Exit 44 - Broening Hwy (to Dundalk)

As I mentioned before, you have to do a crazy U-turn thing to get to Exit 44 if you're coming from Essex. It's a bit easier, for me at least, to come from Glen Burnie and cross the Key Bridge instead. If you go this way, be prepared to pay the toll (of course). Through the toll plaza is really the only way you can get from Glen Burnie to Dundalk without completely going around the other way, or taking a boat. Coming from Essex you can get there a few ways. Exit 39 may be easiest: just take Merritt Blvd to Holabird/Wise, turn right and keep going until you hit Dundalk Ave. Let me go out on a limb and assume this is probably the way most people get here.

Broening Highway takes you past Turner Station and then Dundalk. I didn't find any eateries in Turner Station as I'd hoped, so I followed my GPS on to Dundalk Avenue. It first took me past the Logan Village Shopping Center, which is just a strip mall. I was almost drawn in by yet another Capt. Harvey's I had seen down here - or is it still open in this location? It sure didn't look closed. I wasn't so much drawn to the China Town Express (map) - no offense, just not in the mood for Chinese. I could have easily gone to the Blue Claw CrabHouse (map), but crabs are an investment in time that I couldn't make today. Dante's Frozen Pizza (map) intrigued me, especially since its enticing smell wafted towards me and my car. But I think it's one of those places that only sells pre-made frozen pizzas (hence, "Frozen Pizza") for fundraisers and taverns, so it was doubtful that I'd find anything to eat in here that I didn't have to throw in a pre-heated oven first.

And then I hit the newly refurbished Dundalk Village Shopping Center, next to which is a park and the Dundalk Patapsco Neck Historical Society. Here you can find probably find out interesting facts about the history of Maryland's Dundalk. Before you do a spit-take: yes, there are interesting facts about the history of Dundalk (of any place, really). John Smith, later famous for his escapades among the Powhatan Confederacy, set foot (though did not set up camp) in what is now Dundalk in 1608, circumnavigating the Bay until he eventually sailed back toward the James River. So Dundalk is one of the first places that Europeans ever set foot in what is now Maryland - another thing that someone raised in Lansdowne would be unlikely to know.

There are a few small shops in Dundalk Village, and a few small and not-so-small eateries. The Scoops Café (map), which has ice cream, is next to the Asian Diner (map), which has a buffet but from the looks of the menu also sells items a la carte. Towards the other end, on the other side of the Rite Aid, lies the Big Boyz Pizza (map), which you could easily miss since it's on the outer edge of the complex. The most prominent business is the Holiday Foods (map), a carry-out that sells everything from breakfast to subs to pizza. With this big place there, it's easy to miss the Village Coffee and Tea Shop (map) tucked around the corner. I almost missed this place and saw it quite by accident, when trying not to collide with a few college students hanging out in front. It's a small, dark and cozy little place that sells coffees, teas and baked goods of the cookie and bagel variety. I ordered a small cappuccino for $2.50, and two brownie bites for $1, and the barista engaged me in a brief, friendly conversation. This was a nice change from the last few minutes, as I had run into the gloomiest group of scowlers I have seen in a place of business in a long time. One whole store front I looked into stared at me with a sea of faces that just screamed "What the fuck are youse lookin' at, hon?" I gave a quick "Fuck you, too" nod and went my way. So the Village was a nice change from that.

Continuing north, you once again hit Holabird. Going back toward Merritt you hit a few more restaurants:

• Tony's Pizza and Carry-Out (map) has a Holabird location. I would say it also has another one on Wise, but I'm not sure if that was the one that I found off of Exit 43 - the one that was closed down.
  
• I can't find anything about Phillip's Inn and Restaurant (map), so some information would be appreciated. At least I could find something about Donna's Tavern (map), which touted its "Dundalk Idol" contest in April. Oddly, their website hasn't been updated since Dundalk Idol happened.
  
• Won Xing (map) serves not just Chinese but also American subs. Or do they mean Chinese-American subs, Chinese subs and American subs, or just American subs and Chinese food-which-does-not-include-subs?
  

