Baltimore's Swallow At The Hollow Featured In 'Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives'

BALTIMORE (WJZ) --- The cable TV show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" has featured 14 restaurants in Maryland. As Mike Schuh reports, when its host opened his own place at the casino downtown, he visited a few spots, including a landmark in North Baltimore.

On York Road in Govans, Swallow at the Hollow is a place to remember. It is a bar, of course, but families go there too. The restaurant has developed a reputation.

"You have cole slaw from scratch, French fries from scratch, the crab cake from scratch, burger from scratch," said Aaron Reinhart, Swallow at the Hollow owner.

Reinhart banished frozen food when he bought Swallow at the Hollow three years ago.

"If I do frozen [food] off the truck, you can do frozen off the truck and anyone at home can do frozen off the truck," Reinhart said. "So you separate yourself for a better product and something you can't get at home."

Reinhart's made-from-scratch recipes caught the eye of Guy Fieri, TV personality of Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."

"Congratulations, welcome to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives family, and that's when it was... that's when it hit," Reinhart said.

Reinhart served Fieri wings spiced with homegrown peppers.

"I'm just trying to make it good. If I make a sauce for a wing and it tastes good, I want to sell it because I'm happy and I'm proud of it and I want other people to enjoy it, and that's the reason I did this in the first place," Reinhart said.

Reinhart gave Fieri a personalized bowling shirt featuring Swallow at the Hollow's logo, but with Guy's hair.

Reinhart is investing in merchandise and people. He hopes fans who travel to eat will take their picture with the Fieri Swallow at the Hollow logo.

"I'm terribly nervous," Reinhart said. "The place is 700 sq. ft. of retail."

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