Crab Flake Maryland, Charles Bitterli, Hotel Emerson

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I had some illustrious company and wanted to serve a classy meal. Where better to take cues from than the illustrious Hotel Emerson.

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Hotel Emerson by Aubrey Bodine @ MD Historical Society

The hotel was the brainchild of Capt. Isaac Emerson, the man behind Bromo-Seltzer and its parent company, the Emerson Drug Co…the 220-foot-high, 17-story building at the corner of Baltimore and Calvert streets.. opened its doors a quick 20 months later….

And long before the current fashion for local ingredients, the Chesapeake Room offered a traditional Maryland-themed menu made from products raised on Capt. Emerson’s Green Spring Valley estate, Brooklandwood (now the home of St. Paul School for Boys). The hotel’s milk and cream came from Brooklandwood’s herd of Guernsey and Jersey cows, and the estate also produced chicken and eggs, as well as lettuces, tomatoes and other vegetables. The hotel even bottled its own water from a spring near Brooklandwood.Mary Zajac

Please read the article for more on how the Emerson’s history is both illustrious and horrific.

In its later years, the Emerson was known for its “Hawaiian Room,” a seemingly immersive tiki bar. A lot of ephemera has been collected on this facebook page.

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Drink menu from the Emerson’s Hawaiian Room.

Because our city’s self-loathing dates back further than I care to think about, the building was razed in 1971. There is a great web 1.0 site showing many of our lost hotels, as well as some still standing, at kilduffs.com.

This recipe was provided to Eat, Drink & Be Merry in Maryland by “Chef de Cuisine” Charles Bitterli. According to a trade publication called “The Alarm Clock”:

Mr Charles Bitterli the chef of The Emerson Hotel Baltimore Maryland was born in Switzerland. The years since 1904 have been a steady advance in his chosen profession. The first five years were spent in Swiss hotels and famous eating houses one year was spent in Paris at the Regina Hotel. ln order to gain the experience necessary for the goal in view Mr Bitterli was associated with the Amstel Hotel, Amsterdam; Royal Pavilion, Folkstone, England; Hotel dos Estrangeiros Rio de Janiero and The Exhibition Restaurant in Berne.

Mr. Bitterli arrived in New York City in 1915 and began his duties at the Hotel Astor. Some of the other well known houses with which he was later affiliated were Sherman Hotel, Chicago; Adolphus Hotel, Dallas, Texas; Hammel’s Restaurant, Miller’s Cafeteria, Motor Square Hotel and Chamber of Commerce all in Pittsburgh. Chef Bitterli shouldered his new responsibilities at the Emerson Hotel in September of this year and is well liked not only for the good food that leaves his department but also for his optimism and his sense of humor.

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Bitterli in “The Alarm Clock,” “published monthly in the interests of the staff of Horwath and Horwath”

Searching google and facebook turns up possible relatives of Bitterli but I was unable to successfully contact anyone for more information.

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This recipe from Bitterli appears on a New York Post page alongside diet and health tips from celebrities such as Dorthea Dix.

Crab being woefully out of season, I used this pricey and possibly shady meat from Garland Fulcher Seafood of North Carolina. I picked many shell bits from it. Not a huge deal but all in all the price, unfamiliar source and quality should serve as a cautionary tale to mind the seasons.

I made the mistake of using salted butter AND using the generous recommended quantity of a half ounce of salt so of course that was a disservice to the crab meat I’d paid so dearly for.

This method of serving something in a cream sauce, often in a chafing dish, was very common of hotels and railroads at the time and it of course always turns out a tasty salty creamy indulgence, apparently to the delight of travelers. I served it over asparagus on a crepe to our guests. Much water was consumed. I used the leftovers to make a less-salty cream of crab soup later.

  • 1    Lb    lump crab flake
  • 1    Pint milk, scalded
  • .5    Pint     cream
  • .25    Lb unsalted butter
  • .25    oz salt
  • 1    pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1    glass sherry
  • 2    Tablespoons flour
  • toast

Melt half the butter in saucepan, add the flour and make the cream sauce with the heated milk, set aside to keep it hot. Heat the rest of the butter in a saucepan, add the crab meat and fry a little, trying not to break up the lumps. Add salt, pepper, cream sauce and cream. Let boil for two of three minutes, then add  the sherry and mix well. Make sure that it doesn’t boil. Serve very hot in chafing dish with toast.

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Recipe Adapted from “Eat, Drunk & Be Merry in Maryland”

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