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.

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

 

Bellagio Pizzeria

For the past year, one of my go to joints (can't believe I just used that word) for a good sub has been Bellagio Pizzeria. The service is always quick and the food always delicious. You place an order, grab a City Paper, sit back and wait to sink your teeth into a great sub.

I always opt for the Cheese Steak sub that comes with fries and a drink for around $9. If I'm trying to keep it quasi-healthy, I might opt for the Chicken Cheese Steak which is equally delicious. It starts off with the great rolls they serve the subs in. It's soft but not soft enough that the meat is leaking through soggy bread after 3 minutes. If you're one who enjoys their condiments you'll be happy to know that they get the condiments right every time. The subs are never over or under cheesed. The mayo keeps everything nice and moist. And if you get "hots" added to the sandwich they always hook you up with the perfect amount. You know it's there but you won't be looking for water after every bite either.

Deana ventured on to the road less traveled on our last visit and ended up trying their Italian Cold Cut. It was delicious. The creamy Italian dressing they serve it with is something my 12 year old self would have thought life was all about.

The only problem I have now is deciding on the Italian Cold Cut or Cheese Steak on my next visit. I guess I can take solace in the fact that I'll be a happy sub loving dude either way.

Price: Quite Affordable
Recommendation: Seek em out
What to order: Any of their Cheese Steaks

Dogwatch Tavern

Once again Groupon has helped introduce me to another great restaurant/bar in the Dogwatch Tavern. I'm not sure if they are a new bar (couldn't find anything on their website), but when I originally looked them up on Urbanspoon they were nowhere to be found. If anyone from Dogwatch reads this, you can thank yours truly for getting you added to the site with a free beer. Just kidding......but not really!

We were down there for the O's opening day and by the time the game was over we were quite hungry. Dogwatch came through in a big way. We knew a couple sandwiches wasn't going to be enough to fill us up so we decided to go with what we thought were Honey Mustard wings. They were delicious. I remember both Deana and I thinking at the time that they didn't taste like honey mustard, but we were thrilled with them either way. To us, all we could taste was honey and old bay seasoning. After studying their menu a little more in preperation of writing this post, I'm pretty sure they screwed up our order and gave what is clearly labeled honey/old bay wings on their site and not honey mustard afterall. Best restaurant screw up of all time! The taste was so unique that it has me and Deana dying to go back for round two. Also key to the wing experience was their homemade blue cheese dressing. I'm a fiend for blue cheese and this was as good as it gets. The salty blue cheese was awesome up against the sweet honey.

After indulging in the celestial culinary achievement known as honey/old bay wings it was time for our sandwiches. I decided to go with a cheesesteak while Deana went with a grilled chicken sandwich. Of the two, Deana came out the winner. The chicken sandwich is marinated chicken breast topped with red onion, roasted red peppers, provolone, arugula and lemon-thyme mayo served on toasted Rosemary Foccacia. To put it succinctly....juicy and delicious.

My cheesesteak was okay. It wasn't great. It wasn't terrible. It was kind of dry, but the wings and Deana's chicken sandwich gave me more than enough taste bud pleasure to convince me that I'll be visiting this place again.

Besides the food, this just seemed like a cool place to be. I noticed they were having a contest to win the right to put your name on the back of a bar stool if you could make it to the Dogwatch Tavern 30 days in a row. If you walk into the bar and someone is in your seat you are well within your right to boot them out. That's AWESOME.....and so is Dogwatch Tavern!

Price: Everyday Pub Prices
Recommendation: Next time you're in Fells, this is the place to be.
What to order: Honey/Old Bay Wings and a Chicken sandwich.