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Never mind the crab cakes, here’s the

Cheeseand other B altimorefish really eats K, so everybody knows what to get if they ever visit Baltimore—crab cakes, steamed crabs, crab soup, crab pretzel, just something with some crab in it please. But for those of us who actually live here in the city—and by us I mean working shlubs, the 99 percent if you will—crab cakes are simply not a part of our daily existence. For people who know from good crab cakes, they’re just Otoo expensive to eat very often. But this is supposed to be a seafood town—we are situated right on one of the greatest bays on the continent, after all. Thing is, at least within the confines of the more touristy areas of the city, Baltimore is dominated by chain or big, sit-down type restaurants. Where are the small, mom-and-pop joints that will fix you some simple, straight-up then? Well, they’re here, you just gotta know where to look, preferably by having someone willing to set aside any concern for their own regularity and cardiovascular well-being do the legwork. So here you go, and just in time for Lent—or for the less pious among us, the glorious 40 days every year when the Filet O’ FishTM, undisputed king of fast- fish sandwiches, is on sale. Enough has been written about the subject for it not to be news anymore, but in case you didn’t know, the “other” dominant seafood dish in Baltimore is something called lake . Basically, the term “lake trout” refers to a fish called whiting, which is fried and served with sliced white bread and hot sauce. Much has been made of the provenance of lake trout, mostly stemming from the specific type of fish used for the dish. Multiple species may have been used in the past, but from what I can gather, the current fish of choice is whiting, and to a lesser extent, a smaller but very similar fish interchangeably called “ trout” or “ling.” And no, neither are from a lake (number of natural lakes in Maryland: zero), nor are they a type of trout. They are both saltwater fish related to , as is a fish called hake, which when cut into crosswise slabs is the animal most always used for the mysteriously named “steakfish.” Both whiting and oyster trout/ling are narrow and quite bony, making them prime candidates for being cooked whole. Indeed one of the joys of a properly prepared lake trout is when the fins and outermost pinbones get the life fried out of them, so that they become crispy, crunch-ity built-in fishy chips. As for maneuvering around the bones within the flesh, the best technique I’ve come up with so far is simply patience and careful chewing. I think it must be a rite of passage in Baltimore to have a needle-y lake trout bone pierce you between your tooth and gum line. Shudder. You can get it boneless too, of course, and in this case it’s often called “whiting,” so just remember, most of the time “lake trout” = bone in, “whiting” = boneless. When a boneless filet is placed on a roll instead of open-faced on white bread, it becomes a more recognizable fish sandwich. Here in Baltimore, the default fish for such a sandwich is likely to be a piece of pre-formed pollack instead of whiting, and is often topped with American cheese—a “cheese fish sandwich.” A friend who moved to the West Coast told me he tried to order a cheese fish sandwich in San Francisco, whereupon he was in- formed that they had , salmon, and but did not carry “cheese fish.” Silly hippies. There are lots of places where lake trout is the only seafood, where gets first or equal billing. But then there are the truly seafood-oriented places at which lake trout is just one of the many that can be had, fried, steamed, grilled, or what have you. The main differences between fish from a lake trout/ chicken place and from a fishmonger usually come down to the coating, and the texture of the fish itself. The former will tend to use a highly seasoned Southern-style coating, which is reliably crunchy but perhaps lacking in subtlety, while the latter usually gravitates toward a more floury, -style cas- ing. Also, as one insider informed me, fish and chicken joints tend to salt their fish up to a day ahead of time, not only for flavor, but to firm the flesh up and make it less prone to breakage in the fryer. More committed seafood operations tend to season their fish very lightly, presumably to showcase its fresh- ness, and indeed both the flavor and texture of these two stripes of lake trout are pretty distinct. And then there is a third, even less prominent, but equally treasured Baltimore seafood institution: the coddie. A coddie is salt cod that has been reconstituted in either water or milk, shredded or chopped, and mixed with some sort of filler, usually mashed potatoes. Time was when you could find coddies practically everywhere—supermarkets, delis, I’ve even seen them for sale in gas stations and convenience stores. At these places though, the coddies will almost certainly be the same shape and size as a hockey puck, and will have been reheated from a premade frozen package. They aren’t all that bad really, but they pale in comparison to a real homemade coddie. In fact, if a seafood place happens to sell both types, they will often distinguish the processed hockey pucks from their homemade coddies by calling them “.” Moreover, if you’re familiar mostly with the hockey pucks, aside from the superior quality, the sheer variety of homemade coddie recipes out there will astound you, and possibly restore your faith in Baltimore’s rep as a seafood town, as it did mine in compiling the following non-crab cake seafood eater’s guide to Baltimore. By Henry Hong 12 | city paper m a r c h 7, 2012 citypaper.com A friend who moved to the West Coast told me he tried to order a cheese fish sandwich and was informed that they had flounder, salmon, and orange roughy but did not carry “cheese fish.” Silly hippies.

