Naron Candy #75

OK. One of the most elusive items on the list. We had researched this and learned that popular candy companies Naron and Mary Sue had merged in 1996. The merger didn't go so well, and Naron-Mary Sue was sold in 2001. Since then, the Naron had been dropped from the name, the website and pretty much from all of Baltimore. We didn't even know how to find them. Until we entered a back part of the market to a fun candy stand. And, what do we see, but a sign saying "Naron Candy Box". We asked at the stand where they confirmed it was Baltimore's "famous" candy. Mission accomplished! (and the truffles were amazing too!)

The question still stands why its on the list if the company doesn't truly exist anymore, but at least we found it so it still exists somewhere!

Faidley's Crabcake #1 for many reasons

After the numerous "appetizers" at the market, it was time to go to Faidleys for our main course - the amazing crabcake. We regrouped with Jeff and Erica who had also found new goodies at the market (actually we all found the berger cookies - worth having as many times during the year as possible!) One crabcake was more than enough for us seafood fans (who had already eaten too much anyway) and was almost 100% pure meat and heaven. Sara's favorite in town and it did not disappoint. All agreed, it would have been a great end to the meal. Little did we know that there was more to come...

Lake Trout - #11

This definitely gets the stinky award for the day. In smell, but we were able to each try a certain bite (all but Linwood who grew up on the stuff and doesn't need to eat it now that he is older and wiser. Of course, after one bite we realized how much wiser he was!) Better than the soft shell crab, but scarier looking. Not the worst we've tried but close to it! No grape soda was available, which probably would have been better. As would the hot sauce but the mustard was a good solid choice. Not the highlight of the day, but good to tackle this one today.

Shrimp salad from Mary Mervis. #39 at Lexington Market

You can't hear anything when you approach Mary Mervis with all of the people around the stand (and its hard to figure out how to order and who to order from) but the confusion is fine with one bite of the shrimp salad sandwhich. Worth the wait and confusion. Not too much mayo, and nicely spiced. Of course, with all the other food, this one almost took a back seat (especially with so much other good food on the table).

Probably the best shrimp salad in a town that seems to love it. Good choice for the list.

Chicken box from a Market - Lexington Market continued

The next item on the list was the chicken box. But there were too many choices! Cathy scouted the boxes and came up with a great one. Huge fried chicken. Fries (both with and without gravy for those who wanted to cross that one off the list!) Someone else will need to comment on this one. Good fries. Amusing concept. Not sure about it being on the top 100 - but we've had worse items (with one to come soon!) The chicken was apparently amazing. Juicy, well cooked, good coating. Worth it for the carnivores in the group! Good thing Jeff and Erica joined us to help polish it off (though not enough). They went off in search of other treats, while we did the same and devoured new and exciting treats. This one definitely covered the "touch" function on the senses of the day. Messy, but wonderful!!

Lexington Market Feast -

Lexington Market is a feast for all of the senses - but most importantly taste. Of course, when you walk in the door the first sense that comes alive is the sight. Too many places to look. Bright lights (unfortunately too many are flourescent but that only adds to the allure! Its hard to know which way to turn - unless you are Heather who has shown up early with Linwood and with one swoop around the market, she seems to have it down pat. Sara. Cathy and Cathy's new roommate Lauren (on her first foodie outing!) showed up next and it was hard to figure out what to do first. Good thing Pollack Johnnys was right in front of us - and we were all hungry too! Turkey dogs with the works all around. (no one specified what kind of dog so we figured turkey worked) The works were amazing (as the only thing that Sara tried but they were worth it) - kind of an outstanding sauce with peppers, tomatoes and something super hot. Apparently the dogs were good too. We all downed these as we circled the stands looking for the next prey.

#19 - Boog's BBQ at Camden Yards

Sept 14. Heather and Sara headed out to the old ballgame (albeit after first pitch) to check out #19. Both were afraid the season would wind down and they would not have made it to a game. None of the carnivore friends could make it, so Heather had to settle for the Pit Turkey Sandwich. Surprisingly good with the special Boog's mustard and some horseradish, which Sara put liberally on her veggie dog. And, contrary to the O's season, they actually won and won big! H & S arrived just in time to see the O's score their first runs. Washed the BBQ down with a cold Miller Lite and witnessed both the mustard, ketchup, relish race and the crab shuffle! All in all a lovely night. (Oh and the Phillies won, too.)

Coddies on a Cracker - #56

Could it be? A posting the same night it occurs??? Wow!

