"baltimore" news and stories

Two things define the food of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay metropolis: spices and seafood. And the former owes its prominence to the latter -- plentiful crabs that once bred like hard-shelled rabbits in the bay's warm waters. "When they were prevalent, bars here would have steamed crabs as giveaways," explains local food writer Dara Bunjon. "So that people would drink more, they made them that much more spicy." In other words, it seems that the city's core condiment, known as Old Bay Spice, was cooked up as a ruse to raise profits at drinking dens.

Food guru Marguerite Thomas theorizes that the city's history as a port combines with its Southern-tinged psyche to make spice such a staple. "You can go to a crab house and order cracked crabs without Old Bay, but people look at you funny," she chuckles. "Baltimoreans take great pride in it." The difference between restaurants' recipes for crab cakes is usually centered on the seasoning. She also loves the crab cake-esque coddie: "I grew up eating them. I'd go to the fountain and for 11 cents, I got a coddie and a Coke as my after-school snack." Thomas says that coddies were traditionally a Jewish treat, a kosher riff on the crab cake made from cod and potato and served on a saltine with a dab of mustard.

Read our "only in Baltimore" list after the jump...

Photo: Max's Taphouse.

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

When is a bar more than a bar? When it's three bars in one.

Located in the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore, Md., Max's Taphouse has a long and storied history, having transformed itself from a somewhat seedy music venue to the multi-roomed, multi-tapped monster it is today. Owner Ron Furman has been intrigured by diverse beers for decades, and with 79 taps, Max's serves up more suds today than ever before.

"We've been at our current capacity draft-wise for, I would say, 15 years," says general manager Casey Hard. Most of those 79 drafts are available in the main room, but many of the lines splinter off to the watering hole's other two rooms as well. "We have 24 taps upstairs and 24 in the side bar," Hard notes, with the upstairs bar typically focusing on Belgians and the side bar more focused on darts games.

Has the incredible selection found an audience among Baltimore locals? Seems so: "There are people here every day from the moment we open until we close. We go through 100 kegs a week. I change between five and 20 kegs a day."

Max's Taphouse's massive draft selection as of this Tuesday after the jump. ...

I have always felt that one of the best ways to get to know a neighborhood is through its restaurants and food markets. Philadelphia writers and cooking teachers Irina Smith and Ann Hazan seem to feel similarly, because they have co-written several intensely local cookbooks. Today I'm looking at their 1991 volume The Original Baltimore Neighborhood Cookbook.

I don't know exactly when this book drifted into my life, but it's been on my shelf for at least five years now. It's a friendly sort of cookbook, with lots of personality in the narrative. The recipes are divided type (Meat and Fowl, Soups, Vegetables, etc.) and then by neighborhood of origin. It's a little heavy on the meat/poultry/fish recipes, I'd love to see more in the salad and baked good sections. This in-balance makes it a supplementary addition to a cookbook collection and not a must-have.

However, there are still some clear winners in this book. I've got post-it notes on recipes for Szechuan Cold Noodles, Oven Baked Veal Stew and the Casserole of Crab.

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Miller Brewing Company has introduced a line of craft beers under the tagline, "Craft Beer, Done Lite." The line features three beers: Amber, Wheat, and Blonde Ale -- each with fewer calories and carbohydrates than regular beer (110 calories, 6.2 carbs per 12 oz). Though the beer is only available in a few test markets, it's already met some harsh critics.

Joe Sixpack at the Philadelphia Daily News called the trio "the Kenny G of beers," and likened the wheat variety to a Sprite. According to Miller's press release (which you can see here at Beer Advocate), wheat "offers especially appealing flavor dimensions, with a subtle citrus note that kicks in during the finish." Over at Lagerheads, they're giving the trio mixed reviews. And in Baltimore -- one of the test markets -- Baltimore Sun Columnist Ron Casper is not infatuated with any of the three.

Consensus seems to be that it's too early to say whether Miller's attempt to merge the trends of lite and craft beer will ultimately succeed, so I'd love to hear your opinions. Has anyone tried the stuff? Give those of us in non-test cities a taste of what's out there!

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The newest issue of Cooking Light, which is their 20th anniversary issue, has the magazine's choices for the top 20 cities in the US, based on 15 criteria that they feel embody their "Eat Smart, Be Fit, and Live Well" philosophy. They looked at fitness, health and exercise data from the Centers for Disease Control, the number of parks and recreation areas (and how often they're used) from the Trust for Public Land, restaurant ratings from the Zagat Survey and James Beard Foundation, and the USDA's farmers markets listings. Everything was evened out on a per capita basis and the cities with the most of everything made the top cut.

One of the top ten cities will be featured each month in the magazine this year, so readers will have access to information about all the things that got the city their ranking.

1. Seattle, WA
2. Portland, Ore.
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Minneapolis, MN
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Boston, MA
7. Denver, CO
8. Milwaukee, WI
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. Tucson, AZ

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