Breakfast at Miss Shirley's, Baltimore

Kelly and I grabbed brunch at Miss Shirley's in Roland Park in Baltimore. We were lucky to get a table right away with the weekend crowd.
I ordered the Savory Grits with marscapone, bacon, cream, tomato and chives. It was fantastic. We also got a side of sweet potato fries. Kelly liked mixing the two sauces.

Kelly ordered the Caprese Croissant sandwich- red and yellow tomato, mozzarella, egg white, and mango served in a hot croissant. It was a good combination of flavors.
I ordered the Crab & Fried Green Tomatoes Eggs Benedict. Instead of bread, the dish was served on top of there really nice fried green tomatoes. It came with a hash of white corn and red peppers, and the crab was lump- a nice twist on the usual eggs Benedict.

513 W Cold Spring Lane,
Baltimore, MD 21210
(410) 889-5272

Faidley's, Lexington Market, Baltimore

A few weeks ago 1000yregg took us to Lexington Market, on the edge of West Baltimore, to Faidley's. They sell all kinds of fresh seafood and have a huge raw bar, but we were there for Baltimore's Best crabcakes.

The things that distinguish Faidley's from the rest are: 1) they mix in the "mustard" - the yellow tomalley from inside the crab and 2) they deep-fry the crabcake but without any filler or breading, and 3) they use only Maryland crab. All lump, all deliciousness!

Incidentally, Lexington Market is amazing. It's been around since 1783 and has managed to thus far escape gentrification. Pretty much the only white people in the whole place were concentrated at Faidley's. Not a cafe, tea shop, cupcake joint or gourmet store in sight. Instead you'll find endless stalls of hog maws, pig feet, fried chicken gizzards, and chitlins. In addition to Faidley's, two other Baltimore institutions you'll find there are Polock Johnny's hotdogs and Berger's Bakery - home of the goodness that is the Berger cookie.

Faidley Seafood
(410) 727-4898

World Famous Lexington Market
400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
410-685-6169

Crab Season

Summer in Maryland means one big thing for locals- Crabs!
When I lived elsewhere, I made it a point to come back to Maryland during this time of year because I had to get Maryland steamed crabs. Now that I live in Maryland again, I can get crabs many times a year.
It must be a vegan's nightmare to watch people tear apart these little creatures and consume every bit of their insides. I love it!
Personally, I think that my crab dissection technique is quite honed after 3 decades of destruction (WWF reference).

A couple of my guidelines are as follows:

1. go for the heavier crabs- more meat inside
2. once you start, avoid wiping your hands- the spice buildup on the fingers will flavor the meat as you eat it. just don't touch anything else especially your eyes.
3. eat all the crab- even the little legs- they are too expensive to waste.
4. mustard- it's like butter and egg yolk an in one delicious flavor- use it, eat it, relish it. do not fear crab gut.

These are pictures of what are called "lollipops" - a perfect single bite of delicious crab. The one on top is the big brass ring- the lump crabmeat! The bottom is the crab claw.
This meal was at Obrycki's, my current favorite crab restaurant- sure they don't use Old Bay, but I love it nonetheless.

Return to The Fatty Crab, NYC

Fougoo went to The Fatty Crab in July, and this weekend we went back so I could give it a try.
Of course, we started with the Watermelon Pickle and Crispy Pork salad (above) that Fougoo raved about last time. The pork was pretty fantastic- a few mm of meat with 2 cm of fat and then skin. It really went well with the pickled watermelon with onions.
We then had the Nasi Lemak, coconut rice, chicken curry, and slow poached egg. The curry was nice and sweet, and tasted great with the egg yolk as well as the sides of cucumber and dried fish.
This was followed by Short Rib Rendang. The sauce was sweeter than I prefer, and I would have liked more ginger, but the meat was nice.
We ended the meal with the house specialty, Chili Crab (below). It was a Dungeoness Crab served in chili sauce with what seemed like Texas Toast. The sauce was pretty awesome, and Fougoo and I dipped our toast into the crab's "mustard". As a Baltimoron, I would have preferred blue crab, but it was a pretty damn savory dish.

Labor Day Food Down at the Ocean, Hon

What a Labor Day Weekend at the ocean. Despite Ernesto drenching us Friday night, it was still a wonderful time eating and lounging.
We went to the Crabcake Factory in Ocean City, and shared the crabcake feast- 5 all lump 5 oz crabcakes with fries and slaw. For those unschooled in blue crab meat, the lump meat is the best part of the crab. The good stuff!

A visit to Ocean City's boardwalk would be incomplete without a visit to Thrashers, quite possibly some of the best fries you can get anywhere. Made from fresh cut potatoes, not frozen, they are fried in peanut oil to order.
They provide no ketchup, instead you sprinkle salt on and generously douse with apple vinegar. So good. Marylanders do like Old Bay, but it would not be the Thrashers way.





Today, we spent the afternoon in Rehoboth Beach, DE before heading back home, and we happened upon a great fish and chip place called go fish! We had tasty beer battered fish & chips here, and they were pretty delicious.

I got a side of the mushy peas as well. Another person in the group added a fried, battered sausage to his meal, and we all had a bite. Great place to check out when down on the ocean.

Return to Obrycki's in Baltimore

With friends in town from NYC and it being peak season, we had to go for crabs in Baltimore. Originally we planned to try Bo Brooks, but upon reflection, we decided to go back to probably my favorite crab place, Obrycki's.
Unlike many places who use the traditional Old Bay seasoning for the steamed crabs, Obrycki's uses a unique mustard and pepper seasoning. The crabs, now in peak season were sweet and juicy. This was Andy's first experience participating in the crab "pick and eat" activities. Vegetarians and hygeine OCD'ers would truly freak out at the process of cracking open each crab, fingers removing guts and eating out all the delicious meat inside. I think Andy licked the shell once to taste some of the great seasoning.
We also had some of the savory crab soup, fried clams, fries, and onion rings, and the dessert of the caramel coffee cake and key lime pie really hit the spot.

Garlic Crabs at Klein's

I usually end up at Klein's in Belmar whenever I'm "down the shore." And sure enough, Bourdain featured it on the NJ episode of No Reservations. I've been there in summer, winter, spring, it's always been solid. This weekend I had the garlic crabs -- a dozen Maryland blue crabs steamed with a ton of garlic and drawn butter. I had some help from the table in eating my way through this mountain of crustaceans.