there is a new post en route ...

when i refer to the holidays i am really talking about a period of time that starts roughly in the 3rd week of november and runs until the 1st of the year. there is a lot contained in this time frame. my birthday, thanksgiving with 2 sides of the family, work, work, work, work, work, work, almost christmas, work, work, work, work, christmas eve, work, christmas with 3 sides (i know is this even possible) of the family. pretty much thats just a long winded way of me saying i have been flat out. i have been eating sandwiches, taking pictures of sandwiches, jotting down sandwich related notes, but i havent been putting them on the blog. i apologize.

but alas my friends, my faithful sandwich blog readers i would like to announce that this week there will be 2 'sandwich' posts (spoiler 1 & spoiler 2)! so be on the look out once you get back into your respective office/work areas and are looking to scratch that literary culinary sandwich-ian itch. i got you covered.

hold the pickle vol. 10 ...

10 stops into this quest and i would have to admit that there have been some early success. ive traveled all over. ive partaken in delicious meals with good people. and i have started to compile & document the 1st staged of the baltimore sandwich quest. to achieve success on this quest ive braved i695, traveled side streets on the west and east sides of town, and for my latest installment i found myself in parkville on the urging of everyones favorite amateur poker player and everyones favorite left handed spiker for the salisbury universitys lady sea gulls volleyball team. their recommended eatery of sandwich notoriety was mastellones deli.

mastellones, as you can probably make out, is an italian deli. early on in journey of sandwich self discovery ive have stumbled upon a small handful of italian delis. one could almost argue that the italian deli in baltimore (the jewish deli could rival) is the gold standard for sandwich shops. fresh breads, cured meats, imported cheeses, exotic olive oils, salads of all colors, flavors, and variations. so my excursion to this parkville insititution was something that i was really looking forward to. in addition to being excited to try out another one of baltimores gold standard bearing italian delis, there was an added excitment factor because i had 2 companions on this excursion who were traveling to parkvilee for their 1st sandwich quest. my companions were the youngest rice brother and the west coast clare. our steed for this journey was the trusty mazda 3. with erdman ave and harford road in our sights we set out in search of some delicious northern baltimore italian sandwiches.

freshie

the exterior of mastellones is everything youre looking for in a hidden gem of a place. old signs, piles of leaves, and posters of italian soccer teams. with the expectation bar set high we went in to get our eat on. mastellones is set up as a hybrid deli/italian grocer/wine shop like the other 2 italian delis ive already visited, dipasquales and trinacria. working our way past the wine and through the imported oils we made our way to the deli counter and proceeded to order 5 sandwiches. (note: we were planning on returning to our familys house to have a post thanksgiving sandwich thanksgiving) we ordered the bora bora, the old world, porchetta, the meatball sub, and the fresh mozzarella and proscuitto. the menu was small, and these probably comprised of 50% of the sandwiches on the menu. in defense they were more than willing to accommodate a 'make your own' if we had so desired. but the journeyman of sandwiches likes to take it straight off the menu.

old world

the 4 sandwiches took a long time to be prepared. 1st way to kill time was to cross the street and head to another institution in parkville, the fenwick bakery. being in the bakery business i was intregued and needed to check it out. the cheese danish was awesome, the marshmallow doughnuts are the sugary-iest thing you will ever eat, and the coffee cake is very forgettable. (note: these were consumed after the sandwiches. i am not one to spoil my appetite when there is a sandwich on the line.)

sandwiches still werent ready. the west coast clare and the youngest rice brother spent a while in the wine area, then moved to the oils, then the pastas. sandwiches still werent ready. now normally i would be pissed if 20 minutes had passed and i hadnt got my sandwich, but i was with good company and was able to wander around the shop. and wandering around the shop is where we all transformed from sandwich questers to amateur gumshoes. in mastellones there were shirts for sale that were the same ones for sale at dipasquales. coincidence? in mastellones they had the same pastas and sauces on display as they do at dipasquales. coincidence? in mastellones they have a picture of the dipasquales brothers. coincidence? in mastellones they take half a loaf of italian bread rip out the stuffing, fill it with meatballs, and then stuff the stuffing back inside just like they do at dipasquales. coincidence? no. mastellones was purchased 12 years ago by the dipasquale family.

post thanksgiving sandwich thanksgiving

i have to admit i was a little disappointed. it felt like i was robbed of a sandwich quest experience. but then we got to our desired location. sat down with family and friends and proceeded to enjoy every last bite of italian bread, fresh mozzarella, sopressata, pork, meatballs, and proscuitto there was to have. it was then that i had the complete 180 on my feelings. the food was delicious, and it was fitting that on the 10th installment and the post thanksgiving sandwich thanksgiving was some how tied into the catalyst for my self appointed quest to find the most outrageous, unique, tastiest, and enjoyable sandwiches in baltimore.


**im always looking for folks to go and eat sandwiches with, so get in touch. also please send me your recommendations/demands of where i need to eat my next sandwich!**

hold the pickle vol. 9 ....

when one sets out on a quest one signs up for traveling on a myriad of different paths to face a myriad of different obstacles in order to finally wind up at the ultimate outcome or conclusion. thats kind of like what i am in the process of doing right now on my sandwich quest. sometimes the roads are less traveled and a hidden gem is discovered (think back to the italian sub for $3.29) and sometimes i wind up at the home of a baltimore sandwich institution (can you say chaps?). this weeks journey has carried me to a fork in this proverbial road to enlightenment that just so happens to be paved with sandwiches.

the fork came about in catonsville of all neighborhoods and the dispensary of sandwiches was name the grilled cheese & co. this was not a literal fork, but rather a sandwich based fork that had me pitted with how to approach the pillar of the sandwich pantheon that is the grilled cheese. when one ponders a grilled cheese one is almost always transported to a place like a diner or a kids menu, but not now in the baltimore area. the old school classic grilled cheese now has a much hyped/blogged about/twittered about home at the grilled cheese & co., so naturally it was only going to be a matter of time until i popped in to see what all the fuss was about.

