Finally - Ledo's Pizza in the City!

As we speak, a heated debate is occurring the Charles Village area regarding a developer’s plans to build a large shopping center, including a Wal-Mart and a Lowes, on a soon-to-be-vacant parcel of land. Opponents site that these “big box retailers” could put the small folks out of business, while proponents argue that the area could finally get some of the services that suburbanites take for granted, and that urbanites have to travel to the County to get.

Well I am, willing to bet that, while caught up in this heated debate, many of the proponents of bringing some “suburban amenities” into town may have overlooked what I consider a major victory of their cause – the opening of a Ledo’s Pizza in Charles Village!

Anyone that grew up with me down in Severna Park has eaten plenty of this unique square-shaped, thin-crusted, and provolone-adorned pizza. If hand-tossed and greasy describes New York style pizza, and flaky deep-dish crust describes Chicago style, then Ledo’s could arguably be called “Maryland Style” (I’m not saying its covered in crab and Old Bay, but I mean, it’s from here…).

The Charles Village location is the newest of a handful of Ledo’s locations to open in the city as of late. Its opening has allowed me to more regularly enjoy a food item that I took for granted before I moved up here. I won’t waste my time writing a review, because pretty much all of us have had Ledo’s at some point in time. And if you haven’t, there’s no time like the present.

So, it is still unclear whether or not, in a few years, I will have to drive all the way to hoity-toity Timonium every time I need some grass seed or a hammer; but at I know I won’t have to drive that far for good pizza...

Loco Hombres/Alonzo's - We hombres are loco for their nachos!

Another review that is long overdue, is of the sister restaurants Loco Hombres and Alonso's. Located in old Roland Park a short walk from Loyola College, the two restaurants share an entrance, hostess stand, and bar. Loco Hombres has a tex-mex theme, while Alonso's goes for more of a sports-bar/pizza theme (although the 2 menus are overall very similar). The tex-mex ambiance is experienced before you even walk in the door, with the old Spanish-style tiles on the roof of this old corner business (which is incidental, as this is a common style found on rowhomes made in the "daylight" period, which is a whole-nother blog!). The Alonso's side also sells beer and wine for about couple hours later than most of the nearby liquor stores.

Anyway, we had visited on Wednesday night, having been there many times before, expected greatness. We have been there in both large groups and small, and tried items across the menu. One previous visit worth noting, was on the opening night of the 2008 Hampden Christmas Lights - while all the "Avenue" restaurants were on a 2 hour wait, Loco's accommodated a party of 12 in a matter of minutes. And everyone left satisfied.

This week we were in a beer and pub-grub kind of mood, and we remember being intensely impressed by the nachos they served - so we each ordered an order of nachos. I got ground beef on mine, the others got chicken. As we remembered, the portions were huge and looked delicious. Each plate of nachos was smothered with cheese, olives, peppers, guac, etc.; and you never had to worry about getting a nacho with nothing on it. The ground beef was good, the more mild of the choices, but of course was a little greasier. The chicken had a slight bite to it - which we all found to be delicious - and was generously rationed throughout the plate.

The nachos with meat were $13, and were large enough for 2 meals. If you're in a vegetarian mood or want to save money, they're available without meat for $10.

Most of the dishes offered are between $10 and $20 - some other Bob Ganoosh recommendations include the fajitas, the huge burgers (1.5lbs!), and the pizzas on the Alonso's side. They also have a nice drink menu, with a decent beer selection and some fun cocktails. I got a bottle of Newcastle, served with a frosted glass, that was very cold and refreshing on such a warm evening.

So, of course, we give our strong endorsement to these fun restaurants for almost any occasion - large group or small, dinner or just pub-grub during the game.

And, they get bonus points, since our waitress had a Natty Boh tattoo!

JD's Smokehouse - The "Andy Nelson's" of Canton Bars

---UPDATE:  This restaurant has permanently closed ---

Shawn and I decided to venture out into Baltimore's lame-ass Mardi Gras scene the other night, and the best part of the evening ended up having nothing to do with masks or beads. The highlight of our evening was our dinner!

This dinner was at JD's Smokehouse on the Canton Square. We wandered into this corner rowhouse bar pretty randomly, having never been there and not knowing what to expect (we may have been in there once, for about 30 seconds on a Friday night). There was a decent crowd in there, but we managed to find a table immediately. We learned (and were not surprised, based on the name) that the menu focused had a southern "smoke-house" theme, anchored by Brisket and Pulled Pork Sandwhiches. The menu also hosted some traditional items, such as burgers and quesadilas (the latter of which was on special that night, and is every Tuesday, for $5 - but we forgot to order one).

The Brisket and Pork Sandwhiches are available in many variations, from plain and traditional to containing various fixin's and cheeses. I got the "Texas Dip" which was an emulation of a traditional french dip sandwich - containing shaved beef, carmelized onions, mushrooms, and swiss cheese. I don't remember the name of Shawn's - might have been the Brisket Panini - but it consisted of shaved beef, onions (he requested carmelized onions), mushrooms, cheddar and BBQ sauce. Both came with a huge portion of seasoned fries (similar to the seasoning on curly fries), cole slaw, 2 hush puppies, and a pickle - all for $8.95.

Well, needless to say, Shawn and I both loved our meals! They bring the sandwhiches out with 6 different sauces, including sweet BBQ, Tiger (Horsey), and peach vidalia onion (which was very interesting) - all holstered in a Natty Boh 6-pack case. The meat was flavorful and juicy, the sandwhiches were decent sized, and the portion of sides they came with were astounding for the price. We both filled up and could barely fit any beer in us afterwards. The hush puppies were a little on the dry and crunchy side, but that was the least of our concerns.

The service was also great. It seemed to be all seat-yourself bar-style seating, but the server (Katie) arrived quickly after our arrival. She was very attentive and was quick to refil our beers. The wait for the food was reasonable.

So, all in all, Shawn and I left there giving the place two "thumbs up." We plan to visit again - perhaps on Monday night, when they offer a Brisket Sandwhich and a pint of beer for $10. We also want to try the quesadilas. If anyone has tried either, please feel free to leave your comments!

JD's Smokehouse

3000 O'Donnell Street (Canton Square)

Baltimore, MD 21224

410-675-4029

http://www.jdssmokehouse.com/