Sour Beef Dinner @ Zion Lutheran Church Tomorrow, Friday

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It would be difficult to overstate the importance of German immigration and culture in the history of Baltimore. At the same time it can often be easy to overlook. Most histories on the founding of Baltimore and Maryland make much of the original English colonists and prominent families like the Calverts and Carrolls, but it was the continuing waves of continental immigrants, most of whom were German, from the mid-1700’s until World War I which turned Baltimore from a settlement to a city, and then to a booming industrial powerhouse.

The Wikipedia article on the topic provides a good overview and cites the rise of class consciousness in Europe and the agreement between the recently completed B & O Railroad and the Norddeutscher Lloyd line as important factors in swelling the ranks of the city’s German population. For our part, one of the Chop’s great-great grandfathers was one of those German immigrants. They’re the reason why today we’ve got places like Brewers’ Hill and traditions like Sauerkraut for Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Brewers’ Hill, that neighborhood makes a fine proxy for the city, and the nation as a whole. The New York Times reported this week that Baltimore is among the nation’s leading cities in attracting yuppies. (The Times calls them ‘young college graduates.’) The numbers show Baltimore well above the national average on the yuppie scale, and experts like Harvard’s Edward Glaeser are more than happy to explain them ad nauseum, but it doesn’t take a genius to walk around any waterfront neighborhood and notice that there aren’t nearly as many old people or working class people as there used to be. Saabs and Volvos outnumber Chevys and Harris Teeter has replaced Santoni’s. In Brewers’ Hill today you’re more likely to bump into a woman in yoga pants than a man in overalls.

This near-total takeover of the central city by the young and privileged and the developers who cater to them is one of many reasons why Zion Church’s annual Sour Beef Dinner is such a magical event. Untouched by gentrification, Zion has been in continuous existence since 1755, and at its present location downtown for more than 200 years. Stepping into the Aldersaal is almost like removing oneself from the present and going back in time 50, 60 or even 100 years. There is no seasonal charcuterie, no 1080p flatscreens with Sunday ticket, and no celebrity tie-in á la Guy Fieri.

A scene from last year's Sour Beef Dinner.

A scene from last year’s Sour Beef Dinner.

What there is is sour beef and dumplings made with love by little old ladies. There’s also pints of German beer (bring your own stein or buy one at the Christkindlmarkt). The scene wouldn’t be complete without some Live German Beer Hall music. And there’s also little touches like frauleins selling pretzels and strudel.

Most of all though there’s the warm hum of fellowship and energy that you can only find among a true urban community with deep authentic roots in its home. That’s something that all of the Edward Glaesers, Richard Floridas and Bill Streuvers can’t replicate at any price.

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The Details: Zion’s Sour Beef Dinner takes place from 4:30-9:30 tomorrow (10/23) and Friday (10/24). Saurbraten dinner is served until 8:00, and can be had for a $17 donation to the church. Visitors will want to opt for the upstairs buffet style dinner as opposed to the church’s basement. German beer and wine are available for additional cash donations. (Last year’s beer price was $3 or $3.50 if we recall correctly.) Zion is located at 400 E. Lexington St. downtown. PDF flyer here.

Five Great Ways to Avoid the Baltimore Marathon

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Tomorrow is the Baltimore Marathon. This is not a drill. We repeat: tomorrow is the Baltimore Marathon.

Every year there are thousands of people who either don’t know or forget the marathon’s date or route and end up spending an entire day in gridlocked traffic being angry and frustrated. If you’ve ever seen them, or been unlucky enough to be one of them, you know what we mean. If not, take our word for it: you cannot get around Baltimore by car tomorrow. Not even a short trip of a few blocks. Not even if your trip doesn’t involve crossing the route, which can be viewed in large detail here.

If you live inside the route, for the love of God do not get into your car until at least late afternoon. If you live outside the route, you can probably drive further outside the route. We recommend leaving the city altogether. And if you do, here are five great ways to spend the day.

baugher's

Go pick some apples. Baugher’s Farm is a little more than an hour away in Westminster and offers acres of apple picking as well as a whole barn full of seasonal foods. You can stock up to cook at home or visit their restaurant on Main Street. Baugher’s is one of the biggest and best spots of its variety but there are similar places spread through other parts of the region as well.

Take a MARC train to DC. There’s no better day to take advantage of the Penn Line’s weekend service. If you can get to Penn Station or West Baltimore without using your car then scores of free museums and attractions are less than an hour away. Here is the Saturday schedule.

