Notes from Trinacria and Lexington Market

I haven't been to Lexington Market in ages, and I've only been to the nearby Trinacria Italian deli once, so the other day I headed over to both. I spent $20 altogether - more than I had planned - but got some good loot for my troubles:

* God I love all the other stuff they have there. It smells wonderful there, too.
* The tiramisu from Trinacria is wonderful. You need to buy some, especially at $2.50 a slice.
* I wanted a cannolo but forgot to order it. I'm a doof.

Altogether I spent about $11 at Trinacria, for tiramisu, some anchovies, polenta in a tube and some mozzarella balls. The tiramisu was clearly my favorite thing. I will definitely get that again.


Over at LexMart, I know that you can find many things. I had heard Jane and Michael Stern on last week's installment of The Splendid Table speak wonderful things about Lexington market (of course), particularly Faidley's. I was surprised to find out that you could get squirrel and muskrat at LexMart, too. So I figured I would try to find it:

* I parked on street, cut through parking garage and ended up iin Lex Mkt East, that smallish addition across the street from the BIG main market
* I couldn't find the squirrel, but I had no idea that Faidley's - which carries blue crabs in just about any Chesapeake-friendly format - also carried muskrat. I didn't catch the price. I did see raccoon advertised at $20 a pop. They were out when I went.
* There was also a roach in Faidley's. Ick. It would've ick'd me out even more but in a massive market like Lexington, is it really any surprise that there are roaches anywhere?
* As I Tweeted a few days ago, I have discovered that Bergers cookies are no longer the best cookie in America. That title now belongs to Bergers cookies bought freshly made at their Lexington Market stand.
* Go to their stand and you see first-hand that Bergers makes sooooooo much more than that famous cookie. I had no idea that Bergers made snickerdoodles. Good snickerdoodles. I bought about $7 worth of Bergers legendary cookies, plus a chocolate top and some butter cookies and the aforementioned snickerdoodles.
* Also had a very nice chili hot dog from Konstants. More than made up for the three fried oysters I had earlier, each buried in a massive pillow of breading. It should be a crime to do that to an oyster.

Exit 40 - MD-151 (North Point Blvd)

As I've mentioned before, this part of 695 is one of those corners of the Beltway where the exits all take you to more or less the same place (see: Exits 2 - 4, Exits 8 - 10, Exits 20 - 21, Exits 34 - 35). Driving around looking for places to eat, usually the first step in the journey that is this post, I found very few places off of Exit 40 that I didn't already find off of 39. What's worse, You only have to drive about a mile before you run into Exit 41 (Cove Road). So for this post, I am looking at everything along southbound North Point Boulevard (MD-151), including the side streets, stopping at Cove, where the next post picks up.

This is also where the Maryland Transportation Authority starts messing with your mind. No simple relationship between the inner and outer loop exits here! The inner loop Exit 40 takes you to southbound North Point Boulevard. The outer loop, however, off of which the exit numbers go down (easy mnemonic device to tell them apart: the outer loop makes you feel "down and out"), takes you to two places: northbound North Point Boulevard (MD-151), and westbound Eastern Boulevard (MD-150). To make matters worse, there is no Exit 38A or B - but Exit 38E is there to take you eastbound on Eastern. Got all that?

I think I'm insane now.

Apart from that, outer loop Exit 40 takes you to Eastpoint Mall and pretty much the same places that Exit 38A off the inner loop takes you. The one different place I can mention is the Best Buffet (map), one of the only non-chain buffets I know of in the area. It looked pretty full about the time I passed by there.

Back to the inner loop: Whereas Exit 39 yields an embarrassment of riches (food-wise), Exit 40 doesn't yield very much at all. Truth be told, you are the one who has to yield, since the exit turns into a merge from the left into oncoming traffic. Cut across too fast and you may get hit before you get to the Wal-Mart/Aldi's shopping center - just across from the big sign commemorating the Battle of North Point, which occurred around here in September of 1814, during the War of 1812. This is the same shopping center with the North Point / Plaza Flea Market complex (map), that also includes Charlie & Lena's Seafood & Produce and an Amish Farmers Market. I stumbled upon it on Sunday, just as it had shut down for the day. Also recall, as I found off Exit 39 as well, that Caldarazzo's Pizzeria (map) is much easier to get to from this exit. It's next to the Aldi's.

Cruising down North Point Boulevard you find little else before you hit Cove Road. Turning down the side streets just takes you to North Point (or Old North Point) Road - at Cove Road you can make a sharp right turn from North Point Boulevard onto North Point Road. Along the journey from North Point to North Point, you find a small handful of non-McDonald's eating establishments. Perhaps your best bets along North Point Road are the aptly-named North Point Diner (map), and Papa Leone's Spaghetti House (map). The former is a small diner in a red brick building that's pretty easy to miss if you pass by too fast. The latter was pretty empty when I got to it. I don't know much else about it. Another establishment, the Left Field Pub (map), borders both North Point Boulevard and North Point Road. So does the North Point Flea Market, which will inevitably come up on your right.

