Mc-N-Mc Pit

410-254-9894

6317 Harford Rd, Baltimore, MD 21214

Yet another brake-screeching stop in the interest of pit beef. On our way to Big Bad Wolf BBQ on Harford Rd., I caught Mc-N-Mc’s {pronounced “mick-n-mick”) sign out of the corner of my eye. Hopes of stumbling upon the mythical unheralded, really real bbq joint were dashed when we walked in to find what seemed to be a typical, if slightly more run-down, example of a pizza/sub place.

First question of course, are the ribs smoked? Answer: no. I did however detect the smell of charcoal, a rarity in such establishments, so I went ahead and ordered a pit beef sandwich. I was not asked for my preferred doneness however, a major strike against. This spy photo however shows what I considered a glimmer of hope:

A hunk of beef that looks like a hunk a beef, as opposed to a pressed and formed fake roast beef thing. Fingers were crossed, expectations raised slightly. As the seeming owner was wrapping it up, he asked if I wanted anything on it, and I quickly replied “nothing at all”, jadedly assuming he meant toppings in the way of LTM or some such. He gave me a wary look, and I blurted out, “umm how about some horseradish sauce then?” to which he responded with a relieved smile. Himself an aficionado perhaps? Well, it came on a proper roll at least:

It certainly looked like a real pit beef sandwich, despite its dubious carry-out of origin. But dissection revealed tragedy:

The beef was completely and utterly well-done. I fucking knew it, I muttered to myself. But, but but but, damn if it wasn’t an absolutely delicious pit beef sammy. Despite the lack of bloodiness, the meat was just right balance of tender and chewy, and possessed more than ample beef and char flavor, with a well-seasoned crust to boot. I didn’t want to like it, but I was impressed. If there’s such a thing as a good well-done pit beef sandwich (or such a thing as well-done pit beef at all), this is it. In an example of smalltimore coincidence, not three days later, after doing the Dan Rodricks show, engineer Jonathan(sp?) asked if I’d been to Mc-N-Mc during a conversation with the crew about pit beef. And I was happy to say that I indeed had.

-Henry Hong