Last year, with the introduction of Old Bay beer, we here at Baltimore Fishbowl predicted that the classic Baltimore flavoring was about to have a moment. Finally, the national press is sitting up and taking notice, as evidenced by the lengthy Old Bay rumination we recently read in Men’s Journal, of all places.
In the piece, writer John Lingan enthuses poetically about everyone’s favorite crab seasoning:
It smells like coastal summer and tastes as deeply rich as good gumbo. Even its color, that burnt-sienna-left-out-to-rust hue, is an aesthetic triumph.
Lingan also details Old Bay’s origin story, which involves Nazis, fishmongers, and an intrepid spice blender named Gustav Brunn. (Read the whole thing here.)
Of course, now that McDonald’s is getting in on the Old Bay craze, it’s about 3 months from being declared “over.” But do you know what? I’m okay with that. We don’t really need Old Bay beer and Old Bay chocolate; just as long as there’s some left to season the crabs, we’ll be fine.
