We live in a ready-made, microwavable, shrink-wrapped and ready to scan world. Slap a barcode on it, and away you go. A "Brave New World" is rushing toward us at warp speed, and yet, in the midst of this nuttiness, there's a place in our funky little town that still holds on to quaint ideas.

Seriously, there's a place in Baltimore where you can actually speak with the person who fillets your fish...and—if you're there on the right day—you can actually speak with the guy who caught it. That, friends, is how communities are built. This particular community has existed since 1782 and goes by the name of Lexington Market.

Named for the first battle of the American Revolution, Lexington Market was built on land donated by General John Howard after he returned from the war. Lexington is the oldest continuously-operating market in the United States. After a six-alarm fire burned the original market to the ground in 1949, merchants refused to yield to fate and erected a temporary market within days. A brand new market spanning two buildings opened in 1952. The East and West markets were built with brick to withstand future disasters.

The market itself occupies two city blocks and houses some 140 merchants. Can you say cornucopia? Meats, sweets, treats, take-out, dine-in, groceries, cell phones, flowers—there's even a cure for impotence...not that we need one.

Throughout the year, Lexington Market hosts special events such as holiday programs, a chocolate festival and live music on the weekends. So without further ado, we bring you the best of Lexington Market!

Eats: Long famous for the quantity and quality of its food, this market was described as the "gastronomic capital of the Union" by either—depending on who you ask—Ralph Waldo Emerson or Oliver Wendell Holmes. Both men would be equally impressed today, as we're fairly certain the market didn't have a great Indian restaurant like MemSahib back in the day. If you're in a hurry for a curry and some exotic belly dancing, MemSahib is the place. If, however, you're looking for more regional fare, you'd be hard-pressed to find better crab cakes than Faidley's Seafood's.

Other notable dine-in/carry-out stalls are Polock Johnny's for delicious kielbasa, Pandora's Box for gyros and Mediterranean food, Park's Fried Chicken, Barron's Deli and Angie's Soul Food for some corn bread and collard greens.

Meats: Since 1913, Mary Mervis Deli has offered an abundance of deli meats, cheeses and sandwiches. If you're searching for fat slabs of beef and sides of ribs, try Amos Meats or Tamberino's Meats. There are also a number of good poultry stalls including Brookdale Farms, Dave Green's Poultry and Quality Poultry.

For oceanic delights, once again head to famous Faidley's Seafood. Other options include Market Seafood and Ra's Seafood. (It's worth a trip to Ra's just to watch Mark Hoss slice and dice a Mako shark.)

Treats: If you're into cookies, you have to go to Berger's Bakery for its famous—almost deadly—fudge-topped shortbread. Konstant's Candies has been serving fudge, peanut brittle and other contributor's to tooth decay since 1896. Chocoholics can savor the market's chocolate festival, held three days each fall.

Fruits and veggies: There are at least eight produce stands and nearly all of the ones we saw offered high quality options. Standouts include Kay's Produce, Lefty's Produce, Garden Produce and Han's Produce.

Best deal: Tough call here, but we're going with Faidley's Seafood. We could easily spend the afternoon at the raw bar eating freshly-shucked (by Lou "Spider Hands" Fleming himself!) oysters and clams and drinking draft beer, while taking a nostalgic look at autographed black and whites of sports legends like Brooks Robinson and Johnny Unitas.