Much of what you can find to eat, or drink, is along the more well-traveled North Point Boulevard, including Journey's (map) and Michael's Halfway House (map), two taverns that the internet has precious little information about, except that they are places to find karaoke. For lunch and dinner, more promising establishments can be found on the other side of Cove Road (again, see Exit 41).

On the Boulevard side of Left Field Pub lies the Little Village Pizzeria (map). This unassuming little place is your standard pizza and sub shop, bright and clean inside with a television currently tuned into the Olympics (event on screen: men's water polo. Damn those guys can fill out a Speedo). The Little Village was also empty at the end of this lunch hour - a few more cars at the Left Field next door. Less of a wait for me I suppose. A few of Little Village's offerings, as I perused their take-out menu for a while: no slices of pizza but you can get a 12" cheese-only pizza for $7. most specialty pizzas cost just a few dollars more. Also on the menu are stromboli (between $10 and $11 each), subs in three different sizes (the smallest, 8" one will be about $7), salads, fish and gyro platters, shakes in three flavors, and desserts ranging from baklava to cake. I finally settled on the 8" pizza sub ($7) with small onion rings ($3) and a can of Diet Pepsi, which I was surprised to hear referred to as "pop". This must have been a lunch special as my bill totaled just under $10, and I know they added the soda. In ten minutes, as I was told, my order was ready.

The 8" sub is too much food for me. Another thing to point out: they sure know how to keep it hot, wrapping it (as you should) in paper and then foil. It was still hot half an hour later when I got it home (The onion rings? not so much). So the roll was, understandably, soggy when I got it home - and no, it would not have been soggy had I eaten it there.


The chopped meat was juicy and pretty tasty, the cheese was gooey, and the tomato sauce was mostly on the roll. I can't say I enjoyed the onion rings, which tasted like your standard frozen onion rings just out of the fryer. They should change the brand because it's not a very good onion ring.

All in all, Little Village is worth going to, though I wouldn't drive half an hour to get to it.

Other photos:

The memorial sign pointing out that you are driving by history here - the Battle of North Point happened near these parts

This is the photo I had up on the Exit 39 post. Not much more activity at the tail end of the Sunday shopping festivities.

Walk past the Aldi's from the farmers market and you can get pizza! Though it's probably cheaper frozen at Aldi's.

No I don't need any. But it's still good to know it's here, alright? And yes, I know I need to wash my windows!

Places I visited:

Little Village Pizzeria (pizza and subs) - 3819 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 284-9488

• Would I eat there again? Probably
• Would I go out of my way to eat there again? Probably not
  

Places to look up later:

Caldarazzo's Pizzeria (pizza / Italian) - 2315 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 284-3354

Journey's (pub) - 2701 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 282-0699

Left Field Pub (pub) - 3813 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 285-1691

Michael's Halfway House Tavern (pub) - 3814 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 288-9573

North Point Diner (diner / American) - 2701 North Point Road, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 477-1000

North Point / Plaza Flea Market (market - local foods) - 2401 North Point Boulevard, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 285-4504

Papa Leone's Spaghetti House (Italian) - 2713 North Point Road, Dundalk, MD 21222; Phone: (410) 284-9770

Exit 35B: US-40 East (to Aberdeen)

Forget Route 66 (which I also traveled a lot during my years in and around San Bernardino): Route 40 is where it's at. Good Lord, how many times have I hit US Route 40 - aka Pulaski Highway, Franklin Street and Baltimore National Pike - since I started this Beltway Snacking thing? Seems like a lot, because it's everywhere, and it's served up a nice array of food: pizza and Indian groceries in Ellicott City, diner food in Catonsville, greasy onion rings in Gwynn Oak, a loose-meat "steamburger" in Rosedale, and Italian and seafood in Edgewood. And that doesn't even count Route 40 as it passes through the heart of the city. Three counties - four if you count Baltimore City - and that's only the Baltimore area. It's tough to get away from it. And yet I'm pretty sure that this sixth and final stop along Route 40 will be it for this project before I head into Middle River.

For this final stop along "America's Golden Highway" I went back to diner food. I also brought my sister along, which is something I haven't done for these Beltway Snacking trips before. Cathy is useful for this part of the project anyway, since she lived out here for a few years, so she can point me to a few places I might not have otherwise gone to.

