Pizza Town

Pizza Town
9217 Lakeside Blvd 
Owings Mills, MD 21117 
410-902-1533

website: http://www.mypizzatown.net/

Owings Mills sports many presumably family-owned restaurants.  I'm not if Pizza Town is family-owned, but it seems like it.  And I'm not even sure if the strip mall where it is located has a name, but it's on Lake Side Boulevard near the Food Lion.

Pizza Town seems to be run by Russians, or some Eastern European people, which is fine.  I'm just merely pointing it out.  I find it a interesting that Eastern Europeans are running a restaurant that specializes in Italian food.

So what did I get on my recent trip?  Greek food!  I got the Gyro, fries, and a soda for $7.99.  I'm a sucker for a value meal.  They offer this lunch deal with a handful of different sandwiches, and a choice of fries or onion rings.

I've also had their pizza.  It's decent.  I wouldn't make a special trip there to get their pizza, but it's definitely a nice place to get a quick meal in Owings Mills.

As you can see, the gyro is jam-packed with with onions, some lettuce, tomatoes, and the gyro sauce, as it should.  It tasted good.  I would have liked more lamb, but then again, it was a $7.99 deal, so I shouldn't expect a lamb fatty, right?

So if you're in Owings Mills and you're looking for a slice of pizza, a sub, or a gryo, check out Pizza Town.  It's good cheap eats.

R & R Deli: A Deli like No Other

R&R Deli

7894 Washington Blvd

Elkridge, MD

Visited September 2nd, 2011

Let's start with this - R&R Deli is sorta in a gas station. Okay, that is not all together true. This place is separated from a gas station by a plexiglass wall. A thick piece of plastic is all that separates you from a land of slowly rotating hot dogs and beef jerky. But, if you are lucky enough to be on the right side of the plastic, you are in for a fantastic world of authentic Mexican flavors. Oh, I didn't mention that? This is not the type of Deli where you get a pastrami on rye. R&R Deli, located attached to a Shell station in Elkridge, may be one of the best kept restaurant secrets I have ever experienced and a taste of Mexico north of the border.

The first time you step into R&R you get a couple of sensations. The first is a sense of awkwardness and then, potentially, claustrophobia. The place is small and if you happen to be there when there are more than three people ordering you will find yourself saying "excuse me" and shifting around for some space more than once. When you are able to make it up to the counter to order you may also be in for a little surprise. "Menu" is a pretty loose term at R&R. There are a couple laminated sheets with some basics, but the good stuff is up on the wall, under the daily specials, which are written using a Sharpie and in spanish.

If you want to "go safe" or are just looking to try something small that R&R has to offer, go for a couple tacos. Carne Asada, Chicken, Chorizo and a marinated pork called Pastor are just some of the many options. Each taco, served on a corn tortilla and simply garnished with chopped onion and cilantro, packs quite a bit of punch for just $2. The meats are well spiced and are highlighted with the simple preparations. These are the epitome of "Dirty Tacos."

While the tacos are excellent, there are a number of great choices, if you can translate the writing on the wall. Two standouts are the chile relleno and a dish called huaraches. The chile, stuffed with a dense cheese, fried and served with a spicy red sauce, is an excellent balance of heat, flavor, and texture. The huaraches, served with the meat of your choice (go with the pastor) are corn cakes with cheese, meat, avocado and a creamy sour cream like sauce is filling and delicious.

A really nice part of R&R is found in the refrigerator next to the counter. Instead of a fountain soda, or even a standard bottle of soda from the food mart, the fridge contains a selection of Mexican sodas and juices. While the fanciest restaurants are serving Mexican coke, not many places can say that they have Fanta or apple soda made with real sugar. The selection really complements the authentic Mexican fare.

R&R shows that you don't need to be in a big, fancy restaurant, or a trendy food truck to serve really good food that will keep people coming back. If you are anywhere close, battle those who are in the parking lot just to fill up their cars. The real gem at the corner of Routes 1 and 175 is a small little deli where the tastes of Mexico shine through in a truly big way.

Steve's Deli

Steve's Deli
11299 Owings Mills Blvd #106
Owings Mills, MD 21117
(410) 753-3354

Some friends from work asked if I was interested in going to Steve's Deli. I had never heard of it. They said it was in the strip mall at the corner of Crondall Lane, near the Owings Mills MVA VEIP. Deli sandwiches? I'm game!


