Shoo-Fly

I enjoyed breakfast here on a Saturday around 8 am. There were hardly any people in the place and that’s just the way I like it. I ended up getting the cheesy grits and they were fabulous. The hash browns resemble French toast sticks and are super tasty. My friend got the biscuits and gravy, they were also super delicious. Service was excellent as it was not busy at all. All around, a great experience.

I have been here a few times now: once just for drinks, the rest for dinner. I’m not sure why people are so harsh on it. Yes, it is not given as much attention as WK. No, it is not as cheap as a diner. Hello — look on the handy internet first to see what you are getting into.
I’ve never had anything bad here. Sometimes I wish there were more rotating sandwich options, but they seem to focus on rotating the side plates, which I understand because of produce. I love the potato wedges.
Staff is nothing but delightful. Bartenders are awesome. We love trying drinks from their «Bartender’s Choice» menu.
The layout of the place is a little… weird. The downstairs diner area is never crowded when I’m there. I don’t really «get» that since the menu is the same everywhere, perhaps down there could feature an expanded breakfast menu? The main level — the bar — is awesome. The upstairs keeps changing interior design… so I’m not really sure if we’re supposed to feel like we’re in a diner’s backroom? Someone’s house? Just a hipster’s living room?
I’d probably give Shoo-​fly a 3.5 but I am feeling generous, because I appreciate places like this.+ I looove the Belvedere area. If nothing else, stop here for cocktails before a movie at the senator!

Shoo-​fly Diner was a cozy dining experience — we went on a Tuesday night, which might be a bit quieter than is the norm, but we experienced excellent service and very good food. The disco fries were certainly worth a try, but they were very salty, so pace yourself! My husband had the meatloaf, which he thought was excellent; I had the ‘blue plate’ lasagna special, which was also very good. The booths were a little large, so there was some leaning to get over the table, and the open floor plan made it a little cool. Overall, we enjoyed our hearty meals and would certainly come back.

This place tries but doesn’t quite hit the mark.
I came here once and really liked their meatloaf even though it was a little overcooked, but when I came back for a second meal everything was not seasoned or cooked right.
For the appetizers, the corn fritters were soggy and not very flavorful (they weren’t crispy and creamy like I expected) and the disco fries were under seasoned so we had to put a good amount of salt on them which made it taste just right.
Our fried chicken was burnt (black skin) and dry, it should not have been served to us, and my meatloaf was also dry and needed more sauce. My friend’s spaghetti was a bit flavorless. It seems like they could do a better job checking the food before it gets served but I like the concept of the restaurant.

Breakfast/​brunch with my gal yesterday. A bit disappointed with the food this time around. I had the omelette/​scramble with ham and a very mild and largely bland cheese. It was merely okay, and nothing at all to write home about. She had the grits dish, which I felt was pretty boring. Still hopeful that in the future I’ll have another meal here as good as my first visit.

I just tried my first late night stop here. It was awesome. I had the meatball sub. One of the better ones I have had in baltimore. Their weird fries are very unique, sort of like steak fries but cut a little different. I wouldn’t have eaten them all had it night been for their homemade ketchup. All around awesome. The bartender was attentive and extremely polite. This was a 4.5 review but the round up is warranted. I have been here before and would have given this place a 3 most of the time. Tonight’s service, the menu item I picked and that ketchup make it a justified 5. Oh, and 20oz drafts? Cheers.
I just showed up the next day for a late lunch, early dinner and they aren’t open from 3 – 4. No offer to even sit at the bar and have a cocktail. The same bartender was there and said hello but a manager interrupted and let me know basically I am not welcome until 4. Why is the door open? Why are there people all over. I am leaving my review of 5 up from last night but I will most likely not return.