Let's rewind a few days, though, to my trip to Philadelphia Road. I mentioned the ubiquitous Centre at Golden Ring (map), and its many fast food dining options. Going back to explore the few options aside from them I found, really, nothing. Oh sure there's the standard Chinese buffet - Grand Buffet (map), which has been there for a few years - and the standard pizzeria - Bellagio Pizzeria, which looks like it just opened (use the map for the Grand Buffet, which is a few doors down). I cannot find any information about this place - it must be that new! But apart from those places, it's pretty much all Panda Express, Mickey D's, DQ, Panera Bread, and (across the street by the Best Buy) Longhorn Steakhouse. The standard junk. Not that I've avoided the Panda Express or Panera Bread. Most everybody wants the standard junk once in a while.

A few days later Cathy and I headed out the other way, in the Aberdeen direction, not getting much farther than Middle River Road. A little strip mall (map) was riddled with places to check out - yet another pizzeria, the Middle River Pizzeria, and yet another Chinese place, the China King (formerly China Taste). The location that really caught our eye was the Shivs International Foods. Strange, I can find no information about it on the internet. While the focus up front is South Asian groceries, the farther back you go the more and more Latin American groceries you can find. A few refrigerators - not the kind at 7-Eleven, but actual refrigerators - hold everything from frozen goat and fish to frozen methi leaves and banana leaves. At least they would if they were full stocked. I eventually picked up a box mix of Butter Chicken spices, and Cathy got a few things as well.

After passing the Blue Lagoon Waterfront Saloon (map), the Blondie's Bar & Grill (map) and the Martin's Boulevard exit, we finally landed at the sleek and shiny Silver Moon Diner (map). Okay, you can use those adjectives to describe 95% of the diners in the Baltimore area, but it's fitting. It is sleek, it is shiny, and it is, well, silver. Okay, chrome.

The Silver Moon Diner has gotten some very mixed reviews from what I see on the internet - people either love it or hate it, and it ties in to both the service and the food at the time. The Sun's Karen Nitkin thought it was okay. Fortunately we got there blissfully unaware of the good-average-bad reviews. As far as our service went, we had no complaints. Our waitress was very helpful with recommendations and got the food out quickly to us. Mind you, we got there right after the lunch rush, and while the place wasn't empty it wasn't crowded either.

As far as the food went, here's what we got:


Our first course would have been fried calamari, but since they were out we went for soup instead. Cathy got the tasty Maryland crab while I got the creamy and filling shrimp bisque ($2.50 each).


We both liked the bisque better.


For our main course, we each opted for sandwiches. I got the deluxe feta cheeseburger ($6.95), which came with fries, pickle and cole slaw on the side, onion rings on top, and the typical lettuce, onions and tomato, and mayo on the side (again, I quickly moved that off my plate). As burgers go, it was one of the better diner burgers I have had, light years ahead of Double T's, about as good as Bel-Loc, almost as good as the Broadway Diner's. The feta wasn't so strong as to make me gag, as it often is, but quite subtle. And those onion rings went quickly. The cole slaw was sweet, but I couldn't finish it - the burger was just too filling. On the other end of the spectrum was the pickle, which was close to inedible.


Cathy got the Reuben sandwich ($8.25), which she found out too late was open-faced. So she ate it with a knife and fork! I believe she also got cole slaw with hers, and fries. Since we both had fries, we just shared one big plate of them. The fries were okay, not the best I have had but certainly not bad at all. As for the Reuben: it was big, greasy and intimidating, but she liked it all the same.


My eyes bugged out when Cathy ordered dessert (between $2 and $4.50), but like any good diner, Silver Moon has a very tempting array. One Boston Cream-like pie covered in fudge and peaking way up in the middle like a smoothed-over minaret was the most intimidating dessert - one piece of this will give you all the calories you need for one day. She got a much smaller piece of chocolate cake instead, which was fudgy and just plain evil.


I gave in and ordered a piece of their monster lemon meringue pie, with octopus-shaped peaks reaching out to grab you, covered in little dots of lemon meringue moisture, and with a layer of some sort of cake-like substance in between the lemon and the meringue. I could not finish half of it, and took the rest home.

In all, I have to add my voice to the chorus of those who liked the Silver Moon diner. That doesn't even include the free cookies they had sitting by the cash register at the front. A good, filling, though calorie-packing way to finish my final Beltway Snacking stop along Route 40.

Anyone else notice the cake in the middle of the sign is, um, upside-down?

Other photos:

Oh, the comments I could make! I did not buy this, by the way.