this will bring out the kid in you.

this catonsville sandwich factory is on edmondson ave next to 695 (that numerical speak for the baltimore beltway), and looks more like a catonsville house than the hottest grilled cheese restaurant this side of anywhere. rather than bore you with a cliche, ill bore you with a lofty not too connected metaphor. the plain white exterior at grilled cheese & co. isnt much too look at ... much like the exterior of a grilled cheese sandwich. and like the timeless sandwich the real punch is packed in whats on the inside, and in the case of the grilled cheese & co.s interior it is sleek, clean, understated, dotted with unique flares, and deliciously pungent (much like a propper grilled cheese). the playfulness of the sandwich which the gc&c pays homage to is expressed in the playful chalkboard menus and the fun grilled cheese sandwich facts that cover one of the walls. if getting you excited for a grilled cheese was the vision of this restaurants interior then the designer knew what he/she was doing.

its counter style service with a window for ordering and a window for picking up your sandwich. to be fair to all the other grilled cheese sandwiches that went before me i strayed away from the more exotic flavors and went straight for the ultimate grilled cheese experience; grilled cheese with bacon and tomato. at the gc&c thats simply a 'bct' which is the initials of bacon, cheddar, and tomato. i opted for the sweet potato fry combo and drink for a whopping $8.45. i didnt think that was too expensive. i mean price wise it was on par for the fast lunch options out there, but it was just a grilled cheese, so for the $8.45 the gc&c set my standards kind of high.

i selected a table and realized i had come at the ideal time, 1145 in the morning. i waited no longer than 10 minutes and was greeted by a voice calling out 'number 36, number 36'. bingo! i was back at the table pile of sweet potato fries cascading over a gooey sandwich cradled in a paper basket and the line was now easily 10 people deep.

i was impressed. the fries werent made on premise, but were fried to a perfect crispiness and there were lots of them. the sandwich, covered by the fries was no doubt the star of this show. thick cut italian/white bread that had kissed a flat top stove long enough to blush a perfectly brown color. the cheddar was delicious, thick, gooey, and greasy enough to soften the bread from the inside.

its gooey, its blurry, and its delicious.

here is where thing took a different turn for the better. the bacon and the tomato were 1st diced and then put in the sandwich. this meant that there was less sirface area contact with the bread and the cheese which meant there was no chance of the dreaded 'one bite and the tomato slides out'. genius! it was on my 2nd bite or so that i noticed there was a bottle of crystal hot sauce on my table and well actually on every table. hmmmm grilled cheese and hot sauce? why not? oh yeah winner winner! straight 'a' for my sandwich!

i really did enjoy the sandwich. the price was a little high, but there were a lot of fries and they didnt skimp on the bacon or tomato (although maybe with the dice technique they are actually saving on food costs?!?). the only real draw backs about this up and coming grilled cheese sandwich shop is that it is in catonsville which means a serious car ride for most in the baltimore area. and the other issue is that there might only be 20 -30 seats in the place, and i can see that at lunch time on any day there are going to be people on to of people waiting to eat all the fries from on top of their grilled cheese sandwiches.

when paying homage to such a staple in the sandwich cannon there are over a 1,000 ways/themes/variations one can take. some of these can lead a sandwich visionary astray and land them so far off target. this isnt the case with the grilled cheese & co. this place has taken the humble but detail oriented path that leads its customers to a place of serious grilled cheese satisfaction.  

november in baltimore

another november. another fall season. leaves change. leaves fall. the mornings are dark and the sun swiftly falls in the evenings. the air gets heavy with its annual chill. autumn spices abound. the smell of sweaters permeates. sunshine is at premium. fall means november and november means another year. this one will my 28th. i love it.

being a child of the fall i have an affinity for evenings like the one that transpired here in baltimore. it was wet all day which meant that my windshield was streaky from the back and forth of the wipers. the city was dark, but headlights, brake lights, and the lights from those who had not left the cbd for home provided the lighting for our very gothic urban backdrop. this wet november night in baltimore needed a soundtrack, and on this evening that beautifully self indulgent soundtrack was provided by the national. 

here is a little national love for all of you. this is just a taste of the fall mix tape that will be coming out for download next week before you all get your fill of tryptophan.

'terrible love' off of this summers release, high violet. this video is taken from the pitchfork.tv area of the musically elitist musical elite site, pitchfork.com (i actually dont mind it that much anymore)

'start a war' from the 2007 smash hit, boxer. i love this video. i love it bc its from la blogotheque, theres all sorts of french, its shot in a brewers art like pub dungeon in paris, shot in one take, small mics on the table, wine all over the place, and i totally love the cig smoke everywhere.

 
#40.3 - The National - Start a war
Uploaded by lablogotheque. - Independent web videos.

hold the pickle vol. 8 ...

the quest continues ladies and gentlemen.

for the foray into the world of sandwich i was set on covering vast tracts of baltimore county. i needed a companion. i found one again in half of the gee bros. we ny eeded a steed. we had one in the form of a scion. we needed a land to conquer. we set our controls for the heart of the sun ... i mean hunt valley. and with hunt valley on the horizon we set our sights on our target; the barbeque mecca that is andy nelsons.

more pork bbq, mom ... please!?!?

nelsons (what many folks affectionately call this beloved bbq joint) is located at the top of york rd right on the boarder between cockeysville and hunt valley. its a relatively non descriptive red shack with little sign-age, but with a large hog on top beckoning those on york rd to stop in and have some of the tastiest pig in town!

there is only one game at nelsons and thats the bbq game. their motto is 'hogs smell better barbequed' and while thats a definite truism, let me pile it on ... andys pigs taste better barbequed! but i digress. when you walk into nelsons you are transplanted into comfortable authentic setting. old photos, awards, and bbq relics adorn the walls. wooden floors tell tales of the bbq seekers that have come before you. and the chalk board menus offer you a wide variety of different parts of different animals that have been raised for the sole purpose of having these particular parts intensely cared for during a 6-12 hour cooking process. thats a flowery way of saying all the meat at nelsons is freaking awesome.