CHEESE FISH* CHEESE FISHTOGRAPHY BY RARAH

CONTINUED [ *NOT SHOWN ACTUAL SIZE ]

citypaper.com m a r c h 7, 2012 city paper | 13 FLOUNDER

Fish Commonly Available for

FCatfish Therying lake trout of the South if you will. There’s actually a fairly wide range in what tastes like. Most catfish is farmed, and for whatever reason the stuff available around here tends to have a lot of moisture and is flaky and very delicate, to the point of falling apart while eating it. Catfish I’ve had further south is much meatier and denser. Farmed has a neutral flavor, while wild can taste muddy (I’ve never seen wild catfish for sale here though).

Cod Closely related to whiting and hake but larger, cod is probably my favorite fish for —big, tender flakes that cleave cleanly, a good balance of tenderness and structure, neutral to sweetish flavor, and moist even after long cooking times. Cod is one of the fish most often used in English-style , along with . The term “” refers to a juvenile cod (which, although obviously smaller, has sweeter, more delicate meat) but is sometimes misleadingly applied to smaller members of the cod family, like whiting or ling.

OYSTER HAKE

16 | city paper m a r c h 7, 2012 citypaper.com CATFISH

PERCH COD

Flounder Thin, flat fillets that are very delicate, quite moist, and very neutral in flavor. Good if you like your batter-to-fish ratio very high.

Lake trout/whiting/silver hake Whiting fillets are around a foot long and somewhat narrow, and you most often get two to a sandwich order. The flesh of lake trout from a place that doesn’t also sell fresh fish has medium flake, and is firm, slightly fishy, and slightly salty, as it has probably been pre- salted. Fresh whiting is almost an entirely different fish—significantly more delicate, slightly grainy, and pretty neutral in flavor. Some vendors will sell the less meaty and bonier tail sections separately, at a lower price.

Ocean Shorter, wider, and significantly smaller than whiting, this fish is slightly oilier, has slight grain, but overall is similar in flavor and texture to whiting.

Oyster trout/ling/red hake The same shape but smaller overall than whiting, the flavor and texture are nearly identical. A sandwich order will usually get you three fillets due to the smaller size.

Steakfish/hake Steakfish is distinguished primarily by the pieces being cut perpendicular to the spine, whereas fillets are cut along it. This cut affects the texture—it is meaty, slightly fibrous, and fairly dense, while flavor is pretty neutral. It’s mostly boneless, but beware of small bones near the spine and around the bottom edges.

Tilapia Widely available, almost always farmed, is flaked but quite dense, very lean, and moderately moist, and has that vaguely muddy, soil-y flavor that some freshwater tend to have.

