The sandwich is a curious dish. Everyone can make it, yet not everyone can perfect it. But since everyone can make it, everyone has an idea of how a sandwich should be.
I’m a bit of a sandwich snob, as a kid growing up I would make pocket money on the side by making sandwiches for the other kids in school, basically throughout my entire education. People always had lunch envy of my sandwiches, so me being the burgeoning entrepreneur I was always open to making a few extra dollars.
My love for sandwiches led me to Big Belly Deli in Sykesville, MD. How did I find this place? The year was 2004 and a young high school boy was working as a construction laborer on a project located at one of Maryland’s mental hospitals. It was a surreal experience with patients screaming at us, laughing at us, or just being confused by our presence in their hospital. Amidst all of that, we still had to eat lunch. A located just down the road, was Big Belly Deli. It was love at first bite, the sandwiches were all pretty much the best things we had ever had. Anybody who would come on down to our job site would have to receive their sandwich baptism. The lunch always ended with the same couple of words, “oh my god, that was unreal.”
A few years went by and it seemed like Big Belly Deli had closed, but much to my excitement and general happiness, they just were going under some renovations. Even with the new look, Big Belly Deli delivers the same high quality sandwiches that I knew and loved back in 2004.
They serve breakfast and lunch, though I’ve never had the pleasure of eating breakfast there. I have had lunch there on numerous occasions and I had the chance to return to Big Belly Deli this past weekend. It did not disappoint.
They have a nice variety of sandwiches, basically anything you could possibly want they pretty much have. I highly recommend getting the roast beef sandwich if it’s your first time there. It’s delicious. Big Belly Deli uses fresh ingredients and thick cut bread. They then press the sandwich in a sandwich press, and you are left with a creation that is other worldly.
We ordered the turkey club & the Italian cold cut with a side of onion rings. What Big Belly Deli has figured out is something that many other places never realize, it’s that you don’t need to reinvent the wheel when you’re making classic sandwiches. That means no avocado, no cucumber, and no freaking sriacha. All of those things are great in their own right, but they’re not what I really want on a turkey club sandwich. Both sandwiches were executed perfectly, the thick bread soaks up some of the juices from the fresh tomatoes and mayo, without getting soggy. The meats are fresh and perfectly portioned. The onion rings are classic onion rings, not the new kind you see everywhere where they are thin and spiral cut.
Big Belly Deli is the best sandwich place in Maryland for my money. There maybe other places that do specific sandwiches better, but nobody delivers quite like Big Belly Deli does.
Big Belly Deli has warm service and reasonable prices. It can be found on 887 Sandosky Rd, Sykesville, MD 21784.
Enjoy.