st louis spare ribs, baby back ribs (all things prok bbq ribs found here), chicken, turkey, and beef brisket are all up on the menu with options of how you want them prepared. normally im a dry st louis spare with alabama stlye bbq sauce on the side, but that would not suffice on this daunting quest to document the best sandwich offerings the town/county/state had to offer. i had to go for the brisket or the pork bbq sammy. road block again. decisions decisions. alas i was able to employ the half-sies tactic once again with a gee brother, and thus avoided any let down.

beef brisket ... king of the sandwiches so far?

our order looked like this; 1 pulled pork bbq sandwich, 1 beef brisket sandwich, 1 side of cole slaw, 1 side of corn bread, and 2 large 1/2 sweet teas 1/2 lemonades. now im not from the south, im not a bbq expert, and i never claimed to be ... but from that order i mean you have to garner that im not a rookie by any means. there pork was topped with the house made pig sauce (a thin vinegar based sauce that was sweet but at the same time carried a little heat with it) and then doctored at the table by your hero and his companion for the day with the side of coleslaw. kick ass sandwich. but the ass kicking of the pork sandwich might of been outdone by the brisket sandwich. there was no doctoring of the brisket. just a massive pile of thinly slice beef that was elastic enough to unfold like an accordian, but with the slightest jerk would come apart easily. im talking tender tender tenderoni style.

its true! they smell better bbq'd

i was surprised by the beef brisket, especially since andy is/has/and always will be about the hogs. and in no way am i saying that the pork bbq was not up to par, because it is some of if not the best in the local area/above the mason dixon. all i am saying is that the quality of both the beef brisket and the pork bbq made for a successful stop on my sandwich quest, and will be a big success on any bbq adventure that you set out on.

i need to party with these guys!

the sandwich quest is in full effect! multiple posts coming this week, so look out ...

hold the pickle vol. 7 ...

at this point our repeat viewers already know the deal. but for those of you who are just tuning in, or have only recently turned to the channel for our recent programming that focused on baltimores newest sushi and most alternative/punk pizza parlor, i need to review whats happening here. i am on a baltimore based sandwich quest. im traveling the streets and roaming the neighborhoods looking for all things sandwich. so far i have been to some top notch places and had some top notch sandwiches. ive received great feedback and have even been joined by an adventurer or 2 on occasion.

todays stop on the sandwich odyssey was sponsored by livingsocial and took place at lennys delicatessen on lombard street.. livingsocial is in the same jest as groupon (please click the ad on my page. i can almost buy a magners with my revenue), so for dishing out a $10 spot i was entitled to $20 worth of historically delicious baltimore deli goodness. $20 is a lot for a sandwich quest pit stop, so i invited half of the gee bros. (the nerd/dj) and the local celeb chef, chef bill.

mmm .... pastrami

as an alum of mcdonogh school in owings mills i was introduced to lennys early in life. but it wasnt until i started living in downtown baltimore after university that i realized that lennys had migrated south with a location on lombard street. this locale quickly became my favorite (location location loaction) and despite opening in the early 90s it acts as a reminder of when that area was littered with delis/markets/bakeries, and lombard street carried the moniker of 'corned beef row'. there is a reason that so many places have come and gone, but lennys is still there after 20 years; its pretty freaking good!

walking into the large open cafeteria-esque restaurant you immediately feel the gravitational pull of the deli counter. there are slicers thwacking back and forth making mound after mound of corned beef. there are hot dog crisping on the flat top grill. there are all sorts of golden fried goodies resting under a heat lamp. i already knew i was in for a difficult decision. a decision that has plagued man for generations. my decision rested between corned beef or pastrami. its a tough position to be in. the corned beef is pink through out and sliced so thin and piled so high that when you take a bite it kind of just melts away. and the pastrami is seasoned to perfection and not mention its cooked twice; once during the roasting process, then its sliced, then thrown on the flat top grill to order. having to decide between these two is like asking a mother to choose her favorite child. impossible.

beef thats corned

luckily i had a plan. a plan that refer to as half-sies. its an age old technique that is practiced globally. to perfectly execute the half-sies technique you need a willing partner who is also suffering from the what do i order conundrum, and who agrees to order the corresponding sandwich that you want to try. by ordering these two sandwiches between 2 willing participants both are ensured half (hence the name) of a sandwich that they wanted to order. now please note there is risk involved. half-sies has ruined friendships, business relationships, and im pretty sure entire familys. if upon receiving both sandwiches the halves are distributed immediately before the 1st bite is taken there lies the risk that upon sinking his or her teeth into a mouth watering succulent sammy your partner will completely void the half-sies transaction thus leaving you wanting and wondering ... 'how effing good is that sandwich? what an ass hole!' careful people half-sies at your own risk.

well i knew i could trust the nerdy/dj 1/2 of the gee bros so i didnt have to choose sides which meant i was able to enjoy both the corned beef and the pastrami. both sandwiches were on rye. both had swiss cheese. both had mustard. both were freaking awesome. but the general consensus (not general when the consensus exists between 2 people) was that the pastrami ruled the day. 

listen you cant go wrong with either. you also cant go wrong with the griddle when breakfast is being served (free insiders info: you have to ask for the turkey sausage). their bakery leaves a little to be desired, but i know people who swear by their jewish baked goods. and in closing you cant go wrong when you hear the elderly jewish man at the table behind you say, 'excuse me ma'am can i please have a fork lift? im having trouble picking up my sandwich!'

baltimores newest johnny dough ...

ive strayed out of my comfort zone this week for your review. instead of staying focused and keeping to the winding path of the sandwich quest, i found myself making a slight detour last night with a group of guys. there were 6 of us all together; brothers from dallas street, roomates from alicanna street, a luzerne ave roomie, and myself. we had discussed earlier the week our desire to head over to one of our favorite finds for drinking this summer, johhny rads, and partake in their happy hour and dinner menu.

