Looking Back - Baltimore Restaurant Week Summer 2011

Now that this summer's Baltimore Restaurant Week (as well as Baltimore County Restaurant Week) is over, we would like to know what experiences our readers had? Did you find a cool new place? Did anywhere dissapoint? Let us know what you think!

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Chap's Pit Beef - Duff Goldman was right!

 One simmering-hot Tuesday evening a couple of weeks ago, we had a hankering for some pit beef and barbeque. And while our gut instinct usually directs us up York Road to Andy Nelson’s, we decided that we should mix it up a little and see how the other local favorite compares. And so we made the hike across town to Chap’s Pit Beef.

Located off of Pulaski Highway on the east edge of the city, Chap’s physical environment offers a unique contrast to that of its Cockeysville competitor. The joint operates out a small shack-like building located in the parking lot of a gentleman’s club, and across the street from an adult video store. Perhaps its modest digs is how it can keep its prices so low – but we’ll get to that in a bit.

When we arrived at about 6:00 p.m. we were pleasantly surprised to find a short line to order, and plenty of indoor seating. Don’t get me wrong, the dining area is not huge; but it was more than adequate at the time of our visit. The one thing that caught us off guard was the menu – there was a lot more on it than we were expecting! I was planning on getting the sandwich that Duff Goldman and Guy Fieri ate on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives – the one with several types of meat on it – but when we reviewed the menu it became apparent that there were a whole bunch of sandwiches with several types of meat on them. Pretty much, anything you dream up with their ingredients, they had.



As a result of my aforementioned confusion, I went with a rare pit beef sandwich, at the low price of $6.25. We also ordered a medium pit beef sandwich, and a barbeque pork sandwich ($6.70). The beef sandwiches were stuffed with generous portions of beef on a kaiser roll. The beef was very juice and was cooked to perfect doneness for both sandwiches. The barbeque pork sandwich involved pieces of pulled pork simmered in their house barbeque sauce and generously portioned within the kaiser roll. The pork was very tender, and the sauce was very sweet and well received by the group. The most significant way this sandwich differed from the famous Andy Nelson’s version, is that the sauce was already cooked into the meat. While this seems to be, based on my experience, the way barbeque is usually prepared in the south, Andy Nelson’s allows one to dress it with the sauce of his or her choosing, allowing for ultimate customization. So, which of the restaurant’s sandwich one would enjoy more is completely dependent on how much decision-making one feels like making at the time.

To supplement our sandwiches, we got large sides of macaroni and cheese ($1.75), baked beans ($2.55), and cheese fries ($4.50). The cheese fries were delicious, though there was nothing profound about them. Just a generous portion of fresh cut fries topped with a whole lot of cheese sauce. The macaroni and cheese was very cheesy, and was enjoyed by all. The most unique side was the baked beans, which were sweet and had a nice background flavor of the green peppers that were cooked into them.

Though there is no table service at Chap’s, we found the staff behind the counter to be friendly, hospitable, and quick. This was exceptionally noteable given the establishment’s low prices, and, well, the more rugged nature of this particular business district.

Overall, we really enjoyed our experience at Chap’s. Admittedly, being such strong fans of Andy Nelson’s, we were a bit skeptical; but we were proven wrong. We definitely plan to go back. On the other hand, Shawn had a similar meal at chain restaurant Famous Dave’s a few days prior, and he said after this meal, he definitely won’t go back there!

Chap’s Pit Beef

5801 Pulaski Highway

Baltimore, MD 21205

410-483-2379
http://www.chapspitbeef.com/

5-Star Rating

Food: ****

Service: ****

Ambiance: **

Price: $ ($5-10)

WTF happened to the WTF

About a month ago my wife and I were slipped into one of our go-to watering holes, The Waterfront Hotel to grab a drink and a bite to eat. I was craving the buffalo chicken wrap; she was craving their homemade potato chips. To our surprise, we weren’t able to order either.

Apparently, WTF had changed owners recently, and the new proprietor(s) wished to shake things up a bit, by bringing in an almost entirely new staff, significantly modifying the interior, and rolling out a totally new menu. The old Waterfront Hotel that my friends and I had discovered within weeks of our 21st birthdays, and been in love with ever since, was no more.

After a month or so of grieving, Team Bob Ganoosh decided pay a visit to the new WTF with an open mind and a healthy appetite.

The menu required us to study it in great detail, as none of the traditional items – including those kettle chips or the buffalo chicken wrap – were offered. The new menu has a Tex-Mex meets Low Country theme, and included items such as Frogmore stew, an assortment of tacos, the Cuban sandwich. Pork belly also held a significant presence on the menu.

As an appetizer we ordered the crab queso fundito, which essentially was a traditional Mexican queso dip with crab meat inside. As far as queso dips are concerned, this was one of the better ones we have had. Of course, adding crab meat to a dish never hurts. However, the price point of $14 makes it a bit more expensive than the average nacho dip, and pricier than I prefer for an appetizer.

For our entrees, we ordered the WTF burger, a beef burger topped with mango barbeque pork belly and jalapeño flavored bacon; the pork belly Cuban, a traditional Cuban sandwich; and the black bean burger.

The WTF burger included a healthy portion of beef cooked to perfect doneness – we ordered it rare, and got exactly what we ordered. I have never really seen a burger from a restaurant cooked rare or medium rare – they are usually over-done for safety reasons – but these guys got it right. The pork belly was extremely flavorful and very tender.

The pork belly Cuban is dish in which the pork belly really shines, though. The well-stuffed sandwich is filled with ham, pork belly, and variety of fixins, and was proclaimed by our waiter to be the “best thing on the menu, hands down”. And frankly I must agree, which really speaks to the quality of this sandwich, as I am generally not a fan of pork, at all.

The black bean burger was obviously made in house from freshly-ground black beans and hand formed. The quality of the burger patty was excellent, though we found the spices to be a little bit overwhelming, and the guacamole to be a little bit too plentiful. For someone who likes a bite to their bean burger, this would be perfect; but for us, it was a little bit overpowering.

All in all, we really did enjoy the food we had; however, we are still having a hard time thinking of WTF as a Tex-Mex joint. We also didn’t care for the new look on the first floor, which much more industrial in nature. They also installed high-end sound equipment for live entertainment, which may make the place more marketable as a music venue, but also takes away the “small dark bar where the bartender knows your name and there’s a guy playing the guitar in the corner” quality that we have loved for so long.

And while the service was good, we miss the handful of folks who have worked there for a few years now.

In the end, the only things that have remained the same about this place are the name and the shell of the building (and I guess, the upper floors). And while we definitely do not dislike the new WTF or discourage anyone from going there, it will never be the same as the bar we stumbled into six years ago. RIP, WTF.