hold the pickle ... sandwich adventure? ...

like a lot of my saturdays that wind up a little dusty from my fridays, i awoke around 8am knowing that i would need to dedicate today to eating awesome food. i started with an everything bagel, scallion cream cheese, and smoked salmon from thb south, and knew i was going to have to really come through in the clutch for lunch. not only did my lunch deliver in the clutch, but it gave me a clutch idea; im going to eat sandwiches (maybe like 3 a week) all over town and post here about the bread, dressings, cheeses, meats, and everything else sandwich-ie ... except the pickles (my achilles heel)

so here is my 1st installment ...

the bar is going to be set pretty high pretty early with this sandwich experience. todays installment comes from di pasquales italian market in highlandtown in east baltimore. most of you living in baltimore should have heard of this market before, and if youve heard of it before you might of stopped by this gough st mecca, and if youve stopped by then youve eaten there, and if youve eaten there youre in love with the place. seriously its that simple. mathematics.

 the market has plenty of quirky italian things all over the place from pink 'the godmother' tee shirts, to espresso soda, to fresh fennel, imported sardines, oils, and pastas of every shape/size/name.

the deli/prepared food sections is where you want to be though. in the glass cases you will find a variety of salads; potato salads, pasta salads, roasted veggie salads, and salad salads. there is also a wood oven for their pizzas in this section, but lets talk about the sandwiches.

these sandwiches are served on house made fresh bread with the simple ingredients that pack a flavorful punch in a typical italian style. understated but freaking delicious. i went with the old stand by today: the porcchetta sammy. this is a serious sandwich (see photo below) served hot with tomato, paper thin red onions that remind me of the scene in 'goodfellas' when paulie is slicing garlic with a razor blade, and grated cheese that melts when the sandwich is toasted. the pork is shaved and the rosemary and thmye scented hog is piled high on that fresh baked bread that when toasted provides the best crunchy textural contrast to the pillowy soft pork. the only down side to this sandwich is that it is kinda pricey, $8.95, and it is heavy (i wouldnt recommend eating this and then returning to an office to stare at a computer screen ... you will fall asleep!) but luckily i had a $10 spot and i dont have anything else to do today except watch notre dame football. cheer cheer brian kelly