im sure some of you already know (or discovered upon clicking on the link above) that rads is the new pizza bar located on eastern ave and straddling the 2 neighborhoods of patterson park and upper fells. the concept for the place is really summed up with the moniker of pizza bar. its a bar that is focused on serving a wide range of quality pizza pies. but to leave out the 'rad' aspect of this pizza bar would rob johhny rads of its pulse and its character.

rads is one of the restaurants in town that i like to group together and call the punk rock culinary scene. other examples of said scene would include sticky rice, jacks bistro, hamilton tavern, and even a place like holy frijoles. and what i mean with the punk rock tag is that these places have decided in one way or another to swim upstream and do something completely different that can be a bit tongue and cheek, but all the while focusing on food and providing the baltimore culinary world with an exciting, inventive, and less traveled culinary path.

wait till you get a blue corn one of these!

johhny rads fits this mold because it is a throw back to a neighborhood pizza parlor one might see on tv or in the movies. a place that caters to all types. a place that while serving food and drink also focuses on providing a place for friends to meet up, have a bite, and catch up. and at rads this is all achieved amidst a skateboarding/james bond theme that stretches from the front door to the bathroom and all the way back to the old school 720 video game machine (games are free. yes thats right free 720).

hosoi pizza

upon this trip to the neighborhood pizza parlor we were pleasantly surprised to find out that instead of just coming in at the end of happy hour (we showed up at 645) that in fact we had an entire additional hour to enjoy $3 draft lagunitas pale ales or victory pilsners because at rads happy hour goes till 8pm! so with beers smoothly sliding across the table and down the proverbial hatches it was time to tuck into some food. the standard/required starter at johhny rads is 100% the hush puppies, which are called 'huf puppies' on the menu. these hand made yellow and blue corn balls are seasoned, breaded, fried to a golden crisp, and served with a chipolte mayo that is so addictive that it might contain crack.

following the fried corn pillows dipped in spicy crack mustard we moved on to the house specialty, the pizza. now i am not a self proclaimed pizza expert, but i know my stuff. pizza is a top favorite food of mine, and if you are not able to trust my opinion or are looking for an expert let me point you in the direction of baltimores own pizza blogger. i digress. the pizza at rads is all about simple, but playful flavors. the dough is semolina based (i think)  100% caputo 00 flour (i know for a fact) and leans towards the doughy side instead of the crunchy side. with that being said the dough is flavorful and isnt too heavy. in fact it has a soft texture that actss as a great base for the specialty pies. the math was simple on this particular visit; 6 dudes = 3 pizzas. so on the docket for dinner was 3 large pizzas:

• a1 meats - a meaty pizza as the name would hint. it had crunchy panchetta, spicy sopressata, and salty proscuitto. olive oil, mozzarella cheese, and chopped basil rounded this one out. definately a tasty pie, but the trio of meats did prove to be a bit heavy for rads' lighter house made pizza dough.
• el gato - the understated pizza on the menu. this was a classic white pie base which was garlic & oil on the base. mozzarella and ricotta on top and whole leaves of basil. the garlic oil was divine. folks were sweeping this pizza tray with their crusts until all remnants of the oil was gone. the tray was clean in other words.
• hosoi - this was the crowd favorite from a previous trip. this spicy creation has mozzarella, panchetta, and the sweet and spicy duo of pineapple and jalepeno. i can understand why my compatriots were super insistent about ordering on of these.

domo ari ... el gato???

all in all the pizza was really good. not jaw dropping amazing, but solid all around. the prices are super affordable. the beers as mention before were a significant bargain at 3 bucks a pop, and the pizzas were $18/$14/$15 for larges (maybe 14 inches). the tonue and cheek theme, the atmosphere, the laid back accepting attitude all come together to make rads a welcome addition to the neighborhood and definitely a welcome addition to baltimores punk rock culinary scene.  if the cheap drinks and quality pizzas arent enough for you to give rads a try, then maybe the punk rock culinary scene isnt for you ... 

human/robot ...

heres a math equation i quite like!


daft punk

+




tron

=

hold the pickle vol. 6 ...

so here we are with the 6th installment of my new calling in life, the new phenomenon sweeping across the inter webs (mainly to my friends), the sandwich quest. in this installment i want to go over what it is that i am trying to do/achieve with this noblest of noble quests ... 

ive set out on a thankless quest to scour the greater baltimore, maryland area for the tastiest, whackiest, most outrageous, and most creative things that you can pile between two slices of bread. i want to meet the people who put so much into something we all take for granted, the sandwich. on my don quixote-esque excursions i will keep you all informed of where the proverbial sandwich x's should be on your sandwich map of baltimore.

alright enough of the blabber. on to the latest stop on the quest. so far ive been to delis, a bbq joint, a heady soup and sandwich place in the county, and an irish pub that i am quite biased towards, but this stop happened to be something a little different. last week i moseyed into a place called south beach sandwicherie. now let me point out the irony that kind of lies in this name. 1st ... this is a sandwich place in baltimore 2nd ... its on saratoga street, not much like any street in south beach, 3rd ... isnt sandwicherie kinda french sounding? is south beach and/or baltimore predominantly dominated by a french culture? (listen bmorefrench ... you might be the only one who thinks there might be some truth to this statemnet, but there isnt mon ami) the name had me confused and this seemed like a dime a dozen sandwich shop catering to city officials, lawyers, and the good folks at mercy hospital. but to my surprise i had a couple of different people suggest that i stop in. so i checked my irony at the door and strolled in for a sammy.

the menu is simple and dressed down. choose a meat. i chose roast beef. chose a bread. 2 were suggested; baguette or croissant. i chose baguette. choose a cheese. i chose mozzarella. choose topping. i chose lettuce, tomato, onions, hots, and the house made vinaigrette. super simple process and super simple menu. not very south beachie, but i didnt order any of the specials which is where all the creativity seemed to poured into. baltimore style chicken salad and turkey, brie, and apple seemed like they would spice up the day for any working professional that found themselves craving a sandwich while near/on/or around saratoga street.

