pretzels - - Page 2

by gansie

Peanut Butter and Philly

Last week I was in Philadelphia for my 9-5. But what’s funny about Philly is, even though it’s my hometown city, I barely know about it. I lived on the other side of the *bridge* and crossing that bridge was portrayed as such a big deal, such a hardship, such a production that it almost never occurred. And what my mom said goes, if she didn’t do Philly, we didn’t do Philly.

Of course, I still knew, and benefited from, many of Philly’s culinary offerings.

The soft pretzel. I never knew the soft pretzel was special to Philly. When I was little I thought all cities were filled with pretzel street vendors.

After a very brief google search, and a hunch of my own, it looks like Philly owes its signature snack to the Pennsylvania Dutch. The pretzels here are not dipped in butter and shaped like shoelaces, but have a crust, yet are soft and chewy inside. They do not need mustard. The office where I was working receives a weekly present of pretzels from a previously satisfied client. Pretzels are not just a snack, but a gesture of thanks, good taste and local flare.

Guy Beat Me To It

I was in Pasadena, MD last week with my friends Katie and Lory. Lory, a native Pasadenian, found us a classic Chesapeake Bay restaurant. And when I say classic Chesapeake, I only mean one thing: crabs. Maryland loves their crabs.

Unfortunately, after I snapped a few pictures, I realized I was beat. Guy Fieri already brought much deserved attention to Stoney Creek Inn. Noticing our paparazzi ways, the waitress asked us if we had heard of the place through Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Ugh, no, I hadn’t. Not that I thought I was discovering the place, but man, I was embarrassed to know that Guy (or his assistants) and I shared the same taste. He’s such a douche!

But I won’t let that ruin it. Here’s some pics of the crab-infested food from this adorable restaurant right off the water.

Above you will notice the most heavenly appetizer. I’m a sucker for a soft pretzel, and not just a soft pretzel to share as an appetizer, but a soft pretzel as my entire meal. I perfected the practice in college with Rock Bottom’s TWO large soft pretzels with spicy cheese sauce.

Anyway, there was no doubt I could not order this. A soft pretzel, topped with crab meat and cheddar cheese, served warm and with a huge steak knife. I’m not usually a fan of fish with dairy, but this worked really well. Shit, anything and a soft pretzel will work well together.

Here’s Lory with our awesome waitress, Donna (I think that was her name.) She rocked the cutest boat shoes. It was nice to see someone that actually has been on a boat wear these now trendy shoes. Lory ordered the thickest crab soup I’d ever seen. If I were a better writer I would bring on a kick ass metaphor to describe the thickness of the soup. I wanted to compare it to health care or something, but it just didn’t work. If I do think of one deserving of the soup, I’ll throw it in the comments. I’m also game for suggestions.