---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In Baltimore, soft crabs are always fried…"
description: "\"In Baltimore, soft crabs are always fried (or broiled) in the altogether, with maybe a small jock-strap of bacon added.\" — H. L. Mencken"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/h-l-mencken-245_baltimore_in-baltimore-soft-crabs-are-always-fried_1449550.png"
---

#  In Baltimore, soft crabs are always fried (or broiled) in…

![“In Baltimore, soft crabs are always fried (or broiled) in the altogether, with maybe a small jock-strap of bacon added.” quote by H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/h-l-mencken-245_baltimore_in-baltimore-soft-crabs-are-always-fried_1449550.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/h-l-mencken-245_baltimore_in-baltimore-soft-crabs-are-always-fried_1449550.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/h-l-mencken-245_baltimore_in-baltimore-soft-crabs-are-always-fried_1449550.png)

> “In Baltimore, soft crabs are always fried (or broiled) in the altogether, with maybe a small jock-strap of bacon added.”

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Culinary traditions vary; this describes a regional way of preparing crabs with bacon.

**In simple terms:** Regional crab cooking with bacon.

Key Takeaway

Explore local food customs.

Themes

culture food regional cuisine

Mood

curious nostalgic

Type

observational descriptive

When to use this quote

- travel
- food festivals
- home cooking
- restaurant menus

Key Concepts

gastronomy tradition flavor pairing

Questions to Reflect On

- What local dishes surprise you?
- How does food reflect cultural identity?

A Different Perspective

Taste preferences differ; not everyone enjoys bacon with seafood.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Baltimore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baltimore/) [Cooking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooking/) [Culinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culinary/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/)

## Related quotes

> [There is a saying in Baltimore that crabs may be prepared in fifty ways and that all of them are good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-is-a-saying-in-baltimore-that-crabs-may-be-prepared-in-fifty/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [This hook nose and crab meister attitude has gotten me every job I've ever had. And more divorces than I care to remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-fell/this-hook-nose-and-crab-meister-attitude-has-gotten-me-every-job-i-ve/)

[Norman Fell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-fell/)

> [She had only to stand in the orchard, to put her hand on a little crab tree and look up at the apples, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/she-had-only-to-stand-in-the-orchard-to-put-her-hand-on-a-little-crab/)

[Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/)

> [I wanna buy a bunch of hermit crabs and make them live together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-wanna-buy-a-bunch-of-hermit-crabs-and-make-them-live-together/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [“Doc was collecting marine animals in the Great Tide Pool on the tip of the Peninsula. It is a fabulous place: when the tide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/doc-was-collecting-marine-animals-in-the-great-tide-pool-on-the-tip/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [Anyone who's onstage is going to attract a certain number of misguided people. But I was never very interested in groupies. Instead of thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/anyone-who-s-onstage-is-going-to-attract-a-certain-number-of/)

[George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/)

> [“Oysters open completely when the moon is full; and when the crab sees one it throws a piece of stone or seaweed into it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oysters-open-completely-when-the-moon-is-full-and-when-the-crab-sees/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In a recent interview, Hillary Clinton said that one of the jobs that prepared her to be president was sliming fish in Alaska. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/in-a-recent-interview-hillary-clinton-said-that-one-of-the-jobs-that/)

[Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/)

> [When a woman grabs my braids and says "How cute!" I crab her breast and say "How cute!" She never touches me again!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-means/when-a-woman-grabs-my-braids-and-says-how-cute-i-crab-her-breast-and/)

[Russell Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-means/)

> [My father was a preacher in Maryland and we had crab feasts - with corn on the cob, but no beer, being Methodist -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-father-was-a-preacher-in-maryland-and-we-had-crab-feasts-with-corn/)

[Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/)

> [I'm a big fish eater. Salmon - I love salmon. My sister loves Chinese food and sushi and all that. I'm not as big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-fanning/i-m-a-big-fish-eater-salmon-i-love-salmon-my-sister-loves-chinese/)

[Elle Fanning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-fanning/)

> [“Crabs and some shrimp, in contrast, will groom injured areas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-godfrey-smith/crabs-and-some-shrimp-in-contrast-will-groom-injured-areas/)

[Peter Godfrey-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-godfrey-smith/)

> [Marriage is a wrestling match where you hold on tight while your mate changes into a hundred different things. The trick is that you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/marriage-is-a-wrestling-match-where-you-hold-on-tight-while-your-mate/)

[Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/)

> [But she still had that something which fires the imagination, could still stop one's breath for a moment by a look or gesture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/but-she-still-had-that-something-which-fires-the-imagination-could/)

[Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/)

> [“Crabs and medusas were my natural enemies. Crabs because I once got bitten on my bum as I had fallen asleep on a rock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patric-juillet/crabs-and-medusas-were-my-natural-enemies-crabs-because-i-once-got/)

[Patric Juillet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patric-juillet/)

