Dirt Poor, Filthy Rich: My Baltimore Foodie Bucket List

Obviously I love Food Network, and I say 'obviously' because, well, how could a person who loves food as much as I do not love it? Two of my favorite shows are Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and The Best Thing I Ever Ate because they showcase talent from around the country. Thanks to an episode 2 nights ago (that was a rerun but I hadn't seen before), I now have 4 places in the Bmore area that I'm just dying to try.

The first place I put on my bucket list thanks to FN was G and A Restaurant, which claims to be Home of Baltimore's Best Coney Island Hot Dogs. I must say though, when I first added this to my list, I hadn't tried traditional Cincinnati chili. Now that I have, I'm a little more skeptical of this place, mainly because I don't care for chili with cinnamon in it, and if they use the kind of chili that does, I can tell you now I'll be disappointed. Still, since I don't know for sure, it's a place to try. The only reason we haven't made it there yet is because I always think of it on Sundays, and it's closed Sundays. That, and it's not easily accessible from the metro, so we'd have to drive into the city. Read my lips though: I'm going there this Spring.

The 2nd place, which I just learned of a few weeks ago, appears to be a fave of both Duff and Guy. After seeing the sandwiches they devoured, how could it not? Chaps Charcoal Restaurant appears to be most widely know for its killer pit beef, and their one sammy, The Big John, features pit beef, ham, turkey, corned beef and sausage. For a girl who's watching what she eats, this will be a huge indulgence. But I'm willing to make that sacrifice for something both Duff and Guy are willing to vouch for. This place isn't accessible from the metro either (well, on a nice day we might walk the 2.5 miles there, but first we have to figure out if it's in a decent neighborhood). Buppy and I are thinking sometime in March, if it's nice, we'll take the bike and hit up this joint. I can almost taste it.

The 3rd bucket list addition came to me from The Best Thing I Ever Ate 'At a Deli' edition. Duff, once again, stayed local (which I love about him!) and went with Edmart Deli in Pikesville, MD. I don't recollect if Duff got the corned beef or the pastrami, but the restaurant's slogan is Baltimore's Best and Favorite Deli, so I'm thinking I can't go wrong with either. The sammy was huge, packed full of meat, and I could see the caraway seeds in the bread. I plan to hit up this place tomorrow for an early pick up of dinner (my night alone). If I can stand it, I might wait for a night when Buppy is home so we can both try it, but no promises hun. Pikesville is only about 20 minutes away, so this is by far the closest. I can't wait.

Last but not least, number four isn't actually thanks to FN but is due to my ex-worker and an old friend. I've actually already blogged about Fogo De Chao and how I really want to try it, so I won't say much about it here. Only that I still haven't made it, and I'm not sure when I will because it's hard to justify spending $50 per person on dinner, not including any tax, gratuity or drinks. Still, I've heard that Brazilian steakhouses are amazing, so it'll stay on my bucket list until someday, somehow, I get to one. It will happen!

So what about you ---- has FN visited any places near you that have made you decide to hit it up and give it a try? I can't see a bunch of FN foodies being wrong about good food, especially when it all looks so good, so I'm pretty psyched to start crossin' things off my list! What's on your bucket list foodies?