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Tamber's Nifty Fifties Dining: A taste of home By Amanda Fowler For BaltimoreStories.com Have you ever had a craving for quick and casual diner food, but wanted something different from the usual diner specials? Perhaps the authentic Indian cuisine served daily at the Tamber’s Nifty Fifties Dining is what you're looking for. As you flip through the menu at Tamber’s, you will notice most pages are filled with Indian dishes, which is mainly because the owners and managers are immigrants from India themselves and decided to present a taste from their home to our country. "People get a variety of food at Tamber’s. We have a lot of regular customers because they enjoy the unique things we offer," said manager, Purna B. Chhetri.

The diner first opened in 1984 under a family of Italian owners, the Tamberinos, which is how the name Tamber’s came to be. In the beginning, their business was a small carry-out restaurant, eventually turning into Tamber’s Nifty Fifties Dining. In 1994, the Tamberinos sold the diner to Chris and Petro Sharma. The Sharma brothers decided to buy the place because they had worked in the restaurant industry for over 20 years and wanted to take on their own business venture. The new menu they created features their own ethically diverse dishes, as well as enticing desserts from various parts of the world.

Chhetri mentioned that one aspect he would change about Tamber’s is its size.

"We want to make this place bigger, but aren't quite sure when that will happen. The talk has been there for years, but we are hoping it will happen this summer," said Chhetri.

Tamber’s Nifty Fifties Dining is also discussing the option of opening earlier in the morning and staying open a little later at night to appease the large amount of students looking for a hot meal after a long day of classes. Currently, the diner opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. on weekdays. On weekends the diner opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m.

"People have asked if we can start serving breakfast earlier in the mornings and keeping later hours of operation. We will probably stay open from 6 - 2 when the diner gets bigger," said Chhetri.

The diner has received great reviews from local college residents: Britney Sperrect, a freshman at Johns Hopkins University, discusses her reaction to the food on the diner's menu. "I think [my meal] was pretty good. It seemed a little weird at first because its such a different combination, but the variety of food is great," she said.

College students are enticed by the dessert portion of Tamber’s menu. "Many people love our shakes and malts. A shake is made up of ice cream flavors and milk, while a malt has wheat barley, which makes the texture a bit thicker," said Chhetri.

"Vanilla milkshakes are my favorite thing to order at Tamber’s because they taste fantastic," said Towson University senior, Jason McDuffie.

Tamber’s Nifty Fifties Dining
3327 St. Paul Street
Baltimore, MD
(410) 243-0383

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