Dining Down Memory Lane: A Collection of Classic Baltimore Restaurants and their Recipes

by Shelley Howell, Shelley Howell

No old school Bawlmer kitchen will be complete without this cookbook collector’s dream. It’s a journey with stops at Marconi’s, Angelina’s, the Belvedere Hotel, and many other landmarks from our region’s great gastronomic past.
This book of Baltimore restaurants and their recipes is perfect for the cook who wants to capture Free State flavors of yesteryear, and serve them up on the dining room table . Readers will find classics such as Maryland crab cakes and Oysters Chesapeake followed by treasures like Haussner’s strawberry pie. This tour of bygone days in “the land of pleasant living” will leave you hungry for Crab Imperial, or dreaming of some special night in Louie’s Bookstore and Cafe, the Old Pimlico Hotel , or Baltimore’s Little Italy. Whether your favorite was the shrimp salad at Johnny Unitas’ Golden Arm , or Chesapeake Bay steamed crabs at Obrycki’s this is the perfect Maryland gift idea for any season. Enjoy!

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction

122 pages, Paperback

Published November 13, 2018

About the author

Shelley Howell is a proud Baltimorean with a passion for the past. A vintage enthusiast, her collection of recipes from now-defunct Baltimore restaurants is a treasure trove that will transport readers to another time and age. Shelley feels very fortunate to have personally dined at these sorely missed establishments and wants to resurrect them here to share with you. An animal lover, Shelley lives in Towson and volunteers for the Maryland SPCA.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lame stuff for nostalgic olds.

[Deborah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about some of Baltimore’s culinary institutions, but most of the recipes are only approximations and there is no mention of anything other than high end restaurants. The book would have been more interesting if all of Baltimore would have been represented.

[JoyReaderGirl1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shelley Howell’s collection of classic vintage recipes from the Restaurants that made Baltimore famous is a walk down memory lane that gets one salivating just dreaming of the cuisine and the artist chefs who once catered to elite clientele of the Chesapeake Bay Area with Lobster Thermidor, Clams Casino, Steak Diane, Flaming Cherries Jubilee, Charlotte Russe—with handmade “lady fingers”—no less— and hundreds more elegant, and also basic dishes, to whet every palate.

This little book is an historical treasure filled with photographs, anecdotes and period advertising that brings the recipes, as well as the histories of the restaurants to life. The book is a gastronome’s delight!

Shelley Howell is to be commended for saving this unique aspect of her beloved city’s fascinating history through this dedicated research compilation. Howell, like a great archeologist, mined some of the greatest lost treasures of these Baltimore restaurants and brought them back to life for us—their best loved RECIPES.

Sadly, these food palaces of epicurean delights that were so well loved for decades, and so frequented by former bon vivant connoisseurs, have now all passed into reminiscences and fond longings.

Be sure to buy a copy of Shelley Howell’s sweet and savory memento to enjoy for yourself and to help her preserve these historical gems in her charming edition, “Dining Down Memory Lane: A Collection of Classic Baltimore Restaurants and their Recipes.“

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book with its stories about famous restaurants and recipes from Baltimore. Plan to try a lot of these recipes when the weather gets cooler. So glad I won this book in a goodreads giveaway.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you love Baltimore history or have family members who loved Baltimore restaurants that are now shut down, you’ll want this to steal the recipes!