Southern Provisions

Southern Provisions used to be Jokers n Thieves, with the lovely and talented Jesse Sandlin in the kitchen. I'm not sure what happened there, why JnT became a different restaurant with the same general theme. We had dinner there once, summer before last, and liked it quite a bit. The soft shell crab waffle sandwich was killer, and I fell in love with the Carolina gold rice porridge served with a slab of smoky brisket. In any case, Jesse is off doing other things and the nice space on the corner of O'Donnell and Potomac Streets is now called Southern Provisions.

We had a book signing down the street at 2910 on the Square (a fab gift shop that we highly recommend) in early December and moseyed over to Southern Provisions for dinner afterward. I had heard that they were offering the trendy Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, and wanted to give them a try.

We ordered a couple of beers and both the Nashville hot chicken sliders and something called "Ol’ Saint Nick Fritters" for appetizers. I did the ordering, and when I added the "Chop Salad," our waitress seemed inordinately confused. Apparently she thought the sliders were my entree. A bit of advice to wait staff: when a fat woman orders a lot of food, just write it down and bring it. Maybe ask if she wants it all at once or some as an app and some as an entree, but don't stare at her like she has three heads. She may be a food writer who just wants to taste everything. There are these things called "doggie bags" if she doesn't finish it all.

Mr Minx ordered the Brisket French Dip. The waitress didn't look at him funny.

Let's start with those sliders, shall we? Real Nashville hot chicken is marinated, fried, and sauced in an ass-kicking cayenne-based paste. It's red and it's hot. As a sandwich, the chicken is typically served on white bread with pickle chips.

Well, they got the pickle chip part right.

The chicken itself was fried, somewhat dry, breast meat. Neither the chicken nor the breading was particularly flavorful. And there was no discernible heat. The menu claims the chicken is dipped in something called Jim Beam Devil's Cut hot sauce, but perhaps, as in the making of a dry martini, a bottle of the sauce was merely waved over the chicken. Disappointing.

I ordered the "Ol’ Saint Nick Fritters" just because they sounded like a disaster. "Fresh mint, sage and ginger fritters served w/peppermint bark butter." Not only is the Oxford comma conspicuously absent, I couldn't get my mind around the peppermint bark butter. The waitress assured me that the dish was tasty. She also said the fritters were like hush puppies, crisp on the outside and soft in the middle--an apt description. Definitely crispy on the outside, the fritters were raw and gooey on the inside. The waitress whisked them away with apologies; a few minutes later, a manager brought us fresh ones that were cooked all the way through.

I slathered a hot ball with some of the pink butter and took a bite. Weird, but not awful. On their own, the fritters tasted a tad like stuffing. The butter was creamy and tasted like melted Hershey's white chocolate kisses, the ones with the bits of candy cane inside. It would have been fab spread on a slice of chocolate cake. Had there been no sage in the fritters, it would have worked with them, too. Otherwise, it was just weird. But far from inedible.

I imagine it was my mistake thinking that a "chop salad" was going to be a "chopped salad." A chopped salad is, well, chopped. That is, everything is cut into small pieces, including the lettuce. A sturdy lettuce like iceberg or romaine works best; their prominent rib actually offers something to chop. Southern Provisions' salad was just a salad. There was a mess of baby greens topped with milky blobs of what was listed as "house made" mozzarella, plus roasted beets and pecans. A shit ton of pecans. An entire pie worth of pecans. I'm not complaining - they were the best part of the salad. What wasn't the best part was the "warm bacon & onion vinaigrette" which was unbalanced, leaning too far toward sour. It was also watery, which may have meant the greens hadn't been dried well after washing. In any case, it was a bad salad and I regretted ordering it.

Neal's brisket French dip was meh. The "sautéed" onions were little more than steamed (and whomever chopped them needs to learn better knife skills). The brisket was tender and had a nice smoky flavor, but it was a little hard to taste with all the bread. The fries were good though, well-cooked and seasoned.

So. Completely meh. Maybe that's being generous. They did take the fritters off the tab, which was nice. I should have complained about the abysmal salad and lack of hot sauce on the chicken, too. We actually should have sent it all back. But what's bitchier - being a picky and complaining customer, and making the wait staff suffer when it's not their fault, or writing about it afterward?

Southern Provisions
3000 O'Donnell St
Baltimore MD 21224
410) 675-4029



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Blue Pit BBQ

We'd been meaning to try Blue Pit BBQ for a while and finally got around to it last month. Located in Hampden across Union Avenue from Union Craft Brewery and Artifact Coffee, Blue Pit is a bourbon bar as well as a 'cue joint. They offer 40+ bourbons, plus 20+ ryes, and dozens of other whiskies. There are a few cocktails, a list of beer in cans, and if you simply must have wine with your pulled pork (weirdo), they have a bottle or two of that hanging around, too.

Service is pub style. You order at a counter, take a number, then sit somewhere patiently and wait for your food to be brought to you. The bar area on the first floor has a few tables, and there's a patio, but we chose to eat upstairs where the tables are larger, the light is better for photographs, and there were no other diners (for it was 4pm on a weekend afternoon). The lack of chatter around us, however, meant we noticed the seemingly endless loop of music by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Fine if you like that sort of thing (and my Dad did get into it quite a bit).