Go look at leaves in Rocks State Park. If you’re like us you were kind of intrigued by Fields Festival but maybe didn’t want to spend a whole weekend camping with a bunch of hippies just to see bands you can see within walking distance of your house any other weekend. That would make tomorrow ideal to head up to Harford County and check out Kilgore Falls or climb to the top of the King and Queen Seat to look at fall foliage.

Go to the Maryland Million. The Maryland Million is the state’s best day of horse racing. Period. It’s more fun than Black Eyed Susan Day, more fun than the State Fair and yes, it even beats the Preakness. It is the perfect mix of stakes races, money in the pools and a fun, intelligent crowd. This Fall has seen track closings in Massachusetts and Virginia. Unless we want to face the same fate in Maryland the racing industry needs to win over some newer, younger fans and the premiere event for showcasing Maryland bred horses is the best chance it’s got.

Go to the United States Powerboat Show in Annapolis. Can’t afford to shell out thousands on a new boat? Screw it, go anyway. Put on your best nautical sweater and fake it till you make it. A day of messing about in boats is more fun than sitting in marathon traffic and the Annapolis show is one of the best because of the large number of boats displayed in the water, which makes them much more fun to look over than on the floor of the convention center. Have lunch some place and make a day of it.

Going Pro: A Longtime Fan Becomes an Usher at Camden Yards

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Today’s post is written by guest author and friend of the blog Anthony Lozupone, who just completed his first season as an usher with the Baltimore Orioles.

Being a lifelong fan of the Orioles I would always look at the ushers at games and think that would be the coolest job in the world; being at all the games for free, meeting new people, being close to Oriole players, seeing all the visiting teams, and being part of the team somehow. I never thought I could do it because of the commitment required.

But this past January my brother told me the Orioles were having a job fair. I was like, “No way I’m doing that.” He said ‘you can make the time for it, just go and see what they say or have.’ ‘I will go with you.’ he said. So I went down to the Warehouse and filled out an application and had an interview. Two weeks later they called and said I was hired. I was still scared because no way I was working there unless I could see and watch all the games. I got hired but ushering wouldn’t be a guarantee right away. I had a good attitude and decided to go for it thinking of all the money I would save not buying tickets or sitting at a bar watching games when O’s were home.

The training was awesome. We had a full tour of the park. I had never before been down below the stadium. It’s a whole different world down there- everything’s top notch for players. Our training sessions were held in both the O’s and visitors’ clubhouses. Thinking of all the great players that have been in those clubhouses was really humbling. I remember going to bathroom in visitors’ clubhouse and was thinking Ken Griffey Jr. might have taken a leak here in this exact spot.

All of the current stadium employees and new hires were at the training sessions. There are some real characters that work there- from World War II vets to the strange person that lives in your neighborhood. I know you have seen them at the park. I also got to see “The Book” during training. The Book is a three ring binder with a picture of everyone who has a lifetime ban from Camden Yards and what they did. There are around 300 people in it.

All new rookies that work at the Yard are required to work every post in the ballpark for two months before requesting a permanent position. Some workers like changing it up and getting moved from series to series. I wanted a permanent spot for every game, no interest in moving around. Opening Day came and I definitely began paying my dues.

I had to work gates, checking bags or scanning tickets, sit in legends park and make sure no one jumps on the statues, walk the ramps from lower level to upper deck making sure no one is smoking, sit outside of the smoking section and make no one sneaks into the park, sit on the upper deck in a spot and make sure kids don’t throw things over the side wall down below… you catch my drift. I was missing most of the action of the game. A great silver lining about working there is that the game is always in your ear on the loudspeakers or on a TV somewhere close by so you can stay with what is going on.

One detail I had been assigned was working on the club level in left field where the drink rail is for a three game series. I loved it. All of it. The coworkers, the fans that are locals there, even the view is beautiful with the warehouse in background. I begged for that spot, even went to one of the head supervisors at the park and told him I would be a happy O’s employee if you put me there somewhere; I would be there every day.

My two months were up after the first week of June. The Oakland A’s were in town and I reported to work in my new permanent position: Club Level 3. This is the group which works on the Club Level from about section 260 all the way to section 288; from about behind 3rd base all the way around to left field. I was like, YES! I get up there and report to my team leader and he says you’ve got ushering section 278/280 (underneath the numbers 42 and 8 in LF.) I was so happy that day. My coworker next to me was a rookie also and he was excited to get section 278/276 that day as well. We high fived each other and I settled in. My coworkers liked me and the fans liked me. I was feeling good.

The Club Life, we call it.