the sandwich was good. not knock your socks off great, but good. the baguette was out of this world. the vinaigrette was amazing. in fact i asked for the bottle and found myself ripping the ends off my baguette and squirting the vinaigrette on top and taking that down for good measure. the mozzarella was tasty, but the roast beef was kind of just plain ordinary. the hots i liked because they werent your stereotypical deli hot spread, but rather hot pickled peppers (i can mess with the pickled pepper) that had been sliced and placed on top.

the sandwiches here are made by hand and made to order. there is definately a lot of care that goes into each one of these crunchy treats. the cheese is sliced to fit your roll. there was the perfect amount of greens. the tomato was not too thick. the hots were tasty and unique. and the vinaigreete should be bottled and sold at giant. this might not be a destination place or a future baltimore insitution, but it still is quality and it still is made with thought, effort, and care. so if your in the mid town area looking for a sammy then by all means make sure you stop by the south beach sandwicherie.

bienvenidos a roast beef & mozz

welcome to sticky baltimore

on tuesday night i was out to celebrate a good friends first foray into the working world as a rookie barrister (thats a lawyer person to you and me), and found myself at a four top littered with oriental patterned plates, crumbled up chop stick wrappers, and plates left barren minus the molehill like remnants of what once were wasabi mountains.

at first glance you probably would of guessed we were at one of the numerous sushi establishments that baltimore has to offer. were we at the harbor east swankery ra? nope. what about the other place in harbor east,  chius, the sushi place that is more japanese paper doll than swanky place? nope. what about asahi in fells? nope. we were actually sitting next to what used to be the old big bar at friends which has recently received a face lift, a new proprietor, and a complete cultural overhaul to become the latest restaurant to open in fells point, sticky rice.

we didnt wind up at sticky rice at random, rather there had been a little buzz about the place for a while and this trip was intentional. the sticky rice in baltimore is the new born little sister of sticky rice in dc. like lots of other newish things coming out of dc, sticky rice was well blogged/tweeted about, so we were very interested to see what the baltimore locale had to offer.

theme and setting. check.

when walking in the bar draws all your attention. its the big bar from friends which in a sushi restaurant does two things instantly. 1.) it disarms you by making you feel comfortable, like youre just walking into any corner bar baltimore, usa. 2.) it boisterously proclaims that this is the sushi joint where youd find mr miyagi. the space was dark, but not too dark. the bar was wood, and the floor was wood. there was some art on the walls and a loud variety of tunes coming from ipods. a very warm space.

like i said the bar grabs your attention, well at least it grabbed our attention because we wound up sitting and enjoying $2 happy hour pbr drafts (note there were plenty of other draft options ... maybe 12 or so, but we were in the pbr mood) so without knowing about the place i wouldve said that we had just walked into a new, thoughtfully re-done, hipster centered, local drinking spot. couldnt of been anymore wrong, because while those are all true aspects of sticky, its the food that dominates here.

rather than walk you through the menu ill just list the prodigious amounts of deliciousness we painstakingly consumed.

starters:

tuna tartar - this wasnt a classic tartar that is cubed then stacked, rather this was blended and left it the consistency of a more terrestrial ground meat. this texture coupled with the quail yoke that was nestled a top of the tartar allowed for a sticky consistency that was very scoopable with chop sticks once blended together.  make sure to dip the tips of your sticks in the siracha before scooping. lovely special and an inventive take on a dish thats been made a gizillion times ... will order again, but not every time i dine there.

sticky balls - these came recommended to us by our server (forget the guys name, but he was awesome) who said that sticky balls were sticky rices signature dish. we had these for a starter with the tartar and they were wonderful. light and crisp pack with flavors and not greasy at all. heres the description from the menu 'tuna, crab, siracha rice in an inari pocket fried topped w/scallions, wasabi dressing and eel sauce' ... going to be hard not to order every time i go.

surprise course: these came out as a surprise from the sushi chef (it was a tuesday and we were 1 of 5 tables there and definitely the ones eating the most, so tip of the cap to the sushi chef who saw a captivated audience and pounced) 

spincy tuna - like the salmon avocado roll the spicy tuna is offered everywhere and can serve as a pseudo gold standard for sushi comparison. this one did not disappoint. tuna was season with spices, but still fatty cut that wasnt over powered. the rice was thinly layered and the siracha came throuh perfectly ... in a bind and not going for the wow factor i will order this plenty of times.  

snap, crackle, pop

crunchy shrimp - tempura shrimp, avocado, and cucs with a dash of spicy mayo? ummmm yes please! ... this along with the sticky balls will be my go to starters, you know start fried then work your way to healthy.

tuna sashimi - great knife work. these were small slices that had been kissed with so soy and some seasame.  refreshing ... when im having one of my 'i need to re-examine my life style and start putting more healthy things in my body' i will be eating alot of the sashimi here.

on to the rolls:

drawn n buttered - again our server whos name i cannot recall suggested this roll pretty heavily. i liked the concept of the dran n buttered; tempura shrimp and crab roll with a dish of clarified butter thats been garnished with scallions for dunking. sushi and butter. could this be the pairing thats been missing from the culinary cannon of my life? sadly no. the gimmick was nice and creative, but it falls short. maybe if there was more spice that could be cut with the fattyness of the butter ... will order with large groups, but wont order solo

godzirra - 'oh no they say hes got go ... go, go, go godzirra!' this could easily become their signature roll. its got a quirky name, its 12 pcs, its got shripm, avocado, cream cheese, wasabi mayo, and an amazing crunchy texture throughout ... if i am with more than 1 other person i am 100% going to order this 

chili roll - lena, our sandwich slinging (no for real she runs a sandwich shop ... interesting right?!?!) bartender suggested this roll when she was going over her favorite healthy-ish pics from the menu. i got to be honest and say that upon ordering, this was the one i was least excited about. but as we all know the ending, this was the one i enjoyed the most. it consists of tuna, cilantro, jalapeno, and grilled pineapple. at first i was thrown off by the heat of jalapeno, the sweetness of the pineapple, and the bursting freshness of the cilantro in a sushi roll. but after getting involved in the siracha mayo on the side it all came together. sweet, fresh, and spicy ... i will order this every time i go.

