The city of Baltimore, Maryland, has been a predominantly working-class town through much of its history with several surrounding affluent suburbs and, being found in a Mid-Atlantic state but south of the Mason-Dixon line, can lay claim to a blend of Northern and Southern American traditions.

A prominent example of Baltimore's distinctive flavor is the city's close association with blue crabs. This is a trait which Baltimore shares with the other coastal parts of the state of Maryland. For years the Chesapeake Bay was the East Coast's main source of blue crabs. Baltimore, due to its location, became an important hub of the crab industry. In Baltimore's tourist district (located between Harborplace and Fells Point), numerous restaurants serve steamed hard shell crabs, soft shell crabs, and lump backfin crabcakes. Many district shops even sell crab-related merchandise.^{[citation needed]}

Traditionally, crabs are steamed in rock salt and Old Bay Seasoning, a favored local spice mixture manufactured in Baltimore for decades. Southern State cooks, Marylanders insist, boil crabs and, along with it, boil away all the true flavor.

The crabs are eaten on tables spread with old newspaper or plain brown wrapping paper. The meat of the crabs is extracted with the use of wooden mallets, knives, and one's hands. It is popular for cold beer to be thrown on the crabs during the steaming process, and made available afterward.

A traditional Baltimore crab cake generally consists of steamed blue crab lump and/or backfin meat, egg, mayonnaise, Old Bay seafood seasoning, cracker crumbs, and mustard. It is prepared by either broiling or frying. Baltimoreans typically do not use tartar sauce on their crab cakes.

Soft shell crabs are blue crabs that have recently molted their old exoskeleton and are still soft. The entire animal can be eaten, rather than having to shell the animal to reach the meat. The crab is typically tossed in flour seasoned with salt, pepper, and Old Bay Seasoning before being deep-fried or sautéed in butter. It is then placed on toasted bread, typically dressed with mayonnaise, sliced tomato, and lettuce. Some Baltimoreans find amusement in watching visitors to the city stare in horror as they eat soft crab sandwiches with the crab legs sticking out the sides.

It is a common practice to serve sauerkraut with the Thanksgiving turkey. Baltimore was a leading gateway for German immigration during the 19th century. By 1863, the year President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, one in four of Baltimore's residents were transplanted Germans who spoke German as their first language.

Pit beef refers to open-pit barbecued meat most commonly served rare on a Kaiser roll, usually found at small stands converted from large sheds in and around Baltimore and the outlying suburbs. It originated on Baltimore's blue-collar east side and has spread throughout the city over the years. Other varieties of meat, such as ham, turkey, corned beef, and sausages are also found on the menus at pit beef stands. Pit beef meat is grilled with charcoal and uses no rubs or sauces, so it lacks the wood flavor characteristic of Texas barbecue and the herbal aromas of Carolina barbecue. Baltimore pit beef is made with top round and shaved very thin on a meat slicer for serving. The typical condiments for a pit beef sandwich are a thick slice of white onion and a sauce made from horseradish and mayonnaise commonly called "Tiger Sauce." Made by Tulkoff Food Products, the Baltimore version is unique in that it uses a much larger portion of horseradish, making the sauce extremely hot.