"Specializing in all things seafood, Sal and Son’s Seafood have been a staple at Broadway Market for over a decade. They offer a variety of Fish, Shrimp and Shellfish to take home or eat onsite," reads the Brodway Market website.



We did some fried shrimp, crab dip and half-and-half crab soup, which is cream of crab mixed with Maryland crab soup.



If pressed, I think I would admit crab is my favorite seafood. Possibly my favorite protein? So, I was happy to gobble as much crab in various forms as I could get. Starting with the dip, it was thick, creamy and had some nice bold flavor - especially Old Bay. The shrimp was only OK - the fried batter easily got steamed in the container and made for a soggy texture. But, let's talk about soup.



Cream of crab is a rich, creamy soup. Maryland crab soup is brothy and packed with veggies. You can get a mix of both - and the best of both worlds - with half and half. Rich creaminess meets veggies? Win-win.



Grade: A

Sophia's Place is a traditional Polish Deli that has been serving Baltimore and the surrounding areas since 1985 at Broadway Market.



They offer delicious Polish specialties, including pierogi, stuffed cabbage, sausages, and pastries served daily.



The many options here will both fill your belly and comfort your soul at the same time. I had a difficult time deciding between the pierogies, cabbage rolls, and many sweet treats.



I ultimately decided on the potato and cheese pierogies, which were perfectly browned and covered in caramelized onions.



I often say that every culture has its own version of a dumpling. There's something special about them because they are so simple but entirely complex to pull off well. I've had pierogies for most of my life due to my proximity to Pittsburgh growing up. And these ones here were some really good ones.



The light crisp on the outside gave way to a soft pillowy filling. The caramelized onions on top added some sweetness. And, altogether, it was a really delicious and comforting bite.



Grade: A

"A classic Baltimore snowball arrives in a Styrofoam cup: shaved ice sloshed with sweet syrup—mostly artificial flavoring and not any of that "real fruit" stuff—and typically topped with marshmallow cream. While the ice is shaved, it's not fine enough to dissolve, leaving the snowball chunky and intact enough to survive humid Baltimore summers," according to Serious Eats.



Stouten's has a full-service marina and more than 100 snowball flavors, milkshakes, ice-cream and more desserts.



The Milky Way had layered ice cream, marshmallow cream, caramel and Hershey's Chocolate snowball. Usually when having an icy dessert, I think of fruity flavors. But the marshmallow cream was a nice change, and between all the goodies on this snowball, there's no way it couldn't taste delicious.



Grade: A

Home to mind-boggling custom cakes created by Chef Duff Goldman's talented team, Charm City Cakes has been featured on the famous Food Network show Ace of Cakes and more.



"When his dream of slaying on the guitar in a rock band wasn't paying the bills, Chef Duff Goldman turned to his talents as a classically trained pastry chef and metal craftsman and founded Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, MD, in 2002. Duff and his intrepid team of cake decorators churned out cakes the world had never seen before: cakes with sound, cakes with smoke, cakes with motorized moving components, life-sized baby elephant cakes—no cake was too crazy to tackle. It wasn't long before Charm City Cakes caught the eye of the Food Network, where the hit reality cake decorating series Ace of Cakes was born. Our Baltimore bakery has had the pleasure of making our awesome clients' cake dreams come true for over two decades! Our cakes have taken us everywhere, from Costa Rica to the 2008 Inauguration of President Obama, from Hollywood premieres to working with organizations like Share Our Strength that help fight hunger all over the world," reads the website.



The bake shop features ready-to-order bakery confections, including cupcakes, cake jars, blondies, ready-to-order sprinkle cakes, and seasonal specialty bakery items.



Plus, there are plenty of super creative, over-the-top cakes that were custom-made orders in the shop.



After perusing all of the different creative cakes, I went to the case to see what I could take home with me that day.



I went with a blondie, a cupcake, and a birthday cake in a jar.



Of course, each of these were delicious in their own way. The cake was moist. The blondie was rich. And the birthday cake in a jar was just layered decadence.



Have you ever been?



Grade: A

Matt's Bar in Minneapolis is known for creating the "juicy lucy" burger, which stuffs cheese inside the burger rather than on top. So, the hot, molten cheese oozes out when eaten.



Shortly after Matt's opened in 1954, founder Matt Bristol explained how the “Jucy Lucy” was created: When a local customer asked for two hamburger patties with a slice of cheese in the middle... they complied and upon biting into this new, molten hot burger, Bristol exclaimed “that’s one juicy Lucy”, and a legend was born.