When we walked in the smell hit my face. And it was a good smell. The smell of roasting meat. If you're a vegetarian you can probably stop reading right now. The menu is huge. And it's on the website. With prices. That's a rarity these days. And they have all kinds of deli sandwiches - pastrami, roast beef, turkey, corned beef, brisket, ham, salads, kosher foods. You name it. If you would expect it to be at a deli, Steven's Deli probably has it. They even have chopped liver and tongue.

A young man behind the counter asked us if we were interested in sampling the pastrami. Do you really need to ask people that? Of course I would like a sample of meat. And it was good. And not only was it a sample, it was nearly half a sandwich. So I decided to get it. I got the pastrami sandwich with Swiss cheese on toasted rye, with chips and a drink. I think it came to a little over $10.

The sandwich was packed! It was perfect. I must say one of the best pastrami sandwiches I've ever had. Some in our group even took out some of the meat because they said it was too much. Too much meat? Yes, they were females.

I was very pleased with Steve's Deli and I totally plan to go there again. Check it out!

Salsarita's Fresh Cantina

324 West Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 962-8270

I won tickets to see the Baltimore Blast play in a semi-final game on Monday. For those of you not familiar with Baltimore (or sports), the Blast are an indoor soccer team. They were playing La Raza de Monterrey.

The game started at 7:30, I got home at 4:30, and I had to decide between getting a cheap good parking spot and battling traffic or getting a bad expensive parking spot and battling no traffic. I chose the good parking spot.

When my 8 year old son and I arrived at the garage, I scouted a couple of places to eat. I am definitely more adventurous when it comes to eating than your typical 8 year old, so I decided to narrow my choices down to something that wasn't fast food and something that didn't look too ghetto. In Baltimore City, A LOT looks ghetto. To top it off, there was a ghetto McDonald's at the end of the street.

We decided on Salsaritas Fresh Cantina less than a block away from the fabulous 1st Mariner Arena. The restaurant was situated in a renovated building probably built in the late 19th or early 20th century. It was very architecturally pleasing.


Inside we found a clean, modern, quiet, interesting restaurant. Like its cousins Qdoba and Chipotles, you order your food at the counter, they make it right there in front of you and you take it to your seat and eat it.

My son wasn't interested in the kids' menu. It had a cheese quesadilla or a taco. Instead he wanted a steak burrito that cost $6.99. Whatever. We were there to have fun. He got his burrito with only cheese and the corn salsa.

I did notice that they had veggie burritos and a veggie pizza, so for those of you that are anti-meat (God bless the anti-meat crowd - that leaves more for me!) you do have options.

I ordered the white shrimp and cilantro Pizza. Their service was quick and the lady behind the counter was pleasant. With 2 drinks our order came to about $15. I filled up my cup with lemonade and tea before I noticed that they have Mr. Pibb, my favorite soda. So I made that my 2nd drink. My son got the exciting Sprite with no ice.


The pizza shell was basically a burrito wrap. It was very thin and crispy, but did not have much taste on its own. The shrimp were very good and a decent size. The white cheese sauce was just average and there was not much zest to the food. Just not a whole lot of flavor. And with such a thin crust it definitely did not fill me up. Thank goodness for....

As expected, my son couldn't finish his burrito, so my bottomless stomach came to the rescue. I can't throw food out. Even though I'm 37 I lived through the Great Depression. His burrito was fairly small, but the steak was good. However, it was not hot at all and the cheese hadn't melted. This is after it had been in the wrap (which was heated) for at least 15 minutes.

It was definitely interesting eating at Salsaritas. I think the place has potential, but due to the cold burrito and lack of flavor on the pizza, I am not too enthusiastic to return. If given the choice I wouldn't definitely visit the cousins - Qdoba or Chipotle instead.

Asian Kitchen

9351 Lakeside Boulevard
Owings Mills, MD 21117-5063
(443) 394-2650

Located in the Brookside Center in Owings Mills off of Lakeside Boulevard, this is easily my favorite Asian restaurant in the world. Not only is the food fantastic, the prices are cheap. This is a common place for coworkers to meet for cheap good eats.

I recently went there with 7 coworkers. I like to try different entrees every time I eat there. But I ALWAYS get the Hot and Sour soup. This time I ordered the Hunan Chicken.

