THE BASICS
Don’t Miss: The “fabulous French toast,” the delicious homemade pumpkin muffins (available to go in packs of four) and the Garry’s spiced iced or hot tea.
Ambiance: Casual and fun neighborhood restaurant.
Bar/Entertainment: A full selection of liquor and wine offering simple drinks.
Service: Happy and pleasant. Servers often remember you by your second visit.
Location: Right off of the B&A Blvd. just past the Park Plaza entrance on McKinsey Road in Severna Park.
Price Range: Breakfast, $4-$16; Lunch, $8-$16; and Dinner, $11-$20.
Cuisine: Casual American with hints of Caribbean, Asian, and Californian influences.
Hours: M–F: breakfast, 7 a.m.–11 a.m.; lunch 11a.m.–4 p.m.; and dinner, 4 p.m.–9 p.m. Sat: breakfast, 7 a.m.–12 p.m.; lunch, 12 p.m.–4 p.m.; and dinner, 4 p.m.–9 p.m. Sun:: breakfast, 7 a.m.–1 p.m.; lunch, 1 p.m.–4 p.m.; and dinner, 4 p.m.–8 p.m.
Best Time to Go: Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday try the 2 for $28 dinner special. Sunday mornings after church is the busiest.
Parking: Large parking lot directly in front of the restaurant.
Outdoor Seating: No.
Child Friendly: Kids’ menus available for each meal with lots of options.
Handicap Accessible: On ground level, however, wheelchairs will have a tough time navigating through tight seating.
Garry’s Grill has been a local favorite for 18 years. There are many places to get an inexpensive satisfying meal around town, but Garry’s Grill in Severna Park offers the opportunity to feed your stomach and your soul at the same time. Eddie Conway, 24 years old and a Garry’s employee for 10 years, purchased the restaurant almost a year ago and says his focus has been on maintaining the atmosphere that locals know and love while also broadening the menu a bit.
The small space remains pretty much the same with the eat-at counter overlooking the open kitchen, tables and booths spread throughout, and the black and white pictures of a pre-modern Severna Park.
The restaurant continues to offer a feeling a community where you’ll run into at least one person you know while dining. While having breakfast, I ran into three people I knew.
The menus at Garry’s Grill have expanded and are ambitious for the tiny open kitchen. Wholesome homemade items echo throughout all the menus but in my opinion are best experienced through breakfast. Sweet offerings like the new banana Foster French toast feature a remarkable loaf of fresh baked cinnamon swirl bread, but unfortunately, the too sweet Foster sauce created a soggy meal with the texture of undercooked bread pudding. The “fabulous French toast”, on the other hand, highlighted the glory of the home baked bread—and for three dollars less! Four thick pieces of home baked cinnamon swirl bread dipped in a rich vanilla-cinnamon batter and grilled up crisp, then topped with a properly caramelized banana and a healthy dusting of powered sugar.
The well-rounded menu also offers over eight different omelets to choose from and, of course, the ability for you to create your own. Moderate pricing and huge portions make these some of the most economical choices on the breakfast menu. The Greek goddess omelet was executed well: spinach, artichokes, feta, and parmesan cheeses are blended into three eggs, before being topped by diced tomato, kalamata olives, and a pleasant dollop of sour cream. Each omelet is accompanied by a helping of home fries that are missing the golden crust that makes a breakfast potato a thing of beauty. The savory seasoning on the potatoes almost makes up for their soggy texture…almost.
No place can consider itself a breakfast Mecca without serving proper eggs Benedict, and Garry’s offers up six options for you to choose from. The prices on the benedicts range from $10 to $15 depending on whether you prefer an original with Canadian bacon or perhaps are feeling a bit decadent and wanted to check out the lobster option. I sampled the new trio Benedict, a monster plate of food best reserved for hearty eaters, which includes a Canadian bacon, American bacon, and a maple sausage Benedict. The kitchen properly poached one of the three eggs on my plate and while I was assured the hollandaise sauce was homemade, it was slightly broken, greasy, and tasted more of packaged chicken gravy. The meal was filling and tasted okay, but for $13, I expected more.
All in all, it was a pleasant breakfast. Resoundingly, everyone in my party wanted to come back again if for no other reason than just to see Conway succeed. Garry’s is a neighborhood stop that embodies the spirit and dreams of our nation. If that isn’t a reason to tolerate a few flaws, than I don’t know what is.
Garry’s Grill, 553 A B&A Blvd., Severna Park. 410.544.0499.
Jeffry Ruhlman is a Culinary Institute of America high-honor graduate and a certified wine specialist. He has over 11 years of experience working in the kitchens and dining rooms of various restaurants in the area. Ruhlman lives in Anne Arundel County with his wife.
