EL; Great Choice and no complaints!!! You have six of my favorites places to dine!!! Eastern house, Jennings, Kibbys, Micheals Steak & Lobster House, The Peppermill & the Sunset. Wow!!

Excellent choices. I have been to all except the Sunset and I would concur.

Hmm. I wonder what it says about me that I've only been to one restaurant on this list (Sunset) - and I haven't even been there since high school.

Whoo Hoo!

Perring Place?

Rallo's, Where the Elite Meet to Eat! ®

How 'bout Pappas hon?

We could probably add Jad's Caddy Shack in Essex.

I would probably say that any place that does a significant share of its business off of a senior menu is probably going to fit the bill as an All American restaurant. The two usually go hand in hand.

EL--

I'm really surprised Clyde's in Columbia didn't make the list. That's as Amercan as you can get.

I'd throw the Mount Washington Tavern in there as well.

Both good choices. EL

Rallo's, Where the Elite Meet to Eat! ®

I have to check out this place!

Where The Elite Meet To Eat was the slogan at Ambassador House, the dinerish place on Eutaw frequented by Mayor Schaefer. Miss Peggy, the ace Jennings server pictured above, at this since her Pimlico days, reports she will ride a Corvette in the Catonsville 7/4 parade in a new red frock.

Rallo's is the best.

Kibby's - Meh.

I'm not sure what an all-American restaurant means, but based on this list, I'd say it involves senior citizens and early-bird specials. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I'm sorry, but I really try to like Sunset, but I just can't. The first time I went there was a number of years ago on 2nd or 3rd date with the love of my life (yeah, right). From what I recall, food was okay, but great cream of crab soup. The few other times I have visited, the food was subpar, soup was cool, and service not so good. I know many like it, and consider it an "institution", but I just don't get it.

Trixie -- Yes, their cream of crab is awesome! I agree, Sunset has def went downhill in the recent years.

Kibby is actually atrocious now. Also overpriced for the "quality" you get

Southern PA has more of the "All American" type of restaurant. I'm thinking of places like The New Freedom Restaurant in Shrewsbury or The TaylorHaus in Stewartstown. Besides diners, there aren't that many restaurants of that ilk here in Baltimore.

How about Top 10 Un-American?

Yes, but which all-American restaurants are open on July 4th?

Un-American. I'd probably go with Red Emma's to start. Years ago there was a place called the Anarchist Cafe in Mount Vernon.

I think Williamsburg Inn in White Marsh should have been included on the list. It's on par with the Peppermill Inn. Great food and great service!!

Un-American. I'd probably go with Red Emma's to start. Years ago there was a place called the Anarchist Cafe in Mount Vernon.

I was thinking Red Emma's as well! IF it really counts as a restaurant...

Hey, Satanism is pretty American. Anton LaVey was born in Chicago.

Wow, Bill. I never thought I would hear about the TaylorHaus again. For a few years some friends of mine would have "TaylorHaus Friday" on Black Friday every year. I can't remember how it started, I think they were lost trying to get somewhere else and finally just gave up and stopped at the first place they came to for food. Now I'm craving some "Broasted" chicken and corn fritters. Yum.

On a nice, crisp and sunny Sunday in the fall, drive out to Westminster via back roads to look at the leaves. Stop in at Baughers and have one of their specials, like about a ton of roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and beans for something like $8.50. Then visit their fruit stand next door . A great cheap day!

E.L. I think it would be fun to publish a top 10 list and let the bloggers decide what the topic is afterward. This list would be my top 10 for places to find french fries smashed into the carpet before 5 PM.

I was going to argue that McDonalds is as American a restaurant as you can find. But after seeing this list, even though I still agree with me, I'd put McD's in a different category.
And I like Sean's un-American idea. Somebody throw me a bone and define un-American.

I had a reservation for myself and my mother in honor of her 87th birthday. She was born on 12/19, so we were right in the middle of the office Christmas parties. Sunset lost the revervation and we were never seated. My mom died the following January. I can never forgive Sunset for their callous trreatment and lack of concern for our inconvenicenc and their screwup.

Red Emma's is very American. Dissent is an old-fashioned, conservative American value.

Now, vegan food, *that* is pretty unamerican. I would convict Red Emma's on that.

One of the very few things I miss about living in Maryland is eating at Jennings Cafe (except for the cig smoke). Everything I ate there was delicious from soft shell crab sandwiches to spaghetti and meatballs. And I would LOVE a recipe for their banana cream pie. Lordy!

Michael's in Dundalk is the worst restaurant in town. The food is horrible and not worth the prices. The service at this restaurant are about the rudest I have ever encountered. I wonder why the writer of these Top Ten lists continues to put this restaurant on the list. The place is filthy and when my parents and I went they were fixing the ladies room. They tried to tell my mother she couldn't use the men's room even if no one was using it. That is a clear violation of the health code violation to not have a bathroom available to patrons. The staff was very rude about it and seemed to take pride in refusing the bathroom to my mother. This was after we waited over an hour for food that would never take an hour to prepare in even the busiest restaurants and the food came to us cold!!! Please take my advise and stay away from this nasty dirty restaurant.