## More by H. L. Mencken

> [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [A bad artist almost always tries to conceal his incompetence by whooping up a new formula.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-bad-artist-almost-always-tries-to-conceal-his-incompetence-by/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [So few men are really worth knowing, that it seems a shameful waste to let an anthropoid prejudice stand in the way of free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/so-few-men-are-really-worth-knowing-that-it-seems-a-shameful-waste-to/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Man's objection to love is that it dies hard; woman's, that when it is dead, it stays dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/man-s-objection-to-love-is-that-it-dies-hard-woman-s-that-when-it-is/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [The lunatic fringe wags the underdog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-lunatic-fringe-wags-the-underdog/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Women have simple tastes. They get pleasure out of the conversation of children in arms and men in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/women-have-simple-tastes-they-get-pleasure-out-of-the-conversation-of/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [The critic, to interpret his artist, even to understand his artist, must be able to get into the mind of his artist; he must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-critic-to-interpret-his-artist-even-to-understand-his-artist-must/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [There is, in fact, nothing about religious opinions that entitles them to any more respect than other opinions get. On the contrary, they tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-is-in-fact-nothing-about-religious-opinions-that-entitles-them/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Don't overestimate the decency of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/don-t-overestimate-the-decency-of-the-human-race/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [To the extent that I am genuinely educated, I am suspicious of all the things that the average citizen believes and the average pedagogue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/to-the-extent-that-i-am-genuinely-educated-i-am-suspicious-of-all-the/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [Philosophy first constructs a scheme of happiness and then tries to fit the world to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/philosophy-first-constructs-a-scheme-of-happiness-and-then-tries-to/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [For it is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. In order to overcome that tendency it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-the-natural-tendency-of-the-ignorant-to-believe-what-is-not/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

[Explore all 827 H. L. Mencken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

## More Baltimore quotes

> [Baltimore is a great wrestling town.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t/baltimore-is-a-great-wrestling-town/)

[Booker T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t/)

> [I love Baltimore. This city has made me the man that I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deray-mckesson/i-love-baltimore-this-city-has-made-me-the-man-that-i-am/)

[DeRay Mckesson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deray-mckesson/)

> [He's the leader on this team, I know when Baltimore let us have him, they thought they were giving us a problem. I'll take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steinbrenner/he-s-the-leader-on-this-team-i-know-when-baltimore-let-us-have-him/)

[George Steinbrenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steinbrenner/)

> [I would have handled it differently than the mayor of Baltimore, that's for sure. I think it's a mistake to say, hey, guys, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-would-have-handled-it-differently-than-the-mayor-of-baltimore-that/)

[Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/)

> [I was devastated. I'm still devastated to this day. When talent like that disappears in a flash, you can't believe it. You deny it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-merrill/i-was-devastated-i-m-still-devastated-to-this-day-when-talent-like/)

Helen Merrill

> [People are proud to be from Baltimore. In any industry you work in, you need support to survive. And this city has that support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-waters/people-are-proud-to-be-from-baltimore-in-any-industry-you-work-in-you/)

[Derek Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-waters/)

> [It's easy to whip up resentment against anything that smacks with authority. Nobody ever organizes over pan handlers. So even if a cop is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/it-s-easy-to-whip-up-resentment-against-anything-that-smacks-with/)

[Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/)

> [By the 1970s, pornography had caught up with The Block, where performers were totally in the nude. I wasn't going to do that, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaze-starr/by-the-1970s-pornography-had-caught-up-with-the-block-where/)

Blaze Starr

> [What I saw in Baltimore was distressing and it tells me we need stronger policies in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-i-saw-in-baltimore-was-distressing-and-it-tells-me-we-need/)

[Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/)

> [ After we did \[All In The Family\], that ended up being a real love fest all around. Me and Norman, Norman \[Lear\] and me,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-masur/after-we-did-all-in-the-family-that-ended-up-being-a-real-love-fest/)

[Richard Masur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-masur/)

> [John is a cottage industry in Baltimore and the city opens its doors for him whenever he is making a new film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mink-stole/john-is-a-cottage-industry-in-baltimore-and-the-city-opens-its-doors/)

[Mink Stole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mink-stole/)

> [Well I am from Annapolis Maryland. I went to High school in Baltimore, but I grew up in Annapolis. It was a cute town.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-siriano/well-i-am-from-annapolis-maryland-i-went-to-high-school-in-baltimore/)

[Christian Siriano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-siriano/)

> [Having secured my Indian actors, I started for Baltimore, where I organized my combination, and which was the largest troupe I had yet had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buffalo-bill/having-secured-my-indian-actors-i-started-for-baltimore-where-i/)

[Buffalo Bill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buffalo-bill/)

> [Red-hot songs were born on the black streets of Baltimore, where I delivered five-gallon cans of kerosene and ten-pound bags of coal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-leiber/red-hot-songs-were-born-on-the-black-streets-of-baltimore-where-i/)

[Jerry Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-leiber/)

> [I would never want to live anywhere but Baltimore. You can look far and wide, but you'll never discover a stranger city with such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/i-would-never-want-to-live-anywhere-but-baltimore-you-can-look-far/)

[John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/)

[Browse all 264 Baltimore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baltimore/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In Baltimore, soft crabs are always fried (or broiled) in the altogether, with maybe a small jock-strap of bacon added.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "H. L. Mencken"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/in-baltimore-soft-crabs-are-always-fried-or-broiled-in-the-altogether/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Baltimore"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/in-baltimore-soft-crabs-are-always-fried-or-broiled-in-the-altogether/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/h-l-mencken-245_baltimore_in-baltimore-soft-crabs-are-always-fried_1449550.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/h-l-mencken-245_baltimore_in-baltimore-soft-crabs-are-always-fried_1449550.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/075/h-l-mencken-245_baltimore_in-baltimore-soft-crabs-are-always-fried_1449550.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In Baltimore, soft crabs are always fried (or broiled) in the altogether, with maybe a small jock-strap of…” — H. L. Mencken",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "H. L. Mencken",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In Baltimore, soft crabs are always...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/in-baltimore-soft-crabs-are-always-fried-or-broiled-in-the-altogether/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/in-baltimore-soft-crabs-are-always-fried-or-broiled-in-the-altogether/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
