The opening of the Atlantic Hotel in 1875 is often regarded as the official “founding” of Ocean City. If you wanted to visit the little beach town in those days, you had to take a boat or a train across the Sinepuxent Bay. Train passengers often arrived to town covered in ash and soot. Nonetheless,…
On the suggestion of several friends, I recently watched “Fannie’s Last Supper,” a documentary about Christopher Kimball & company recreating a late 1800’s era meal based on the recipes of Boston Cooking School instructor Fannie Farmer. Although I thought that they could have been a little less rosy – this was an era of adulterated/tainted…
Frank Hennessy never passed up a chance to promote National Beer. It was his job to do so for 18 years (1957 to 1975), and he approached the job with legendary gusto. Advertising executive John Schneider III (1918-2009) has been credited with “making Boh synonymous with Baltimore.” He may also share part of the credit…
The books that got me curious about Maryland food were not Maryland cookbooks, strictly speaking. This cookbook set had been a constant in my household growing up, and I never thought of them as regional at all, despite the “Southern” in the name. On my mother’s kitchen bookshelf they served as a source of inspiration and…
“Just before Easter the air in St. Mary’s County is permeated by the odor of stuffed ham a-cooking.” – Maryland Farewell To Lent, Katherine Scarborough, Baltimore Sun 1950 It takes over an hour to drive from Baltimore to B.K. Miller Meats, but St. Mary’s County resident Bertha Hunt told me that that is where she gets…