Hanging with the Brewer: Redbrick Station's Mike McDonald

Late last week when my fiance Deana realized we had Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day she mentioned that it might be a good time to finally get all of our Xmas decorations put away. I agreed and then promptly went about figuring a way to get out of participating. A few minutes later, I had an e-mail out to the fine folks of Redbrick Station inquiring about meeting with their brewer, Mike McDonald. They were kind enough to agree to a meetup. Needless to say, hanging out with Mike beat Deana's day of stuffing reindeer into plastic bins by a considerable amount.

Being that we recently turned the page on a new year I decided that one of things I want to bring to the blog is a lot more interaction with local breweries. I chose to start off with Redbrick Station for a variety of reasons. Out of all the brewpubs in the area, I've spent more time in their establishment than any other. I can walk there from work and I only live 10 minutes away making every day the perfect day to sit down with pint there. I also decided to start with Redbrick Station because I really love what they are doing there and yet I feel like they don't always get the attention from local beer connoisseurs that they should.

So I asked Mike, who has been brewing for 22 years (16 with Redbrick) just that. Did he ever consider what Redbrick's nitch was within the Maryland Beer scene? His answer was very refreshing. Most all of the beer he brews is sold within the walls of the brewpub and so he's making beer for the people that walk through their doors every day. He's not brewing for himself or spending time looking at the landscape of Maryland beer and trying to keep with the trends. At the end of the day, Mike's using his 14 barrel system to produce sessionable (more often that not) English style beers that guys like me can enjoy two or three of with dinner before we head home for the evening.

On that front, Mike's doing a damn fine job. A big thing in craft beer these days is pairing food with beer. In my experience, I find this to be a challenge because of craft beers tendency to go big on everything. Yeah, there are beers that pair easily but there are far too many I don't want anywhere near my pint glass when I'm eating. At Redbrick, their beers are well balanced and work well as a standalone beer or something to help wash down whatever food you have in front of you. In other words, the beers are flavorful but they aren't so over the top that you find your tastebuds hosting a battle royale between beer flavors and food flavors.

On a different note but along the same theme, the well balanced nature of Mike's beers make them perfect for carrying on conversations. As much as I love admiring a beer for it's color, aroma, taste, head retention, lacing, mouth feel....(you get the point)....there are times where I just want a beer that tastes good and isn't going to get in the way of a conversation. Better yet, I don't always want a beer that's going to be the conversation. After work, all I want to do is unwind with a good beer and relax for a little bit. There is a time for getting overly precious with my beer and then there are times when all I want is a good old fashioned beer delivered to me in a simple but delicious way. Creating unassuming but fantastic beers is a skill unto itself and something I wish more people took notice of. Mike nails these types of beers at Redbrick and given that they style themselves as an English Style Pub, the nature of Redbrick's beers are right in line with where they ought to be.

In addition to their staple beers that consist of Avenue Ale, Honeygo Lite, Spooners Stout, Something Red, and Daily Crisis IPA (their top seller) Mike usually has one or two seasonal's on tap. Yesterday, I enjoyed Winter Solstice on cask and it was delicious. It was nutty with a nice mix of caramel and toffee and would go perfectly as I work on this post while it's 20 degrees outside and we're 6 inches deep in snow. A few other favorite seasonals are a Blueberry Ale known as They Made Me Do It and a Watermelon Beer called Cerveza Sandia. Trust me when I say Cerveza Sandia is one of the most refreshing local beers going at the end of a hot summer. Neither of these beers (or any Redbrick beer for that matter) use extracts and remain true to their base beer while offering subtle hints of fruit. If you don't like fruit beers these are definitely a few to try.

Another thing they do really well is cask ale and I give Redbrick a lot of credit for turning me onto cask. When I first started getting into beer I didn't really know what cask beer was but it was at Redbrick where I learned just how different a beer can become simply by serving a beer through a cask instead of the traditional CO2 fed system I was used to. Mike prefers to throw Ave Ale in the cask and dry hop it, but all the beers minus Honegyo Lite are fair game for cask treatment. Personally, my two favorite cask offerings are Daily Crisis and Something Red. Something about the rounded soft flavors make these beers extra quaffable.

