With the end of my first year drawing near, I have taken it upon myself to explore and experience the little things: from entering the everyday buildings I pass by, but have yet to step foot in, to finally trying out the dining options at the student center. One such little thing I didn’t experience until recently was building a sandwich at the Hopkins Café deli bar. I’m not entirely sure as to why it took me almost the whole school year to finally decide to visit this station as it is a go-to for many students. In fact, it’s a little ironic as well because one of my favorite places to eat at is Panera Bread. I love getting their sandwiches, accompanied with a side of your choice, and I always without fail get their in-house chips. A sandwich and a bag of chips — it satisfies your appetite and is an easy grab-to-go meal. The perfect pairing. Unfortunately, there is no Panera Bread on Charles Street or St. Paul Street (it would be a dream come true if there were though!), so naturally it would make sense that the sandwich station would be the one I gravitate toward the most. Although that wasn’t so at the start of the semester, it is the case now.
Sourdough bread as the base, chicken for protein, lettuce, tomato, pickles and banana peppers for the toppings and for the cherry on top, a generous drizzle of balsamic dressing. This has become my fixation for the last week or so, as I have without hesitation been getting this sandwich for lunch. It still hasn’t lost its spark, and I hope it never will. Moreover, at the end of the station, there is a basket of in-house potato chips. Sometimes they are regular potato chips, but what elates me even more is when they are Old Bay flavored.
As a Maryland native, Old Bay seasoning has always been a staple in my family kitchen. From seasoning shrimp to Brussels sprouts, Old Bay seasoning somehow finds its way into anything and truly has the power to enrich the savoriness of any food. However, its role goes beyond seasoning food. Even just the smell of it has the ability to transport me back in time to summer moments when I am indulging in crabs after a long day spent at the beach. My family and I have a tradition of going to Ocean City, which many consider to be the best beach destination in Maryland, though there are not many options to begin with. The water isn’t as crystal clear and majestically blue as the water in the Bahamas, but the waves in Ocean City sure know how to make an appearance as they are far from politely crashing to shore. After spending most of the day lying out in the sun and boogie boarding, there is only one perfect way to end off the day: cracking crabs and conversing.
Print newspapers spanning across the table. A whole roll of paper towels positioned at the side of it. Mallets in our hands. We are prepared to feast. Fresh steaming crabs that have been bathing in Old Bay seasoning get poured across the table. Crack, twist, eat and repeat. It is a repetitive act and for the amount of labor put into extracting the meat from these crabs, the meat we find in return is not astonishing. It would be more efficient to order a crab cake and indulge in that to save time and labor and become fuller more quickly as well. However, there is something profound about individually cracking and hand-picking the meat from the crab yourself. The act of doing so slows down time and grounds you in the present moment. I’ve spent many hours at these restaurants simply cracking and eating crabs while having valuable conversations. It is through these conversations where I feel like I am able to deeply connect with my family and appreciate being able to journey through life with them. These moments have always been the highlight of my summers and will continue to be. For no matter where I may travel I find that nothing compares to an East Coast summer vacation spent with the people I love, crab and Old Bay seasoning.
Catherine Chan is a freshman studying Molecular and Cellular Biology from Potomac, Md. She is a Social Media Manager for The News-Letter. Her column consists of reflections on various moments in her life, from the distant past to the current present, in pursuit of discovering the underlying impact they have on her life’s story.
