Ah, Baloney!
A Survey of Baltimore-Style Hot Dogs.
Welcome to Hot Dog Week at The Mix!
All this week we will be posting hot dog content and nothing but, all the better to get everyone in that Summertime mood. First stop: Baltimore!
I knew Attman’s Delicatessen would be among our first stops in Baltimore. In business since 1915 and still run by the Attman family, it is one of the last Jewish delis in Baltimore. It is also one of the last survivors of Lombard Street, once a bustling commercial strip and center of Jewish life in East Baltimore. "Corned Beef Row" it was called.
Stand in front of the three-story brick building that is home to Attman’s today and you’re not looking at a row. You’re standing on an island. Across the street is an empty grass lot. To the left, the Attman’s parking lot. To the right, another empty lot.
Attman’s says it’s been around since 1915, but that’s a bit of a fudge. What they mean is the Attman family has been in business since 1915. But the original business, at another address, was a grocery shop called A. and L. Cut Rate Grocery Company. (A was for Attman). It wasn’t until after World War II that the Attmans switched over to the deli business, concentrating on prepared sandwiches and sliced meats. Their slogan was “Home of Fifty Sandwiches.” Which was a lot of sandwiches back then. Customers stood at a counter and ate. In 1968, Harry’s son Seymour opened the “Kibitz Room” next door so people could sit. It’s still there.