Frazier’s on the Avenue
Aug 28th, 2009 | By Caryn Coyle | Category: Baltimore Bites
Frazier’s on the Avenue, located in the heart of Hampden at 919 West 36th Street, was once one of Baltimore’s best kept secrets. It operated in the basement of a house at 33rd Street and Elm.
Those of us of a certain age remember the old “speak easy” type Frazier’s, named for Bud Frazier, the original owner.
 NORMAN GREENSPUN |
“This place is like a child to me,” says Norman Greenspun, who has owned Frazier’s since 1988. Baltimore born and bred, Norman has filled Frazier’s with Baltimore memorabilia and beer labels in neon lights.
In fact, Frazier’s has a standing offer of $2 cans of Natty Boh, all day every day. Never mind that National Bohemian Beer is no longer brewed here, its slogan is still “From the Land of Pleasant Living.”
Of course, crab is on the menu. We hadn’t seen crab cakes with crackers and chips for five dollars since – well — we can’t remember when.
Our waitress, Kim, told us that Frazier’s cream of crab soup received an honorable mention as one of the best in Maryland from Elizabeth Large, food critic for The Baltimore Sun. So, I had a cup. It was creamy with a slight taste of Old Bay. The crabmeat was back fin, not claw which can make it stringy. Not too thick, and definitely not too thin; delicious.
Frazier’s has a large selection of $5 lunch specials. The dishes are served without a lot of over-dressing, over-saucing, or over-spicing. Along with the crab cake, there is a baby spinach salad, Greek salad, jerk chicken wrap with lettuce, tomato, cheddar and ranch dressing, cheese steak sub, chicken cheese steak wrap or sub, fried flounder sandwich and steak or chicken quesadilla.
My companion had the fried flounder sandwich. The fish was light, breaded and according to my companion, it didn’t seem “fried” at all. He found the lettuce and tomato perfectly complimented the flaky white fish. The sandwich was served with cole slaw, which I sampled. Superb. The cabbage and carrots were crisp and snapped between my teeth.
He thought that “unlike the unrecognizable, homogenous mush so many places serve, Frazier’s cole slaw was fresh, in a light, tasty, almost undetectable dressing. The flavor shouted “homemade,” and wasn’t mayonnaisy or too salty.”
I had the chicken steak sub. The crust of the fresh sub roll flaked when I bit into it. The meat was tender, flavorful, served with melted provolone cheese and I relished their savory blended taste.
Norman credits his wife, Barbara with his launch into the restaurant business. They both graduated from Forest Park High School and were married to their first spouses when they ran into each other at their thirtieth high school reunion. “I asked her, are you happy?” Norman said. “She said no. I told her, me neither.”
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Barbara persuaded Norman to buy Frazier’s which was then owned by a friend Norman called “Miss Shirley.” He added, “Bud Frazier heard about our interest in the place and came out to see me. I used to be in the vending machine business and I had a big warehouse directly across the street [from where Frazier’s now stands].”
“Barbara wanted me out of the vending business so I bought Frazier’s from Miss Shirley on New Year’s Day 1988,” Norman said. “The customer base at the 33rd and Elm Street location was getting older, so I started looking for a new place for Frazier’s.”
Norman told us that the current Frazier’s on the Avenue is located where a place called The Eat Shop had been. The owner of The Eat Shop had two sons.
“My wife, Barbara, was a teacher at Boy’s Latin, the same school where The Eat Shop’s owner sent his two sons,” he explained. “When their father died, I approached them and they recognized Barbara! They sold me The Eat Shop and I brought Frazier’s here to the Avenue.”
Norm added, “We closed the 33rd and Elm Street Frazier’s with a big New Year’s Eve party in 1992 and we now have more customers on the Avenue than we ever had!”
View Frazier’s On the Avenue in a larger map
CARYN COYLE IS AN ADOPTED BALTIMOREAN. ASIDE FROM ANYTHING CHOCOLATE, HER FAVORITE FOODS ARE CHESAPEAKE BAY CRAB, SILVER QUEEN CORN, AND MARYLAND TOMATOES. SHE CAN BE EMAILED HERE.
PHOTOS BY CARYN COYLE
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This is the worst bar in Baltimore. I hope everyday that it will go out of business. I will not get into the specifics. All I can say is avoid the place. Go somewhere else and spend your hard earned money. There are so many other bars in Baltimore.
Thanks for your honesty, Karl. I obviously disagree and have had MANY wonderful evenings at Frazier’s. In fact, there is a wonderful fiction program that takes place just down the street at Minas one Saturday each month, and we all gather at Frazier’s afterwards and have a wonderful time. The AWP (American Writers Programs) held a fundraisr there last March that was absolutely fabulous.
[...] to the press opening (!) of the new B&O American Brasserie. Second, Welcome to Baltimore, Hon runs down one of our old faves, Frazier’s on the Avenue. And then, Dining@Large wants your recommendations for late night [...]
Frazier’s has to be the WORST place in the state of MD. I would not even consider sending my worst enemy to that shithole.
For your own safety, stay away from there.
I visit my home town and enjoy going to Fraziers. I often wondered who bought it but never knew. The beer is cold, the place is nice, the food is good but could use some “seasoning” and some new things on the menu, other than that, the staff is friendly. I do miss the old area, and much has changed about the “Avenue” ofcourse but I like what many proprietors have done for Hampden and its nice. I will keep going to Fraziers, its part of many childhood memories and so was Bud Frazier, his family-he was our family friend. Good for you Mr. Greenspun.