And, of course, there is Squire's (map). When I stopped off Exit 39, several posters cried "Foul!" when I failed to include Squire's in my list of restaurants. So I said they gave me an idea for a place to visit when I got this far. Squire's is a restaurant/carry-out/catering outfit whose massive operation you can see into as soon as you step to your left, into the carry-out area (to your right is the dining room, relatively empty at this time of day, around 1:30 in the afternoon). I would have picked up a menu from Squire's but they were out. I did get to see dozens of empty pizza boxes, ready to be filled with pizzas, as well as a refrigerator case by the door with pizzas and cans of tomato sauce. Their lunch specials lasted until about 2 or 3, so my eyes went right to those. After looking over the many pastas, pizzas and other Italian dishes, I finally decided on the lasagna ($7), which came with complementary bread. I did not know this, and I ordered garlic bread ($2) to go along with it. Total: about $9.

That's not a lotta lasagna

Once I had it at home, I was taken aback at the very small size of the lasagna. Sure, I'm all for small portion sizes. I mean, Americans really do eat way too large portions. But still, it was a little small for $7. At least it tasted good. I liked the flavor. It was nice to not get a "lasagna" with a hard, crusty layer of caked-on cheese to have to chew at, and equally nice to not be overpowered by the flavor of tomatoes so tangy that they make you wince. This was a smooth and soft (but not soggy) lasagna. It was just a little smaller than I had expected. But while I really liked the lasagna, I did not care for the garlic bread. It was a bit overdone, and tasted so.

Despite the garlic bread, this meal at Squire's (and the cappucino at the Village) was a pleasant if anti-climactic way to finish out my Beltway Snacking series. It hasn't sunk in yet, but yes, that's indeed it! All over, finished, no more. As I drove home with my lasagna I felt a very satisfying sense of accomplishment, in a job that lasted well over a year and 64 exits (counting A's, B's and C's, and exits that had nothing to eat, like that Park and Ride at the end of Exit 16A). Since my Beltway tour has now taken me full circle, back at the Key Bridge and on to Glen Burnie, I'm not quite sure how to end this series. I'll do some recaps in the weeks to come - favorites, maybe least favorites, places I missed the first time around, that sort of thing.

If there is one big thing I have taken away from this project, however, it is that there is much more worth exploring (both in terms of food and neighborhoods) in the Baltimore area than just downtown. It's that great feeling of being a tourist in your own town. I got to see parts of Anne Arundel, Howard, Harford and Baltimore Counties and Baltimore City that I never get to see much, and in some cases have never seen at all. And if anyone else tries it, maybe y'all can use this bit of foodie fieldwork as an inspiration.

Just don't spend too much.

Other photos -

Oh boy, breakfast pizza!

Nope, doesn't look closed.

Hey hon, I'm takin' a ride down Dundalk.
Ah said HEY, BLEACHED BLOND MAMA! I'M TAKIN' A RIDE DOWN DUNDALK!!!
(and the Turner Station girls say:
doo da-doo, doooo doo da-doo, doo da-doo, doooo doo da-doo...)

And so it ends, as we see the Key Bridge in the distance. Okay, I'm cheating. This is the Key Bridge coming from Glen Burnie, not going towards it.

Places I visited -

Squire's (Italian) - 6723 Holabird Avenue, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 288-0081

• Would I eat there again? Yes
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? Probably, though I won't be ordering the garlic bread
  

Village Coffee and Tea Shop (coffee / tea / baked goods) - 3 Commerce Street, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 285-7270

• Would I go there again? Yes
  
• Would I go out of my way to go there again? If I liked coffee more, sure

Places to look up later -

Asian Diner (Chinese / buffet) - 67 Shipping Place, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 288-9889

Big Boyz Pizza (pizza) - 3 Shipping Place, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 285-5800

Blue Claw CrabHouse (crabs) - 3443 Dundalk Avenue, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 284-9800

Captain Harvey's Submarines (subs - Is this location open?) - 3435 Dundalk Avenue, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 284-7772

