Eat Special Issue 2004

Few things give us that feeling of being warm, cozy, comfy, and cared for like our home--unless of course it's food that reminds us of home. Whether it's Mom's super-secret, strangely satisfying batch of egg salad or that deli down the block that serves the fries inside the sandwich, there are always certain dishes that bring to mind the notion that you're from a particular place, and it's where you're going to remain, no matter where you go from here. Home, in other words, is a matter of taste in more ways than one.

That's what this year's edition of EAT, City Paper's annual dining guide, is devoted to: home cookin', not as a way of preparing meals, or even of eating them, but as an epicurean state of mind. And no place grooves homemade flavor like Baltimore, a town that boasts a richness of people and communities that are every bit as unique as the dishes they serve up.

So that's what CP's writers savor in these pages. Van Smith combs the shores of the Susquehanna in search of shad roe, the Mid-Atlantic's cheaper, gamier answer to caviar, and the people who love it. Lapsed Baltimorean Vincent Williams recalls the one food fix that he can never find away from home: the chicken box. Michelle Gienow considers the pleasures of bread pudding, the dessert that rules where carbs are still king. And Richard Gorelick explains how Resurrection Ale became Charm City's signature brew in the days after National Brewing, and reports from the behind the kitchen door on the little-seen restaurant ritual of the staff meal, where restaurant cooks serve up a little home-away-from-home.

And, of course, what would our annual dining guide be without a guide to a few of the local dining establishments where you can feel right at home, one bite at a time. (The listings are arranged roughly by general area. Please remember that we stressed "roughly.")

So tuck in to our homemade treat. Even if it's not exactly like Mom used to make, it's all good.

Unless noted otherwise, EAT 2004 was written by Richard Gorelick, along with Blake de Pastino and Lee Gardner. Tim Hill made the database work wonders. Christopher Skokna copy edited; Waris Banks checked the facts. Troy Hopper provided research assistance, while Song Hia performed internly duties. Special editorial-type thanks go out to Michelle Gienow, Andy Markowitz, and Tom Scocca. Sam Holden took the cover photo; special art-type thanks go out to Pedro Aguilar--"deli man for 20 years, from Guatemala"--of Attman's Authentic New York Delicatessen for the monster sandwich.

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