To be honest, the food that I’ve eaten here has been good but the groups that I’ve come with have left unhappy.
Ate brunch here twice and got the biscuits and gravy. They were like $ 9, tasted how biscuits and gravy should, and filled me up so I was happy. Our table got beignets (too greasy and sickly sweet) and disco fries (these were just okay… :/​not everything needs an egg on top and I didn’t like the fries)
Got a burger during «late night» that was surprisingly tasty and one of the better burgers that I’ve had in Baltimore. The burger came with western fries or wedges or whatever they were calling them but they were gross and dense. Tried a little bit of the grilled cheese that my friends were eating and thought that the sandwich was really greasy. It tasted good, but it was kind of gross too

I stopped back in for breakfast over the weekend to get that marvelous chicken biscuit again. They have changed their menu a bit, and this time it included a section of some tasty adult breakfast beverages! I ordered the Bloody Mary, and it was delicious, although a bit small for the $ 9 price tag compared to others around town. The flavor was outstanding; it was not super strong, but was tangy and full of flavor and bits of horseradish. My mouth is watering thinking about it…
They also changed their chicken biscuit breakfast sandwich. It now includes a scrambled egg, and the chicken breast is now tossed in the honey/​hot sauce as opposed to being drizzled with it. The price also went up to $ 14 from $ 13. The sandwich was still very good, but I prefer the other preparation as doing it this way caused the crispy crust to become mushy. You can’t beat the flavors though, yum! I can also do without the egg, but whatever. It was tasty, I just ate it by itself as opposed to on the sandwich. The jam was different this time around, an apricot instead of a berry (and still no extra charge for my requesting a side of it). The cubed potatoes were different too, a bit of a rosemary flavor and more of a hash to it then separate cubes. I liked these much better.
I really enjoy grabbing a quick breakfast here before heading off to do my AM shopping at Trader Joe’s and The Fresh Market. It is convenient and delicious (but I hope they go back to the original chicken preparation)!

«Do you like comfort food?» asked M as we headed out to dinner. My affirmative answer brought us to Shoo-​fly. On the drive to the restaurant, M told me about the owner who also brought Woodberry Kitchen and Parts and Labor restaurants to Baltimore.
We climbed the interior stairs to the second landing to enjoy our meal. The atmosphere was cozy and the staff welcoming. I explained to my friendly waitress that it was my 1^st time and she cheerfully walked me through the menu, highlighting customer favorites. I really couldn’t go wrong with any of the options but as I was pressed for time and needed to catch the Marc train back to DC, I asked for the quicker options.
I ordered the Chili Mac with «Hawk’s Hill cheddar with an amber ale to wash it down and was perfectly happy with my order. The macaroni and cheese was creamy and smooth and the chili was delightfully spicy. The amber ale was a terrific accompaniment to the entrée.
M ordered the Shoo-​fly sausage with smashed Yukon potatoes, and charred scallion mustard cream. I had a taste and can testify that the dish was delicious.

I don’t know how to start other than this was a great meal. The deviled eggs were good, the disco fries were amazing, but my grilled cheese could have done better without pickles. The western fries were not good, thankfully my friend liked them.
Between the three of us we got three pies and an alcoholic milkshake. The shake was good. Maybe not $ 12 good, but good. The milk pie was ok, the apple cake thing was ok… but the shoo-​fly pie is a show stealer. It was good. Honestly. Go there and eat it right now.
The bartender Eric was also really great, as was everyone else we came in contact with. I’ll def be back!

