The orange snapper reportedly was brought to Baltimore by a guy named Turnbull, a habitué of Peter's Inn in Fells Point, whose family name supposedly came from an ancestor who tended to the aftermath of an accident in Mexico. Two bulls passing on a road turned suddenly, colliding with their loads. One bull, driven by Senor Valencia, was pulling a cart of oranges. The other, with Senor Valdez at the reins, was carrying coffee. Turnbull beheld the spilt cargo and its distraught owners, and sensibly opened a bottle of tequila. The orange snapper was born when Valencia sliced up oranges, Valdez ground up the coffee, and Turnbull poured the shots. To get one, ask your favorite barkeep to slice up a navel orange, lay the slices flat, coat them with a healthy heaping of high-grade ground coffee, and set up a shot of good tequila to go with each slice. Patrons fold the orange slices in half (sandwiching the coffee grounds inside), bite off the orange pulp, chew vigorously, and toss back the shot of tequila. The bar needs to be mopped up afterward, so tipping on the high end is recommended.
