Finally, a sandwich I can get on board with!

Restaurant.com has become my good friend. I have mentioned it several times on this blog, but if you missed it you can read about it here. In this trying economy everyone is looking for a good deal. We love to eat out, and while the economy hasn't affected us terribly yet, we are always on the lookout for deals. Last week, the website ran a special to buy $25 gift certificate for $1. That is insane..basically it's a free $25 gift certificate. When browsing through the offerings, I found certificates to buy at Pickles and Chips in Towson (1220 East Joppa Road Towson, MD 21286 Phone: 410-321-1088). I have seen this place driving down Joppa Road to go to the mall but never stopped in. I further heard about them when they had a mention in Baltimore Magazine for a top sandwich.

With our $25 gift certificate in hand, we went to lunch on Sunday with the kids. The place was empty as we expected on the Ravens home opener. Brian and I got hot corned beef sandwiches on rye. My daughter got a turkey sandwich and my son got a bagel and cream cheese. We have been very skeptical of corned beef since moving to Maryland. No one seems to know how to make it down here. We are used to Jewish style delis from Philly and New York and frankly no one in Harford County has come close. While not as good as our favorite NY delis, Pickles and Chips had a very good sandwich that was what I was used to. Brian, the owner owned a deli in Owings Mills, MD and understands what pastrami and corned beef are really all about. The sandwiches came with really good homemade potato chips and a pickle as well.

They have a huge menu with many standard sandwiches and a selection of specialty sandwiches names after Baltimore celebrities. Order one of these and they donate 25 cents to charity. They also offer breakfast as well. We will definitely go back!

High on the Hog

It's not always easy to eat healthy. Most of the times I can make a decent choice when eating out. However, my weakness this summer has turned to BBQ. We have been going to Famous Dave's a number of times this summer and it has become one of our favorite chain restaurants to go to. The problem was we had to drive at least 40 minutes to get to one. There is one in Columbia and a few in Delaware.

Our days of traveling far for BBQ are over. We happened across Andy Nelson's in Cockeysville last night. The place is a nondescript building on York Road with a pig on the roof. We have driven past it enough times and never gave it a second thought. After talking to some people and reading some reviews we decided to give it a shot.

Waiting in line to order, we noted it was counter service. Order your food and have a choice of taking it to go, or eating at one of the tables inside or out. Brian and I decided on sampler platter that let us try a little of several things. We got beef brisket, pulled pork and a half of slab of Memphis style ribs. We chose cornbread and potato wedges to round out our meal. Our picky kids wanted know part of BBQ and settled on Mac and Cheese and Hot Dogs. A bit of a ripoff, but you don't go to this place for the kids meals. Once we convinced my daughter to take a taste of what we had, she loved it and started eating our meals.

Can't wait to go back..the only bad bad thing to say about the place is that it is not open on Sundays. You would think they would make a killing on Football Sundays, but I guess they know what they are doing.