Baltimore | Cooking With Fire

We headed to Washington, DC when we left Baltimore. We weren’t in a great hurry to visit Washington until we were sure that the government workers were back to work and everything was open again after the sequester and closures. The time we waited was worthwhile as two days before we wouldn’t have been able to access many of the buildings, memorials or even public bathrooms.

It’s quite thrilling to see the capital buildings, even from a distance. We caught sight of the Capital Dome far away on Washington Avenue and it really is an impressive sight. Ron had been once before but it was my first visit.

We parked next to a public park quite far from the capital buildings and were greeted and serenaded with a song from Steve, one of the homeless men that spent their days there. Ron gave him some money to watch our car and he played his jazz rendition of Stormy Weather on his old trumpet to thank us. He and his friends couldn’t have been nicer and we were trusting that they really would watch our vehicle while we were touring the sights.

The White House, House of Representatives and the House of the Senate were very impressive. Despite all of the divisiveness and conflict that the government has endured as of late, you can’t help but be awed and inspired by the US capital – considered historically the most powerful nation in the world.

We walked for miles that day and were moved tremendously by the World War II Memorial and, more impactfully, by the Vietnam War Memorial. There was a contingency of elderly servicemen and their families/caregivers that were taking them through the memorials and it was a very emotional experience to watch. For us, reading the names of the tens of thousands of men who gave their lives senselessly in the Vietnam War and knowing that Ron could have been one of them was very moving, to say the least.

The Washington Monument was encased with scaffolding and undergoing repair, but the National Botanical Garden, National Mall and all of the other monuments, parks and memorials were open and very impressive. The weather that day was perfect which only added to our experience.

We were delighted to find our car exactly as we had left it even though Steve and his friends had left the park. We can only hope that the money we gave him went towards food and/or shelter and helped him in some way. Ron jokingly said that he hoped that Steve and his friends bought and enjoyed a nice bottle of California red wine on us – whatever! One more opportunity to be very grateful for what we have and the life we lead.

Ron and I like to take different routes across America every trip or whenever we can. This year we decided to head south down the east coast and drove south to Baltimore, Maryland through Brooklyn and Staten Island, New York, and a short section of Delaware.

We were hoping to see some of the colors of autumn in the northeast, but summer is holding on tight this year and everything is green and lush still with just a touch of color starting to appear.

While Ron is driving, I get on my iPhone and shop for where we’re going to stay every night once we’ve determined where it is we’re going to stop. It can be a bit of a gamble as we’re trying to keep the expenses down, but not compromise the safety or cleanliness of where we’re staying.

By sheer luck, we found a fabulous place to stay in Baltimore called the Lord Baltimore Hotel. Built in 1928, the hotel is undergoing a major facelift. The bones of the hotel are historic and regal and we’re certain that the new private hotel group that has acquired it will bring it back to its original beauty and elegance. Our room was large and very comfortable; tremendous value for the renovation discount price that we paid.

The bellman, Allan, very dapper in vest and stylish fedora, was very helpful and gave us some great leads on what to see and recommended restaurants while we were in Baltimore. We walked around the harbor and marina and were delighted to be entertained with a parade of large sailing vessels from all over the world, entering and circling the marina announcing their arrival and participation in the regatta with cannon fire.

We stopped for a glass of wine in a restaurant with an upstairs balcony to watch the parade of ships and the setting of the sun. Nestled in Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore is a beautiful city with lots of history that has been well documented and proudly celebrated by its citizens. After the sun set, we continued our walk and found ourselves in a huge Barnes and Noble Bookstore housed in a four-story historic brick building. Books are a huge weakness for both of us, but we kept our purchases to a minimum as our little convertible is already MORE than full.

Ron has a wonderful nose for finding great restaurants. That night was no exception and we decided to sit up at the bar at Phillips Seafood for dinner. We ordered a Crab Cake Salad (fresh greens, tomato, corn and asparagus and topped with a classic crab cake) and a half-pound order of snow crab legs served with drawn butter and a side of sautéed baby spinach with lemon, sea salt and butter. Although we rarely select white wine, Ron selected a bottle of 2012 Matua Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and it was a perfect choice. The word “matua” means head of the family in the Maori language and this crisp, clean and slightly citric wine is New Zealand’s first ever Sauvignon Blanc. As they say on their label, it would be delicious in the hot sunshine and pair beautifully with anything that comes from the sea. We highly recommend it.

Everything was delicious, but the crab cake was absolutely outstanding. Phillips have created their own blend of seasonings which accentuates and compliments the abundance of crab meat in this house specialty. Their famous Seafood Seasoning contains celery salt, pepper, mustard, allspice, pimento, cloves, bay leaves, mace, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and paprika – a wonderful blend to complement seafood or to use in a crab and potato/corn on the cob boil (order online from their website http://www.phillipsfoods.com/retail-products and check out their other recipes as well). They have Shirley Phillips’ Maryland Style Crab Cake recipe on the back of the spice can and I can’t wait to try it once we get to Cabo:

1 egg
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. dry mustard
1 tbsp. mayonnaise
½ tsp. lemon juice
1 ½ tsp. mustard
1 ½ tsp. melted butter
½ tsp. parsley flakes
½ tsp. Phillips Seafood Seasoning
¼ cup bread crumbs
8 oz. crab meat

Combine all ingredients except crab meat. Fold in crab meat. Shape into cakes and pan fry.

We had such a great meal that first night in Baltimore, we came back on our second night to again sit at the bar and share some great conversation with our bartenders, Doug, with his velvety southern accent from North Carolina, and Gary, a Baltimore native. We enjoyed the Crab Cake Salad once again after a full day of touring the city and the phenomenal National Aquarium – truly world class.

Baltimore is a great city that delighted and surprised us. We look forward to visiting there again soon.