Pioneer Pit Beef Baltimore

I had lunch at a great place yesterday.  It is truly worthy of being called a real Roadfood place.  I went to The Pioneer Pit Beef.............a real short distance of  695 West.  Our family has tried every pit beef place in the area of Baltimore and think this is the very best.  Menu is very limited.   They serve the regular size it beef  (more than I can finish), the super and the sub.  They also serve turkey and ham and I have never seen anyone order that  except for my daughter in law.  They offer fries  and fries with homemade beef gravy.  Drinks are in three sizes and they may offer chips, but  do not remember that for certain.
 
Pioneer Pit Beef  is a very small building .  You enter and stand in a narrow space in line.  You give the man your order and tell him the doneness that you would like your beef.  He slices off the  first slice and hands it to you on the tip of his knife for you to eat while meat is being slice paper thin and pilled on a good sized  roll.  The "condiment man"  asks what you want on your sandwich  and then  wraps it and  it  is given to the cashier. She packages your order , complete with lots of napkins in a white paper bag.
 
You then head outside and see if there is space at one of the three picnic tables.  If not, you head for your car.  I was there early  to had a picnic table to myself  and  feasted on the  world's  best pit beef sandwich  cooked to perfection  and so tender that a baby could eat it.  They are open  Monday  through  Saturday  from  11:00 AM  until  5:00 PM.

West of 695 is pretty vague.  Can you be more specific.  Is this the place on Rolling Road and Johnnycake?

Oops..........sorry that I forgot to give loacation.   Signman, you are correct.  It is at corner of Rolling Road and Johnnycake Lane.

Greymo, which exit off of 695? From I70 head towards Towson or Baltimore?
Tom

You would be going south toward Baltimore and exit  at  exit 17...Security Blvd.  Turn  right and go about one half mile and turn left on Rolling Road  ...Go about one mile and turn right  just beyond the 1-70 underpass  onto Johnny Cake Lane.  It is right on the corner on the hill.

greymo,
    they've been there for quite a while,  I used to go there when I lived up there.  They do have the best pit beefs around (sigh, been craving a pit beef since last week's manVSfood -carnivore episode!)

                             OC

ok, Someone give me the down and dirty on why pit beef is better than any other smoked, or oven Roasted beef...............Billyb

It is not smoked, it is grilled in large chunks, then thinly sliced and served very simply with classic being raw onions and either horseradish or Tiger Sauce (much debate on which is proper).  For me it is really the quality of the ingredients and the skill of the pit boss that makes it better than most other roast beef.

Good description, BelRose.  At Pioneer they grill theirs over wood.  I understand that other places use charcoal.  Anyway, it tastes completely  different than   roast beef.

Pit beef sounds incredibly interesting!  Has anybody seen it anywhere further south than Maryland?

chewingthefat


Greymo, which exit off of 695? From I70 head towards Towson or Baltimore?
Tom

I don't think you can get to Security Blvd from the Beltway (695) coming off of I70.  I think you have to take I70 until it ends (passing over the beltway) and you can get directly on Security Blvd.  Take Security Blvd back past Social Security and then the beltway and the mall and then the left on Johnnycake.
 
My only complaint about Pioneer is they don't give you many napkins and what they give you aren't the best.  I always have a napkin stash in the car for pit beef at Pioneer.  Agree it's the best in Baltimore.

If you are driving south on  695, there is an exit for Security Blvd.  If you are driving north, you have to get off at Rt. 40 exit and go west to Rolling  Road and drive for a mile or so.  I did not mention getting off at he very start of  70 as that would be confusing to someone out of the area.

Greymo


If you are driving south on  695, there is an exit for Security Blvd.  If you are driving north, you have to get off at Rt. 40 exit and go west to Rolling  Road and drive for a mile or so.  I did not mention getting off at he very start of  70 as that would be confusing to someone out of the area.

I didn't mean to throw a monkeywrench into the works, I apologize for any confusion.  chewingthefat asked about coming from I70, which is why I posted about it.
 
I believe there is also an exit for Security Blvd going north on 695 as well as going south on 695, and it may also be exit #17.
 
However one gets there, they are in for excellent pit beef!

Heartbreaksoup


Pit beef sounds incredibly interesting!  Has anybody seen it anywhere further south than Maryland?

I am not sure you can really find decent examples south of Baltimore (the Canopy in Ellicott City being the only one that comes to mind).