China Town Express (Chinese) - 3429 Dundalk Avenue, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 282-2002

Dante's Frozen Pizza (pizza - pre-made and frozen for fundraisers) - 3417 Dundalk Avenue, Dundalk, MD; Phone: (410) 282-2910‎

Donna's Tavern (American) - 6607 Pine Avenue, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 633-6677

Holiday Foods (American) - 41 Shipping Place, Suite 1, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 282-5587

Phillips Inn (no information) - 7018 Holabird Avenue, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 285-8318

Scoops Café (ice cream) - 63 Shipping Place, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 288-1988

Tony's Pizza and Carry-Out (pizza) - 6922 Holabird Avenue, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 288-3300

Won Xing Carry-Out (Chinese / subs) - 6705 Holabird Ave, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 631-9900‎




for Squire's



for the Village Coffee and Tea Shop

Exit 43 - MD-157 (Peninsula Expy) and MD-158 (Bethlehem Blvd), to Dundalk

We are nearing the end of our culinary journey around I-695. I can tell because of all those signs that say "Key Bridge - this way" and "Last exit before toll". But perhaps an even bigger indicator is that this penultimate exit is, in fact, the last exit on the inner loop. That's right. Exit 44 - the final exit - is only found on the outer loop (whose numbers go down). In order to make it from the inner loop, you have to do some funky U-turn thing - which of course I'll have to do, unless I come from Glen Burnie. But technically, if I was just doing the inner loop of the Beltway, I'd be done!

No such luck for me or my schedule. But we'll save that for the next post.

When you get off of this exit, you have two options to turn: Bethlehem Blvd (MD-158) and the Peninsula Expressway (MD-157). I headed for 157, which I reasoned would be an easier route for finding food. It's a long but mostly scenic drive into Dundalk along this route, and wouldn't you know it? Going this way took me directly back to Merritt Blvd and CCBC Dundalk. Since I covered this area a few posts ago (Exit 39), I found myself driving around a lot - I mean a lot - to find something different to eat. It didn't hit me that I could've just gone straight across Merritt along Sollers Point Road and Delvale Avenue - past Dundalk High School on to Holabird. Another option was to continue along Sollers Point towards Dundalk Avenue. That last bit I will save for the next post.

Along the way I didn't find a whole lot until quite late. When you're on Peninsula Expressway, there really isn't a whole lot to eat, unless you catch it yourself. You find a few marinas and parks - quite a few - but eateries are sparse. The only one I found off of Peninsula was the Hard Yacht Café (map), in the Anchor Bay East Marina on Cove Road. Well, at least I would have found it. You see, I found it difficult to get to, even with my GPS. So to be honest, I couldn't really find it. I probably just didn't look enough. And it would've been difficult anyway - the only street is a narrow residential one. Maybe it's easier to get to by boat? When you do get there, you can order anything from sandwiches to burgers to hot dogs to seafood, and of course there's beer.

A few more along the Peninsula-to-Sollers Point route took me past a very large Moose Lodge, and a few businesses that looked either closed down for the day or forever. Tony's Carry-Out (map) looked like it was shut down for good, since - again - there were no vehicles anywhere to be found. Nearby was a Pizza Boli's and the Oriental Wok (map). This place was indeed open, but I got the impression that I needed to phone in my order first.

Hello?

I almost stopped by yet another Filleti's (map) - there seems to be three locations in all, including one on Sollers Point Road - and that probably would've resulted in a pretty good meal. But I wanted to find an unfamiliar name first so I pressed on. Along the way I found Minnick's (map), apparently right across from Dundalk High School. At least it's supposed to be - I could only find what looked like houses. I must have missed it. But at least I know its general location. Minnick's has a bar that is open to the public, and its a jeans and T-shirt sort of place. Its restaurant is only open to private parties and wakes, which you probably shouldn't wear jeans and a T-shirt to anyway.

