Despite the name, lake trout is whiting, a saltwater fish dredged in cornmeal and fried until the edges shatter, then served in a paper bag with hot sauce. It is a Baltimore corner-shop staple.
Lake trout has nothing to do with trout or lakes. The story goes that whiting arriving late in the season at Lexington Market was sold as late trout, which slurred into lake trout. The cheap, flaky white fish became a corner-store and carry-out fixture, fried in cornmeal and folded into white bread with hot sauce. It remains a defining cheap eat of Black Baltimore, sold from steam tables and fish counters across the city.
2 editor picks for Lake trout in Baltimore, ranked by editorial score. All Baltimore signature dishes · Lake trout across every city.
Faidley's Seafood ★ 4.7
downtown · 119 North Paca Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Faidley's Seafood at Lexington Market has sold its jumbo lump crab cake since 1886, a stand-up counter where you eat the city's benchmark cake off paper.
Lexington Market ★ 4.4
downtown · 112 North Eutaw Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
Lexington Market has run downtown since 1782, one of America's oldest public markets, reopened in a new 2022 hall with Faidley's crab cakes at its heart.