ruth's, likewise on Main Street 21401. They stop each morning to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and it is surprisingly moving -- as if they understand that it's about the flag and not some political agenda.

C & C Carryout on St. Paul Street in Charles Village has enough tables to get a nod here as well. It's a lot of fun to see folks come in for a helping of good Asian comfort food. I once asked for an extra side of kimchee and immediately became family.

In order to have there must be no sense of irony, which DQ's the Hampden places like Cafe Hon or Golden West. The old Mamies would have qualified. Burke's would also make the list. Those are places where the the waitresses will call you hon, but without any sense of retro hipness. .

Restaurants, as well as anything or anyone, can be said to have soul if they are true to their vision without regard to generally accepted practices but with unflinching adherence to an inner and quite recognizable personal standard. So a greasy Texas diner can drip soul as can a meticulously traditional joint that would rather close forever than allow you to cross its threshold without a proper jacket.
I tend to assign the soul designation to places that operate on their own terms and that appear effortless in plying their art, all while being fun and welcoming ... as long as you "get" them. Martick's, definitely. Attman's has my vote. And I was once in a 3.2 bar in the Colorado Rockies in which an amateur boxer bared his tum and offered me a free punch so I could gain perhaps a bit of an appreciation of his endless hours of training. That place had soul.

Why thank you Cheese Girl. I was worried that I might offend someone, which I didn't mean to do. I'm not very well plugged into adult lingo lately in my kid-centric world.

Wow, C&C carryout is still there. I used to go there when I was a student at Hopkins in the 30s.

No longer with us - Mamie's and Martick's

Still with us - Thai Restaurant, Pete's Grille, Burke's
I could go for Greg's if only because he kept Belvedere Square alive while it was trying to decide what to be.
And Ned Atwater certainly has it even if you wouldn't consider Atwater's a restaurant.

I'd almost be tempted to suggest the Peppermill if only because it is so unabashedly what it is and happy to be so.

Come on Owlie, you never went to Hopkins. You told me you got a home-schooled Ph.D. in raptorology. Sometimes I think you make stuff up.

I wasn't being "snarky". They use placemats, sorta modeled on old school Denny's. That is also a fairly common Mount Vernon nickname for the place.

Peter's Inn has, if not soul, at least a whole heap of personality, as well as great food that changes constantly.

Matthew's Pizza? It occurred to me as I was waiting last night for my take-out order. It's just exactly what it is, still doing things old-style with its own unique kind of crust, etc. I think the woman who handed over my pizza might have even called me "hon," though I can't swear to it. (I was reading while I waited and took a minute to clue in that she was talking to me.)

I suggest that Bertha's has a soul.a certain patina, a charm

Patina? I think she was our waitress the last tie we went there.

Ras Doobie da Chef, a Jamacian hole-in-the wall near Camden yards.

FLIRV -- just 4 days ago, Hal Laurent VoR pointed out to you you that Ras Doobie closed quite some time ago. As of April 2008, the space is now occupied by Island Quizine.