So, after the BSSC happy hour, Sara, Heather & Linwood headed over to Mama's to meet Tim Squared and Mike. Much to our amazement, there were coddies on a cracker - time to try!! Well, Heather and Sara were the brave ones, and they were SO MUCH better than the soft shell crab sandwich (a big worry prior to the first bite). There was the original problem of a place at the bar to sit, so Sara asked Eddie (a stranger) to move down a seat. He originally refused because he and Mike were together (!) and Sara played along. But, then he was mortified that she thought that and ended up moving seats. This started a great conversation as he is from Baltimore and became fascinated by the foodie list (as many are!) He had many pointers - which we will try to itemize here.

He thought our assessment of soft shell crabs is wrong and told us they need to be fried and not sauteed. Not sure its good enough to try again, but point well taken.

Crabcakes - Faidleys is the place but too expensive. G&M good too. Good to know.

Pollack Johnny's is closed in Towson and only open on "the block". Uh-oh. This may not work...

Didn't know anything about Lake Trout - and we definitely need hints on this one! Will keep looking. Ditto with the "chicken box"/Tyrones.

Where did Baltimore's almond soda go? Apparently it was an almond syrup in ginger ale. Sounds yummy. If it still exists, it should be on the foodie list.

Attman's apparently has the original "coddie on a cracker." May have to sample again there. But, its served cold. Huh. When it was $.15 and a coke was $.10, it must have been a better sell!

Peach cake from what's that bakery? (#28)

The best laid plans. We were going to knock off many items with the Labor Day BBQ but as it turns out, it was not meant to be. And, really, how do you follow up on the "turkey & sauerkraut"? The only thing that could follow it was the peach cake from Woodlea Bakery (but how is it pronounced? Woodlee? Woodlay? No one knows for sure)

The funny thing is that most of us don't like peach, but this cake was amazing! Of course, many of the pastries looked amazing when we picked it up (and the peach cake isn't even that photogenic!) But taste is where it counts and this one was great. Of course, we were hoping that Donya would be there and we could put a candle in it for her b-day, but that was not to be. We will celebrate soon (with I'm sure another item off of the foodie list!!)

The worst of the best #21

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. A true dud on this great list. Don't even know how it landed on the list. Now, we didn't have high hopes for it, but really didn't expect it to be uneatable. So, we headed to a usually fantastic restaurant (Ale Marys) where we opened the menu and realized that there was a soft shell crab sandwich on white bread. Heather, Sara and Mo had to order it. And, could barely make it through a bite. It was incredibly fishy, and while we had thought that anything fried had to be good, this sandwich proved us wrong. Good thing we were able to wash it down with too many vodka drinks! Oh, yeah. Not eating on this night may have been bad. But, not as bad as the sandwich!!

Dessert #6

After the delicious crab dinner (and fried appetizers!), what could we find for dessert - and what wouldn't fill us up too much? Easy answer - snowballs with marshmallow! Would have actually been better without the marshmallow but the locale was perfect. Just down the road on Eastern Avenue in a little shack at the side of the road. Not usually a big fan of flavored ice but we all sampled - and the marshmallow was such an odd topping. Couldn't finish dessert but was still a fitting end to a foodie extravaganza evening!!

#2 - Mr. Bills + surprise #69

I can't believe that this is #2 - more like #1 place for crabs in Baltimore! So fun and a very different experience. Just down Eastern Avenue (ok - way down Eastern Avenue) but seemed to be a lifetime away. Julie's favorite crab place and she's been there often so thanks for organizing. Donya, Heather and Sara joined for a truly fun night on the town!

We needed to be there at 4 to put our name in (paid off when we were the third table seated!) and sat at the bar to take in the crowd. A couple of pitchers of beer later we sat down at a table in the restaurant and opened the menu to decide on our food for the night. Cheese balls sounded far too good, so we ordered them (don't think our waitress was too happy when we were brought cheese sticks and asked for the balls instead. Kate wasn't around for her signature mozzarella sticks and we really did want to try something new - and they did not disappoint!) With an odd mustard sauce, they were delicious and well worth going off the foodie list for! We also noticed gravy fries on the menu and had to order them! It really is amazing how difficult they are to find - and we had to be able to tackle #69 on the list at some point. Great surprise to be able to have them here! Gravy on the side (of course) so we all dipped once and gave Donya the rest of the gravy! Sara also happily had her favorite onion rings - too good. If the appetizers were any indication, this was going to be an incredible meal!

And, yes, the crabs were amazing as well. Just enough old bay. Nice size crabs. Donya was so meticulous in her dismantling of them that we thought Tim was there. The rest of us made such a mess - but absolutely worth it!

