Baltimore is one of the best cities to visit in the country, and many people in the DMV area take the close proximity for granite. Not I! I make sure to visit at least once per year. And no, Baltimore is not all “The Wire”, it is actually a really fun place to go. Great food, charming neighborhoods, a great bar scene and a historic feel. Here are 5 things that make Baltimore unique and the way to do Baltimore right.

1. The Best Crab Cakes In Baltimore

When I asked real Baltimoreans where to get the best crab cakes, they all gave me the same answer. Faidley’s Seafood in Lexington Market. The crab cakes here are world famous, being featured on just about any and every travel show that includes Baltimore.

Each cake is about 6.5 ounces of fresh, non frozen, hand packed crab cakes. You can see the lumps in the cakes, and that is a good thing. Just watch out for the dead raccoons (check out the video for more on this lol).

2. Bergers Cookies

Bergers Cookes have been in Baltimore since the 1800’s. These cookies only found in the area are baked and then hand dipped in fudge making each cookie unique.

You can pick some up at the Bergers stand in Lexington Market.

3. Natty Boh

Natty Boh is the type of beer that screams blue collar Baltimore. It is a cheap beer that can be enjoyed by anyone from the man on the street to the woman in the high rise.

Orioles games, bar crawls and just about anywhere beer is sold you’ll find someone drinking a Boh. This beer was originally brewed in Baltimore in the 1885 and while not brewed in b-more anymore is still very prominent in the city.

4. Coddies

Coddies are a very interesting food item. They consist of a warm fried potato cake with a dab of mustard made into a sandwich via 2 saltine crackers. Known as the poor man’s crabcake, this item used to be as cheap as a nickel, but now you’ll find them for closer to $2.

This isn’t going to be the greatest tasting item you have, but I think you really have to try one in Baltimore. You can get them at several locations, I grabbed one from Attman’s Deli.

5. Crabs

My latest trip to Baltimore was not during crab season, so the crabs I had weren’t Chesapeake Bay crustaceans. Despite that, I still found a great place for delicious crabs, smothered in Old Bay the Baltimore Way.

LP Steamers had a long wait, and is not “downtown downtown”, but its a great spot to crack open some crabs. One day I’ll learn the difference between male, female and the different sizes. Until then, I just crack and munch, and love every minute of licking the Old Bay off my fingers.

Runner Up: Pit Beef Sandwich

Unfortunately I ran out of meals on my latest trip and never had a chance to grab a Pit Beef sandwich. However, I hear it is one of the best sandwiches around. I’m certainly going to stop at Chaps Pit Beef on my next B-more adventure.

So thats it. That’s the list. Those are 5 (or 6) things that you should definitely try next time you head to Charm City, because you probably can’t do them anywhere else.