food that fell off a truck ... vol. 2

people please do not worry, i'm still eating sandwiches, and i am still on our ever evolving sandwich quest. i'm just a little side tracked this summer with all the delicious summer bbq's, my new excuse to eat pizza all the time, the summer happy hours where dinner is just a blurry afterthought soaked in spirits, and of course with all the hip and happening food trucks that are popping up all around town. so here's another sandwich quest distraction post ...

at first it was a small blip on twitter. then it became noticeable via facebook. but now, baltimore food truck fervor has reached new summer highs, and these trucks are all around town, infecting bored lunch crowds, adventuresome diners, and the baltimore foodie scene with “the non malignant street food fever". it seems like these trucks are breeding like rabbits. it used to be just the burger wagon from koopers, now there's a wagon for crepes and even a truck for grilled cheese sandwiches (could this be an elusive double post in the culinary making ???). i personally believe it's getting a little out of hand, but at the same time i am in love with the idea of inventive mobile food distribution vehicles pushing the proverbial palate of the entire city. it's creative, quirky, fun, and as i'm finding out, a good source for great cheap eats.

what!? now you really have my attention

most of these trucks have a weekly schedule of places where you can find them, or if you are a glutton for long lines, big crowds, and slower service, then there is always the newly created monthly food truck gathering. seriously, these gatherings are kind of out of control. since i am all over the place slinging pastries and cakes during lunch time, it's hard to nail down a visit to a truck. and since i hate the mob scene, i avoid the gatherings. this leaves me with a fantastic option for indulging in these four wheeled food dispensaries, the wednesday night food truck food court on central and eastern ave in little italy/fells point.

there aren't as many trucks at the food court as there are at gatherings. less choices and less fanfare mean short lines, interaction with the chefs, food not running out, and an all-around nice mid week evening activity. this week there were only 2 trucks at the food court. there was probably my favorite, the gypsy queen, and the 'permanent fixture' at the food court, the silver platter. since i had had already pigged out with the gueen i decided i was going to be all about the platter. the first thing that grabs you about the latest venture of the czar of fells point is that plastered on its jetstream silver exterior is a giant sign that shouts 'lobster rolls & pit beef'. 

ooops, i think i was supposed to take
a before, not after ....

now if you know me at all, you know that if you need to pique my interest or get me all hot and bothered, all you need to do is mention lobster rolls or pit beef. but here is the kicker ... upon reading the silver platters menu i realized that there was more on the menu that i wanted to try besides the pit beef and lobster. what instantly jumped out at me was the sweet chili bbq ribs. what!?!? ribs from a truck? i needed to see this and, more importantly: needed to eat it!

seeing how the ribs were of the sweet chili bbq variety it was a pleasant surprise to see them served up with an over-the-top asian theme. there were 4 ribs that were piping hot, covered in that all telling, orange hue of thai sweet chili. to add to the asian theme they were garnished with sesame seeds and finely chopped green onion, and they were stuffed into a chinese takeout box! the ribs were still on the bone, which had me wondering about how tender they would be, but when i was handed the rib filled chinese take away box with a plastic fork, i got excited. and these bad boys needed a fork. there was no way i was going to be able to eat these with my hands, because they were the exact definition of "fall off the bone". they had a nice spice to them, and despite being so soft and tender they had a little crunch on the outside, as a result of a quick pan fry to re-heat and subtle pop of the sesame seeds. but there was even more crunch in my take away box. underneath my sweet and spicy asian ribs was a bed of onion straws that were super thin, breaded, and fried to a golden brown. trust me, these were the best possible compliment to the juicy, fatty, sweet, and spicy ribs. the only critique i have towards these bad boys is that i would not recommend eating these during your lunch hour, because these ribs will bring on an instant onset of the 'itus' ... can you say: nap under the desk!?!

in case you are keeping score at home, its 2-0 in favor of the food trucks ....

baltimore pizza institutions: 'the far eastides pizza pie' ...