As always, the meals are quickly served. It's like they know what we want and have it ready for us. I understand that they probably have most of it premade. but when it's served it's always nice and hot and the portions are bountiful!!!

I was first served my cup (more like a bowl) of Hot and Sour soup. Easily the BEST Hot & Sour soup I've ever had. It's filled with hearty portions of mushrooms, tofu, and bamboo shoots. And it's spicy. Not so spicy that you can't eat it, but just right!!!

Our meals arrived soon after the soups. The Hunan Chicken was piled high. And it was so tasty. Spicy and tasty. And good. And spicy. And tasty!!! There was no way I was going to be able to eat all of it. Julianne-style strips of chicken, mushrooms, and carrots were piled atop a mound of fried rice. Additionally, a fat hot and juicy spring roll was served on the side.

I could only finish half of my meal, which is fine with my wife since I bring it home for her to finish. Everyone at our table loved our meal. I think my portion came to about $6. How can you beat that for a fantastic meal?

So the next time you're in the Owings Mills area for lunch, stop by the Asian Kitchen. You will not be disappointed.

Nino Taco

I love me some good Mexican food. Or is it Texican? It really doesn't matter to me.

Recently, a couple friends of mine and I went to the Nino Taco in Owings Mills for lunch. The restaurant is located in a stripmall near Stephenson University Owings Mills campus, just off of Owings Mills Boulevard. Also in the same center are Bonefish and Outback Steakhouse.

The restaurant is a bit small. If you arrive late (post-noon) or any time on a Friday, you will have a hard time finding a seat. There are probably only about 30 seats in the entire restaurant.

The décor is Tex-Americana. There are colorful Spanish tiles and posters of Ravens players.

The menu is limited and printed on a laminated placemat. There are several meal deals, but nothing fancy. You can get meals like tacos, quesadillas, burritos, nachos, and enchiladas. Nothing fancy.

I ordered the chicken fajita quesadillas and a diet drink. One of my friends ordered a diet drink, the 3 tacos, no cheese, and an order of nachos with cheese. Yeah, don't ask. My other friend ordered the burrito, with a side of refried beans and a diet drink. Yes, we're all in our mid-to-late 30's and we think we are fat. We need to get ready for bathing suit weather. Who am I kidding? We're all married and our wives are stuck with us, but I digress.

There were 2 servers working the whole restaurant and perhaps 2 working in the kitchen. Needless to say they were all very busy, especially when you factor in the take-out counter. The drinks were promptly served. The meal took about as long as you would expect during a lunch rush, not extremely quick, but not long enough to get me upset.

The meal is served a-la-picnic style - paper plates and plastic utensils. My meal was hot. And BIG. The quesadillas were fat with chicken and tons of cheese, which I love, and were served with a side of salsa. Too hot to eat with my hands, and perhaps a bit too messy, I cut it up with my fancy plastic knife. The taste was incredible! So good. Just salty enough and the chicken was tender, not dry. The tortilla wrap was just crispy enough, but not to the point where it was flaking apart.

My friends enjoyed their meals, as well. One was eating there for the first time and he was thoroughly impressed. He said he would definitely come back again.

The only downfall of the experience was the time it took to get someone to refill our drinks. We only got one refill, which should be enough for a normal person, but no one ever said I was normal. I would have liked a third serving of the carbonated diet corn syrup. However, based on how quickly the 2 servers were moving, I cannot blame them for poor service. They were plenty busy. The restaurant could use a third server during the busy lunch period.

The fair is fairly priced, ranging about $6 - $15. I think the quesadillas were about $8, are great bargain. Our meal for 3 came to about $30.

I give Nino Taco high praise for their food and look forward to dining there again. Unfortunately they do not have a website, which means there is no online menu. That would be nice.

Liquid Earth

1626 Aliceanna Street
Baltimore, Md 21231

I have found Vegetarian heaven in the form of Liquid Earth. Liquid Earth is located in Fell's Point directly across the street from the very popular Blue Moon Café. I find this to be particularly funny because Blue Moon Café is known for using tons of butter and meat while Liquid Earth boasts fresh, natural and vegetarian menu options.

