28. Eat steamed shrimp w/ a Natty Boh at John Steven Ltd. (Baltimore, MD)
About eightish...nineish years ago I was visiting my birth city of Baltimore with my mother and my aunt. We had probably had enough of the same restaurants in HarborPlace when we decided to catch a water taxi to Fells Point.
Somehow, in all my trips and vacations to Baltimore, I had never been to Fells Point. To my great pleasure, there were not only many shops and stores, but also plenty of amazing bars and restaurants. I'm not sure if it was luck – or a little bit of fate – that the first place we stumbled upon was a corner restaurant named John Steven Ltd.
The meal I had that night – as we sat at a table overlooking the sun setting on the harbor – was in my mind the single greatest seafood meal I had ever (and still have ever) had. My friends and family will contest that I don't eat very much but of the few things I eat, I can eat a ton of it.
One of those things is steamed shrimp.
And preferably with a good cold beer.
You see, John Steven doesn't just do steamed shrimp...they do it 110%, positively absolutely right. So perfect that I have yet to ever go to another restaurant that duplicates what they do with with seafood.
The magic of the steamed shrimp is the Old Bay and how it lingers or sticks to the shrimp. Some places I have been to do the “boil the shrimp in water, vinegar and Old Bay.” (I'd like to point out that that is not steaming but boiling).
Some places steam the shrimp and then sprinkle the Old Bay on. This relegates the Old Bay to a status no greater than ordinary table salt or pepper.
John Steven's steamed shrimp come in a wooden bowl, hot as hell with amazing little Old Bay clumps adhered to the shrimps. It's almost like God reached out and had a hand in their steaming. Absolute perfection.
After my first John Steven encounter, we returned in 2006. Sometimes you have something so perfect the first time and when you go back it is completely different (or just plain crappy)...much to my happiness, everything in my second visit was just as amazing as the first.
Bring on the shrimp; and this time bring me an ice cold Natty Boh!
Of course the difference from the first and second visits was that by 2006, Natty Boh had made its triumphant return to Baltimore taps and store shelves.
Huh? What's that you say? What's a Natty Boh?
Natty Boh is short for National Bohemian. It is the most watered-down, nasty, disgusting, repulsively delicious, amazingly refreshing, golden-colored, nectar of the Baltimore beer gods, please can I have one, two, three or twenty-four of them, adult beverage perfection that was originally brewed in Baltimore. It sorta has taken on hipster status (like PBR), but to me, it is the beer of my grandfather and I would fight my mother or any other takers for just 12 beautiful ounces.
Did I mention it's not available in Georgia?
When it came time to make the Forty List, this one was a super no-brainer.
And bring me a napkin so I don't get Old Bay all over my O's shirt.
I waited seven LONG years for this amazing meal. And I am even happier to report that this visit was just as fine as my last two.
I can't stress enough, if you are in the city of Baltimore and are looking for a great meal and something good to drink, look no further than John Steven Ltd. In Fells Point. I'm hoping I don't have to wait another seven years (a Forty-Seven List!) before going back.