I waited a little over a week to write this review because I’ve been trying to figure out how to construct it.
After reviewing the menu on line shortly after they opened, I’d chalked it up as a place that I’d probably never go to. In fact I have to say that I still find the menu to be uninspiring. Honestly I only went because I was attending a business dinner and this is the place that the site selector decided on.
HOWEVER, after eating there I have to say that the food (the things that I tried at least) were absolutely delicious. There was/​is some cognitive dissonance going on w/​me where Shoo-​Fly is concerned. So, from the top I’ll describe my entire experience:
Arrival: It was a dark rainy Wed. night so as I ran across the patio area with my umbrella up and balancing my files and phone in my other hands, the hostess saw me coming and opened and held the door open for me. That was such a small but nice and greatly appreciated gesture. It gave me the chance to put down my umbrella without fighting with the door or getting my files wet. Nice move. Noticing that I had files in my hand she immediately asked if I was with X group (I was) and took me right to our table. That sort of attention (both opening the door and noticing my files) was nice. She’s a great hostess to be able to anticipate my needs w/​o me even mentioning a thing.
Venue: I liked and disliked the inside. It was nice the way it is split amongst several levels b/​c it meant that the ceiling wasn’t too high so you could hear the conversation going on at your table w/​o much difficulty. I’m not personally a fan of the country, almost kitschy, décor. Also, it was a bit much walking down the many, many flights of stairs to get to the bathroom, but I guess they did the best with the actual floorplan of the space.
The waiter was patient with my group and kept our wine glasses filled as we conducted our business before moving on to dinner.
Everyone (except me) ordered salads before our entrees. The side salads are HUGE! They were very yummy too — someone shared with me :) I, in consultation with one of the other people in my party, ordered the catfish (she ordered the fried chicken) and we split them. I was a bit reluctant to order the blackened catfish b/​c I’m not a fan of that flavor or catfish in general, but I have to say that was one of the best tasting meals I’ve ever had. The collard greens were superb and whatever that gravy was that was on the grits just sent it over the moon. The blackened seasoning was unlike any I’ve ever had and I would definitely order this dish again. The fried chicken is fried in oil w/​some rendered bacon fat. I was doubtful that this would make much difference in the flavor, but boy was I wrong. Delish. I didn’t try the cornbread that came with the chicken, but it looked dry.
I still think the menu is kinda boring and I probably will only return if someone else suggests it, but the food was well prepared and very delicious.
Well, let me modify that last statement. I think I may return to sit at the bar. As I was leaving I noticed several dropper bottles on the bar. That fascinated me and makes me think that the drinks are probably unique and special. I will try that one day.

I just can’t support shoo-​fly any longer. The execution of every phase of this restaurant is flawed (food, menu, service, décor, prices). Every time I go I feel like I just got ripped off. $ 11 pancakes and a $ 16 BLT with an egg on it… I mean come on.
I live right around the corner and would probably frequent this spot 3 – 4 times a week if it was good. This should be a great neighborhood spot with neighborhood prices. Shame on me for coming back.
Spike, just bring the very best basic menu items from some of your other restaurants here (flatbreads and Benedicts from Woodberry, breakfast sandwiches from Artifact etc). The menu as it stands is wacky and it’s ridiculously expensive for what you get.
The value proposition right across the street in the market just blows shoo-​fly away. Better food for almost half the price.

Since Shoo Fly Diner opened, I’ve been excited to try it. It’s located just south of Towson in Belvedere Square. Shoo Fly Diner is one of the restaurants owned by Spike and Amy Gjerde. The other restaurants they own are Woodberry Kitchen, Artifact Coffee and Parts & Labor. On a recent Saturday morning, my friend and I were headed towards Towson and decided to stop in to Shoo Fly Diner for Brunch.
Upon looking over the menu, my friend and I decided to share a few things. She’s a sucker for grilled cheese so we decided to share theirs. It was good, but there was nothing particular special about it (unlike the grilled cheese at Artifact which has bread and butter pickles in it.)
We also decided to share their famous Disco Fries. This was a massive bowl of fries for $ 9, it’s the perfect size to share for four people. The fries were topped with cheese curd, pepper gravy, and a dippy egg. I ate way more than I should have of these wonderful fries and I have no regrets.
My friend and I also decided to share the Jam Pot & Biscuit. The biscuit was served warm and delicious and the jam was great when i spread it on the biscuit. It tasted like a berry medley.
Did we love everything we ordered? You bet! Is Shoo Fly Diner another success from Baltimore’s culinary dream team Spike and Amy Gjerde? Yes! Their menu is a little on the eclectic side and definitely pricier than traditional diner food but we truly loved everything we ordered and it’s a fun spot in Belvedere Square.