Something that make Redbrick's beers unique are the fact that they use open fermentation. I wasn't previously aware of this fact, and I won't pretend to tell you what flavors I can pick up on their beers that arise via open fermentation, but it's something not everyone does and I'm always a fan of the road less traveled. Mike also informed me that he doesn't mess with water chemistry. Once upon a time he might have tried to recreate Burton upon Trent water but found that White Marsh water worked just fine. Being that water is the main ingredient in beer, if you're a fan of drinking local you can drink easy knowing that the water, and hence the beer, is as local as local gets.

If you haven't had a chance to try Redbrick out recently be sure to stop back in and give them a taste. Yes, I know some of you won't want to make the trip out to of the city and into the suburbs, but don't let that stop you from getting some. The Wharf Rat almost always has something of Mike's on offer. And just as an FYI to any curious readers, I got to taste a Barleywine that was fermented in an Oak Barrel and it was out of this world good. It's more along the lines of an English Style Barleywine with hints of citrus, sweet malt, and a bit of spice throw in from the Oak. I loved it now and hope to get a taste in the future because it's only going to get better as it ages another couple months. Be on the lookout for that one down the line as it's going to be very limited.

Lastly, but most important I'd like to thank Mike and the people at Redbrick Station for allowing me to come in and take up some of their valuable time. It was a day well spent, full of great information, good beer, and a heck of conversation with Mike McDonald. See you next Tuesday for $1 beers!

Slices Pizzeria on the Avenue

One thing I'll never understand are people at the workplace who eat lunch at their desk. I get that people are busy and hard working, but for me I relish that one hour in the middle of the day when I get to stop looking at a monitor and go out by myself to just eat and think. And one of my favorite ways to spend that hour is to take a short walk over to The Avenue for lunch followed by a quick perusal of books at Barnes & Noble. So, when Slice opened up at The Avenue this summer, I was very happy to have a new place to grab a bite to eat. 

I've visited Slice a few times and I'm still not sure how I feel about the place. If I had to sum the place up in one sentence I'd say it's a tiny building with BIG slices and BIG prices. The inside of the building has very little seating. It's changed over time, but it's gone from having nowhere to sit at all to maybe 4-6 seats. There is a little standing bar area where you can put your plate and the outside has 3 tall tables that you can stand at, but I think the lack of seating is going to a very big issue as the weather becomes colder. Nobody is going to want to stand outside in December. 

The pizza itself is usually pretty tasty. It's not among the best pizza I've had, but it's as good or better than most and for a simple lunch it suits me just fine. The slices are massive --- I'd consider one slice to be the equivalent to two at most places. Their basic slice of cheese is good. The sauce is thick and robust, the cheese isn't too greasy, and the crust is really good. I've also tried their buffalo chicken pizza, and while it's not bad their buffalo sauce to blue cheese ratio is way off. I've had it two on different occasions and both times the blue cheese was heavy handed while the buffalo sauce was almost at a barely noticeable level. When I order anything "buffalo" I want the buffalo to be the star of the show.

And the price is just a bit too much. I've gone to lunch before with Deana and we split two slices and a drink with our total coming in around $15. That's just too much. I can get an entire pizza for that price or close to it. I like the idea of a huge slice of pizza, but I don't think they are worth quite what they are charging. If they modify the size of their slices and come down on the prices I think this is a great addition to The Avenue. But as it stands, it's not somewhere I find myself going regularly simply because it falls out of my lunchtime price range most of the time. 

Price: Expensive

Recommendation: If you're looking for something quick on a trip to The Avenue give them a shot. 

What to Order: I'm always a sucker for a good slice of cheese

Casa Mia's

It shouldn't have taken this long. It shouldn't have taken me damn near 7 years of working within a quarter mile of this place to find out about Casa Mia's . Shame. On. Me.

Always on the lunch hunt, I went to a co-worker desperate for a new idea and he mentioned that Casa Mia's made good club sandwiches and cheese steaks. Sounded good to me, so I drove over and hoped for the best. And the best is just what I received.