The Club Life is air conditioned with nice bathrooms. There’s never any rain on you during a delay. You’re in the shade during day games. There are smaller sections which are easier to monitor. We’ve got a beautiful concourse like a hotel lobby with great photos of Orioles history. Sometimes there are even famous celebrities walking around in a suite behind you, or sitting in your section just being fans. I love it all.

Another perk is getting to the park early to watch batting practice and drills. This season I would always walk to my post by cutting down to left field and walking in front of the first row along the wall where I’d see the same guys and say hello. Oriole pitchers Chen, Matusz, McFarland, and Gonzalez were always in that spot shagging balls as well as left fielder David Lough. They would even start to say hey cause I was a familiar face. Getting to my spot in section 278 before games early was great also. No worries about my life while there at the park watching the players doing drills.

Speaking of drills, the second deck in left field is considerably far away from home plate. I only saw three players put balls up to me during batting practice during this season; Adam Jones, Delmon Young, and Miguel Cabrera each did it a few times before a game. That was a treat for sure. The last time someone did that during an actual game was Mark Reynolds in 2011. (video) My favorite thing at the park is seeing a father with his son at a game. It’s just a wonderful thing. Second is visiting fans seeing our park for the first time and loving it. Third is fans going to games solo and not caring they are alone there.

Now that my first season’s in the books I’ve met some great people. I have made lifelong friends at the ballpark, from Baltimore to Seattle staying in touch on social media and talking ball with everyone from the regulars to fans of visiting teams just passing thru. I went to all 81 home games. My baseball IQ has risen just by being around old timers and crazy young kids who are into it. I fell in love with the game on a whole new level. I’m not just an O’s fan anymore, I’m a fan of Major League Baseball. I’m almost at the point of those writers and game callers on TV who you don’t even know who there favorite team is. I like it ALL.

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Anthony Lozupone is a lifelong Orioles fan who’s been going to games regularly since 1977. When he’s not at the Yard he can be found navigating the streets of Fell’s Point by bike or building residential and commercial outdoor features with his company Custom Stoneworks & Design. You can follow him on Twitter at @loZuponeFellsPT.

Taking Sides in the Great Workwear Debate

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Tonight the Chop is looking forward to heading down to Style Magazine’s 25th anniversary party at Wit and Wisdom (RSVP’s now closed). The event’s dress code is “just show off your personal style” which got us to thinking once again about what our personal style, and the concept of Personal Style actually is.

In today’s world people are much more mobile than they’ve ever been. Think of all the people you know in their twenties or thirties whose resumes include growing up in another state, going to college in a big city like New York or Philadelphia, perhaps studying or interning abroad for a period before making their way here to Baltimore- but with vague plans of maybe giving life on the West Coast a try in a few years. Then there’s the Internet. Magazines and flash sales aren’t just on your computer screen anymore: they’re sending you push notifications via mobile apps.

What does this mean to fashion and style overall? It means that some styles which used to be limited to certain regions or locales are now liable to pop up anywhere. It’s no longer unusual to see boat shoes a thousand miles inland or to see cowboy boots east of the Mississippi. Similarly it’s becoming increasingly rare to see purely iconic looks presented as a whole. When was the last time you saw someone fully committed to a rocker/biker aesthetic of denim and leather? Or to the tweed/corduroy/hornrim professor look? Instead it’s become the norm to mix and match style elements a la carte in a way that wasn’t at all common before say, the mid 1990’s.

Now that Fall is upon us, the world of fashion and menswear is once again embarking on its annual circlejerk of all things “rugged.” Take a peek at some current look books like these from Brixton and East Dane. It’s all vintage trucks and dirt roads and mountain highways and tools and trees and campgrounds and rustic decks and all that happy horseshit. Old school well respected outdoor/work brands like Filson, Penfield and even Carhartt are opening big city boutiques because keeping warm with authentic pedigree is important while you’re waiting for the valet to bring your car around or grabbing an Uber (or if you’re really rugged, an Uber X). Believe this: real life lumberjacks and oilfield workers aren’t reading Whiskey Grade and Style Girlfriend in their spare time.

There are two very distinct schools of thought on the adoption of blue collar style cues by an increasingly white collar society. The first is that people whose outdoors experience is limited to Prospect Park aren’t really hurting anyone by wearing waxed canvas and raw leather, and that they don’t take anything away from people who work out of doors for a living.

The second point of view, to which the Chop has come around being someone who wears steel toes and coveralls at work is that workwear is best left to people who work hard for a living. If you’re not out felling trees or trawling cod or hauling an 18 wheeler across the Continental Divide you shouldn’t be dressing to give the impression that you are. What’s more important: authentic clothes or an authentic life?