I wish I could give 2.5 stars…
Obviously you can look online at the menu before you go which I should have done. I am gluten free (which wasn’t the reason for the low star rating here), but what I really wanted was a salad with something on it. The waitress suggested I could add cheese to a salad. I was really looking for chicken, steak, shrimp, etc– some substantial sort of protein– no dice. I opted for the pan seared catfish and it was a bit bland. I haven’t had catfish before, so I can’t comment on whether the texture was abnormally tough (because it was a bit tough). Although i did ask to swap vegetables for the grits and after «talking to the chef,» the kitchen agreed to make the change.
Spaghetti Bolognese: I didn’t try it, but one of the people I was with questioned how well the noodles were cooked, but said the flavoring was nice. It looked a little watery to be honest, but apparently the garlic bread was great.
Powerhouse sandwich was apparently good, but it seems like vegetables on bread would be pretty difficult to mess up.
The chicken and dumpling soup was bland, and was barely touched. Based on the other two people’s comments at the table, I would highly recommend AGAINST ordering this dish.
Nectarine crumble/​pie: apparently it was VERY buttery so how can that not be delicious?!
I won’t be going back, but in hindsight i wish I had tried the spicy cheese dip, sub toast points for chips.
Oh well. there are plenty of other places to try in Baltimore.
At least TCBY is a few doors down!

I would say the average 3.5 stars is right about where I would put Shoo-​Fly.
What I loved:
The décor– very cool and rustic modern. We sat upfront but I would have like to take a look at the top and down below too.
The service: Our waitress and the others who brought out the dishes and coffee were fantastic and helpful. While I was eating my meal I had a question about it and while she wasn’t sure, she ran back to the kitchen and found out for me! Also, when I ordered a cup of coffee, they brought out the french press and prepared it right at the table. How cool is that?
The dumplings in my chicken and dumplings. Those were sooo good.
What I didn’t quite love: the rest of the chicken and dumplings. It was just very bland, and more of a broth based meal (which they made sure I knew upon ordering). The vegetables in the broth, while plentiful, were in giant chunks too big to eat in one bite so I had to awkwardly cut the up in the broth. I get the whole rustic meal thing where you can see all the ingredients but it was a pain.
The menu: It seemed pretty limited to me. I don’t know why I thought it would have more stuff on it. Of course, that’s partly my fault because I’m not big into breakfast food and that’s half the menu.
I would be up for trying it again and the fact that it’s open til 2 am is intriguing!

Portions are indeed quite large.
The Powerhouse, while unlike any other Powerhouse I have ever eaten (and I’m a vegetarian) was awesome. It’s the closest thing to a veggie Reuben I’ve seen. The bread was worth it alone: dark rye, buttered and dense. I have a stuffed nose right now and I was still happy. I ate most of it and I was sad I couldn’t eat it all. That also meant I didn’t try the Paw Paw ice cream and man I wanted to.
The rhubarb-​ade, while yummy, was not the sort of special to write home about, particularly in its tiny 8 oz juice glass with big cubes of ice. Five dollars for that? If it had booze in it? Sure.
The service was good but spare. It took a long time to get someone to come give us menus even and there were both a ton of staff walking around and not a lot of people eating. Not to mention many of the staff moving back and forth (we were right in front of the kitchen) ignored us, even before menus or water. I don’t care how cute you look in your chambray, hon, you’re working for my tip.
Probably good as a date night. I would definitely check out Happy Hour. It was more expensive than diner food is if it’s actually short order diner food, but you weren’t really expecting that from this place, were you?

