By any other name, they're not the same. Ready-to-eat Southern-style hog maws are hard to track down in New York, and sometimes their Chinese, Mexican, and Puerto Rican counterparts just won't do. So, earlier this summer, while visiting friends south of the Mason-Dixon, I also dutifully called on Baltimore's venerable Lexington Market, where I had no trouble finding hog maws at a soul food stall called Country Kitchen. To my surprise, however, my portion of pork stomach was sliced, salted, peppered, vinegared, and served by a Korean-American proprietor.
He had built up a clientele from across the Mid-Atlantic — and from as far away as New York — over the course of 20 years, the owner added. Later during my visit, at numerous corner stores that serve prepared food, I came across other grill men (and women) of Korean heritage; most seemed to be owner-operators. The same was true at other stalls at the public market. The proprietors of Lexington Fried Chicken, whose "small" portion of fried chicken livers (first photo below) had to be rubber-banded shut, and of The Seed, where I snagged a scrapple-and-egg breakfast sandwich (second photo), are Korean-American, too.
Also shown, from Berger's Bakery, a Lexington Market long-timer whose owners of some 40 years claim Greek roots: two-for-a-dollar twisters (essentially, donuts bent into an S) and a slab of buttercream-iced yellow cake. Grand total: about $12.
Lexington Market
400 West Lexington St. (at North Eutaw St.), Baltimore
www.LexingtonMarket.com
Closed Sunday
(From a July 2018 visit)
