Mad Men's First Episode in Haussner's Baltimore Restaurant Hon!

Thumbs up .... Mad Men's first episode takes place in the famed Haussner's Restaurant in Baltimore Hon! I was lucky enough to go there before it shut down (years ago.) Definitely not a place to eat light ... the food was German, heavy on the gravy and mashed potatoes and fantastic.

Filled with antiques it was old world charm and as much a museum as it was a restaurant. Check out the auctioneer's listing of items that were sold when it closed! And, I can't believe in everything I have read, no one has mentioned the humongous ball of string!!!! You had to check the ball of string before you left ....It went up for auction and fetched $8,250.00 When Baltimore's famed Haussner's Restaurant closed its doors, Opfer Auctioneers held a sale of the restaurant's memorabilia, including the massive ball made up of the string that bound rental napkins. Compiled by the employees for generations, the bundle stood four feet tall and weighed 825 pounds.

If you are a fan you need to read the great article in today's Baltimore Sun. A snipped it below:

"At the heart of the episode is a business trip Don Draper ( Jon Hamm) and Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) take to Baltimore to do a little hand holding with one of their agency's clients, the father and son team running the company making London Fog raincoats.The episode is titled "Out of Town," and it is written by series creator Matthew Weiner, who was born in Baltimore and attended Park School before his family moved to Los Angeles. Robin Veith, an Emmy-nominated writer on the series, also was born and raised in Baltimore. She has been promoted to executive story editor this year.As the title suggests, the trip to Baltimore dominates the episode with Draper and Romano eating dinner at Haussner's, spending a night at the Belvedere Hotel and the next day at the London Fog factory."

As a Marylander I would be remiss to not share one of their recipes .. which of course has to be a famed crab recipe:

Haussner's Crab Imperial Serves 6 as an appetizer

1 lb. crab meat

2 slices white bread

2 eggs, beaten

4 T. mayonnaise

1 t. prepared mustard

1 t. salt

1 t. black pepper

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t. chopped parsley

White Sauce (see recipe below)

1/2 t. paprika

Pick crab meat carefully to remove any shells without breaking up lumps. Cut bread into cubes, discarding crust.Combine eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper and Worcestershire in a medium bowl. Add bread and parsley. Fold in crab meat carefully to prevent breaking. Spoon into individual dishes. Top each with 1/2 teaspoon White Sauce. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake in a preheated 350°F. oven for 15-20 minutes.

White Sauce

1 C. milk

2 T. butter

2 T. flour

pinch of salt

Heat milk in a small saucepan. In another saucepan, combine butter, flour and salt and cook, stirring over medium heat. Do not cover. Add hot milk in a stream, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and thick.

Source: Baltimore Sun (David Zurawik); White Horse Knitting