snap crackle and pop -  i know i know youre probably thinking 'how much freaking food did these dudes eat?' ... the answer is a lot. i told you that already. well the rice crispy themed roll was the only salmon based roll that we had and the origin of it is inventive name comes from; snap of the cucumbers, crackle of the crisp rice, and pop of the jalapeno ... i was honestly 3 quarters of the way into of food comma, so i will have to eat this bad boy the next time i go in to do it justice.

billy goats gruff - we ended up having this roll for dessert. seriously we had talked about ordering it before, but i got lost in the ordering. the table next to us told us that we had missed out on a gem, so before grabbing the check we put in an order. great call. seriously rich bite sized treats that were simply an asparagus spear surrounded by goat cheese wrapped in tuna and then baked with a soy ginger flavoring. contrast for the soft fishy goat cheese pillow was provided by cucumber straws. will order this on a semi regular basis bc of how rich it is.

im excited to have sticky rice here in fells point. it has hints of my favorite restaurant in the world, momofuku saam bar. when i say its like saam bar i am not at all putting them on the same plain, but rather pointing out that they share similar characteristics; bucking the trend, fusion that works, catering to everyone, hip staff, rock and roll chefs, and most importantly food that kicks ass! this is a great step forward in the culinary world of baltimore.

Hold the pickle vol. 5 ...

i knew this would happen. i started out on my quest with noblest of intentions to stay true to my sandwich quest code. i was only going to go to places that were recommended to me. i was only going to try sandwiches from the menu. i was not going to go to restaurants, only carry out/deli/lunch counters. and for you purists out there, i need to apologize. i broke my code last friday.

last week was a monster week for me work wise. i was at 3 different food shows (1 attending and 2 presenting), introduced 3 new products to my largest account, and put more than 1200 miles on my car. so when lunch time on friday rolled around and i had to make my last drop of the day, my weekly pastry allotment to ceilies water front inn at fell point, the lure of a quick bite and a cold magners at slainte on thames was too difficult to resist.

full disclosure: this wasnt a random visit to a place that i hardly know. in fact quite the opposite. slainte is best known for being open way too early on weekends in order to broadcast live epl matches to thirsty sports fans who come together in order to cheer on their favorite squads and to be there for each other justifications for having a shot of whiskey before 930am. i happen to be one of those looking for justification on saturdays. in addition to frequenting slainte (aka 'the pub') to support arsenal fc, this place also houses one of my best friends, chef bill crouse.

now on this particular friday i knew bill was there and i hadnt seen him all week, so under this false cover i strolled in and popped my head in the kitchen to say 'hey'. after some small talk bill (i think he knew all along) broke the ice by asking if i wanted lunch .... and hoping/longing for this question i promptly gave a simple simple reply:

'only if you make me a sandwich'

well bill delivered (see photo), and what he delivered was his take on a pork sandwich. this wasnt your uncles pork sandwich though. the pork was slow roasted with some earthy spices and then shaved thin and piled way too high (this is a good thing people) on a toasted bun. spread on the bun was one of my favorite components to this dish, and that was a cumin mayo spread. id be lying if i told you that i wont be stealing this and putting it on almost everything. kind of like what i did with david chang and his ginger scallion sauce. but that wasnt it. most all meat sandwiches are indeed artery clogging good, but can sometime be overpowering with meatiness (too much protein can sometimes be an issue), so to combat this chef bill had laid out a small stack of grilled fresh asparagus that cut the meatiness, prevented the bun from getting soggy, and added a distinct texture and flavor contrast to the pork. who knew asparagus on a sandwich is a winner! the only downside to this tasty delight is that you do have to pay restaurant prices ($12-$15) for chef bill sandwiches, but if you want to splurge on a special lunch for you and youre taste buds then this is where you want to be.

without my previously stated biases i would still highly recommend stopping in at slainte. whether its at 9am on a saturday, a ravens game, or for dinner the place has the food (chefs new menu out this month), the ambiance, character, and staff to make you want to stay ..... for a long time.

hold the pickle vol. 4 ...

it wouldnt be a successful week without another update about my city/county/pseudo-state wide sandwich quest.  youre adventurer has been getting some positive feedback which has spurred the quest to go on and on and on. also the deliciousness that i have been experiencing along the way has not hindered my quests progress.

cant judge a sandwich by its wrapper

this weeks stop on my 'quest del bocadillo' (spanish for sandwich quest) led me to another baltimore italian hot spot, but this time i was on the west side of town to indulge in the culinary concoctions created by trinacria foods on paca street. trinacria is a no nonsense and no frill italian bakery/deli/grocer that has been in existance for more than a 100 years, and many of the blogs faithful readers have urged me to stop here on my quest. like any good hero i have to do what the people want .... thanks wily and chas.

this was my 1st time at trinacria, and i had some interesting 1st impressions. upon finding a parking spot directly across the street i noticed the 1960s era exterior, the grates around all of the windows, and for a moment i thought that this was just another vacant building that had seen its hey day, but succumbed to the west baltimore blight. that fleeting thought was quickly banished from my head when a gentleman (pictured with out permission ... shhhh) came barging through the front door in full ravens gear carrying a case of wine and a box of groceries that was nearly overflowing. this guy wasnt you, small, or stupid and right then and there i knew i was in for a treat.

upon walking into the cramped deli/grocery store your eyes cant avoid the rows and rows of italian cookies behind the counter or the rows and rows of house made and bottle sauces to the right. beyond the counter in the front and easily visible in the back half to the store is the deli and sandwich counter, so i headed straight back to gaze at the menu before stepping up to slay one of their culinary beasts. mistake. i waited to be helped only to realize how much of a trinacria noob i was because i didnt grab a number from the ticket machine right at the front door. after that hiccup i was ready to draw my line in the sand and grab a sandwich ....
but wait i cant decide .... so much to choose from ..... '

number 47' ....

oh no! .... 'ummm ill take an italian with everything'

'lettuce, tomato, onions, mayo, and hots?'