I had been meaning to try this place for awhile now but it wasn't a big priority since they didn't appear to be a restaurant to me. We were looking for a place to grab lunch on Sunday and generally just pick up a sandwich from Whole Foods. On this particular day, Whole Foods was out of my fave sandwich so fate led me to Liquid Earth.

When you walk into Liquid Earth, it's very charming. You can tell the owners are big believers of reusing and recycling as none of the chairs match, there are a lot of interesting knick-knacks and my coffee was even served in a mug you would generally find in someone's home (and not just a plain old white mug or a specific restaurant mug). I liked this place already.

There is a large chalkboard that features all of their drinks/juices and it can be a bit overwhelming. Luckily the staff is very patient and very friendly. We sat down to eat our lunch and I was thrilled that I had more than 2 options to choose from! They had a section on their menu dubbed "Vegetarian" and one dubbed "Vegan". While the Vegan side is a bit smaller, there is a note under the Vegetarian section that you can substitute Vegan cheese for a slight increase in cost.

I ordered the Raw Vegetarian Roll which is described as an "oversized spinach flour tortilla layered with hummus, slivered red cabbage, organic carrot strips, organic sprouts, cucumbers, green bell peppers, radish and button mushrooms". I was surprised by the size of this meal and appreciated the presentation. And the taste? Incredibly light and fresh. I was practically licking my plate clean.


My husband ordered the Liquid Earth Club. This vegan sandwich consists of their organic fake bacon organic baby field greens, red onion, avocado, sprouts and tomatoes stacked on multigrain bread with Nayonnaise (vegan mayo). My husband enjoyed his sandwich and agreed that he would come back to Liquid Earth (and this is a big deal since he's a meat-eater!).


I ordered a cup of coffee with soy milk and my husband decided to go for one of their juice drinks. He tried the Facelifter (honeydew melon, mint, ginger, orange and grapefruit). They served it in a measuring cup and a glass. I liked this presentation because it gave you an idea of how much you're drinking. I took a sip of this drink and loved the light fruitiness of it. It's a great summertime drink.

Before we left, we noticed they had a large display of desserts. We decided to try a vegan chocolate chip cookie and a vegan oatmeal raisin cookie. Delish! You wouldn't even guess they were vegan.


Overall - I would definitely recommend this place and it will probably become a regular Sunday lunch spot for me. If you're not so into the vegetarian thing, you should at least stop by for a juice! Maybe next time you're waiting in the ridiculously long line at Blue Moon Café, you can pop in for a juice.

The only thing to keep in mind is that this place is CASH ONLY. But being in Fell's Point, there are ATMs abound so there is no real inconvenience.

Noodles and Co.

Atkins conscious eaters need not apply. Well maybe for a couple things.

Noodles & Company is a relatively new chain that focuses on a single ingredient, noodles, rather than a single style of cuisine. I was originally skeptical about this place, but after a couple years of going I will admit that Noodles is a pretty good, relatively cheap meal and rarely a disappointment. I was also pretty excited to see that a new location was opening mere minutes from my office.

Noodles concept is pretty simple. Their menu is divided into three parts, Asian, Italian and American. From there you have the choice of a couple of different pasta dishes, a salad or a soup. Finally, add your protein and you are off an running. Choices range from Japanese Pan noodles with to Wisconsin Mac and Cheese.

This restaurant appeals to me in lots of ways. First, I am a noodle freak, particularly with Asian flavors. I can never seem to replicate the taste at home. Also, any restaurant with "Chicken Sauce" on the table must be good. For those of you who don't know the the term chicken sauce... well, learn it. Or you could learn the actual name, Sriracha Chili Sauce. It is very spicy, but delicious... but I digress. Noodles also has the whole mix and match thing going for it. For example, I am not sure how many people would put Braised Beef onto Creamy Mac and Cheese, but do you know who does... This Guy.

When I was in grad school, looking for a "home cooked meal" or at least something quick and delicious, noodles was the place to go. I could pick up something that was warm and filling while still being simple affordable. If they had setup WiFi I think Noodle could have been my "Coffee House" of choice.

Adding to the flavor of this place is the website. It is fun and it gets the point across. I like that as well. Noodles has a sense of humor about itself. Most places like this tend to think that they are better than they are, but noodles just keeps it simple.

If you are ever in need of a good fast meal, not that expensive, but full of potential flair give Noodles & Company a try.