“Every year in the 50s, my mother, my grandmother and I went downtown to do our Christmas shopping,” A. Zoland Leishear fondly recalled in the Baltimore Sun in 1989. The store had been closed all of two months and the nostalgia was stirred. Leishear recalled a picturesque scene of streetcar wire sparks lighting up the snow, dazzling window displays and shopping trips ended with hot fudge sundaes.
feature in the Baltimore Sun, 1989
Hutzler’s had it’s origins in the late 1850’s, and opened the famed “palace” on Howard street in 1888. Long before Hutzler’s charmed patrons from Barbara Mikulski to John Waters, the stores may well have been patronized by early Maryland cookbook authors Jane Gilmor Howard or “Queen of the Kitchen” Mary Tyson.
1930 advertisement for Hutzler’s
A generation later, department store shopping had developed from a convenience into an experience. Good food is such a direct route to pleasant associations that it makes complete sense that retailers would want to impress on shoppers in this way. Any fan of IKEA meatballs could attest to that. Whether it is these potato chip cookies, the cheddar bread or something more substantial, many shoppers have fond recollections of snacks and meals eaten at one of Hutzler’s numerous dining facilities.
Jacques Kelly (who has to be quoted in this blog more than any other individual!) reminisced:
“What do I miss about Hutzler’s? For starters, the coffee chiffon pie from the Quixie restaurant. When that particular lunch area closed about 1972, I wrote a two-page letter of complaint.”
As is so often the case when we look to the past -especially in Maryland- these pleasant memories are not a universal experience. In the 1910s, columns began to appear in the Afro-American, complaining of Hutzlers and other department stores increasing efforts to alienate black shoppers. This period of segregation lasted from roughly 1930 to 1960, during which time black patrons couldn’t dine in Hutzler’s, try on clothing or hats, or open store accounts.
As sit-ins and protests erupted at lunch counters and department stores around the city in the 60s, Hutzler’s eventually changed with the times.
Michael Lisicky’s comprehensive book “Hutzler’s: Where Baltimore Shops” recounts the Hutzler empire’s rise and fall. Alongside so many other institutions, its lifespan was a reflection of the beauty, excess, and disgrace of Baltimore.
Hutzlers Towson Valley View Room Jan 1989, Kevin Mueller on flickr
Back to the food. I reached out to Lisicky who offered this insight into why the food memories of Hutzler remain so near and dear to many Baltimoreans:
“There was a time when department store restaurants, or tea rooms, acted as some of the finer dining spots in the cities they served. That was especially true at Hutzler’s. Hutzler’s 6th floor Colonial Restaurant was one of Baltimore’s finer diner rooms and was a downtown social epicenter. Most people called it the Tea Room but Hutzler’s never did. In the end, it didn’t matter and still doesn’t. The Maryland Historical Society houses many of the store’s archives, including the recipe files for the Valley View Room at Towson. A number of Baltimoreans preferred the food downtown. Hutzler’s diehards say that Towson wasn’t downtown, at least culinary-wise but that popular and important Towson store kept the company alive. People fondly recall the Chicken Chow Mein served in the downstairs Luncheonette. It was cheap and was an introduction to ethnic food for many mid-century diners. Little did they know it was made with turkey. The most requested recipe from Hutzler’s? Lady Baltimore Cake. Of all of the recipe cards that still remain, Hutzler’s Lady Baltimore Cake recipe went the way of the store. Department store restaurants are few and far between these days. I’m not sure where exactly to send people these days, at least within an easy drive. There’s always Nordstrom, they are an anomaly, but they aren’t Hutzler’s.” – Michael Lisicky, department store historian
“Where Baltimore Shops” contains recipes for crab cakes, imperial crab, crab and shrimp casserole, deviled filet of cod, Scampi di Marsala, Spaghetti a la Caruso, shrimp salad, cheese bread, chocolate chiffon pie, and fudge cake.
It does not contain the recipe for these famous potato chip cookies. Instead, the recipe has been circulated for years via the Baltimore Sun Recipe Finder, as well as other Maryland cookbooks such as my BGE “Chesapeake Bay Cooking.”
These cookies are best served with a glass of milk and some philosophical questions about nostalgia.
“There are places that may be as luxurious or as opulent. But there are none so fine, nor any so grand, none that capture my imagination or so define an experience as Hutzler’s, downtown at Christmas.” – A. Zoland Leishear, Baltimore Sun, 1989
Recipe:
- 1 Cup softened butter
- 1 Cup sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2.5 Cups sifted flour
- .5 Cups chopped nuts
- .5 Cups crushed potato chips
- egg white slightly beaten
Thoroughly cream butter or margarine and 2/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Fold next three ingredients into creamed mixture. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2-inches apart on greased baking sheet. Flatten with tines of fork in two directions. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes. Makes approximately 4 ½ dozen cookies.