'yes please .... and can i also have a fresh mozzarella sandwich'

'you want both?'

'yes ma'am'

ahh sweet compromise. why make set in stone ultimatum filled decisions, when you can order 2 sandwiches. after all its just a sandwich, and i will need something to eat before going to the orioles game tonight. it didnt take long for the sandwiches to come out, but i had no problem killing that small amount of time browsing through their product packed isles. there was marinara sauce, puttanesca sause, fra diavolo sauce, pomodoro sauce, vodka sauce ... you get the idea! there was every shape, color, and size of imported dried pasta. but the best of all were the freezers all the way in the back. these bad boys were chalk full of lasagna, ziti, various parmesans, marsalas, ravioli, and calzones. i made a note to myself that next trip down panca st would result in a tv dinner trinacria style!

the sandwiches came, and i had to take them to go since there is no place to eat at trinacria. i floored it all the way home because a. these little parcels wrapped in deli paper smelled outrageous and b. i hadnt had anything since my special k at 445 in the morning. once at home i was able to unwrap these bad boys and just stare in awe for a while all the time wondering which one i was going to sink my teeth into first. the italian sub won.

best value purchase in baltimore???

this little 6 inch sub roll (dont know if it was baked on premises) was packed full of thinly sliced meats and cheeses, topped with fresh tomatoes, long cut white onions, and smattered with hots, oil, vinegar, and mayo. when you close your eyes and think of an italian sandwich this is what youre thinking about. the lettuce was shredded so it didnt slide everywhere. the hots were not over powering. the oil and vinegar were applied in perfect proportion. the meats and cheeses? forget about it. the only draw back on this sandwich was that there was too much mayo. normally i wouldnt complain, but the sub roll was soft, and italians are moist, and too much mayo really over saturated the roll and made it a little too soggy at times for my liking. this issue can be easily resolved. ask for light on the mayo. oh and let me not forget the best upside to this sandwich, the cost. this might be the best deal in all of baltimore .... its a $3.29 sandwich. bang that just just happened. seriously.

you need to try it ...

even with too much mayo, i had to stop myself at half the italian so i could dive into the fresh mozzarella sandwich. unlike the italian, the mozzarella sammy was served on what was obviously house made tomato foccacia. i need to let you know that i am always a bit hesitant to eat of focaccia sandwich because focaccia tends to dry out easily, and when you through a bunch of other things on it it gets really dry and becomes a hindrance to what should be an enjoyable sandwich experience. well obviously the folks at trinacria have thought this one through. the mozzarella sandwich has three ingredients: mozzarella, proscuitto di parma, and pesto. the 'too dry focaccia syndrome' is easily avoided by the application of the pesto, which wasnt too oily and had a mild basil flavor, on both pieces of bread. next the house made mozzarella was sliced super thin and wasnt too milky and actually had some serious flavor to it. and finally they obviously knew i was going to be talking about this sandwich for weeks to come (no they didnt) because there was easily a quarter pound of di parma on there. this might be the best sandwich ive had so far on this quest (ive had 6). at $5.99 its one of the most expensive sandwiches on the menu, but well worth it. just look at that bad boy.

the long of the short on this adventure ... great place and awesome recommendation from chas and wily. this reminds me of dipasquales, and therefore has been affectionately dubbed the west side dipasquales. but trinacria stands out on its own despite its nickname (that only i use, and have only been using for the past 2 hours). the market selection is similar, but the house made products set is aside. the deli section is stocked with imported meats and cheeses that would make any of the cast on jersey shore proud. the prices on their sandwiches are sooooo affordable that if i worked in or around midtown i would be there at least once a week (man city im looking at you). and finally in all seriousness i think that the best value purchase in baltimore might be the italian cold cut at trinacria for a whopping $3.29 ... thats less than a domestic bottle at field house!

**always looking for feedback and suggestions. have an awesome weekend and just an fyi, im in love with fall, the season.**

virgin free fest ...

so my head is just now officially wrapping itself around the activities of last saturday, also known as virgin free fest. i want to share a quick recounting of the music, the atmosphere, the wackiness, and the fun times had on what normally would of been a disheartening weekend.

so saturday stared with arsenal fc losing what would of been a crucial early season home game to a much lesser mid/low table contender in the epl. normally my saturday would of taken a slight turn to the south, but the sun was shining, and i had to race out of the pub to get home, pack the coolers, and head to merriweather post pavilion. 2 car caravan (boy car and girl car), a 15 mintue tailgate ruined by paratrooper-esque howard county police officers, and my group finds themselves frantically stuffing beers in pockets, wolfing down sandwiches, and making the walk to the festival that doesnt cost anything .... to get in.

dance forest dusting it up

like any other festival there are acts that you want to see, acts that you are curious to see, and acts that you could care two bits less about seeing. this festival was no different, and in fact had some potential line up conflicts.

our first stop was the dance forest. ummm amazing. we all walked into this dust filled, tree lined, bass pulsating, dance area dubbed 'the dance forest' right when we got into the venue. wolfgang gartner was just beginning his set and we were eager to hear music and break the festival dancing ice. wolfgang hit the spot. bass, bass, dance beats, and remixes of the bloddy beetroots, yeah yeah yeahs, and mstrkrft all set the tone for our afternoon.

yeasayer on the west stage

after a quick stop at the main stage for some edward sharpe we headed out to the sun backed west stage for a little local flavor provided by yeasayer. these baltimore/brooklyn neaveau indie demi gods came out swinging for the home crowd. their set was high energy, but it was an energy that built with earlier tunes and culminated with the set closers being the 2 singles off of their most recent album, one and ambling alp. my favorites of the set were mondegreen and i remember

looking for something to do next (joan jett was not what i wanted to do next) some of us fell into the default of  heading back into the 'ball pit' also known as the dance forest. and in the ball pit/dance forest is where we wound up spending most of the next 3.5 hours.