We went whole hog, so to speak, and ordered three kinds of meat and three sides--a pound of brisket, a half rack of ribs, and a pound of pulled pork, plus mac and cheese, collard greens, and baked beans.

I am going to confess that we are semi-regulars at Andy Nelson's, that 'cue stalwart in Cockeysville. Andy's grub has only gotten better over the years (his beans are a-maze-ing), so it was really hard, nay, impossible, for me to not make comparisons. But I'm going to be as fair as I can here.

The brisket, rubbed with local Zeke's coffee before being barbecued, was pretty darn good. Smoky, but not overwhelmingly so, with a nice edge of fat that kept the meat moist (dry brisket is a sad thing). The bourbon-glazed St Louis-style ribs also tasted good, but they were very hard to cut apart with a plastic knife. That's not to say the meat wasn't tender, but there was some connective tissue thing going on in there which led to a bad hack job on our part. The glaze on the ribs is lightly sweet, but if you want more wet sweetness, there are several styles of sauce available in squeeze bottles on each table. Out of the sauce choices (which included mustard, vinegar, sweet and hot, and smoky), I liked the Zeke's coffee-spiked sauce. It was a bit sweeter than the others, but it reminded me a good deal of the house sauce at Cafe Tattoo, a bbq joint that used to be in Gardenville on Belair Road. (God, I miss that place.)

The pulled pork was nicely moist, if not particularly smoky, and was just fine without an extra dose of sauce (although I'd probably add some if I were eating it in a sandwich).

All three sides were good. The collards, made with neck bones and flavored with sherry vinegar were extremely tender; I can never get mine so soft. I loved the vinegar flavor, wished there was even more, and doused it with a bit of the vinegar sauce on the table to bring the tang up a tad. The baked beans, made with bits of both brisket and pork, were fine (and the only thing I'm going to compare unfavorably to Andy Nelson's, mostly because I love the latter so much). Finally, the four cheese mac and cheese was a nice creamy and slightly bland foil to all of the other textures and flavors on the table.

In addition to all the meaty goodness, Blue Pit also offers the new yuppie bbq nod to vegetarians and vegans--pulled jackfruit. I'd really hate to be a vegan in a bbq joint, but I suppose if they drink enough bourbon they won't notice that their sandwich isn't full of beef.

Service was great, mostly in that there was so little of it needed. Someone took our order and gave us cups for soft drinks. Someone else brought our liquor, and a third person brought all of our food--pretty quickly, too--and pointed out the location of extra utensils, and should we need them, carry-out containers and bags for transporting them home.

So...while not that favorite county bbq joint, Blue Pit more than holds its own. Plus it's a non-chain restaurant in the city. With enough good bourbon to drown in. Go.

Blue Pit BBQ
1601 Union Ave
Baltimore, MD 21211
(443) 948-5590



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Firehouse Subs

Tuesday night is grocery night at Casa Minx, but since every supermarket has its own pros and cons, we tend to vary where we shop depending on what we need to buy on a given week. One of our frequent go-to markets is Shop-Rite on Aylesbury Road in Lutherville. While we're in the area, we try to find a place to eat dinner, but we've become a little bored with the usual haunts. So it was a great surprise to us when we received an invitation to try out the new selection of cold deli heroes at the Firehouse Subs right down the street from Shop-Rite.

We were unfamiliar with the fast-casual chain that was started over 20 years ago in Jacksonville, Florida by Robin and Chris Sorensen. Both firefighters, the two decided to start a family business based on something they love: subs made with high quality meats and cheeses on toasted bread with a wide range of toppings. There are now over 850 locations nationwide and two happen to be in Baltimore County in Owings Mills and Lutherville. They are both owned by Ayaz Moledina, a former financial planner who wanted to start his own business. Moledina not only loved the product but the charitable work Firehouse Subs does within their respective communities through the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.

Battalion Chief Sub

Although Firehouse has offered hot subs like their barbequed brisket and pastrami subs for years, they recently decided to cool things down with a line of cold sandwiches. Baltimore is one of only 100 markets where the six new subs are currently offered. While the meat and toppings are served cold, they are still nestled in a toasted bun.

Hook and Ladder Sub

The Battalion Chief is a roast beef sub with cheddar cheese, onion straws, lettuce, tomato, and a horseradish mayo. The meat and cheese are substantial and the horseradish mayo adds just enough heat to keep things interesting. The Hook and Ladder combines smoked turkey and honey ham and Monterey Jack cheese. I was concerned the Italian dressing would make the sandwich too tangy, but the sweetness of the ham adds a nice counterbalance and the turkey is quite smoky,

Malibu Sub

Smoked turkey breast and bacon highlight the Malibu, but the avocado and spinach really made the sub special. As the name implies, the Sicilian is Firehouse's take on an Italian cold cut with capicola, ham, pepperoni, salami, and Provolone cheese. This would be a great sub for a really hungry meat lover.

