Weather on the East Coast has played havoc with our travel plans and — let’s be honest, this is less important — my Plan A for Friday’s round of The Session, Session #25: Lager Love.
We expected to be touristing around Baltimore on Friday, so I was thinking about stopping by Nacho Mamas in Canton, drinking a Natty Bo and writing about the experience. I’ll grant you that many find this place a bit much. The Mexican food isn’t particularly Mexican, for instance. I’ve heard the there can be lines out the door, which is plain silly.
But . . . you have to love a place where if you don’t see a picture of Elvis Presley or a photo from old Baltimore (mostly sports) there’s a National Bohemian item. National Brewing opened in 1885 and resumed production after Prohibition until it was sold to Carling in 1975, then to Heileman.
Natty Bo was still made in Baltimore as recently as 1997. It’s been brewed under contract since, in several different breweries (wish I could tell you where now). But for many it’s still the Baltimore beer.
It’s a light lager. I’m not sure you could pick it out in a blind tasting with Pabst, Lone Star and whatever similar beer you want to include. And when you order it at Nacho Mamas there is no point in asking for a glass. Drink from the bottle or don’t order it.
That said, it would have been great to drink in Nacho Mamas for The Session.
But we won’t be rambling around Baltimore on Friday. On to Plan B.