Knowing I was going to order a cheese steak, I decided I needed to make an attempt at balance by ordering a salad. They offered their house dressing and I accepted. I assumed it would be the typical vinaigrette, but instead I sat down with a creamy dressing that offered hints of dill and lemon. Surprised by the fact that I enjoyed a mayo based dressing so much, I was happy to bring Deana back with me for dinner a few days later to try it out for herself. And boom, just like that Casa Mia's had two new fans.

But that's enough about lettuce. Unless you're a rabbit reading this , I'm sure you want to know about the cheese steak you're staring down in the picture above. To sum it up, it's damn good. The roll is fantastic. It's got a slightly crusty outside and soft inside that is perfect for a cheese steak. Strong enough to keep everything from sogging through, but soft enough that you aren't tugging at the bread like an animal. I chose provolone, mayo, onions,peppers and hots to go with the boatload of juicy steak they pile inside. The caramelized onions are what makes this sandwich. With all of the salty cheese and meat, the little bit of sweetness you get from the onions rounds everything out in the perfect way.

Once again, I found a gem right under my nose. I went in to Casa Mia's looking for a good lunch, but left with a new staple in my local dining rotation. Lunch, dinner, it doesn't matter what time of day it is, Casa Mia's is a great option to get tasty food without a long wait.

Price: Average
Recommendation: Great place for a sub
What to Order:  Cheese Steak.

Taco Love Grill

I was invited to Taco Love Grill by owner Mena earlier this week. Yesterday, we took her up on the invitation and left the restaurant full and happy. The food was great and the staff was extremely welcoming and attentive. Had we not been invited we may never have found this hidden gem as it's very much hidden and off the beaten path. Let this be your invitation to seek out this restaurant as soon as possible. The extra miles in the car are well worth it.

We started off our meal with a basket of chips and salsa. The chips were freshly fried and the salsa verde and roja they served on the side were both delicious. The verde was the more mild of the two and offered a fresh citrus flavor. The roja had a nice smokey flavor and brought some nice heat to the party. I shouldn't forget to mention our beverages. I had Tamarindo and Deana had a Hibiscus tea. Normally, I wouldn't mention my drink choice when it's not a cocktail or beer but these stood out. I was having a heck of a time coming up with a descriptive way to explain these drinks yesterday and I'm still at a bit of a loss today. All I can say is that these drinks are a much better choice than the everyday soda or bottled beverage.

For dinner I ordered the shrimpotle burrito which came recommended by Mena and Deana ordered the verde Enchiladas. Both meals were filling and full of flavor. In fact, I can say with confidence that I haven't had a better burrito in the area. It comes stuffed full of shrimp with a cheesy rice mixture and bits of cilantro and guacamole. It didn't need help, but I still had fun putting on the salsas I mentioned previously and also another corn salsa they offered.

Deana's enchiladas were also a hit. The chicken was tender and I don't know who wouldn't be happy with anything found underneath their out of this world verde. As we were driving home Deana happily proclaimed these were the best enchiladas she has had. It was hard for me to disagree.

As good as our meals were, though, the highlight of the night for me was the Mexican Corn on the Cob. I love corn on the cob, but this variation might have spoiled me for life. I'm not sure I ever want a plain piece of corn again. I woke up today thinking about the flavors on this little masterpiece. The corn is topped with mayonnaise (don't be afraid), cheese, and something spicy like cayenne, and I suspect some lime was squirted on it. The flavor was out of this world. The corn was sweet, the mayo and cheese were creamy, there was spice there, and the citrus made everything pop. If you end up at Taco Love Grill and find yourself confused about what you want to order be sure you don't pass this up. As far as I know, nobody else in the area is serving anything like this.

As if that wasn't enough food we were also treated to a delicious dessert. We had a plate of sweet tortilla chips that were sprinkled in cinnamon and sugar. The taste was reminiscent of a crunchier churro and they were served with a raspberry dipping sauce. They were very good, but if you save room for dessert the chocoflan is the way to go.  Until last night I had never tried flan, but that definitely won't be the last time. I never really knew what flan was but if I knew it was basically a light and airy custard like concoction I wouldn't have waited so long to seek some out. The flan sat on top of a super moist piece of chocolate cake and all of it was topped in a thin caramel sauce. This is a dessert worth breaking a diet for.