"Customer demand grew so quickly, we forgot to add the “i” and the “Jucy Lucy” has now become a local culinary hero. Remember, if it’s spelled correctly, you just might be eating a shameless ripoff! Matt's has received numerous awards, and has appeared in publications from Hamburgers Across America to the The New York Times. Matt's has been featured on the Travel Channel's Man Vs. Food and Food Wars, where we won the best tasting "Jucy Lucy" in town. Each "Jucy Lucy" is carefully handmade with the freshest, high-quality beef and filled with the molten hot cheese you can only find at Matt's," reads the website.



This dive bar was packed to the gills when I arrived. There are no reservations, no credit cards, and definitely a wait. I, of course, had to try the juicy lucy burger.



The burger comes with a plump, round patty, stuffed with American cheese and topped with pickles and onions. I added ketchup.



As promised, the burger oozed hot cheese as soon as I took a bite. The cheese was actually a nice, thick consistency, so it didn't just pour out, but rather added a cheesy note to every bite.



Grade: A

Keens Steakhouse is one of the oldest steakhouses in New York City. It is known for its collection of 50,000 clay smoking pipes, which patrons could store here to avoid breaking them during transportation - making it one of the largest collections in the world. The restaurant is also famous for their renowned mutton chops.



The restaurant was founded in 1885 by Albert Keen in Herald Square, what was then the Theater District and is the only surviving establishment of that district.



The old-school steakhouse has old English decor and dimly lit dining areas. Complimentary bread and butter is served to begin the meal, which helped whet the appetite.

The menu features USDA Prime steaks that are then dry-aged on site. USDA Prime is the highest grade of beef that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can give to meat. It's known for being juicy, flavorful, and tender with good marbling, and is often served in restaurants rather than stores. The USDA has eight grades of beef, but the first three are: prime, choice, and select. USDA Choice is the second-highest grade, with less marbling than Prime but still flavorful and tender cuts. USDA Select is leaner than Choice and more uniform in quality.



I ordered the prime filet, which is undoubtedly one of the most tender cuts of meat you can get. Some may say less flavor, but I prefer the subtlety and texture. It was served with boiled baby potatoes, which were fine. I miss the classic rich steakhouse sides, but the simplicity fit with my dish. Tasty and classic.



Grade: A

Gray's Papaya is one of - if not the - most famous hot dog shop in New York City. It was founded in 1973 by Nicholas Gray.



The "papaya" part of the name refers to the papaya fruit drink they sell. They also sell orange, grape, piña colada, coconut champagne and banana daiquiri fruit drinks, all non-alcoholic.



The storefront became famous for its low prices, according to Eater. "From the time of opening until 1999, the restaurant sold hot dogs for 50 cents each. In 1982, the restaurant launched its famed Recession Special — two hot dogs and a papaya juice for $1.95. It’s still offered today, though it now costs $6.45."



The hole-in-the-wall is open 24 hours a day and serves 100% all beef franks.



I ordered the recession special at the counter and quickly moved to grab my order and head out.



It comes with two hot dogs and a tropical drink. Ketchup and ketchup with onions. Warm bun. Thin weenie. Solid lunch.



The drink was right up my alley. Fruity, sweet and just a bit different. I'd like to try the whole lineup.



Grade: A

"Ess-a-Bagel was established in 1976 by Florence and Gene Wilpon and Florence's brother Aaron Wenzelberg. Coming from an Austrian baking family, the art of baking or crafting the perfect bagel came naturally to them. Within two years of opening, Ess-a-Bagel was voted #1 in the Tri-State area, and had attracted a loyal following," reads the website.



The restaurant offers fresh hand-rolled bagels, coffee, pastries, and more. The bagels are the star, though. They are baked fresh daily with no artificial flavors or preservatives.



Big options include plain, poppy, garlic, multigrain, everything, pumpernickel, onion, sesame, salt, cinnamon raisin, whole wheat and whole wheat everything.



Flavored cream cheeses include: Scallion, Vegetable, Herb, Everything Herb, Jalapeno, Olive, Sun Dried Tomato, Avocado Garlic, Raisin Walnut, Banana Nut, Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, Strawberry, Peach, Chocolate Chip, Red Velvet, Oreo, Rainbow Cookie and Lox Cream Cheese.



There are a number of specialty sandwiches available, and you can choose your bagel. Everything from a lox bagel to a Reuben to chicken parmesan.



I kept it fresh with a BLTA - or bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado. I had scallion cream cheese on an onion bagel.



This was like the fresh familiarity of a BLT, but with some added flavor punch of the onion, garlic and cream cheese. I could've done with less lettuce because it waters things down a bit for me. But very tasty overall.



Grade: A