Not to miss at Lexington Market, Baltimore

I am going to Baltimore tomorrow, and my first stop will be crab cakes at Faidley's. I'd also like to bring home some delicious treats that are unique to Baltimore. I won't be home until Tues night, so I won't be able to distribute the goodies until Wed night. So.....what should I not miss while shopping at Lexington Market? Anything that you miss since being there? I've only received recommendations for Rheb's Candy and Berger's Cookies.

Pucca,

First of all, before you get in line for the crabcake (and make sure you get the jumbo lump cake rather than the cheaper ones), belly up to the raw bar for a few dozen local oysters and clams on the half shell.

At several of the meat market stalls, one that comes to mind is Regan's Meats, you'll see various corned pork products in plastic bus tubs such as corned pork tails, sidemeat (fatback/streak o' lean), and possibly other cuts. These are traditionally used in the region for cooking greens or beans and according to friend of mine (a retired career Philadelphia hotel executive chef) , an essential ingredient in Philadelphia Pepper Pot soup.

Don't leave Baltimore without a good supply of scrapple and also Old Bay flavored Utz potato chips as well as Grandma Utz's chips (fried in pure lard). Pick up a few pounds of real jumbo lump crabmeat. There's a world of difference between the real stuff (perishable)and the canned pasteurized stuff (keeps for years) sold at Costco and everywhere else in town.

And don't forget to have a Baltimore style polish sausage sandwich at Pollock Johnnie's.

And if you want to know why I can never go back to Greektown again for serious dining, visit the Black Olive on Fells Point for dinner:


http://www.theblackolive.com/

Evil Ronnie hit it on the head, Polish sausage, fresh crabmeat, and streak o' lean. I used to regularly find streak o' lean (of course not marked as such) in the supermarkets in Delavan, WI, of all places.

Thanks for all those that replied. I enjoyed Lexington Market. It reminded me of St. Lawrence Market in Toronto. I wish Chicago had something like that! I brought some Berger's Cookies and Utz "Crab" chips home w/me. I was surprised that the Crab chips had a slight kick to them - which nonetheless made them even more addictive to me! The crabcake at Faidley's was phenomenal. It was so moist – not like the dry ones outside of Baltimore that suffer from the added breading. I will post a picture later. I also had a polish from Pollack Johnny’s – delish!

Unknowingly followed Evil Ronnie's ordering advice over Thanksgiving. A meal like this induces a nostalgia I never knew I had.

Though it isn't accompanied by the same fanfare as the crabcake, Faidley's also does a pretty dynamite fish sandwich.