Once you hit Holabird you can go west towards Dundalk Avenue, or east back to Merritt, and to restaurants I have been to before. The westbound locations I will save for the next post. Eastbound, I found only one restaurant that I haven't written about before. This is Bada Bing Bada Beef (map), next to the Mars supermarket. Bada Bing does catering, bull roasts and all manner of pit beef, pit ham, pit poultry and pulled pork, as well as things you don't usually expect a pit beef outlet to provide, from fried mushrooms to crabcakes to snowballs. That's right - there's a snowball stand!

I needed a minute to look over the menu, and finally decided on the standard pit beef sandwich - rare for $5.60 (you can also get it medium and well done) - and a small fries with gravy (about $2, though typically it costs almost $3). I spent about $8 total.

These were shoestring fries, unlike most pit beef stand fries I have had, which are the thicker variety

The pit beef survived the half hour drive home, though I can't say the same for the fries. I'm not much of a fry person, and I didn't really like these fries a whole bunch. Maybe it's also because they looked a little overdone, even though they didn't taste that way. They were okay. The pit beef was much better. It was one of the more tender pit beefs that I've eaten, and very juicy. It was also a little stringy in some spots, though I've found that with every pit beef I've eaten. It just seems par for the course. The horseradish, BBQ sauce and onion that they put on it (by my request - they ask these things while you're there) also tasted quite good. Only the roll was a soggy let down, but any roll would be after a 30-minute car ride, so that's not their fault. In short, Bada Bing gave me a very good pit beef sandwich, even though I'd avoid the fries in the future.

Sigh - 43 down (counting A, B and C exits, it's more like 60), one to go! Off I go to Broening Highway...

Is there a toll coming up?

Other photos -

A porch with a view - Bada Bing Bada Beef (B⁴?)

You would think that one of these things would help me not get lost, but noooooooooooooo... (Also, I don't advise that you click and drive. It's not easy.)

The legendary Loyal Order of Moose. I think this is the biggest Moose Lodge I have ever seen.

Places I visited -

Bada Bing Bada Beef (pit beef / snowballs) - 7210 Holabird Ave Dundalk, MD 21222 (410) 282-9500

• Would I eat there again? Yes
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? Yes, but not for the fries

Places to look up later -

Filleti's Carry-Out (pizza and subs) - 2917 Sollers Point Rd, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 285-5300‎

Hard Yacht Café (American / seafood / bar - in the Anchor Bay East Marina) - 8500 Cove Road, Dundalk, MD 21222 (39°15'02.5" N, 76°29'15.2" W); Phone: (410) 284-1044

Minnick's (bar / restaurant - restaurant is only open to private parties) - 7100 Sollers Point Rd, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 285-5828

Oriental Wok (Chinese) - 2109 Merritt Ave, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 288-3663

Tony's Carry-Out (American) - 2102 Merritt Ave, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 288-4220‎




for Bada Bing Bada Beef

Exit 42 - MD-151 (North Point Blvd, to Sparrows Point)

I've gotten as far as I can on North Point Boulevard, as my travels took me right up to the Sparrows Point Industrial Complex. I've never seen it. In fact, I've never seen anything off this exit. I know it's sad, but I have never been to Sparrows Point, Edgemere or North Point State Park. And don't even ask about Fort Howard. It looks as if I'll never see the Sparrows Point Complex, as it has a great big, inviting sign at the entrance that says:

PRIVATE PROPERTY

It seemed like the perfect excuse to do a U-ee and head into the heart of Edgemere, er, Sparrows Point. Actually, where the heck does Edgemere start and Sparrows Point end?

Anyway, Edgemere and Sparrows Point, in my opinion, are pretty little communities. They're right by the water and the North Point State Park. It's almost like our tiny little slice of the Eastern Shore right here in Bawlmer County, hon. And while some exits have been pretty skimpy on the food worth eating, this one has a few hidden food gems that a boy raised in the southwest part of the county would never have even known about.