If you've made it this far into my post, please do yourself a favor and seek Taco Love Grill out. This restaurant has great food and it deserves to be talked about and frequented by people from all over the area. Best of all, the staff is great and they go out of their way to make sure that you're happy with your dinner experience.

Price: Cheap
Recommendation: Visit them today and tomorrow!
What to Order: Don't pass on the Mexican Corn on the Cob and Chocoflan.

The Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit 2013: Buca Di Beppo

The rules of The Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit are simple.  Each category is worth 2 points (allowing for half points). The only pizza I'm considering is the basic slice of cheese. At the end of the year, the highest score wins the coveted Baltimore Bistros and Beer's Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit title. This week's entry is surprise entrant Buca Di Beppo. Click here to see how the last entrant fared.

I wasn't planning on including Buca in the Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit, but after tasting their stuff during lunch last week I thought they deserved a mention. A future review of Buca di Beppo as a whole will be posted at some point in the future. Please keep in mind that despite the picture showing 3 types of pizza, the only one under consideration here is the cheese pizza.

Droop Factor - It's a bit hard to score this one when it comes to Buca's pizza. The pie was fairly small and it wasn't cut into the traditional triangle pieces. Because of this, droop factor really doesn't come in to play and so I'm giving them a 1 by default.

Score - 1

Greaseification - This pizza was greasy, but in a totally delicious way. I've mentioned the fine line pizza walks between grease gross and grease great. Buca di Beppo's was grease great.

Score - 1.5

Aroma - I realize this category is kind of BS, but it's my party and I'll make stupid criteria if I want to. Pizza either comes out smelling fantastic, or it comes out smelling really good. Because the pizza we got came with two other types of pizza attached to it, it's hard to evaluate the sexy aroma of the cheese alone. To be fair, I'm also giving a default score of 1 here because I can't be sure that that I wasn't influenced by the meaty aroma that was the godlike pepperoni.

Score - 1

Cheese - Buca's cheese was extremely tasty. Salty, creamy, greasy, and delicious. The pizza was cooked just the right amount of time to the point that the cheese started to get those beautiful little browned areas here and there. Really tasty stuff.

Score - 1.5

Sauce - I REALLY enjoyed the sauce. I enjoyed it so much I hit the caps lock button when I typed really in the previous sentence. There was ample tomato sauce throughout. The flavor was bright and acidic and there was an underlying flavor of garlic that a lot of the other pizzas I've been eating could have benefited from.

Score - 2

Crust - Buca's crust was quite delicious as well. It was thinner than usual and I really enjoyed that. This is a pizza you can eat without feeling like you're eating a bread anchor. They put a nice brown on it and overall it was a crust well done.

Score - 1.5

Overall Score - 8.5  out of 12

As you can see, Buca Di Beppo scored very well. Without the default scores of 1 for a few categories, this one would be right up there at the top. I visited them during lunch break because I had a coupon and wanted a cheap lunch. I left surprised as hell at how much I enjoyed their pizza. Walked in with chain restaurant bias. Walked out thrilled that I can walk there from work any day of the week.

Charley's Grilled Subs

I'd say I buy my lunch almost 50% of the time Monday through Friday. Since, I eat out a fair amount I'm always looking for something nearby that is not only quick, but reasonably priced, and delicious. That's a tall order, but Charley's Subs meets all three criteria. 

Charley's Subs opened inside the White Marsh Mall cafeteria some time last spring/summer. They were opening inside a stand that has housed failed restaurant after failed restaurant the past 5 years. Because of this, I wasn't overly excited about what they had to offer. But, I'm a brave guy and since I'm always on the hunt for something good to eat I decided to give them a try one fateful day. Summary....stuff tastes good.

But you want details!

I went with a regular chicken cheese steak (to help maintain my girlish figure), buffalo fries (to maintain a bit of masculinity), and a blueberry lemonade (because I thought it sounded tasty).

My food came out hot, it came out fast, and it came out tasting good. The chicken cheese steak, while it won't have the kings of cheese steak trembling, has plenty of good flavor. Good bread, tender chicken, cheese, mayo, and a little crispy lettuce....I'm not complaining about any of that.

