Did I Go Too Far?

Life in the suburbs has its pluses and its minuses.

The biggest plus to me is having a decent-sized yard. Our yard is only 1/3 of an acre. Not huge by any stretch of the imagination. But it’s big enough for the dogs to stretch their legs.

The biggest minus? Very few businesses are within walking distance. As for the businesses that are nearby — McDonald’s, Post Office, CVS Pharmacy, Exxon and a Royal Farm store — there’s no safe way to get to them. There are no sidewalks along the main road, which has a 50 MPH speed limit. I can walk along the shoulder, but I sure don’t like to with cars moving at that speed.

Another minus? Fewer mom and pop stores. There are mega supermarkets, big box retailers, and chain restaurants, small and large, practically everywhere you look. But you know what I really miss? A neighborhood sub shop. “Sub” is short for submarine, a long sandwich known in other places as hoagies and grinders. Places like Subway and Quizno’s, while okay in a real pinch, just aren’t the same. They don’t even have grills!

This past Friday, Hubby and I agreed we could go for a good cheesesteak sub. You need a good sub shop to get a good cheesesteak. After 17 years living in this neighborhood, I have never been able to find a good cheesesteak sub.

Until now.

I’m tired of sub-par sandwiches. So I did a Google search for Maryland’s best cheesesteak. The closest contender was Jeno’s Steaks in Severna Park. According to Google Maps (what did we do before Google, does anyone remember?), that is 13.2 miles (21.24 kilometers) from my house. Each way. It would take 24 minutes to get there.

It was pouring down rain Friday night. Any other night, I would have found something to cook here at home, but by then I was REALLY wanting that sub. So I hopped into the truck and drove to Jeno’s.

I am so glad I did. It was the best cheesesteak sub I have ever had. Even their boardwalk-style french fries were awesome. Of course, by the time I got back home, the fries were cold. But we have an oven, so we just heated them up a bit.

Now, all you Baltimoreans are probably thinking, “What about Captain Harvey’s?”

I’ve never been a fan. I mean, they’re big. But size isn’t everything. Their subs are just ridiculously large. And, in my opinion, they don’t really taste all that great.

The sub from Jeno’s was perfect. They take that raw, very thinly sliced steak and fry it up, with onions, right there in front of you. They use a special blend of oil and seasoning, too. There was just the right ratio of meat to cheese. And the roll was chewy and dense without being tough or crunchy.

Really, the drive was so worth it.

When I got back, I told Hubby how far I’d gone.

“That’s a long way for a cheesesteak,” he said. That was before he ate the sub. Once he’d finished, he thought the drive was worth it, too.