Before you even get into Edgemere, you find a few dining options on the way towards Sparrows Point. Keep going along North Point Blvd and you eventually pass by the Pizza Roma (map), which looks like it's moving into a brand new location being constructed nearby. Close to that is Micky's Package Liquor (map), your typical liquor store / deli / hot wings / Maryland Lottery place. Here I got some Western fries ($2), which were okay, though not as good as many I have tasted made from scratch in some gas stations and grocery stores. Back when Eddies had a Lansdowne location, we always got Western fries there. But that was 25 years ago. I think it's an IGA now. Do they still have those fries? Anyway, I only finished about half of the ones from Micky's.

Why we call them "Western fries" I will never know. I know they don't call them that out West.

I finally headed onto the North Point Peninsula - and more Defenders' Day signs - and on to Edgemere and Sparrows Point proper. Here I found more than a few dining options to help me wash down those Western fries. Strangely, most of these businesses looked like they were closed. No cars (not even of employees), no lights, no foot traffic, etc. Maybe things just close early in Sparrows Point?

• The Edgerock Cafe (map) looks like a fun place to get some food. I can find little about it beyond customers rating it about 4 out of 5 stars. Not a lot of customers either.
  
• JJ & Mina's Cookie Cafe (map) also had no traffic around it, but that's probably due to the time of day. Their new website prominently displays their motto "Glorifying God Through Cookies", which is ironic since their cookies look deliciously sinful. The pineapple upsidedowncake cookie alone is worth investigating, not to mention their many chocolate and chocolate chip creations. They also serve breakfast and lunch.
  
• Capt. Jimmy's Crab House (map) seems to have two very close locations in Sparrows Point, on North Point Road and Chesapeake. It's the second crab house I have found in this area with a $1 crab day. The Salty Dog (Exit 41) has them on Tuesdays, and Capt. Jimmy's - at least the North Point Road location - has 'em on Wednesdays.
• The Edgemere Wok (map) looked closed to me. It seems like another unassuming little Chinese restaurant.
• Then there is Maria's Pizzeria and Carry-Out, which may also be called "Thee Maria's" (map). It's a very unassuming pizzeria and sub shop - but mostly a pizzeria - at the end of a motel. I think it's a motel anyway. I put it in the back of my mind for later.
  

I headed further towards Miller's Island Road and North Point State Park, passing the Bay Shore Bar & Grill (map), a place that touts 1/2 price burgers on Tuesdays (take that, City Café) and $8 shrimp on Wednesdays. I made a stop at the little produce stand on the other side of the intersection, near a small sign that pointed out that Fort Howard was only 3 miles away. They had some expensive fresh food and some very cheap fresh food. I got a humongous tomato for just 75 cents. Just one blemish and the price drops half from $1.50. If it weren't so out of the way for me, I would be there often. The folks are friendly, and the woman was cheerfully apologetic when she saw me there waiting. No skin off of my tomato!

The tomato

I could have gone to Miller's Island, but instead I cut things short and went back into Sparrows Point. After much deliberation, I finally stopped at Maria's. You don't expect it to smell so good, but it did smell wonderful, more so than most pizzerias I've visited. The painted sign has chalkboard strips next to each entry, updated as the price changes or as dishes run out. In fact, at least two menu options had no price but simply said "OUT". Empty pizza boxes were piled out of the way everywhere, while a small little dessert case caught my attention a little too late for me to order any of the cake slices held inside.

For all of less than $5 I got a slice of cheese pizza ($2), a hot dog covered in ketchup, mustard and raw onions (around $1.75) and a can of Diet Coke (less than $1).

The perfect dinner

The hot dog was alright, a little messy with all those onions falling everywhere. The flavor and texture were above average. Of course I happily ate it since I love hot dogs, and only a truly awful hot dog will turn me off. This is by no means a bad hot dog. It's just not a super one. What really shined was the pizza, which was cheesy and had a great flavor and soft, chewy texture. Yes, it was a bit greasy, but that can be overlooked. The crust wasn't overly doughy, something which irritates me about many pizzas I eat. I'll have to go back and try some of the others, though I'll have to buy them whole (only cheese and pepperoni are offered by the slice). The one that intrigued me the most: the anchovy pizza, which sounds like my kinda pizza!

