I love showing off pit beef to friends from out of town -- a unique taste of Baltimore that is accessible to anyone except a vegetarian.My friend wasn't open-minded enough to jump at the offer of Riverside's bulgogi panini, but he encouraged a tour of pit beef joints. We started at Oakey's, the new stand on Frederick Road just west of Rte 29.
Oakey's serves a good pit beef sandwich. We split a regular one with horseradish, and my friend was really happy. Good beef, sliced thin and served on a pretty good roll as well. That's a good lunch or a treat while doing errands, and I will stop back at Oakey for more sandwiches and to try the other items. It's certainly on par with Uncle Grube's -- my Elkridge connection for pit beef.
The truth is that it isn't Pioneer Pit Beef. My friend and I split the Oakey's sandwich so that we could split another at the Woodlawn stand. (We were en route to H Mart in Catonsville, so we were just minutes from Pioneer.) The Pioneer sandwich is still the best around, meat pulled from the barbeque when you order and then sliced into your sandwich. The best beef flavor, the best juiciness.
If you're up on Rte 40, check out my tour of the "Beef Highway" from Korean barbeque through the pit beef joints and east to the H Mart. On that tour, you're see Canopy on Rte 40, an Elliott City institution for pit beef but a place that I haven't tried yet.
Oakey's Grill
9095 Frederick Road
Ellicott City, MD 21042
410-418-4770
NEAR: This is on Frederick Road just south of Rte 40 in Ellicott City. From Rte 40, turn south at the light onto St. Johns Lane and then turn left at the light for Frederick Road. Oakey's is on the right.
Totally unrelated, but I saw a sign on the former That's Amore-- coming soon, Union Jack's.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about Oakeys. It's good enough beef if you're in the area, but not worth a drive.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with your assessment. I live a short hop from Oakey's, so it's always good for a quick meal.
ReplyDeleteOakey's is great. Check out the specials - they did a great grilled chicken sandwich a few weeks back, as well as a terrific turkey club.
ReplyDeletebest pit in the area
ReplyDeleteI'm totally surprised by your assessment of Oakey's Grill. I just stopped there today for my first try at their pit beef. I found it to be pretty bad. I won't be going back. I didn't think the quality of the beef was very good, it actually was very unappealing to me. I thought their fries tasted burnt or just not very good. I am sorry to say I won't be returning again.
ReplyDelete