The best form of advertising
At first, it seems like another innocent stretch of sidewalk.
But when you hoof it on Fleet Street by the Maryland Athletic Club, the smell suddenly smacks you right in the face: popcorn.
Not just any popcorn, either.
I'm talking about rich, buttery movie theater popcorn -- the kind they serve in big paper bags and charge an arm and a leg for, but if you're a popcorn fanatic like me, you pay it anyway.
The source of this awesome scent is the Landmark Theatre around the corner on President Street. There must be some kind of vent that goes straight from popcorn booth at the concession stand to the sidewalk on Fleet Street ...
Since the theater is open until late night, you can catch a whiff of eau de popcorn all afternoon and evening. It must be hell for people who come out of the gym and are looking for a healthy snack. Few scents are more seductive than real movie theater popcorn. Mmm.
Now all the theater needs to do is run another vent from the popcorn booth to the front of the theater. That way, people who walk by it will be twice as tempted to see a flick.
Writing this post has made me hungry. And I just had some a bag of Pop Secret Homestyle last night. Sigh.
(Photo by me)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
That hit us like a punch in the face after drinking all day and riding the Ducks yesterday. We were all STARVING.
Drunken munchies are bound to get the best of you now. Between that popcorn and the Tuesday night raisin bread baking at H&S...
Posted by: BC | June 29, 2009 10:39 AM
How could you possibly compare a travesty like microwave popcorn to movie popcorn? That stuff tastes like little balls of paraffin.
Posted by: Claude | June 29, 2009 10:44 AM
Go in John Stevens and look where they steam their shrimp. They have hooked up the exhaust vent to go right from the steam pot to outside - talk about that for sidewalk advertising.
Posted by: Chris | June 29, 2009 12:27 PM
I love to walk past H&S bakery when they are baking bread...love those bread winds!
Posted by: BaltBabs | June 29, 2009 2:39 PM