The décor falls in line with his other rustic style places — unique and farmhouse style — which is great for the Belvedere Square area, as there is nothing like it on the York Road corridor. There is something for everyone here. The first floor has country-​style wooden booth and a large front bar with plenty of seats for all who are interested in a few of their boozy milkshakes, slushies or any of their fancy cocktails. Upstairs has a tables, creating a pastoral dinning room feel.
We followed the DINER sign made of mason jars and headed down the stairs for counter service. I really enjoyed the luncheonette style area, which is just steps away from a children’s play room to keep all the small ones entertained while they wait for their dinner.
The menus double as placemats, just like all of my favorite diners from when I was a kid, including a «blue plate special». I must say, it was a little hard to follow; it’s separated into sections, but there are not a lot of descriptive words to describe dishes like «Arkansas Truffles» and «Kentucky Hot John». But, our waiter must be used to it because he asked if we had any questions and quickly explained that the truffles were fried pickles and the hot John is a vegetarian version of the open-​faced Kentucky Hot Brown.
I haven’t met a fried pickle I haven’t loved — so we started with the Arkansas Truffles. Thin butter pickles fried crispy, and served with the house hot sauce («Snake Oil») ranch dip. It was a great start along with the house made chips with scour cream and sweet roasted onion and garlic dip. Both were good, not necessarily worth going back for, but we finished them nonetheless.
Now, let me tell you about the good part. They have an extensive wine and cocktail list, especially for a diner. It felt a little strange to be sitting on a shiny spinning stool drinking my glass of Pinot Noir, but it didn’t stop me from ordering a second glass.
We both ordered from the large plate section of the menu. It was a very cold rainy, almost snowy «spring» day, so I went for the Spaghetti Bolognese. The pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente and the sauce was gorgeously meaty and just the right about of herbs and spice. The large chunks of garlic bread were crispy and buttery, just like it should be. And for reals, take nice long look at all of that thinly shaved parmesan cheese — are you kidding me? My friend thoroughly enjoyed the Chicken and Dumplings. This is not your classic creamy chicken and dumplings, so if you are looking for creamy soup with floating biscuits, skip it and order something else — like the rib or breakfast all day. We asked about it beforehand and were pleasantly surprise. The broth tasted like the chicken had been simmering for hours (which was confirmed by the chef — roasted first and then simmered in the broth overnight). There were creamy ricotta gnocchi mixed with tons of chicken, potatoes, mushrooms and seasonal veggies. It was aromatic with thyme and bursting with flavor.
So… now, on to dessert. My friend, loves molasses, so she couldn’t pass up the Shoofly Pie. As I said earlier — this was not for me so, I didn’t even taste it. She said it was good, subtle and sweet; made in-​house in true Pennsylvania Dutch fashion by Spike’s wife and baker Amy Gjerde. Although, she could not keep her spoon out of my Paw Paw Brownie Split. Paw Paw, according to our adorable waiter, is a local MD fruit that grows on a tree, kinda like a cacao fruit. The fruit is green with orange, creamy custardy flesh that has a sweet banana style taste. They churn the ice cream in-​house made directly from Paw Paw fruit. Do you see this lip-​smaking goodness? A ooey gooey brownie on top of a house made sour cherry jam, and then smothered in whipped cream, hot fudge and of course — two scoops of Paw Paw ice cream.
It was reasonably priced, but not quite diner prices — two appetizers, two entrees, two deserts and four glasses of wine for just over $ 100.

Went in expecting a let down after reading mixed reviews, but other than a few minor complaints, we were totally satisfied with the experience.
Good:
The food was excellent. The disco fries were crazy good. If you’re stuck between breakfast and lunch, these hit the spot. The cheese curd and pepper gravy combined into this cheesy-​curdy-​peppery sauce. Obviously.
We had the oyster po’ boy and the burger — both were great, put together well and with great rolls.
The chocolate chiffon pie was really, really good and they serve the same amazing sweet cream ice cream as they do at WK.
Finally, the playroom downstairs is a nice option for parents while waiting on food. It even includes a claw game with prices ranging from a free cup of coffee to a jar of espellette pepper.
The Meh:
I kind of felt like we needed to ask our server for a few too many things. And plates sat for a little too long. But she was so nice it made up for it.
$ 90 for lunch (after tip) at a diner, for 2 adults and 2 young children is a bit steep. ($ 5 for a cup of apple sauce?)
The Bad:
Happy to say there was nothing bad to report. I will totally go back, but will avoid some of the unnecessary expenditures like root beer and apple sauce.

