Michael’s Cafe is still going strong after 30-plus years
A Timonium mainstay for more than 30 years, Michael’s Cafe was born before some of its booze-loving customers gulped their first sips of milk. To keep current, the restaurant recently reinvented itself, opening a new indoor lounge and outdoor patio, and bringing in Mark Davis, formerly of Ten Ten and The Highland Inn, as chef.
Judging by the crowds we saw on our visits this summer, Michael’s is far from the throes of a midlife crisis. The patio area is an attractive walled oasis that exudes a vacation vibe, while excluding most of the noise and visual clutter of York Road. (Only the glowing arches from a McDonald’s across the street disrupt the suspension of disbelief).
On warm evenings, almost everyone outside, including the super-attentive and friendly servers and bartenders, wears shades. A chalkboard details a variety of cocktails and crushes, which we found to be well mixed, properly proportioned, and incredibly refreshing. Even in the heat of happy hour, our bartender, Gill, peered through his aviators and made a coconut margarita and a Grapefruit Salty Dog- a concoction of Sloop Betty vodka from the Eastern Shore and fresh grapefruit juice- with care. Both were excellent, as was a Kentucky Buck, made with Bulleit bourbon, strawberries, lemon, bitters, ginger beer, and simple syrup, which we downed on a previous visit.
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