White perch Freshwater and—surprise—not actually a perch, it’s almost chicken-y in texture, pleasantly dense and not flaky, clean slightly savory [ * SEA CREATURES NOT SHOWN ACTUAL SIZE ] flavor, and very lean. CONTINUED

citypaper.com m a r c h 7, 2012 city paper | 17 PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRANK KLEIN WITH CRACKERS an d MUSTAR D

SAL’S SEAFOOD

coating mixes. Any available fish can be fried. Coddies: Large, heavy, domed, with an unusu- ally smooth and uniform surface (possibly very fine cracker meal). Dense filling with fine shreds of cod and slightly mealy potato in equal pro- portion, highly seasoned with Old Bay, slightly sweet oniony background. Cheapest house- made coddie at $1.75. Lake trout: Extremely fresh, clean cleaving with no fishiness, slight salt from fish surface Places but not from within (i.e. not pre-salted), bone- less. Instead of white bread, it’s served with an exceptionally good bun, reminiscent of a Breezy Point Seafood Philly-style cheesesteak roll—good crust, ex- TO CATCH FISH 9501 Philadelphia Road, White Marsh, (410) 574- cellent chew. 7222, breezypointseafood.com Coating/batter: Predominantly , little if Overview: One of the best seafood markets any seasoning, overall not particularly crunchy IN YOUR MOUTH in the area. Huge display case filled with fish, but some nice crunchy nub action on edges , and raw prepared dishes, including and in folds. crab cakes and coddies, along with an extensive Notable: Multiple sauces available for fried fish, selection of frozen seafood, , and batter/ indoor and outdoor seating, steamed crabs.

18 | city paper m a r c h 7, 2012 citypaper.com CHEESE FISH

Glossary Some of these will be painfully obvi- ous to many, but are included because I’ve been asked to define them on more than one occasion. A surprising number of people I know have never actually eaten a hush puppy. Crab cake-related entries included for comprehensiveness. Cheese fish sandwich A fried , almost always of the prepackaged frozen variety (usually chopped and formed pollack), topped with American cheese and served on a burger or sub roll. A McDonald’s Filet O’ Fish can correctly be referred to as a cheese fish sandwich. The Crab Pot Lexington Market, 400 W. Lexington St. No. 600, Coddies/fish cakes Deep-fried made from reconstituted salt cod, some sort of starchy filler (usually (410) 599-1526 mashed potatoes), and often a coating of breadcrumbs or cracker meal.

Overview: Both cooked seafood and , glossary plus draft beer. Fried fish is priced by weight, by Crab ball Miniature crab cakes, shaped into balls. piece, i.e., each piece in the display case is priced “CRACKERS CODDIES individually based on its weight, and you pick AND MUSTARD” Crab fluff A crab cake that has been battered and deep fried. your own piece. illustrations Coddies: Smallish, puck-shaped, with a fine “Crackers and mustard” Used as either a request by the customer or an interrogative by the vendor. Crackers breadcrumb coating fried to a nice light tan, and mustard are the usual accompaniment to cake-type seafood—crab light textured, creamy, with tiny chunks of po- cakes, coddies, or salmon cakes—in lieu of bread for a sandwich. Generally, tato and cod. Make sure you get the homemade if you’re asked “Crackers and mustard?” just answer “Yes, please.” instead of the “fish cake,” which is just a standard

frozen-fish puck. Deviled crab An old-school item that is becoming increasingly rare—crab by Lake trout: Fresh tasting, firm, available bone- meat (usually the lowest grade) mixed with filler and spices, then ale x in or boneless. Make sure to ask for bread if you packed into an empty crab topshell and either deep fried or baked. DEVILED CRAB want some. fine , Coating/batter: Mostly flour possibly with egg, Fried hard Special instruction applicable to any deep-fried item, but most closer to fish- and-chips batter than to Southern often used with chicken or fish, indicating extra cooking time intended cornmeal, dark gold, clingy, with good crunch to produce a crunchier or “harder” exterior, and consequently an extra art and excellent nugget formation around the FRIED HARD well-done interior. whale edges, but very neutral seasoning. Notable: Extensive daily selections and specials Fried hard crab No relation to the above term: Think “(fried) hard crab.” Partially disassembled whole on chalkboard, and the only source in the area crab stuffed with a crab cake, the whole thing then battered then fried. for soft-shell clams. Half and half Half lemonade and half iced tea. Unlike a traditional Arnold Palmer, the half and half is made with sweetened iced tea, and is thus much sweeter overall than the former. FRIED HARD CRAB

Hush puppies Deep-fried cornmeal-batter balls, usually slightly sweet, sometimes LAKE TROUT containing whole corn kernels.