Michaels is a wonderful old school restaurant. The prime rib here is fabulous as well as the crab cakes. The staff is very friendly and they even wear uniforms like they did at Haussners! It could use a bit of a make-over but that is part of its old Baltimore style.
Not too stuffy. Just real people!!

Bill in Columbia, you are so right. The Baugher's turkey dinnerand other specials are great and a ton of food too. But, don't wait til fall. You can go now and pick fruit across the street and then go eat like a hungry farmer, and then drive home with your "crops"!

I like Michael's, but I don't recommend their crab cake nowadays. It appears to be made from the inferior Asian crabmeat. I shouldn't have been surprised, though, given the low price. Unfortunately, good crab meat is expensive nowadays.

Well, I just got my pupils dilated at Katzen Eye, so I decided to walk next door to the Peppermill until I regained my sight. Well, it was 5:30 and the place was packed. That is what you get when you go during the dinner rush. I imagine it was twice as crowded during the peak, which is at 4:15.

Well, if we're thinking House Un-American Activities kind of Un-American, than Red Emma's would count.

And yes, I actually do know the difference between "than" and "then," but my fingers don't.

Ate at Baugher's last night - had great fried chicken, good cole slaw, and pecan pie; great service BUT my wife had to send her fried oysters back. Tasted like they were heated in a microwave rather than deep fried. Onion rings weren't crunchy either. No charge on oysters and we got a gracious apology. Window and window sill beside our booth were filthy with broken blinds. Don't know if we'd go back - maybe for the fried chicken which was every bit at good as at Friendly Farm.

Hey, John Roberts, have you eaten at Baugher's?

FYI, the Eastern House will be taking a vacation break from July 4-10.

TwoToedSloth: Just drive up to Stewartstown via I-83 and get off at the first PA exit. Head east on whatever road it is until you reach beautiful, downtown Stewartstown. Turn right at the light [Rt 896] and continue heading east. The TaylorHaus is about 1/2 mile on your right. Broasted chicken par excellence. Enjoy!

I see you added Kibby's....you might want to take a short drive further into the city on Wilkens Ave. just down from Kibby"s and try the food at Spirits West Bar and Grille....way better food than Kibby's...and their shrimp salad wrap is the best...but their signiture crab soups (both maryland and cream of)come with a huge pile of fresh crab meat added on top. For sure the best crab soups in Baltimore ! The location is right across the street from St. Benedict's Church on Wilkens Avenue. They have three dining rooms, 15 televisions throughout and a nice new Rooftop Deck. Try it...you'll love it...tell Butch that I sent you !

I see you added Kibby's....you might want to take a short drive further into the city on Wilkens Ave. just down from Kibby"s and try the food at Spirits West Bar and Grille....way better food than Kibby's...and their shrimp salad wrap is the best...but their signiture crab soups (both maryland and cream of)come with a huge pile of fresh crab meat added on top. For sure the best crab soups in Baltimore ! The location is right across the street from St. Benedict's Church on Wilkens Avenue. They have three dining rooms, 15 televisions throughout and a nice new Rooftop Deck. Try it...you'll love it...tell Butch that I sent you !

I see you added Kibby's....you might want to take a short drive further into the city on Wilkens Ave. just down from Kibby"s and try the food at Spirits West Bar and Grille....way better food than Kibby's...and their shrimp salad wrap is the best...but their signiture crab soups (both maryland and cream of)come with a huge pile of fresh crab meat added on top. For sure the best crab soups in Baltimore ! The location is right across the street from St. Benedict's Church on Wilkens Avenue. They have three dining rooms, 15 televisions throughout and a nice new Rooftop Deck. Try it...you'll love it...tell Butch that I sent you !

Wayne H,
I had forgotten about Spirits West. It sounds like they have expanded. Their food was always good, especially the soups! It's been my experience that if a restaurant does soups well, the rest of the menu will be good as well.

Went to Bullock's last night to get the broasted chicken as stated in your top 10 list, they didn't have it. They only had fried chicken. So we had steak, which was great, but really wanted the broasted chicken

Had lunch at Jennings Cafe yesterday and found it hit and miss. What attracted me were the fried chicken livers which were very good. The salad was a mix of romaine and iceberg that I would imagine came from a Sysco bag. Same for the dressings. Unfortunately the fries were not very good. Still kind of warm but certainly not fresh out of the fryer. The wine list was reasonably priced but all the selections were factory made. Certainly good enough to go with food but not anything that made you want to return just for the wine. Woodbridge from Robert Mondavi, Jacob's Creek, Beringer, etc. I drank iced tea. Maybe the waitresses of old were award winners but the one yesterday didn't clear the salad plate until the end of the meal. The table next to us went along time between drink refills but we didn't have that problem. Note that the sandwiches come with commercial made chips with fries being a $1.00 upgrade. Since it is close, very resaonably priced, and the livers were very good I will give another try.