This and the above image are Instagram shots we took while working aboard ships. We know some things about clothing and tools and such.

This and the above image are Instagram shots we took while working aboard ships. We know some things about clothing and tools and such.

CONSIDER THE AXE MAN

One of the most egregious poster children of the rugged yuppie scene will always be Peter Buchanan-Smith whose Best Made Co. was profiled by the New York Times at the very height of Authentic Handcrafted American Made Rustic High Design Hipster Menswear Heritage Mania. We could sneak a few more buzzwords in there but you get the idea. Buchanan-Smith is the guy who launched his company by selling $350 hand painted axes for NYC yuppies to hang on their walls and admire as fetish objects. (They now sell a full line of faux workwear.)

Particularly striking is the meet-cute origin story of Best Made, which starts out with Buchanan-Smith giving himself a lavish birthday dinner:

“— a whole day spent gathering ingredients in Manhattan, like $200 worth of wagyu. But when they realized they wanted to cook that pricey steak on an open grill, they were stymied.

Long story short: in searching for an ax to chop wood small enough to make a really hot fire (charcoal wouldn’t do, he said), all they could find was a cheap plastic-handled number from Home Depot.

“So I made it my mission to right the wrong,””

We call bullshit on this. In the first place synthetic handles have some advantages when you’re doing actual work beyond cooking yourself an ‘artisanal’ dinner. Secondly, there are 65 products on Home Depot’s website when you search for axes, plenty of which have wooden handles. This one is by the decently respectable brand Husky which guarantees the axe for life and it is incredibly similar to Best Made’s Unfinished American Felling Axe. In fact, the only material difference between the two is that the Best Made costs $162 and the Husky is fifteen times less expensive at $10.67. Which do you think a working man would choose?

As with most NYT trend pieces there are maddening quotes and phrases throughout. There’s plenty more in there we could call bullshit on but that the author felt it necessary to point out that a few of these axes have even been bought to chop wood speaks volumes.

Much in the way we quietly cringe when we meet people who have nautical tattoos but have never been to sea, we just can’t muster any real respect for men who embrace the workwear/outdoorsman aesthetic for the sake of fashion.

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter whether it’s an axe or a pair of boots, an anorak or a watch cap. Your personal style should reflect your personal life, whatever that may be. Those of us who have the need to clean our fingernails after work will never look quite right in a $2000 suit, and those of you are chained to your desks look more than a little ridiculous in your mackinaw caps. An axe is only as sturdy as the hand that wields it.

Fried Booze Has Arrived. God Bless America.

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Everyone has ‘that one friend who’s good at throwing parties.’ The lucky ones among us might have a few of those friends. For the Chop, the good news is that we’ve got a few of our own, but the bad news is that one of them has decided to pack up his bags and start throwing good parties in Germany instead of Baltimore. The city will be poorer for his loss and we certainly wish him all the best as he and his intended go a-traipsing through the Black Forest and a-sipping on freshly pressed Rieslings.

The silver lining to this turn of events is that people who throw good parties also throw good going away parties, which is just what our friend did this weekend. At every successful party there is the thing that people were talking about the next day and in the case of this particular party that thing was fried tequila shots.

Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen. Modern science is indeed an unstoppable marvel. It has cured Polio and frozen Ted Williams’ head and taken us to the Moon and now it is our happy and proud duty to report to you that Science has perfected the art of deep frying shots of tequila (or rum or apple brandy or anything else).

Google traces fried tequila’s first appearance on the Internet to the food blog Oh Bite It which posted a recipe in August of this year. The recipe is even simpler than you would imagine. So simple, in fact, that it’s the kind of thing that makes you scratch your head and say how did this not exist before two months ago??? Basically you take angel food cake and dip it in booze and fry it and toss some powdered sugar on top. It’s even simpler than it sounds.

So what does it taste like? It’s good. It’s very rich and pretty boozy. Unlike most booze-as-ingredient recipes you might even do well to use mid-range liquor instead of the cheap stuff. In this recipe booze plays such a central role that it’s all you taste, and there’s no ice cubes to mask the bad taste of the cheap stuff: you’re tasting the liquor hot or lukewarm so it’s got to be good. You might even add a touch of simple syrup to the soaking bowl to sweeten it up and mellow it out a little.

These bite-sized bits are pretty rich, and being more booze than cake they probably work best as a dessert item. At any rate they will get you buzzed in a hurry and aren’t very filling so it’s probably best to have them after dinner anyway.

You may be dubious about what we say here, or about the concept of eating booze in general but after tasting a few in person we’re here to tell you that these things are delicious, and that the age of the Jello shot is officially over.