Guilty Pleasure

A new spot in Pikesville puts the deli in delicious.

- Jane Marion

WHILE I CAN’T SAY FOR CERTAIN, I’m fairly sure that the idea of food guilt was first born at a Jewish deli—a place with matzo balls as big as billiard balls, inch-thick hot dogs, and sky-high sandwiches crowded with Brobdingnagian portions of pastrami, chopped liver, and Russian dressing. Such is the case at The Essen Room, a new Jewish deli in Pikesville, whose slogan is: “Where size does matter!” and where there’s a place on the Wall of Shame (and a free meal) for anyone who can singlehandedly consume in one sitting the G.B.M.F.—that’s great big mother f---er—a platter of corned beef, brisket, turkey, roast beef, and pastrami (usually something meant for three to four people).

Then again, with food this good, guilt has no place at the table.

Years back, owner Neil Parish moved to Cherry Hill, NJ, where he owns a sister spot, The Kibitz Room. Luckily for us, he wanted to spread his New York-style deli love—and his “secret” house-made brown mustard—all the way back to the Baltimore area, where he was raised and still has family. Visit The Essen Room, on the site of a former Orignal Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., anytime during business hours, and prepare for a bit of organized chaos—clearly, Pikesville-ians have been starving for this for a long time.