We dined at Shoofly for our monthly «sisters night out» — we ordered a little bit of everything, and were very happy with most of our choices. The stars of the show were the beets, the Caputo Brothers Salad, the Meatloaf, cornbread, & deviled eggs. We weren’t a fan of the chicken & dumplings (bland) and the pork tasting was not for us — didn’t care for the Chicharron (pork rind), and the pork chop was not cooked thoroughly.
Service was stellar, and the overall vibe of the place was energetic and fun! Overall, a really good dinner & we would definitely return to try some of the other offerings!

It is virtually impossible to go into your dining experience here and not have certain expectations, especially if you’ve dined at Woodbury Kitchen. While concessions can and should always be made for an establishment that just opened and may need to get in the groove of things, the aspects where Shoo-​Fly fell short for me can’t really be chalked up to inexperience.
First, aesthetically, the space is nice — dark hardwood, whitewashed brick, exposed stone. The chicken coop-​esque décor off to the side of the bar struck me as a bit odd but overall it was not so much of a diner but rather a farmhouse, Americana feel. The latter concept continued on to the servers outfits, the physical menus, table settings and so on, which made the background music (think Musak) seem quite out of place. As for the food and drink, I appreciate the playfulness of the menu in terms of names and pairings, but it makes for a quite a lengthy back and forth with the server trying to get a complete understanding of what the dishes are.
We settled on the following food items:
Arkansas Truffles — These fried pickle slices came out almost instantaneously. I appreciate that the coating stayed on and were well seasoned but the very first one I bit into was much harder than I anticipated. The dish came with the fish pepper ranch, which had such a subtle flavor, that I found myself dousing the pickles with the Snake Oil hot sauce. Beware — the sauce is tasty but was tough to get out of the pretty little packaging and splattered everywhere.
Beau’s Pork Cheesesteak — Nicely toasted bun, gooey cheese and flavorful pork. Probably one of the best items we had during our meal. It would have been nice had the menu mentioned that there were mushrooms in the sandwich as it caught my mushroom hating husband off guard when he bit in.
Hillbilly Surfboard — I wanted to love this dish more than I did. I found my waffles to be bland, short for the bites that had a bit of pecan in it, and even smearing it with the apple butter didn’t help. They also came out lukewarm, if that, because the blobs of butter on top failed to melt… the entire time it took me to eat the dish. The best part were the (poached?) Asian pear sections, but the flavor was seemingly less than if it were served raw.
Jam Pot and Biscuit — Such a disappointment. I wanted to badly to have a life altering experience, similar to one when I first enjoyed the biscuit and peach preserves from Hash House A Go-​Go. Instead, I received a black bottomed (read: burnt), crispy biscuit was a slightly floral, soapy flavor thanks to the overlooked rosemary and an unknown jam. I thought it was some sort of berry, the waitress thought it was grape and to this day, I still don’t know what it was. Again, another instance where clarification on the menu itself would have helped.
3 Scoops of Ice Cream — We asked if there was a way to order just a single scoop but were told that apparently «that option was on yesterday’s menu but not on tonight’s». Hmm. We selected one scoop of sweet cream and two of the brown sugar peach sorbet. The sorbet was very sweet as the brown sugar was the predominant flavor. The peach was really only found in the back end (and isn’t October a little late for peaches?) I didn’t find it as balanced as I would have hoped. The sweet cream, however, was delicious — smooth, creamy and subtle.
Mast Brothers Chocolate Pudding — This is a must. Rich chocolate pudding topped with airy whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Enough said.
I’m certainly glad I came here and can’t imagine we won’t be back again, perhaps when the menu changes with the seasons. However, given the choice, I would opt for Woodberry over Shoo-​Fly in a heartbeat.