Lake trout Deep-fried fillets of fish, usually whiting (an ocean-dwelling member of the cod family), usually bone-in but also served boneless, often coated in a seasoned cornmeal breading, and often served with sliced white bread. Baltimore-style lake trout is never made with actual trout, and almost never made from lake-dwelling fish. There is a trout called a “lake trout,” but it isn’t found in our part of the country.

Oyster stew This one’s more of a caveat, but traditional Maryland-style oyster stew is es- Faidley’s Seafood sentially cooked in milk and cream, and not much else. HALF AND HALF Lexington Market, 203 N. Paca St., (410) 727-4898, faidleyscrabcakes.com Salmon cake Canned salmon mixed with filler (usually breadcrumbs), mayonnaise, egg, and seasoning, Venerable Baltimore seafood heavy- formed into flat cake, and fried or broiled. Overview: SALMON CAKE hitter, huge selection of fresh seafood, lots of STUFFED standing tables, cooked food, raw bar, and draft Soft-shell crab A crab that’s caught after it has molted but before its new shell has hardened. It’s beer. Fish vendors can be standoffish but tend served whole except the gills and face (eyes and mouth parts) have been trimmed off, and either to really know their shit. deep- or pan-, but almost always fried. Coddies: Medium sized with oniony aroma, flecked with parsley and tiny bits of raw on- Stuffed shrimp Large shrimp that are stuffed with crab—usually ion, high shredded-cod-to-filler ratio with fairly the establishment’s lowest-grade crab cake mixture—then fried neutral spicing, slightly gummy, slightly herby or, less often, broiled. finish. Coated with very crunchy panko-style breadcrumbs. Whales A term you don’t see too often anymore, it’s used to denote Lake trout: Very fresh, boneless very clean and the largest of five size classifications for soft-shell crabs (5.5-inch- free of pinbones, mild flavor. WHALE plus point to point). The other four in descending order (separated Coating/batter: More flour than cornmeal, by half-inch increments) are jumbos, primes, hotels, and mediums. CONTINUED dark brown, good crunch, well-seasoned, but [ *ITEMS NOT SHOWN TO SCALE OR DELICIOUSNESS ] a tad oily.

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SHORE SEAFOOD

Notable: Excellent clam strips, glasses of wine sides and shrimp appear to be boxed/frozen, but Lake trout: Superbly fresh fish is cleaned and Little Lou’s for $3.95 at the raw bar, unusual seafood and the fish is hand-battered before frying. filleted on the spot; delicate texture and mild 8043 Philadelphia Road, Rosedale, (410) 866- meats occasionally available. Coddies: N/A flavor. 3900, littlelouseafood.com Lake trout: Fish is slightly briny, slightly fishy, Coating/batter: Fantastically crunchy corn- Overview: Huge menu of seafood, subs, and probably pre-salted, but otherwise decent. meal-based crust, toasty, oniony, and savory. sandwiches, as well as a good selection of fresh Coating/batter: Mostly cornmeal, very crunchy Notable: If you want bread make sure to ask for seafood. Fish is available for frying by weight to the point of being almost hard, extremely it. If you get lake trout or any other fish boneless, or as proscribed in the menu. durable and able to withstand extended time remain vigilant for small bones. Coddies: Very unusual in that there’s very little in the box without getting soggy. Good oniony if any potato, very creamy, very smooth and flavor. mild with just a hint of sweet and tart, fine fish Notable: Pretty good fried chicken as well as a flavor and texture, puck-shaped and coated in large array of deep-fried sides. fairly fine breadcrumbs. Possibly a mayonnaise- based coddie, and if so the only one I’ve ever Jackpot Seafood encountered. Northeast Market, 2101 E. Monument St., (410) Lake trout: Extremely fresh, dense, moist, but 327-0082 with somewhat excessive curling after fry- Hip Hop Fish and Chicken* Overview: Smaller fish purveyor with just a ing. 5223 Baltimore National Pike, (410) 744-0440 few menu items, but will fry any fish you like Coating/batter: Cornmeal coating with very Overview: A local mini-chain with three loca- that they sell. little seasoning, moderately crunchy. tions, this one in an old Taco Bell franchise. The Coddies: N/A Notable: Excellent homemade —

