On my way home from the BSO open rehearsal (see previous post), I decided to risk getting hopelessly tangled in Baltimore’s one-way streets and hang a left off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to see if I could find Lexington Market. Turns out, it’s not so hard, as there are signs directing out-of-towners like me, and I even found street parking in front of the Ronald McDonald House.
Which is kind of indicative of this neighborhood. It’s a rough mix of funky stores and a hospital and office workers and people who look as though they’re about to ask you for money. I walked three blocks to the market, with its huge sign, “Lexington Market: World Famous Since 1782,” ready for sensory overload.
This market is a warehouse on steroids, full of food stalls hawking everything from sushi to éclairs, and specializing in a few Maryland traditions like soul food, fried chicken and crab cakes. I wandered around a bit, passing over the steam trays of Chinese food, burgers and hotdogs that I could probably find in your average shopping mall, and wound up at Faidely’s Seafood, which felt pretty damn authentic (it was founded in 1886 and is still run by the Faidely family). There was a guy standing at the raw bar slurping oysters and gabbing with his server, and behind them was the hot line, offering three kinds of crabcakes (regular, which meant small; backfin; and clawmeat), fried fish, and a host of sides. I ordered a clawmeat crabcake, pickled beets (yum!) and potato salad (questionable). Then I grabbed a spot standing at a counter, slathered the crabcake with a bit of hot sauce, available in giant squeeze bottles, and chowed down.
This is one good crabcake – and I’ve been eating crabcakes since I was 8. Even better is the friendly atmosphere at this place. Among the locals and out-of-towners mixing easily all around me was Kam, a friendly world traveler from New Brunswick, Canada. He had his camera out, and we agreed the place is a feast of great images, not the least of which are the seasoned faces of the people serving up the food. Character is an understatement.
Faidley’s also sells fresh seafood to take home, and with rockfish at under $10 a pound and bluefish at something like $3.99, I am planning on a return trip. Next to Faidley’s was a place that sold muskrat and raccoon – and yes, I am tempted to try them, too, when they’re in season. There are also fresh chicken and pork stands, produce vendors, and other grocers here.
The last time I visited this market, years ago, I got a paper cup full of fried chicken livers – where else could you possibly buy that? Not sure if they’re still available, but I did see plenty of hog maws and pigs feet, Polish sausage (Polock Johnny’s wins the best name contest here) and enough bakeries to give you a permanent sugar high. The éclair I sampled was disappointing, but I’d give the bakeries another try after asking what’s really fresh and house-made.
While I explored the upper tier of the market, where there are tables and a balcony overlooking the crowds, I also got to hear a great blues band – the market regularly schedules local bands, many of them offering up blues, jazz and R&B. And, today happened to be part of the chocolate festival, so I watched a pretty silly chocolate eating contest involving two women with their hands tied behind their backs, dipping their faces into chocolate cake, pie, and other desserts, trying to eat the most. I do understand the compulsion to eat a lot at Lexington Market, though – I’ll definitely be back.
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