Travel Bites: What to Eat on a Long Weekend in Baltimore, MD

We recently found ourselves in Baltimore, Maryland for a wedding and decided to make a weekend of it. My husband spent some of his formative years in the city and was happy to get back. I’ve only been once before, but I was excited, too. Baltimore is a beautiful place, where an element of danger is always lurking-a nice neighborhood is always bordered by a scary one. Yet, it’s where north meets south, so it’s also more polite than other east coast cities, and you’re greeted by almost everyone you meet on the street.

Foodwise, there’s a lot to discover. We didn’t have a car, so we were relegated to places we could reach by walking and short bus rides. Still, we found plenty of good eats. Here’s the weekend wrap up:

Crabs, of course, are a must. We headed to Captain James’ Crab House with some friends. There, we ordered piles of crabs, which you choose by size (medium-jumbo), and I learned how to crack ’em like an expert. Okay, not really, but I learned a technique that I will, hopefully, master some day. The hush puppies and french fries were deep-fried goodness, the pitchers of beer icy cold. Oh, and Michael Phelps was there. 2127 Boston St., Baltimore MD, 21231

Keeping with the crab theme, I had the spectacular Crab Cake & Fried Green Tomato Eggs Benedict from Miss Shirley’s Cafe. My husband always turns up his nose at crab cakes served in LA restaurants, which I used to think was just snobby, but now I see the light. These were so flavorful and flaky. Add the southern charm of a fried green tomato, and, well, you can imagine. The restaurant, itself, with its inner harbor location and huge portions, would be a tourist trap if the food wasn’t so dang good. 750 E Pratt St, Baltimore, MD 21202

I generally take in two meals a day while on vacation-brunch and dinner-but around 4 o’ clock, I start needing cheese and alcohol. Enter this beautiful charcuterie plate from Maria Louise Bistro. The service was terrible, but this plate was well constructed with pâté, rabbit rillette, buttery brie and even some mimolette cheese, which is one of my favorites. It was perfect with a glass of sparkling rosé in the muggy afternoon. 904 N Charles St Baltimore, MD 21201

If cheese and champagne are not available, cake will do. This one is a lemon pound cake with glittery frosting from Milk and Honey, a small gourmet market that serves croissants, paninis, and salads. I tried to order strawberry shortcake on a homemade biscuit, but apparently it only appeared on the menu to taunt me because it wasn’t available. That’s a crime, but this cake helped me move on (though bitterly). 816 Cathedral Street Baltimore, MD, 21201

At my insistence, we took a crazy—and I mean crazy—bus ride over to Papermoon Diner. My husband worked as a short order cook there back in the 90s, so I felt like we had to go. I’m not a fan of the word “funky”, but sometimes it’s the only one that will suffice, and this is one of those times. The entry way of this funky diner is filled with rows and rows of Pez dispensers (a small sampling is seen above), and the walls are covered with toys and pop art.

The food is a mix of vegetarian and meaty standards with a twist. I considered the Banana Foster French Toast but played it cool with the Veggie Egg Sandwich and did some trading to get in on my husband’s Hella Portabella Mushroom Sandwich and Sweet Potato Fries. Then all hell broke loose, and I heard myself ordering the Peanut Butter Madness shake with chocolate ice cream. It was a sweet and salty dream, and the silky-thick whipped cream on top was otherworldly. There’s a reason Papermoon earned a “Best Shake” denomination from Baltimore Magazine last year. 227 West 29th Street Baltimore, MD 21211

And lastly….In a world where you can get anything anywhere, it’s nice that it’s really rare to find Utz chips in Los Angeles. I like the specialness of getting to eat them only once in a while. We devoured “The Crab Chip” flavor daily and are considering ordering a case of them online. However, that might rob us of the novelty, so we’re still deciding.

-Valentina