this summer has been a very successful food based summer for this sandwich loving blogger. lobsters in maine, surprisingly outrageous sandwiches in st. croix, some tasty eats off food trucks around town, and the occasional pop up downtown bbq with good friends. while all of these are truly wonderful summertime culinary sensations, last week i traveled due east from downtown baltimore and crossed over to year round generational culinary sensation; pizza johns in essex, md.

up until last tuesday pizza johns had been merely a folk legend. a place that people talk about in undescriptive absolutes like, 'its amazing' or 'i love that place' and my favorite 'you have to go there.' dont get me wrong its all great publicity, but lacking in description or a seriously convincing or compelling reason (does this have to do with its location? i kid, i kid) to travel from the pizza rich environment that is baltimore city and venture all the way out to essex for a pie. so after being on my urbanspoon wishlist for nearly a year, i finally hopped in the mazda with a reoccurring culinary adventurist companion, dj g:/ (read: gee prompt), and struck out for this essex pizza institution of legend.

essex is amazing. eastern ave goes on forever, there are no turns. main street is an actual main street. there is water, boats, and docks everywhere. crabs arent $200 a bushel. and we even saw a green dodge challenger, like for real! drunk with our newly discovered affinity for all things essex (full disclosure: after opening up our zillow app, there have been a couple of inquiries into the essex waterfront real estate market) we were only thrown into a deeper stage of giddy inebriation when we pulled onto back river neck road and were quickly greeted by a larger than life 'pizza john' who stood out front of an italian-american chic villa/restaurant mega complex.

'italian-american essex villa chic'

instantly upon entrance we were greeted with table after table of patrons gobbling pizza, wolfing down sandwiches, and slugging tall sodas on this blistering summer day. excitement and hunger were brewing and i my lunch time essex traveling companion and i werent going to let the army of all white dressed 1960s era johnny rocket looking counter staff get the best of us, we were going to order big! there isnt any waitress service at p.j. its an old school trow back. you order everything at the counter, get a number, and take your own seat in one of the three massive dinning areas they have for pizza smashing. after little debate we decided to go with a pepperoni and green pepper pie and a half chicken parm sub to split. with a couple of large drinks our lunch cam out to $11 and change for each person. score another for essex.

before we could make ourselves too comfortable in our over sized booth that could a fit a family of 6 our first number was called. the chicken parm was first at bat. the parm was one large chicken cutlet fried, drenched in sauce, covered with cheese, and slapped on a white roll. the chicken had a crunch and was still a bit juicy, the sauce was fantastic (foreshadowing of the pizza perhaps?). the cheese was a mozzarella and there was a lot of it and it had been melted to allow for it to reach optimal stringy-ness. and finally the sub roll had been toasted to perfection; golden brown. this allowed for the sub to pack a little more crunch, absorb some of the sensational sauce, and not compromise with over the top sogginess. solid 1st at bat for pizza john.

now batting clean up ... pizza john!

a couple of bites into the sub our other number was called. our pizza kind of sauntered to our table like a clean up hitter. it knew it was the star, and it look every bit like one. golden brown crust flecked with tiny bits of over cooked cheese. green peppers glistening with the oils of cooked pepperoni. cheese that looked like it could stretch all the way back to baltimore, well at least back to dundalk. the pizza was the star. after doctoring a slice up with the usual, crushed red pepper, oregano, and a dash of salt, i took a bite of the piping hot pie. wow. the crust was crunchy and had an oven taste to it, but not over the top. the sauce was the star with a good zip to it, but at the same time an amazing tomato feel as well. the cheese could of streted back to dundalk, and the toppings were the perfect size and as a result didnt drag the cheese off the pie at all.

pizza johns was a total success. worth the trip down eastern ave and it truely deserves to be considered a baltimore pizza institution. from now on, anyone who asks me how i feel about pizza john's im going to simply tell them something like ....... 'its amazing', 'i love that place', or 'you have to go there.'