Plaza Garibaldi Mexican Restaurant

7917 Ritchie Highway
Glen Burnie, MD
Phone: 410-761-2447
Hours: Mon-Thur (11am - 2:30pm; 5pm - 10pm); Friday (11am - 2:30pm; 5pm - 11pm); Saturday (noon - 11pm); Sunday (noon - 9pm)
Eat-in or Take-out

Personal Review {25-February-2004}:
I made a 2nd trip to Plaza Garibaldi last week to get my fix of what I characterized as among the best Mexican Food I've had in Maryland. While the meal was still good, however, what I had on this trip didn't measure up to the same standards. The main culprit was the type of dinner selected. The typical Mexican restaurant tends to server combination plates with all the food piled on the plate running together in a soup mess. The Garibaldi Dinner was approaching that mess. The dinner consisted of a large selection of items including a Taco, Enchilada, Burrito, Tostada Chili Relleno and rice and beans. The Burrito was made with ground beef, not shredded, and was, therefore, not as good. The mess on the plate was soupy enough that the Taco and Tostada got wet and limb or fell apart. The Chili Relleno was made with the stem and seeds in... often a turn-off to many people. The tomato on the Tostada was horrible, still containing the hard brown/greed core (why do people serve tomatoes without cleaning them up better?). I ended the meal with an order of the Churros. I was anxiously awaiting the opportunity to order these delicious items having had many in California. Well, while tasty, they weren't quite there. In California, the churros are served with the sugar on them, but not with the honey. That was ok, but the churros were not done...they were not crispy, but rather doughy.

Plaza Garibaldi is still what I would consider one of the best around. However, I would tend to stay away from the combinations and go for the specialty items (like the burrito mentioned below) for the best fare and the most pleasant experience. Get there early or be prepared for a wait. The place was packed at 6:30 on Friday night. They move fast though and the wait was only about 20 minutes.

Personal Review {12-February-2004}:
Why did I wait so long to try Plaza Garibaldi? I've seen it a number of times, but never stopped in. I visited Plaza Garibaldi a week ago and was very pleasantly surprised. One doesn't necessarily think of a great Mexican restaurant showing up in the Baltimore neighborhood. But here it is.

The food was excellent, about the closest to the 'real' thing I've found since leaving Southern California (just a few miles from the Mexican border) where we often got home-made Mexican food from the locals. Although I didn't try a combination dinner, the choices I did select did not include the typical all-run-together mess one finds in most chain Mexican restaurants. The evening started with a bowl of chips and flask of good flavorful salsa (not real hot, but good enough). I ordered the California Burrito, a large burrito filled with ribeye, rice, beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole. Nothing else on the plate to distract or mess up the works. At first look, you might not think it's enough. Never fear. It was very good too. I also ordered one of the Plaza Garibaldi Tamales. Again, this was about as close to the California home-made (on the open hearth fire) quality I've been able to get in Maryland. Not exactly the same, but still very good.

Not taking this as a hint that I'd already eaten enough, I also ordered the Sopapillas for dessert. Ok. Heaven! These Sopapillas were definitely the same as "home." One finds a wide variation in the style and quality of Sopapillas (little puff pastry pillows served hot and covered with honey and, sometimes, powdered sugar). But these were the real thing! Wonderful. I saw Churros on the menu too and wanted to try them as well since it has been ages since I've found a good Churro. But, just couldn't do it.

The service at Plaza Garibaldi was very good as well. The host takes your order, but the orders are brought out to the table by wait staff in the kitchen. They expertly carry as many as 5 or 6 hot plates on their extended arms (covered with protective mittens) plus at least one or two more in the other hand. Never lost a plate. Once a table is finished and the diners leave, two buss-boys pounce on the table and have it cleaned up and ready within a minute or two at the most.

Prices were very reasonable. Dinner for my outing with burrito, tamale, sopapillas and Dos Equis beer came to about $14. A great deal. The quarters are a little tight for handicapped or large groups. The restaurant is relatively small. When I left, the waiting area was full, including both patrons planning to eat-in and those waiting for take-out orders. Not hurting for business here, even with no smoking!

If you're in the mood for a good Mexcian-style meal, Plaza Garibaldi is the place to go. [NOTE also that the husband of the owner/manager of Plaza Garibaldi has opened another Mexican Restaurant, El Toro Bravo, in Annapolis. If it's anywhere as good as Plaza Garibaldi, you should give it a try].