Although 94% of the ref’s calls are incorrect, hostilely confronting him at his son's birthday party is illegal. Give sportpinions their proper venue with today's Groupon: for $14, you get $30 worth of traditional bar fare and drinks at The Diamondback Tavern, located in Ellicott City.
The Diamondback Tavern and its head chef Tom Williams use traditional bar foods as well as game-changing edibles culled from local meats, fish, produce, and pastries to complete their Maryland menu, which earned the eatery several accolades in 2010. For appetizers, diners can flap for a tender, full-pound order of Diamondback wings ($9.50). Heartier food heapings include signature dishes such as the pub classic shepherd's pie ($14.75) and the rockfish taco ($8.25), battered in beer and stuffed in a pita for a dish reminiscent of the first week of culinary college.
A modern, minimalist dining room lets the food speak loudly with an unclassifiable accent. The Diamondback Tavern also offers Sunday brunch, where bartenders pour $2 bloody marys and mimosas, and cooks dish out hybrid meal favorites such as poached eggs over risotto ($12), sporks, and eggs benedict with rich Black Forest ham ($9).
Diamondback Tavern
Built by a group of friends interested in camaraderie, cold drinks, and good food, Diamondback Tavern aims to put a contemporary spin on a traditional Maryland tavern, and its pub menu has earned accolades from the Baltimore Sun and Howard Magazine. Wrangling local meats, seafood, produce, and bread, the staff builds fresh sandwiches filled with garlic-braised pulled pork and caramelized bananas, crab-cake platters loaded with two 5-ounce jumbo lump crab cakes, and veggie risotto topped with grilled portobello.
Behind the bar, chilled local and domestic brews and sangria blended from a family recipe cleanse palates and put out fires after fire-eating competitions gone wrong. Diners enter under a traditional hanging tavern sign emblazoned with a brown diamondback-turtle shell before nestling into a spacious sports bar or dining room. Diamondback Tavern also hosts open-mic nights and screening events around NFL games to keep ears and eyes entertained as mouths gnaw on the minimalist, modern decor.