The buffalo fries were the best part of my lunch. I loved that they used real blue cheese crumbles. I'm very much a blue cheese snob and the thought of nasty liquid blue cheese dressing on my french fries had me a bit worried. But no fear, Charley's came through with the crumbles and the fries themselves were fried perfectly.

And what better to wash some spicy fries down with than some blueberry lemonade. You get a huge glass with some pretty good lemonade and a bit of real blueberry flavor. It's good, not great, but Charley's amounts (in my opinion) to a fast food establishment so if you're looking for some exquisite beverages, you're probably not eating at the right place. It definitely beats "Coke or Diet Coke" everywhere else in the food court.

Overall, this place is a winner in my book. If you work anywhere near White Marsh Mall, check out Charley's for a quick, affordable, and delicious meal.

Price: Cheap
Recommendation: Great Place to visit for a quick lunch.
What to Order: Buffalo Fries

 

Red Brick Station

Told ya it wouldn't be as long before my next restaurant review! I'm back and ready to tell you all about Red Brick Station. Of all the restaurants I've ever reviewed, this is by far the one I've visited the most thanks to it's close proximity to my place of employment.

Red Brick is awesome for a few simple reasons.

1. I can walk there for lunch
2. They are a brewpub
3. They have good sandwiches
4. And they have some of the best happy hour specials around

On Monday you have 1/2 price burgers. Tuesday (my favorite) you get dollar beers. And on Friday you can dine on dollar Roast Beef sandwiches. Beer and Beef on the cheap? Now you understand why I visit so often.

On the beer front, they usually offer 5 staple beers and a seasonal. Their Red, IPA, and Stout are all excellent. If forced to pick a favorite I think I'd have to go with Something Red. This is the beer I compared my first ever homebrew with to make sure it didn't suck.  It's a nice red color full of earthy malt flavor that goes down really smooth without getting in the way of the food.

And speaking of the food, Red Brick Station really excel at sandwiches. I've had the French Dip (pictured below), Cheese steak, Pulled Pork, Monte Cristo, and Rachael and I've never been disappointed once.

Red Brick Station is a great place to visit if you're looking to try a brewpub out for the first time or the fiftieth. The beer is good without being intimidating to a newbie. And the food is good. It's simple, but it's good and it's one of my go to restaurants. Give it a visit!

Price: Average (great happy hour)

Recommendation: Visit ASAP

What to Order: Something Red and a Cheesesteak

  

Yogi Castle

Looking to open your own business? Buy a yogurt machine, cut up some fruit, pour cereal in a bowl, buy some cheap plastic furniture from Ikea, and rock the Glee soundtrack over the speakers. BOOM!You've got yourself the modern day yogurt shop. I kid, I kid (but not really).

Sarcasm aside, I really enjoy stopping off at Yogi Castle on my lunch breaks or when I'm in the mood for something sweet that's not going to kill me during bikini season.

The concept of Yogi Castle is simply to make your own desert. They usually have about a dozen varieties of yogurt and a wide selection of toppings ranging from nuts to fruit to candy to cereal. You put as much or as little as you'd like in your bowl and pay by weight.

The picture above is one of my favorite concoctions from Yogi Castle. I like to pick the strawberry kiwi yogurt, top it with strawberry and kiwis and then round it out with some crunchy almonds. The fruit is always very fresh and the desert as a whole is something that is very refreshing and tasty while at the same time being healthy for you. It's not always easy to find things like that so when the opportunity arises I like to take advantage.

My guess is that if you haven't started noticing them already it won't be long before you see yogurt shops everywhere. Give Yogi Castle a try if you're looking to experience one of these do it yourself yogurt shops for the first time. It's always a winner in my book.

Price: Varies by weight, but usually cheap
Recommendation: Give it a try
What to order: Strawberry Kiwi yogurt with the fruit on top and almonds.

Double T Diner

Every once in awhile you need a dinner that not only comes through on quality but also delivers in the quantity department. I call those days Sundays. But on Sundays I often find my motivation running near empty and putting together a big meal isn't in the game plan. I'll head out to dinner and try to find some place good to eat before realizing that I've already spent way too much money Friday and Saturday night so in addition to quality and quantity, I'm also looking for budget friendly.

