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Our tour de pit continues, this time at a hole in the wall--namely, the back wall of venerable roadside market Howard's Produce. Little outwardly distinguishes this walk-up carry-out from its beltway brethren, but the pit beef sandwich ($5.90 regular, $8.49 jumbo) was an outstanding example of its kind. Ordered rare, it came closer to medium, but was still moist and flavorful on its sesame seed bun. The DIY condiments bar features both pickled horseradish and horseradish sauce--score. The "surf and turk" sandwich ($8 regular, $9.77 jumbo) tempted us away from the beef with the promise of smoked turkey, bacon, swiss, and Old Bay on rye, but the bacon was limp, not crisp, so the result was gummy. The fries ($2.85 regular, $3.77 large) were strictly cafeteria-grade and the lemonade ($1.99 regular, $2.99 large, and they do mean large) bordered on brackish, but the beef definitely works.

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