Places I visited:

Shivs International Foods Inc. (market - international / South Asian / Latin American) - 901 Middle River Road, Middle River, MD 21220; Phone: (410) 687-4354

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

Silver Moon Diner (diner) - 9605 Pulaski Hwy, Middle River, MD 21220; Phone: (410) 682-5050

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

Places to look up later:

Bellagio Pizzeria (pizza) - 8640 Pulaski Hwy, Centre at Golden Ring, Rosedale, MD 21237; cannot find phone (please help)

Blondie's Bar & Grill (bar & pub / bar & grill) - 9611 Pulaski Hwy, Middle River, MD 21220; Phone: (410) 574-7984

Blue Lagoon Waterfront Saloon (bar & pub)- 9727 Pulaski Hwy, Middle River, MD 21220-1407, Phone: (410) 574-3200

China King (formerly China Taste) (Chinese) - 901 Middle River Road, Middle River, MD; Phone: (410) 238-2222

Grand Buffet (Chinese) - 8640 Pulaski Hwy, Centre at Golden Ring, Rosedale, MD 21237; cannot find phone (please help)

Middle River Pizzeria (pizza) - 901 Middle River Road, Suite G, Middle River, MD 21220; Phone: (410) 574-2600



for Silver Moon Diner

Where to Buy Fish in Bawlmer?

Julie at Kitchenography just asked in a recent comment:

Any good tips on where to buy fish? I haven't managed to find a place I really like which seems absurd, seeing as how we're in Baltimore and all.

Of course, Lexington Market (www.lexingtonmarket.com, no hyperlink - very annoying audio on their home page) came to mind, though I was hard pressed to think of all the other places, like that one place Mo's on President St (a restaurant and market), and probably somewhere in Fells. Help: where are some other good places to buy fresh seafood - not already prepared, but fresh off the boat (or almost so)?

Sang Kee Peking Duck

Happy Year of the Pig! I celebrated it in Philly. I parked off of Walnut, a few blocks away from the Convention Center and Chinatown, and found that it wasn't that far. I've walked from Walnut to the Franklin Institute of Science before (it takes about 20 to 30 minutes), and I need the exercise. Don't we all?

Verity over at American Geisha had offered to get some good spots to eat from her friend in Philly, but I procrastinated (Oops! My bad, Verity). So I just relied on my Philadelphia travel guides. The one I got the most out of was the Philadelphia Access Guide, which gave me lots of good ideas. After much deliberation - Chinese, Vietnamese, Burmese, Malaysian - I chose the cheap eatery Sang Kee Peking Duck. Simple food that's a cut above similar establishments, Sang Kee has two locations, one in Chinatown and one very close by, in the massive Reading Terminal Market (pronounced "Redding"). Think our Lexington Market - there's even a photo collage of Lexington Market and other markets around the Western world.

I went to find the Chinatown location and ran into a barely moving mass of people around the sounds of fireworks. I had to go see the celebrations. This was a great way to bask in the Chinese New Year celebration. I took a few photos, but soon gave up. Yes, I did get one or two good shots purely by luck. But I eventually found that I am just not tall enough to see a dragon costume over 500 people! I likewise gave up on finding the restaurant in Chinatown itself, again, because of the massive, stationary throngs of people.

So I headed toward the Reading Terminal Market, which is very close to the Convention Center. In fact, I went to a convention there a few years ago, and only figured this out yesterday. The place, of course, has lots of stalls with fresh meats, fish, produce and sweets, plus cookbooks, pet supplies, and tons of other things (I bought a book of Marshmallow Fluff recipes). It also has stalls of raw oysters, Middle Eastern, Chinese, cheese steaks, soul food, Amish (yes, Amish) food, etc.

The Sang Kee stall was small, unimposing - much of what you'd expect in a typical stall eatery. After much deliberation, I went for (duh) duck. Actually, I went for duck and pork with rice and vegetables. Sounded tasty, all for about $6.85. The person behind me then ordered a "Peking Duck Roll." I wondered: anything like the Aroma duck "fajita" I got in London? It was, but they - not you - wrap up the duck. I didn't get one, but next time I'm up there I just might. It's about $1.50 if you do.

With a Diet Coke for about 75¢, the total came to $7.50. Pretty good for fresh duck, lots of rice and Chinese cabbage, and pork (hey, it is the Year of the Pig). I got my meal and tried to find a place to sit. Most of what was available and not icked over with half-eaten food was cafeteria-style seating. So I chose a corner at one table and opened up the styrofoam container. Prettily laid out, the food hid a large bed of white rice. My first bite was a large, fatty piece of duck with the skin - not a bright idea, mind you, to stuff this into your mouth all at once. After chewing it for a couple seconds, at least a tablespoon of liquid fat had to have gone down my throat. Yuck. But the rest, apart from the small bone pieces (I found myself spitting out more than a few), was pretty good. Even though the pork had been warmed in a microwave, it was still tasty. And the duck was, again, juicy (natch) and delicious, despite the bones. The many, many, small pieces of bone.

Three other people sat at my table - again, nowhere else to sit. We pretty much kept to each other. I was eying their chocolate and white chocolate-dipped pretzels, thinking about getting one of my own.

I didn't, but again there's always next time.