Pork Belly & Bacon Sandwich at Chesapeake Market and Deli, North Beach, Anne Arundel County, Maryland

I’ve reported before on Chesapeake Deli here and here, and I’ve also reported on their Dunkirk cousin here. I won’t go over all of that again. Instead, this is about one sandwich.

As I looked over the sandwich section of the menu, three little words caught my eye — pork belly & bacon. (I don’t count the ampersand as a word.) The menu described it as made with seasoned butter (on the grilled bread), peppadews, pork belly, bacon, and pepper jack. Here it is —

and a side view.

That’s not a whole lot of meat compared, say, to a deli sandwich, but that’s a whole lot of richness and intense flavor. It’s a meal. The peppadews add a little heat and a good bit of sweetness to the sandwich. Regular readers will know of my antagonism to adding sugar — sweetness — to savory dishes, and especially pork. I would prefer something tart, sour, or spicy to balance the richness of pork belly, but the balance was as good as a sweet element with pork gets. I would order this sandwich again in a heartbeat, at least outside of the local crab season.

An order of hushpuppies appeared, as it often does when Ella and Lily are at table.

Regular readers know that I have eaten more hushpuppies than I care to admit. These had a near-perfect crust and a fine center. You could see these with honor in North Carolina. Are they the best in Maryland? Show me better. Please. (Yes, that’s honey. The hushpuppies don’t need it.)

Liza ordered and enjoyed a chicken wrap,

and Ella and Lily both had French fries with chicken fingers.

I tried some fries. I won’t say how many, but I will say that they were delicious.

The bottom line here is that you have one more reason to head north from North Beach and try Chesapeake Market and Deli. Or two or three or four reasons. Enjoy!

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