The Lion Brothers Building on Hollins Street in West Baltimore surely has the best-smelling loading dock in America.
The seductive scent of burning oak smoking dozens of pounds of salmon that emanates from behind the back door of Neopol Savory Smokery’s ground-floor production kitchen is vaguely reminiscent of a campfire cookout—that is, if Scottish and Norwegian fish were on the menu instead of burgers and dogs. It’s the same intoxicating aroma that lured customers, like a siren song for the nose, to a stall in Belvedere Square Market for 15 years, where mother and son Barbara Lahnstein and Dorian Brown smoked fish, garlic, shrimp, turkey, mussels, sausage, and just about anything else they could think of before moving their food preparation operations here in June 2018.
Inside, two 35-by-80-inch J&R Manufacturing red metal smokers do their thing. The fish in them now is destined for Neopol’s three retail outlets and weekend farmers markets, where it will be devoured by rabid fans addicted to this particular brand of smoking.
Meeting that demand is one reason Brown and Lahnstein opened the production kitchen. They plan to sell their sandwiches, spreads, and salads to the public from this spot starting next year, but for now the more than 1,000 pounds of fresh-neverfrozen salmon—and everything else that they smoke here six days a week—supplies stores in Washington’s Union Market, Georgetown, and the original Belvedere Square location.
“I’m really grateful for everyone that supports us in D.C., but the love in Baltimore is different,” Brown says. “Belvedere is where the heart is. Our customers there are . . .”
Denne historien er fra November 2019-utgaven av Baltimore magazine.
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Denne historien er fra November 2019-utgaven av Baltimore magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Man With a Plan
The eternal optimism of Thibault Manekin.
SHOWER POWER
Locals let rain gardens soak up the storm.
THE SOFA QUEEN
Stuffed & Tufted’s Samantha Kuczynski relishes being the new face of upholstery.
The Starting Gate
At long last, plans are underway for a new “Home of the Preakness.”
CLEANING UP CITY HALL
Baltimore is the second most corrupt federal jurisdiction in the country. Can a city with our history be reformed?
THE HOMECOMING
For one family, it was time to start living in their house, not just existing there.
SUGAR RUSH
Baltimore gets a fresh batch of home-grown bakeries——and the line forms here.
GAMECHANGER SANDRA GIBSON
Executive Director, SNF Parkway Theatre & Maryland Film Festival
FROM THE GROUND UP
A new build gives a couple a house that finally feels like them.
AFTER GLOW
KEY HIGHWAY