Pioneer Pit Beef - Windsor Mill, MD

Look at that picture. Look at it carefully. If you didn't notice, Pioneer Pit Beef looks like a dump. Suffice it to say, this joint is not taking your fancy credit card. The shack is located on some random corner near Security Square Mall. Don't worry though, it is easily identified by the horrible puke yellow/green color scheme, the all-caps screaming of 'PIT BEEF' painted on the roof, and the gigantic picture of the food product they sell on the front facade. Nothing says classy like a big ass picture of sandwich + meat, and thats how I likes my food establishments, classy as sh*t. But what is this? Tucked away under that jail cell window is a sign that says 'World Class Pit Beef. Nobody Does it Better.' Lemme tell you something son. They ain't lying.

For those of you not from the Baltimore area, pit beef is our very own distinct style of BBQ. A large hunk of top round is grilled until the meat is blackened on the outside, but juicy and rare on the inside. The beef is then thrown onto a deli slicer and carved paper thin. Typically, pit beef is served on a kaiser roll with tiger sauce, a mixture of horseradish sauce and mayonnaise, and Pioneer's model is no exception. The staff at Pioneer asks how you want your meat cooked, and then slices off a fresh bite for you to sample. This tactic is brilliant by the way. The sample I was given was so juicy and full of flavor that I decided to order a larger sandwich. Every meaty bite was tender and melt-in-your-mouth awesome. The decision to up size turned out to be rather unnecessary though. The 'regular' size along with some boardwalk style hand-cut fries would have been more than enough to satisfy me at lunch time. Good thing I'm a complete glutton.