RD201907-08

Who Knew? Maryland’s state dessert,

smith island cake,dates

back to the 1800s,

when women

made the multi-

layered yellow

cakes to send

along with

their husbands

when they

went oystering.

Massachusetts

Signature dish: Boston baked beans.

Originating from Native Americans,

the slow-cooked dish is flavored with

molasses or maple syrup and bacon.

The Puritans made it on the Sabbath.

Who Knew? The town of Quincy

isn’t known as the Birthplace of the

American Dream for nothing. It was

the original home of not one but two

fast-food icons: Howard Johnson’s

and Dunkin’ Donuts.

Maine

Signature dish: lobster roll—with

a toasted, buttered split-top bun.

Who Knew? Maine’s official state

treat is the whoopie pie. “The secret

is in the filling, which is cooked.

Sour milk and real shortening are in-

volved. But I cannot divulge the rec-

ipe, oh no, lest my sisters and I lose

our reputations for the best whoopie

pies in the county.” —Reader Heidi

Sweetwater, Farmington, Maine

Maryland

Signature dish: Crab cakes. “The

best is when you would go crabbing

and head home to steam the crabs

yourself. Beer, not water, and plenty

of Old Bay Seasoning. There was

much screaming when the crab

missed the pot and hit the floor. I

never saw my children move so fast!”

—Reader June Fauver, Glen Burnie,

Maryland

For the perfect lobster roll,

the bread has to be freshly

toasted and buttered.

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