it was during those 3.5 hours that we were able to listen and boogie to some high and low acts of the day. unfortunately the low act of the day award goes to maximum ballon. they brought some jazz focused/dirty bass/plenty of air horn to the table, but just fell short of dance forest expectations set by wolfgang. the next act, chromeo was one that i really set high expectations for only to have them supersede said expectations.

chrome .... oooo

chromeo has a limited catalog (2 albums) which can be a blessing and a curse, and in this case it was a huge blessing because what ensued was a dance forest inspired dance off/sing along for an hour while the sun set, people rejoiced, and the mood was getting set for the night time finale of the festival. if youre not familiar with chromeo check out a couple of tracks (mommas boy and bonafied lovin) from their album 'fancy footwork'. But without a doubt it was pretty freaking cool getting to see tunes like hot mess and night by night off of their september 2010 release, business casual, played live.

the final act to play the dance forest wasnt exactly a dance act per say, but rather another brooklyn based genre defying duo called sleigh bells. for those who havent heard this summers boy/girl phenomenon they are a mix of karen o like vocals with the ear piercing guitars of someone like dave navvaro latered over top of a dance based drum machine. try out a track or two. these guys with their wall of amps, bright lights, and fist pumping tunes got the dance forest rocking, and that might be an understatement. but alas i left their set a tad early because i wanted to prepare myself and try to get the best spot possible for the festival closer (and the act i have been wanting to see for the longest), lcd soundsystem.

you can get much closer

rather than go into basic lcd info ill just point you to some of my previous posts about the dance/punk.indie rock super group. seeing how their album 'sound of silver' is one of my all time favorites and their summer release, 'this is happening',  has been on proverbial repeat for the past 3 months i was bursting with excitement for this set. lucky for us we walked into the pavilion section right when they opened the floor to the general audience. this allowed us to grab amazing floor space to the stage right area (see photo).

from the moment they took the stage for dance yourself clean (best opener ever in my mind) to the last note of home, the band put on a professional high energy fist pumping dance/rock show. to try and describe this show tune by tune would be a futile exercise. all i know is that i was singing along the whole time, dancing with friends, high fiving strangers, and incessantly jumping up and down ... oh and i was sweating as well. im still grinning thinking out that show.

all in all the sun, the dust, the $8 beers, the militant cops, the sweat soaked tee shirts, and the ringing ears were well worth the price of admission to the virgin free fest.


**if you want any of the music mentioned here please post a comment or send me an email.**

hold the pickle vol. 3 .... aka hold the lap dance

when one sets out on a quest he knows that inevitably there will be trials, trip ups, and snags along the way, and this weeks sickness (aka the flu that has plagued 90% of baltimore) has been the 1st trial in my sandwich quest. but fear not my friends your hero (with thanks to dayquil and gatorade) has stuck to his mission, over come the challenges, and has proceeded on his baltimore sandwich quest. 


this week i treated myself with a trip down route 40 to the outer limits of baltimore city to a little slice of heaven that is called chaps charcoal restaurant. chaps is the stuff of baltimore legend. its legendary bbq meats have attracted some of televisions top celeb food-o-philes including anthony bourdain, adam richman, and guy fieri. all of these shows focus on the gritty beauty that is chaps, and that beauty lies in their grilled to perfection meats that are shaved to paper thin slices and then stacked artfully in a heap which we call a sandwich. but there is one legend surrounding chaps (literally) that people dont really like to point out all to often, and thats the fact that chaps is located in the parking lot of the gentlemens gold club, one of the citys biggest strip joints. i have been to both, but never together in the same trip ... that would be an entirely different blog all together. i think i have an idea.


so for this stop on my quest i successfully avoided the lure of expensive drinks, cheap perfume, brass poles, and 60 second clips of eminem and headed into chaps with a carnivorous itch that needed to be scratched. i was not flying solo that afternoon. on this part of my quest i was joined by the brothers gee (aka gee prompt ... :air horn noise) and the local celeb chef, chef bill. when eating a chaps you begin your eating experience immediately with all of your senses. when you walk in the first thing that hits you is the smell of the sweet smokey meat slowly simmering on a massive grill. second you cant help but look at the scene that is unfolding behind the counter. there are enormous chunks and hunks of meat on a large charcoal grill that when teased with the fatty juices of said meat burps the occasional flame. hovering over top of this meat littered grate of fire is a massive dude who is armed only with a bbq mop and a welders glove. this behemoth individual is constantly turning meat, basting meat, and slicing meat with ballerina grace and elegance, but with the sweat factor of an nfl offensive linemen during august 2 a days. time to place an order.


'ill have a pit beef sandwich'


'what temp'


'rare'


'onions?'


'no thanks. the sandwich is all.'


'ok hon. you know where the tiger sauce is? its round the corner in the white bottle.'


i mean that interaction kind of tickled my inner baltimore kids heart. and my inner carnivores heart started thumping when my number was called and i was handed almost of pound of pit beef wedged between a sliced soft kaiser bun with a corm meal dusted top that was wrapped in aluminium foil. im not going to lie, but when you step up to the fixing bar and unwrap your sandwich its kind of like a mini christmas.

get to chaps and get down on the pit beef

after my fixin bar yule tide celebration i proceeded to the table to join my companions. pit beef. check. side of hand cut grease bomb fries. check. tiger sauce (aka horsie sauce). check. alabama style sweet bbq sauce. check. deliciousness. check.... 


sandwich quest continues. check.



**always looking for suggestions for places. i have an awesome list of suggestions and have been keeping track of who has made said suggestions. i also am always looking for worthy companions to eat these delicious sandwiches with. so please let me know if you have the stomach to join in my quest**