Across Owings Mills Boulevard from Stevenson University’s football stadium, Quarry Bagel & Café welcomes Stevenson students and residents of the greater Owings Mills area, offering a variety of breakfast options and accompanied by a sufficient spread of lunch items that boast Middle Eastern cuisine.
Providing an engaging yet subtle store front, Quarry Bagel & Café has prints of different menu items sold, as well as some daily specials facing out of the windows. For Stevenson students, an exclusive deal written on a chalkboard in the bottom left panel of the front door notes: “All Stevenson Students Coffee/Fountain Drink 99 cents… w/ Stevenson ID Only.”
Upon walking into the café, customers are greeted with strong aromas of coffee and baked goods. Of course, my eyes immediately became fixed on the bins of bagels and wide array of pastries in the adjacent display windows. Asiago cheese, everything, and blueberry were just a few of the bagel options, while the staff made a point to recommend the rainbow cake and chocolate tops for pastry choices.
The bagels and pastries are all made from scratch at the café, and many other food items are made in-house, including different cream cheese flavors.
There’s more to Quarry Bagel & Café than its bagels and pastries. The menu showcases how many options there are for both breakfast and lunch. For breakfast, customers can choose from avocado-inspired options, omelets, and egg platters. For lunch, a more expansive menu offers paninis, fish platters, specials, and a ‘healthy choices’ section.
Quarry Bagel & Café even tailors a section of the menu to kids and designates an area for Middle Eastern cuisine, titled ‘Middle Eastern Oasis.’ Chicken shawarma, beef shawarma, and gyro pita were three options the staff recommended to me as I browsed for food.
The employees create a friendly environment as they interact with each other in a happy, family-like manner. They engage each customer with a casual tone, taking both the order and payment simultaneously.
A variety of tables offer comfortable and spacious seating in the relatively small café. An L-shaped bar offers additional seating facing the menu board and a wall-mounted flat-screen TV. Diners even have the option to sit outside at umbrella-covered tables on a comfortable day.
As I waited for my food to come out, I sipped on a pumpkin spice coffee and was entertained by TV, background music, and magazines. The food arrived about five minutes or so after I ordered, which seemed to be a lengthy wait for a toasted bagel with lox and cream cheese.
Nonetheless, the food was flavorful and capped the entire experience off. Residents in Owings Mills and students at Stevenson can be assured that prices are reasonable with nothing passing $15. Flex dollars are also accepted.
The Quarry Bagel & Café is located at 11000 Owings Mills Blvd., Owings Mills, Md. 21117.
Hour of Operation:
Monday-Saturday: 6:30 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Sunday: 7 a.m.- 3 p.m.