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!'