Pit beef is Maryland’s answer to barbecue, and it does not need slow smoke or heavy sauce to win people over. The trick is simple: top round beef grilled hot over charcoal, sliced thin, and piled onto a roll with raw onion and a sharp horseradish sauce called tiger sauce.
Baltimore and its surrounding towns treat this sandwich as a point of pride, and the best versions often come from small stands rather than fancy restaurants. If you have driven along Pulaski Highway or spotted smoke rising near a gas station lot, you have probably passed one without knowing it.
Here are eight spots worth pulling over for the next time you are hungry in Maryland.
1. Chaps Pit Beef, Baltimore, MD
Few names carry as much weight in the pit beef world as Chaps, which sits along Pulaski Highway on Baltimore’s east side. It has been serving the city since 1987 and earned national attention after appearances on food television…