Sicilian Sub

That's not to say that a vegetarian couldn't be equally satisfied with their loaded Mediterranean sub, which includes feta, hummus, marinated artichoke hearts, olive mix, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, tomato, and onion. It's topped off with a balsamic vinaigrette and placed on Asiago cheese bread. (This sub is also available with grilled chicken breast.) The crusty layer of Asiago cheese on the toasted bread adds a whole new dimension of texture and flavor. The Asiago bread is also used with the Chicken Caesar sub: grilled chicken breast with romaine lettuce, tomato, and Caesar dressing. It's basically a salad wrapped in bread, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Mediterranean Sub (with Chicken)

All the subs are well packed with ingredients and the meats are shaved thinly so they melt in your mouth. Unlike some sub chains who will go nameless, you can actually see the abundance of ingredients overflowing the bread. Also, the bread is flavorful and has a slight crunch from toasting.

Chicken Caesar Sub

I can honestly say there was not a single dud among all the subs we tried, although I think the Minx was partial to the Hook and Ladder and I enjoyed the exotic flavors of the Mediterranean. Next time grocery night finds us heading to the Shop Rite in Lutherville, I'm sure we will be making a stop at Firehouse Subs for dinner.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!



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Bistro Lunch Box Food Truck

The food truck explosion continues! One that hit the streets for the first time this summer is Bistro Lunch Box. This truck offers a few fancier items that still fulfill those lunchtime cravings for cheesesteaks, burgers, and fries. For example, their cheesesteak features thinly sliced lamb, rather than beef, and their burgers are occasionally topped with their specialty meat of the day. On one occasion, it was brisket that had been slow cooked for 12 hours. That brisket was also available as a sandwich on its own, rolled in a burrito, and atop an order of fries. I tried the burrito, and found the meat to be melt-in-the-mouth tender and full of flavor.

There are several variations on the simple french fry, including a version topped with a cheese fondue. Bistro Lunch Box also serves fish, like a seared tuna wrap that was offered this summer, and salmon prepared different ways.

Lamb Cheesesteak

A visiting friend ordered the seared salmon salad, which came in a Chinese take-out-style box. The salmon was flavorful but maybe a tad overcooked; it was rescued by the creamy dressing and crisp salad greens.

Salmon Box

All in all, pretty good, high-quality, food.

Bistro Lunch Box
http://www.bistrolunchbox.com/





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Kloby's Smokehouse

At a recent signing event for our book, Food Lovers' Guide to Baltimore, we got into a conversation about bbq. One fellow lamented the diminishing size of a portion of ribs, saying full racks these days seem about as big as half racks in the past. We had to agree. Of course, talking about ribs worked up a hankerin' for them, so the next day we drove down to Howard County for what turned out to be a Festival of Meat celebration at Kloby's Smokehouse.

While Andy Nelson's is more local and mighty tasty, Kloby's has far more variety, which we think makes it worth the drive. One of our favorite things there are the chicken wings, whole wings that are smoked before being fried and doused in the bbq sauce of your choice. Our favorite are "dirty and old," which are double fried and double tossed in a Buffalo bbq sauce and then dusted with a soupçon of Old Bay. They're super crispy, with meat that practically falls off the bone, and mildly spicy. They're also a bit messy, but well worth the extra napkins.

We also tried the fried okra this time, which comes with a dip of Kloby's "Bama Pearl" bbq sauce, a mayo-based concoction flavored with horseradish and other seasonings. The okra was tender and creamy, but the coating was uninteresting and not unlike that on a commercial onion ring.

Since ribs were what we came for, ribs were what we ordered (among other things). St Louis-style ribs (bigger than baby backs) were available on this particular evening, so Mr Minx ordered a full rack, hoping there would be enough meat to take some home. And indeed, it was a nicely-sized slab of ribs that merited a large doggy bag. They were not quite fall-off-the-bone tender, but didn't require all that much work to eat. The smoky, dry-rubbed, meat was perfect eaten as is, without the application of any of the three Kloby's house sauces our server brought to the table.

Those sauces - Carolina, Chipotle, and House - were good, in a tomatoey way, and not too sweet. The peppery Carolina was our favorite, but we didn't feel the need to use any of them.

I couldn't decide whether I wanted beef or pork, so I ordered the 2-Meat platter with beef brisket and pulled pork. For $15, I got at least a pound of meat, and after putting away three wings earlier, I could only finish a couple of forks-full. The brisket was fatty and luscious, as was the pork; the latter had a bit of sweetness from being tossed with a modicum of sauce. Both were really delicious, with a melt-in-the-mouth texture.

Our sides were all pretty good, too, although my collards and cole slaw both needed a hit from the salt shaker. Mr Minx's green beans were perfectly cooked, still a bit crunchy but not at all squeaky, and his mac and cheese was a gooey classic. Cornbread was too-sweet Yankee-style, so I ate mine last, like dessert.

Kloby's sells all of their meaty goodness by the pound, too, and their prices are at least a couple of dollars cheaper than Nelson's, so that also might make it worth a drive down to Laurel to check out their wares. Especially those wings.

Kloby's Smokehouse
7500 Montpelier Rd
Laurel, MD 20723
(301) 362-1510
http://klobysbbq.com



Posted on Minxeats.com.