Zagat Restaurant Guide To Introduce New Edition This Week
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- It's the most famous of all the restaurant guides, and its new edition is out this week. If you enjoy a dinner out in Baltimore, D.C. or the Eastern Shore, you'll want a copy.
Ron Matz has the "skinny" on what people are saying about more than 200 local restaurants.
You'll find 119 new restaurants listed in the latest Zagat Guide.
Baltimore has become a dining destination.
"People from Washington come to Baltimore for crabs, or go to Greektown or go to a deli," said Marty Katz, Maryland editor of the Zagat Survey. "We've freshened everything up. We have reports on restaurants all the way from Frederick to the Eastern Shore, concentrating on Baltimore. But we also have a Washington section, too."
Joe Stowe is co-owner of the legendary Suburban House. The Pikesville deli is known for its warmth, great food and famous mouth-watering desserts. They even have curbside service. And now a Zagat listing.
"Being in Zagat gives us great exposure," Stowe said. "People look at the guide to find places in Baltimore to come to eat. So it's a place we want to be. It's fabulous!"
"The Suburban House is an incredibly important social place," Katz explained. "It's near the Beltway and it has easy parking. It serves an emotional, nostalgic need for a lot of people. In addition, the food is good."
More than 200 Baltimore-area restaurants are reviewed in the new Zagat Guide, but there's a whole lot more info on D.C. and the Eastern Shore, too. And you write the reviews.
"Next January, we'll do a large survey," Katz said. "People will be able to rate places on food and quality and write comments. We'll take those comments and put them into a paragraph describing the place. So it's the voice of an actual user, not just an individual reviewer."
Two years ago, the old Suburban House was destroyed by fire. The new place opened a year ago.
"We have been able to do things here that we could not do at the other location. There's 400 parking spaces out front. We have great handicap accessibility when you come in to the restaurant. And we're right next to the Beltway, so we're attracting from all different areas," said Stowe.
Business is booming.
"After we burnt down the outpouring of people was unbelievable," Stowe said. "I want to thank everybody for their continuous support. Without the people in the community, we would not be here today."
For more information on the new Zagat Restaurant Guide, click here.