That's when I head to Double T Diner. Without fail, I always order the Chicken Souvlaki platter every time I step foot into the Double T. For $9.25 you get a massive Chicken Souvlaki sandwich with french fries, Greek salad, drink, and a cup of soup.

I always opt for a cup of their chicken noodle soup. It has legit homemade flavor (as vague as that might sound). The broth has a deep chicken flavor and the perfect amount of salt. Even when I make my own soup I always have an issue figuring out how much salt to put in. They never miss and I appreciate that. Nobody likes eating hot water soup. Except maybe Bear Grylls, but I digress. I also love the fact that the carrots and celery retain some crunch despite the fact that the soup is served extra hot. Restaurants always have an issue of veggie mush in their soup because they leave it in a hot pot all day long. Somehow, Double T Diner avoids this common pitfall and it makes all the difference. The best part of their chicken noodle soup? Your cup of soup is served filled to the brim with noodles.

The Chicken Souvlaki is the bees stinger (I always feel like the stinger should get more respect than the knees). I wouldn't go so far to say that it's the best I've ever had (it's not) but it always hits the spot. It's served in a semi-gigantic pita shell with chicken and tzatziki sauce, cucumber and onion. The chicken is always tender and has good flavor from the oregano it's flavored with. And the sauce that goes all over brings a nice tang and keeps everything nice and moist. If I'm nitpicking the one thing I'd probably point out is the inconsistency from trip to trip. Sometimes the sauce is on to top of the sandwich. Others it's on the bottom. One visit there are more cucumbers than onions in the sauce. The next visit the reverse is true. It's never a huge issue either way, but depending on your taste it might be the difference between a great dinner and an average one.

Regardless, Double T is my go to place when I'm looking to put it down for cheap and highly recommend you put them on the shortlist when you're looking to do the same.

Price: It depends what you order but deals can be found
Recommendation: Great place for a big meal
What to order: Chicken Souvlaki Platter

Tilted Kilt

When I tell people that they should visit Tilted Kilt for dinner I always feel like one of those guys who say they have a subscription to Playboy to read the articles. For anyone that hasn't been there Tilted Kilt can be described as a Hooters with class and food that's worth eating. Yes, the waitresses look nice but the food truly is good. And beyond that, their beer selection is top notch when compared to other chain restaurants. Any place that semi-regularly carries Boddingtons Pub Ale on tap gets my full support regardless of the attire the waitresses are wearing.
Deana and I often find ourselves there before we visit the movie theater across the street. The service is quick and even on the busiest of nights they have so much seating that you rarely have to wait. You'll really love the decor inside. The walls are full of cool British knickknacks and there are HD TVs everywhere. And on summer nights there is a pretty significant outdoor section for those that like to people watch.

My go to meal when I visit the Kilt is always the wings with tilted sauce. The wings are always meaty and the sauce is a thicker sauce rather than the thin red hot soup you find at a lot of places. To be honest, I wouldn't go out of my way just for their wings but if you're already in the neighborhood they are more than worthy of your hard earned cash. Deana is big fan of their Sloppy Jane (essentially a Rachael sandwich) and I've had their Irish Dip in the past and it was rather tasty. Word to the wise, though, I'd probably stay away from their pasta dishes.

No, their food isn't going to change the way you view cuisine but the overall experience of visiting this place makes it one of my go to restaurants when I'm feeling lazy about picking somewhere to eat.  Ladies, are you convinced this is a place you could actually walk inside yet? There are pool tables to keep you occupied, dart boards, and I've seen them promote Wii bowling tournaments and things like that in the past as well. One event that had my interested was their beer themed dinners. The one I saw them promoting was a Sierra Nevada dinner that was 4 courses for around $40 and included 4 beers. I would have been all over it had it not been for the fact that Salmon was the main course and I don't eat fish.

If you ever find yourself in White Marsh for a movie or just strolling The Avenue don't be afraid to hop inside Tilted Kilt. It's a good time....I promise.

