Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Kerrigan's Corner Deli

On a recent Sunday we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and head to Poolesville, Maryland for a bike ride. With the assistance of the Bike Washington website, we mapped out a 30 mile out and back ride along the C&O canal towpath. Forget fancy gear and an irritating bell, the most essential thing for a long bike ride is lunch. I plan bike rides around lunch. Yeah, I said it.

So it was a bit of an adventure for us to set out on the ride without a solid lunch plan. We figured we'd just find some food at the 15 mile mark in Point of Rocks, Maryland. After bumping along the beautiful towpath, we crossed a bridge and the (active!) railroad tracks and saw this:

Fabulous. A broken-down old gas station next to an equally broken-down old liquor store. We stopped to assess our options. B pulled out the Droid and checked all of our restaurant-finding apps while I said a silent prayer to the food gods. I was starving and not looking forward to eating at a gas station. After striking out with the apps, we decided to pedal into the "center of town" figuring that there would be additional food options. Unfortunately, the center of town was up a hill (boo) and contained nothing more than a community center. The uphill trek was not all terrible because at said community center we got to watch a peewee soccer game being refereed by a very serious eight year old in a very serious ref outfit. Not seeing any culinary options at the soccer game, we resigned ourselves to gas station food.

We opened the door and saw the usual: chips, sodas, sunflower seeds, bait, and motor oil. However, the smell permeating the store was ridiculously, amazingly good. Our eyes grew wide as we realized that the smell was coming not from heaven but from the pile of fried chicken being kept hot next to the register.

I'm the first to admit that I was on the verge of a pity party when I realized that we'd be eating at the gas station. Whoever first said that appearances can be deceiving must have eaten the fried chicken at Kerrigan's Corner Deli. Holy eff that was some amazing fried chicken! My pity party turned into an all-out high-fiving party after one bite.

We pedaled back to the car with greasy smiles on our faces and dreams of chicken legs dancing in our heads. The chicken was so awesome that I almost didn't freak out about the ginormous snake we saw on the side of the path. Almost.

I don't care how you choose to get there (bike, kayak, train, car, snowshoe, or camel) but just get thee arse to Point of Rocks, Maryland and pay a visit to the crumbly old gas station that doesn't sell gas but does sell chicken sent from heaven.

Second Thoughts from B

We've written about the wonderful biking options in the District and our affinity for mixing in a meal during our rides. We've also mentioned the fact that I can't keep up with my wife who has added 6 a.m. spinning to her weekly routine.

So Kerrigan's fried chicken, using the Irish theme, was really the pot of gold at the other side of the rainbow that kept my pedals turning. J even joked that she could hang the last piece of chicken from her bike to fuel the trek back to the car. Clearly, the carrot is a better motivator than the stick, especially when the carrot is a piping hot, juicy, wonderfully-flavored piece of fried chicken.

There were three reasons why I had high hopes for Kerrigan's (beyond the hunger that I had developed chasing down my wife for 15 gravelly miles). First, when we pulled within 30 feet of this gas station, it smelled like fried chicken. What a huge improvement over the usual fumes and stench, and a telling preview of great things to come. Second, when we entered, the gentleman behind the counter said he was about to make a fresh batch. Sometimes timing is everything. And third, on the grease-stained wall, I saw this article that identified our cook as, "the best 'chicken man'... in the business." Sure the quote came from his business partner, but after tasting the goods, I can't disagree.
Kerrigan's Corner Deli on Urbanspoon

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have also eaten at Kerrigan's and found the food to be amazing. I was especially pleased with the service not only were the gentleman charming and pleasant which made me feel right at home but they were funny too.

I honestly couldn't believe the taste of the crab cakes we had. This is one place I have put on my list of wonderful places to eat.

Anonymous said...

My wife and I recently moved to the area and I work from home several days, so I love to run out for lunch. Were we live, you don’t have delivery and must plan ahead when making trips to the grocery store. I have been to Point of Rocks many times, but never took the time to stop in the town. As I was driving through on a warm spring day, I notice a gentleman (from the Deli) walking to the shop next door, delivering a meal from what appeared to be a former gas station. I decided to stop in and I met John (we were on a first name basis from that day), one of the Co-owners. First thing I noticed was a fridge display towards the back with a “Boars Head” sign displayed. A closer inspection confirmed it was all Boar’s Head meats, as well as a grand assortment of deli items such as chicken, macaroni and egg salad, huge chunks of it! Potato salad, coleslaw, even liverwurst, you name it, (Granted it hasn’t been sold during the rush) all carefully prepared and maintained…yes I said rush. When I moved to the area I thought I would give up the convenience of living closer to a city where you have the choice of picking and choosing, but this is the best thing that has happened to me. I frequent the Deli two, maybe three times a week and tell John or Gerard (Co-Owners) to take care of the customers behind me because I enjoy the stop. Yes, there are other Deli’s who may carry the same types of product, but they can’t match the quality of preparation, variety, and most of all, personal feeling of appreciation. If you are in the area, stop in and decide for yourself.

Anonymous said...

Went out of business in January of 2012.

J said...

Consider us crushed :(

Anonymous said...

Place is open now as Deli on the Rocks and the new guys do a real nice job and the chicken gods much love this location :-)