20 | city paper m a r c h 7, 2012 citypaper.com make sure to get extra. Very good and impossi- seating. Good selection of fresh fish and shell- bly cheap deviled eggs (35 cents each) in clever fish, raw bar, good specials, any fish can be fried, packaging. steamed, or grilled. Eateries that don’t Coddies: N/A Lake trout: Very fresh, boneless was completely bone-free. Coating/batter: Thin, flour-based coating, slight have a market area often chew with decent crisp—not crunch—around the edges and thinner parts of the fillet. Very little seasoning. just use frozen items. Notable: Excellent fries and even better cole- slaw. Maybe the best in Baltimore. airy texture, quite spicy with both cayenne and crunchy panko-like crumbs and fried hard to mustard, slightly more potato than fish, but a dark brown. The interior is almost entirely great cod flavor. shredded cod with the occasional flake, giving Lake trout: Firm and moist with a whiff of it a very savory, juicy, chewy consistency, with pleasant fishiness and slight salt. a toothsome exterior that gives some bites a Market Seafood Coating/batter: Good balance of cornmeal and near jerky-like quality. Very tasty if a bit un- Lexington Market, 410 W. Lexington St., (410) flour, very good crunch, lots of nubs around orthodox. 752-7008 edges and in creases, very well seasoned. Lake trout: As expected from a fishmonger, Overview: Very busy stand in the middle of the Notable: The same excellent batter is used on very fresh, and cleaned exceptionally well (i.e., market, no fresh seafood or raw bar, all cooked all the fried seafood—try the seafood sub for a trimmed of bones). dishes. veritable orgy of deep-fried goodness. Coating/batter: Flour-based but with excellent, Coddies: Available but not homemade. durable crunch, lots of nubs, well seasoned, and Lake trout: Quite fresh, slightly briny, fried to Shore Seafood with an excellent black pepper kick. a good crisp. Northeast Market, 2101 E. Monument St., (410) Notable: Probably my favorite overall fried fish. Coating/batter: Cornmeal-based, good salti- Sterling’s Crab and Oyster 675-7705 Excellent cream of crab soup. ■ ness, hint of black pepper, nice and well done House Overview: The largest fishmonger in Lexington * multiple locations. with good crunch. 410 W. 29th St., (410) 467-7710 Market, with a small counter used mostly by Wanna try it at home? Notable: Unusual in that most of its fried sea- Overview: Remington institution, excellent raw-bar customers, fish available fried as well go to citypaper.com/cheesefish for henry’s recipes. food offerings (even shrimp) are prepped/bat- soups, small selection of fresh seafood, steamed as steamed, good selection of shellfish. tered in house, and on view in the large display crabs, somewhat slow service. Coddies: Another unusual variation, this one case. Eateries that don’t have a market area Coddies: Smallish with smooth exterior, light, is flattened into a puck and coated with very often just use frozen items. FINIS

JACKPOT SEAFOOD

Mid-Atlantic Seafood* 5230 Baltimore National Pike, (410) 747-5858 Overview: Large establishment with an after- thought of a market-type section, but a large selection of cooked food, including lots of soul- food items. Coddies: N/A Lake trout: On the menu, “lake trout” indicates bone-in whiting, while “whiting” indicates boneless. Somewhat salty, firm fish, with good moistness. Coating/batter: Mostly flour, more chew than crunch but not unpleasant, very little oil, slightly spicy. Notable: Shellfish is definitely premade fro- zen stuff, but the soul food is homemade and pretty good. Sal’s Seafood Broadway Market, 610 S. Broadway, (410) 675- 1466 Overview: The only seafood market in the newly remodeled market, now with expanded

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