FOOD REVIEW: Maria's Pizzas and Subs

I spend a lot of my time in Lutherville searching the streets for exciting eateries that will offer unique and interesting new tastes for me.  On occasion however I like to take the time to step back and keep it simple and for me it is these times when I search out a nice hole in the wall pizza shack. 

That is precisely where my mind was this week as I drove past the modest little blue façade of on York Road and decided to turn around and give it a try.

As soon as I entered Maria’s, I found myself feeling right at home as I gazed upon all the usual stand-bys of the standard pizza dive.  From the red and white checkered tiles lining the walls, to the porcelain pizza chef menu holder, to the painted mural above the dining area featuring random pizza-crafting instruments in no particular order, Maria’s has clearly done it’s homework. The décor makes customers feel confident that somebody’s grandmother was consulted in each and every recipe on your menu.

Since we are on the subject of the menu, I’ll point out that at Maria’s there are no real surprises to be had.  I know I tend to support taking chances with your menu, however in this instance I have to say too many curveballs would seem almost superficial.  Maria’s menu is a straightforward sample of comfort food that can be done quickly, and as such the lack of twists and turns just for show was a welcome feature for me.

When it comes to the food at Maria’s I’ll admit I was a little torn.  On one hand, I am a huge fan of any place that has the guts to do hand tossed pizza made fresh in the front of the house which is exactly the case at Maria’s.  The dough is rolled, aerated, and tossed to order then dressed with really fresh toppings and funneled into one of Maria’s six pizza ovens right in front of the customer. 

While I love the “nothing to hide” attitude, I’m afraid I can’t be as laudatory about the finished product.  I don’t want to say that the pizza was poor because objectively I’d place it somewhere between pretty good and not bad. It’s just that on a checklist of a good pizza’s best qualities, Maria’s doesn’t get great marks anywhere.  The dough is tasty but needs a little more bite to it, the cheese and toppings are fresh but weren’t portioned properly, and the sauce was just a touch too sweet and more reminiscent of a marinara than a traditional pizza sauce. 

Luckily for me, where the pizza lets me down, the sandwiches picked up the slack.  Maria’s keeps their sandwich formula as simple as it’s menu, with just quality bread supporting fresh ingredients.  The cheesesteak I ordered was meaty and flavorful, as was the Italian cold cut, which to my delight was not over-dressed with Italian dressing as is so often the case.  On top of that Maria’s pays attention to the little things as well such as their French fries which are thick cut and crispy without being overly greasy.

Perhaps the best part of my Maria’s experience after all was the prices.  I almost felt guilty as I walked out of there with a 12-inch pizza, two 8-inch subs, a bottled water and two sodas for just over $22, but it turns out that is business as usual at Maria’s

So in the end my lunch at Maria’s pitted the foodie purist in me against the empty pocketed college kid who just wants a decent bite to eat, and to tell you the truth I’m still not sure who won.  What I can tell you is that if you’re going to grab a slice from Maria’s it’s best to check your snobbery at the door and take this place for what it is: a nice little place to grab some decent food for bottom dollar prices.