Our waitress was very funny so we had to get a picture with her. To be posted soon...

Definitely one to go back to (and soon I hope!)

the "Chip" salad #14

Our first film night was very fun and productive in terms of food, but not in terms of the movie (see other posts about being rained out). So, we decided to try the Little Italy film. Forgettable title and movie, unfortunately, but, once again, I'm getting too far ahead in the story.

Sara, Heather and Gautam met at Chiaparelli's in Little Italy. And, what better time to get the Chip Salad to go to eat during the movie. Of course, the pasta looked too yummy and since it came with the salad, I guess we really didn't have a choice but to order it! The pasta was good but the salad was much better. Who knew a dressing could be that good?

Gautam left before the movie, but fortunately Julie joined us for good food and better conversation. That is, until the movie started. Then the conversation turned bad (bad screenwriters I suppose) and we got tired and gave up on the movie. Still a fun night. No good luck with movies but great luck with food and friends!

Off to the Beach for #s 17 & 26

The only "problem" with the Baltimore foodie challenge is that there are two items not found in the direct region. So, we had to take the show on the road and head to the shore for the weekend. (again, no arm twisting on this one!) What better weekend to do that than the annual Breast Fest weekend for the Tyranna Foundation. Heather, Doug and Sara got off work as early as possible (though Doug kept working and amusing us with his work conversations on his headphone on the way down!) Once we hit Rehobeth though, all work needed to be done. There was a large thrashers french fries to be eaten. Luckily we all like just a touch of vinegar. Talk about the perfect fry! Even Heather, who doesn't really like french fries and was a very good sport!, agreed that they were fantastic. I seem to remember a lot of fighting for the last one.

So, who needs lunch when you can go straight to dessert - Fisher's popcorn. Of course, the caramel kind. Not quite as good as the fries, and very filling on top of them, but still good. Even Sara who wasn't supposed to have caramel until the dental work is complete (will it ever be?) couldn't stop munching on it!

Then, in an attempt to get some "real" food inside of us (or maybe just a ploy to sit at the bar and have margaritas!), we wandered into the Purple Parrot. Heather and Sara resisted the urge to order the parrot poop (still regretting it - will just have to go back!) and instead got the cheese plate, which looked remarkably like a cheese quesadilla. Of course split it!

Great stop on the front end of a fantastic beach weekend!!

Matthews pizza

Matthew's pizza - so good, it deserves two postings! Yes, Heather and Sara had tackled this one (not kicking and screaming!) earlier this year, but Donya and Julie had not so Julie was kind enough to pick up two pizzas for the outdoor movie - the required mozzarella pie and a veggie. I think we all agreed that the veggie was even better than the one on the foodie list! By the way, perfect time to mention special guest Valentina - visiting Julie from Colombia. Our first international participant and it was really great to have her there.

And, this night was so good, it is to be continued in the third and last installment of our very own "Twilight on the Pier" trilogy...

August 4 - #13 & #63 (Attmans)

OK - yes, it is taking longer and longer to get these posted, but life is busy. Too much good food and good drink out there! Plus, we tackled 10 items in August and that takes a while! Now, let's rewind to a month ago when the weather was far hotter than this cool and perfect day today. An evening perfectly suited to a nice movie on the Fells Point pier. And, when that movie is Twilight: New Moon and you are with wonderful girlfriends, all the better!

Donya really took the lead on this one and created an amazing spread! Unfortunately, I can't comment on the Attman's delicacies of a baloney wrapped hot dog and corned beef sandwich. Anyone, anyone? I still want to go back there and try some other items so let's do that soon (and certainly before the end of the year!)

This post to be continued in the next one - Matthew's pizza!!

#8 Serve Sauerkraut with Your Turkey

September 5, 2010 (Labor Day weekend)

This wonderful concoction is a turkey roll up (or fake turkey, the darker ones) carefully and lovingly stuffed with sauerkraut served atop a heated baguette slice glazed with stone ground mustard garnished with some rosemary and a delicate dusting of cayenne pepper.

Yes, it sounds and looks better than it tasted. But, it's still technically completing #8 and that's what this is all about! Thus began Sara's labor day party. Those partaking of this scrumptious appetizer: Sara, Gautam, Jeff, Erica, Ryan, Linwood, Heather, Kent, Kate and Doug (can't remember if he actually ate one). Call us crazy, but we're committed to completing this list, even if it means Sara has a big jar of sauerkraut in her fridge that will be there long after we complete the challenge.