Other photos -

Just about the most popular historical flag in the Baltimore area. It's not the Live Free or Die flag (which I've rarely seen around these parts). It's not the Confederate flag (which I've seen around town more often than you might think). It's the 15-star flag we had during the War of 1812. This one is hung on an overpass around Exit 42 or 41.

En route to the Industrial Complex. Most of that smudginess is not coming from my windshield this time.

The road to Fort Howard, Miller's Island and Scenic North Point State Park

If you can see this view, you are at that produce stand I was talking about.

It looks even fresher when you're right there.

It's Edgemere! It's Sparrows Point! It's Edgemere!! It's Sparrows Point!! AAAAAAAAAAA!

Could someone tell me what this is? I only got the chance to pass by it. It's next to the Food Lion near the middle school. I not only cannot find it online but can't even figure out what it's called!

Places I visited -

Maria's Pizzeria and Carry-Out (pizza / subs / Italian / Greek) - 7111 North Point Road , Sparrows Point, MD 21219; Phone: (410) 477-8174

• Would I eat there again? Yes
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? Maybe for the pizza, not for the hot dogs

Micky's (deli / liquor store) - 5200 North Point Boulevard, Sparrows Point, MD 21219; Phone: (410) 477-1696

• Would I eat there again? Maybe
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? No
  

produce stand at Miller's Island Road - intersection of Miller's Island Road and North Point Road, Sparrows Point, MD 21219

• Would I shop there again? Yes
• Would I go out of my way to shop there again? It's pretty far out of my way to buy produce, so no. But if I was in the area I would.
  

Places to look up later -

Bay Shore Bar & Grill (crabs / bar & grill) - 8214 North Point Road, Sparrows Point, MD 21219; Phone: (410) 477-1646

Capt. Jimmy's Crab House (crabs / seafood - with a second location on Chesapeake Avenue) - 7214 North Point Road, Sparrows Point, MD 21219; Phone: (410) 477-0775

Edgemere Wok (Chinese) - 7120 North Point Road, Sparrows Point, MD 21219; Phone: (410) 388-2003

Edgerock Cafe (American) - 2307 Sparrows Point Road, Sparrows Point, MD 21219; Phone: (410) 388-1060

JJ & Mina's Cookie Café, Inc (cookies / American) - 2400 Sparrows Point Road, Sparrows Point, MD 21219; Phone: (410) 477-5863

Pizza Roma (pizza / Italian) - 2304 Sparrows Point Road, Sparrows Point, MD 21219; Phone: (410) 477-1722

Listen to this post as an MP3

Exit 41 - Cove Road (to MD-151 and Dundalk)

The search for food along North Point Boulevard continues. This leg of the trip takes me from Cove Road to Wise Avenue, beyond which lies the Sparrows Point Industrial Complex and - yes - another Beltway exit. The next one will take me into the heart of Sparrows Point itself. But for now, I'm still exploring MD-151 for some eats.

A few more notable things that I found past Cove Road:

• The seemingly vacant "Sand Witch" trailer (closed for today). Does anybody know anything about it at all?
• The standard Chinese and Italian places. The Chinese place is the Great Wall Chinese Restaurant (map). The Italian place is Vizzini's Pizza (map), one of several in the Baltimore area (including locations in Pasadena and Baltimore itself). Great Wall and Vizzini's are both in the St. Gregory Shopping Center. It looks like the North Point Mart Shopping Center but make sure you read the part at the top (especially bad to diss St. Greg if you're a singer, a musician or a teacher - or all three).
• Pop's Tavern (map) looks like a clean, bright and crusty old place (neither a good nor a bad thing - it's just a thing). They've got a listing on MDparty.com. From the look of the acts, Pop's seems like a country place. Their MDparty page lists upcoming live country band performances, including seemingly regular performers like the Cumberland Band, Southern Exposure and the David Wayne Band. I think they're all local acts, and are performing alot in the upcoming months.
• The Sparrows Point Restaurant, tiny and compact, so they must be crowded when they're open. Are they still open? I can find nothing about them.

