ELTIPS AV R T
Even my can-do attitude was not enough to extract the delicious meat.
If only there were such a thing as a crabologist to give me some guidance. Well, it turns out I was in luck at Phillips Seafood at Inner Harbour, Baltimore.
But before the ologist could step in our guide gave us a cracking demonstration. Like most natives of this Mid- Atlantic Maryland metropolis she considered herself a crab-picking expert.
And her helpfulness was completely in character with a place that is nicknamed Charm City.
My best advice for anyone facing a similar dining dilemma – wear the bib provided. It can get messy.
But it is worth the effort for the unique flavour of the local delicacy plucked from nearby Chesapeake Bay. Phillips’ crabs, crab cakes, shrimp, clams and mussels go perfectly with a National Bohemian Beer – Natty Boh to locals.
Baltimore’s culinary scene is all about local produce, cooked, brewed, packaged, served and sold in the city. It also has a fascinating, diverse and booming art scene.
The notion of Baltimore as a cultural hotbed will surprise many, especially fans of the compelling TV crime drama series The Wire.
And its murder rate, 342 in a year at last count, hardly helps.
Even so, the excellent American Visionary Art Museum’s souvenir shop tries to turn a negative into a joky positive by adorning T-shirts and mugs with: “There’s more than murder here.”
Around the harbour and other neighbourhoods I didn’t hear a single whisper about re-ups, burners or stash houses – street vernacular made famous by the HBO show.
In Mount Vernon, the Baltimore neighbourhood where we stayed, you’re more likely to see a fight over the last kombucha – fancy cold tea to you and me – than a drug turf war. The historic area, with its grand brownstone buildings and stoops, is reminiscent of New York’s Greenwich Village. Hotel Revival, our home for the weekend, is typical of the current vibe.
Everything inside the 100-yearold, 107-room hotel, from artwork to toiletries, is locally made.
The Revival has a karaoke booth and Topside, one of its two restaurants, has great views of the city. It has excellent local dishes, such as catfish and chips, and craft beers as well as non-fishy dishes like gemelli pasta with morels, peas, ricotta and sorrel pesto, for £20.
Mount Vernon is a great base for exploring the city. Washington Monument and Walters Art Museum are right there and the Inner Harbour is just a 20-minute
SAMPLE a glass of Union Craft
Brewing’s intriguing peach sour ale, Nectar Collector.
TAKE a walk among the famous Painted Ladies – a row of colourful homes in Charles Village.
LEARN how to make the perfect rye whiskey cocktail at the plush Sagamore Spirit Distiller
SEE Baltimore’s famous luminaries celebrated – with a bust of rocker Frank Zappa plus museums for Edgar Allan Poe and
Babe Ruth. walk away. The best way to see the waterfront is by water taxi. Hop on and off, visiting Miss Shirley’s for breakfast and the Four Seasons’ Loch Bar for lunchtime oysters.
These are just two entries in a long list of must-eat and drink spots.
Try Bar Vasquez for a steak, gelato at Vaccaro’s in Little Italy and cocktails at the uber-cool Elk Room.
The R. House food court in Remington showcases the city’s best new chefs’ enterprises, while The Avenue in hipster-friendly Hampden is home to quirky shops, bars, restaurants and the ultra popular Quality Snowballs, selling fancier slush puppies.
From there, stroll over to Union Craft Brewing to drink in their beer hall. Line your stomach at the newly renovated Broadway Market food co court in Fells Point, before sampling on one of the 100-plus draught beers at spit- and- sawdust joint, Max’s Ta Taphouse. And it’d be rude not to ha have one for the road at the G Guinness Open Gate Brewery headin ing back to the airport.
Baltimore offers an affordable, vib vibrant alternative to the likes of Ne New York, Philadelphia and Boston. Th The clue was in the nickname all al along - Charm City.
FACTFILE: FA Hotel Revival from £110 an a night. BA flies London to Baltimore fr from £ 584 return. To book visit ba ba.com/baltimore or call 0344 493 01 0122. For more, see baltimore.org.