Cheap Eats
Lenny’s Deli
Van Smith
Published: March 23, 2011
The best day for corned beef and cabbage isn’t St. Patrick’s Day; it’s the day after, when your stomach’s in need of a post-binge meat tonic. And, theoretically at least, the best place for it isn’t an Irish pub; it’s a Jewish deli, where corned beef is an everyday staple. But choosing Lenny’s Deli (we visited the location on Lombard Street), of Baltimore’s famed (and long past its prime) “Corned Beef Row,” wasn’t such a good idea. While the St. Patrick’s Day special—corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes ($7.25)—was still available the day after, the dry, thinly sliced meat and mushy, skin-on potatoes were virtually flavorless, and the cabbage was too tough and green to eat. By adding a few Utz crab chips ($0.75) to each bite, the corned beef and potatoes made it down the gullet, but three slices of leftover pizza (free, thanks to pizza day back at the office) were still needed to fill the belly—and erase the lingering bad-food memory. Should’ve known better upon seeing the “Erin Go Brue” sign at Lenny’s counter.
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