Alright, Google, Yahoo, Urbanspoon - y'all don't believe me that there's a Sparrows Point Restaurant? Here it is! HA!

One important find for the drooling crab lover: dueling crab joints, across the Boulevard from each other. At least one makes it onto Elizabeth Large's top ten crab houses in the Baltimore area, and the other gets raved about by commenters.

On one side is the Costas Crab House/Inn, (map), voted the 2003's Best Crab House by the City Paper. Costas has also made its way into Zagat, where most reviewers loved the place (a few hated it big time). Costas serves "crabs all year round, hon". But of course, it doesn't stop there: they've got crab cakes, pit beef, even their own seafood seasoning. And yes, they do cater. It's a big, sit-down place where you can get your hands and arms covered in Old Bay and little crab shell-induced cuts right quick. It's one of those places that I really should have known about, but I don't. So I will have to get to know it when I have the time and the money.

On the other side is the Salty Dog's Crab House (map). This is not so much a crab house as a seafood shop. No, it looks like you can't sit down and eat, well, anything in Salty Dog's. This seems to be a carry-out place, so I assume carry-out is the only way to meet your seafood needs here. This place was packed - but considering that it was relatively the size of an outhouse (okay maybe not that tiny), it would have to be. Still, there were about as many people there as at the Costas Inn (maybe 10 5 times as big) across the street. They sell urshters, soft shells, etc. And here's what REALLY caught my attention: Tuesdays are $1 crab days! Get crabs for $1 each. That is my price range! I love what one reviewer said: "The crabs are not the absolute best but definitely are worth the money".

Yes, you too can get delicious steamed crabs for only a buck a piece! Too bad it's Wednesday...

I HAVE to venture back to the Salty Dog, maybe on my way back from Exit 42 when I get around to it. And I would've come here had I not already been to Tommy's Charcoal Express (map), a small little diner with all the feel of a Waffle House without any of the glitz. And like WH, Tommy's sells just about everything here. Their specialty, of course, is not waffles but all manner of pit meat: pit beef, pit chicken, pit sausage, pulled pork, etc. So much to choose from!

I stuck with the specials to save myself the trouble. For my meal I quickly settled on the pulled pork slider special with French fries and a 16 oz drink ($6). I got my meal in under ten minutes, all the while I was perusing the local Dundalk paper at one of the stools set up by a counter-away-from-the-counter, with booths and old video arcade games behind me. I'm not sure what he was doing, but one older gentleman (who obviously was familiar with the staff) took a butter knife from one of the tables and fidgeted with the side of one of the video machines for a second. Then he put it back down, which puzzled me.


The sliders were too hot and messy to even attempt to sample in the car, but I did get some fries: very fresh-tasting, like they had been cut not long before. I don't know if they had been just cut, but they sort of tasted like it. I ate the sliders later at home: three perfect little sweet blobs of pulled pork, each on its own soft mini-hamburger bun. Actually, I didn't eat them all. Instead I just cut each in half, saving the rest of them for later. It all microwaved well (even the fries) for about 45 seconds. Some of the tastiest pulled pork I've had as of late.

Other photos -

Just how many Louisville Sluggers have come in contact with headlights in Pop's parking lot? Did it make a difference?

Do you really want to argue with the man-sized crab? I mean he looks pretty steamed.

Onward and outward, back to the Beltway, hon

Places I visited

Tommy's Charcoal Express (American) - 3950 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 477-6900

• Would I eat there again? Yes indeed
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? Maybe
  

Places to look up later

Costas Crab House & Inn (crabs / American) - 4100 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 477-1975

Great Wall Chinese Restaurant (Chinese) - 4045 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 477-4605

Pop's Tavern (bar / American) - 4343 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21219; Phone: (410) 477-0270

Salty Dog's Crab House (crabs / seafood) - 4011 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 388-0515

Sand Witch trailer (sandwiches) - can find no information

Sparrows Point Restaurant - can find no information

Vizzini's Pizza (pizza) - 4051 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 477-1200



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