Lexington Market - Baltimore, MD

The Lexington Market is where my mom used to shop for fresh produce, fresh butchered meats, eggs, chicken, bakery goods and, of course, fish from Faidley's Seafood Market.  The market is world famous and it was founded in 1782, making it more than 200 years old.  It still occupies the original location upon which it was founded: Lexington Street, between Eutaw and Greene.  I love the place, even if it is located in a not too great section of downtown Baltimore.  It has a wide variety of smells, noises, and people.  It is a great place to people watch.  Because of this, when we were there, we had to go!

The market has changed, but one can still buy fresh killed & butchered meats, chicken, produce and seafood there.  However, in addition to those grocery staples, one can now buy cheese steak sandwiches, smoothies, and a wide variety of other already prepared meals.  We opted for a couple of cheese steaks from the vendor pictured above.  The sandwiches were so large, that neither Rob nor I could finish them!  For about $5, we got 12" sandwiches and an order of french fries.

Here are a couple of other pictures from the market.

Other fine and long time vendors at the market are...

Konstant Peanuts - They sell peanuts that are roasted right there at the market. I think the roaster is on the Eutaw Street side.  I've been eating their peanuts since I was around 5 years old.  There isn't anything like peanuts right out of the roaster.

Polock Johnny's - Another Baltimore institution!  I didn't get a sausage, so I can't say if they are still as good as I remember.  However, what I remember was a great Polish sausage on a potato roll with a great dollop of sauerkraut and mustard.

Regan's Meats - I remember Regan's meats, but my Mom used to buy from Manger's.  As far as I know, Manger's is no longer in operation.  The butchers there were great.  I used to watch them dissect whole quarters of beef into various cuts.  In fact, one of them taught me how to cut & bone meat and also how to select a ham that is low in fat.  Useful skills!

Most of the places where my mom & I shopped are long gone: Stewart's, Hecht's, Hoschild's, Hutzler's, the fishmarket, and others.  It's nice to know that some things, like the market, endure.