Price: Average
Recommendation: Nice place to visit while at The Avenue
What to order: Wings with Tilted sauce and a Boddingtons

Bombay Nights

I want to apologize right off the bat for this review not being as detailed as I'd like. The day I attended Bombay Nights I went with co-workers as part of a "welcome to the team" kind of lunch. Because I was still getting to know all the new guys and girls I decided to keep my professional food blogging skills on the DL. However, I wanted to make sure I talked about it here anyway, brief though it may be.

If you work in the White Marsh/Nottingham/Perry Hall area Bombay Nights is a great place to get really good food at a really great price. During the week you can get a smorgasbord of Indian food for about $9.95. The buffet includes roughly 10 different options from curry to tandoori to tikka masala. There are also all kind of chutneys and sauces to mix and match with the variety of breads and crackers they have available.

I thought it was kind of funny that I had never had Indian food in my entire 30 years of life and then all of the sudden I was eating Nan (very tasty by the way) for the second time in a week. The fact that it was a buffet led to some of the food being a tad dry or not quite as fresh as it would be if it were being cooked to order but this was still an excellent deal. For a little less than $10 you can have a lunch that won't put you to sleep like the Subway Club you eat every day and you can do so in a restaurant full of beautiful decorations.

Price: Cheap
Recommendation: Visit for the lunch buffet ASAP
What to order: Lunch Buffet

Good Deal on Groupon for R&R Taqueria

If you found the previous post about R&R Taqueria intriguing, you'll be super excited to hear that they are offering a great deal on Groupon right now! They are offering $30 dollars in value for $15 (more than enough for 2 people) or $60 in value for $25. Hook yourself up and come back here and let me know what you think of the food.

R&R Taqueria

Not that long ago a new Mexican restaurant opened inside the cafeteria at White Marsh mall. Considering I work within walking distance of the mall, I often find myself meandering through the cafeteria looking for something good to eat on days I forget to pack a lunch. I struck gold when I decided to take a chance and try the R&R Taqueria.

Ever since the day I tried their food I've been telling everyone I can they need to try this place out. If you like Mexican food, it's a must eat as far as I'm concerned. Apparently, I'm not the only who feels this way. As I was putting my order in yesterday, I noticed a big poster in the background touting the fact that the R&R Taqueria will be featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on February, 27. Unbeknownst to me, the location in White Marsh isn't the only R&R restaurant in the Baltimore area. They also have a restaurant in Elkridge in a Shell gas station.

At this point, the only thing I've ordered is the steak burrito. I think what makes their food stand out is the fact that they cook everything to order. Their isn't a whole bunch of grilled chicken or steak sitting in a bin waiting for customers to come along and order. The steak is tender and tastes delicious when combined with the fresh onion and pepper they fry along with it. The pinto beans they top the burrito off with are (to steal a phrase from Guy Fieri) "out of bounds". Beyond creamy is how I like to describe them.

As good as the burritos are, after take a looking at their to-go menu I know know I'll have to venture off and try the rest of their menu ASAP. They have tortas, tacos, huaraches, and a variety of platters. The chili relleno platter and the R&R Tacos Enchilados (lamb tacos!) have my name all over them. Did I mention that the most expensive thing on their menu is less than 10 dollars? I think I might starting "forgetting" my lunch a lot more often now that I have a place like this within walking distance. Even if you can't walk to the R&R Taqueria, don't let the distance get in between you and this sublime Mexican food. It's fantastic.

Price: Cheap

Recommendation: Visit ASAP

What to order: Steak Burrito

Update: I recently went back to R&R after purchasing a Groupon and have a whole slew of new recommendations. You're going to need more than one visit to get an appreciation for all this place has to offer. Their flautas are excellent. They are super crunchy on the outside and filled with tender chicken on the inside. Dip them in their red and green salsas and you're in for a really nice Mexican treat. I was also highly impressed with their lamb tacos. Simply dressed with raw onions and cilantro these tacos will instantly change your mind about what a taco should be. Lastly, they had a lamb soup that blew my mind. It may have been served from  Mexican joint but it reminded me of a mix of beef barley soup and something you'd get at an Asian restaurant. It had a very flavorful and rich beef broth, tender shredded lamb, cilantro, chives, and a little bit of onion. Don't hesitate to try this soup out.