|
 TM
Crab
Bliss in Baltimore
The
Ten Places You Need to Know
David
Rosengarten
Every
autumn, some crustacean alarm clock goes off in my head--really
loud!!--alerting me that it's time to eat crabs in Baltimore. Of all the
truly indigenous American dining experiences, this one has got to be my
favorite. No pretense, no
fuss, no silly gastronomic overreaching. You just set right up at a big
ole' table with a playing field of coarse brown paper on it. Mallets and
knives are slammed down, and huge amounts of napkins or paper towels are
tossed about. Bibs are for wimps. The Orioles are on the TV over the bar.
Suddenly, they appear: dozens of
gargantuan steamed crabs, skillfully strewn by your highly practiced
server all across the table, wicked steam rising, the crabs thickly coated
with a lip-blistering peppery-mustardy grind of spices that was made just
down the road. The aroma erupts. Pitchers of beer. Busy hands. Shells on
the floor. Squeals of delight. The thrill of finding the most efficient
way to extract the largest clumps of sweet, fatty, ambrosial shellfish.
Absolute heaven. I could sit there forever, my mouth tingling, my appetite
unconditionally provoked.
So.....if
you've never sat there......and especially if you say something like
"well, I've had crabs, though not in Maryland"....I insist you
do it right now! This summer! Now! You have no idea what you're missing!
Before you go, however, there are three big things to keep in mind:
1)
Times have changed. Most of the
crabs you'll get in Baltimore's crab houses do not come from the nearby
Chesapeake Bay. A higher percentage do come from there in August and
September, but usually you can expect to be served crabs from the
Carolinas, Louisiana, Texas. Now the good news: these crabs are shipped in
ultra-fresh, and they're every bit as good as the local crabbies!
2)
In fact, the "importing" of crabs has a huge benefit: they come
year-round! Used to be that the crabhouse season was summer only. And, I
must confess, it is amazing to sit outside in the sun, guzzling brew,
cracking shells. But at most
Baltimore-area crabhouses you can now get great crabs in any weather. So
what if it's snowing outside?
3)
And one more "import" implication: there are more really big crabs available these days. If you like 'em
big--and I'm not sure that the meat's better, but I am sure the meat's
easier to get to--the best idea is to call ahead to the crabhouse and
reserve 'em. Most crabhouses will try to comply. Expect to spend about $65
a dozen for the hugest crabs.
Then, of course, you need to know where to go in the Baltimore
area:
Best
Overall Crabhouse Experience
Gabler's
This is your total fantasy, time-warp crab shack--about 30 minutes east of
Baltimore, on a lazy river, built in 1938 and virtually unchanged, creaky
floors and all. Here, you will know you're in Maryland, and will imagine,
for a few blissful hours, that you're part of a simpler world. Great crabs
too--and a killer crab salad, loaded with meat for only $9.75.
Consistently
Best Crabs
Costas Inn
I've been to this huge, noisy hall in the blue-collar suburb of Dundalk
three times in the last few years, and have had peak crab experiences
everytime. Owner Nick Triantafilos has great sourcing year-round for huge,
meaty, sweet crabs. And his crab spicing, which is applied in copious
amounts, is perfectly seasoned, perfectly balanced with the crab flavor.
Good crab dishes, too. Good cole slaw.
Best
Value in Great Crabs
Ocean Pride
Slightly upscale, in the northern suburb of Lutherville--but where
else can you get the biggest crabs for only 50 bucks a dozen? Great
year-round souring. And a really distinctive crab spice that has a touch
of ginger in it.
Biggest
Crabs
Crab Quarters
A tricked-up "nautical" design--a little tacky, to be honest--on
a busy boulevard in a suburb near the airport. But man, do they have big
crabs; they call them "monsters," they're fabulous as well as
big, they're often available, and they sell for $60 the dozen (you could
do worse.)
Best
Crabs Outdoors
Mike's
I LOVE eating crabs outdoors, though there are precious few opportunities
in downtown Baltimore to do so. So I like going to Mike's, in Riva, right
near Annapolis, about a 30-minute drive from Baltimore; it's a huge,
popular, boisterous place with lots of tables right on the water.
Unfortunately, it's next to an industrial-looking bridge--go to nearby
Cantler's if you want more charm--but I love the crabs at Mike's.
Best
Overall Crabhouse Food
Captain Harvey's Crab House
All Baltimore crabhouses serve an array of crab specialties other than
steamed crabs; oftentimes, the level of cooking's not very high. That's
why it's great to know about Captain Harvey's, northwest of Baltimore in
Owings Mills--for it has the strongest kitchen of any crabhouse I've
tried. Most places have two kinds of crab soup: boring and more boring.
Here, they soar. Shrimp and hard-shell crab are both stuffed with crab,
battered, fried to perfection. So is the crab fluff, also a battered
thing. Every crabhouse has crab cakes, but these were the best I
tasted--huge lumps of crab, just holding together, broiled or fried.
Potato Salad. Onion rings. Towering, old-fashioned pies and cakes. The
place is not much to look at (it actually adjoins a fancier place called
Captain Harvey's), but man is it good.
Most
Upscale Crabhouse Decor
Bo Brooks
One of Baltimore's most famous crabhouses moved last year to a spiffy,
waterside location. The crabs are good, the Crab Augratin (sic) is better
(the best version that I've tried of what's usually called Crab Imperial.)
But go to Bo Brooks principally if you want a crabhouse venue for a date
or a business lunch; the white booths with lamps near the front door are
cozy, urbane, and altogether different from the usual crabhouse funk (if
that difference is what you're looking for.)
Quirkiest
Crab House
Gunning's
Gunning's is a hoot. It is, essentially, one of the diviest bars you'll
ever see, with an outside "garden" for crab-eating featuring
cheap furniture, poured concrete, white plastic tables, and tacky patio
lights swinging above. If you love the romance of slumming, you're home!
The crabs I had were good--but the real fun's in the wildly idiosyncratic
things, including stuffed soft-shell crab, a pile of steamed crab claws,
and one of the weirdest things I've ever tasted: batter-fried green
peppers sprinkled with confectioner's sugar. Incidentally, the Gunning
family moved on some years ago to open a new, shiny, much less quirky
place called, of course, The Originial Gunning's Seafood Restaurant in
Hanover. The real original's in
Brooklyn, under new management, just across a bridge from downtown
Baltimore.
Most
Surprising Crab House
Bohager's
There is a huge, Polynesian-themed disco in downtown Baltimore where, on
week-end nights, more than a thousand revelers wander from thatched-hut to
thatched-hut drinking beer and hooking up. The surprise? If you'd rather
hook up with some crabs, there's a big open-air space in which to do
it.....and the crabs are really good! Surprised? Any way you look at it,
this is most definitely a place where you can get crabs.
Most
Overrated Crab House
Obrycki's
The one Baltimore crabhouse with a reputation reaching beyond Baltimore is
Obrycki's, founded in 1944, and filled to this day with local diners and
lots of tourists. I've visited three times in the last three years. I like
the place well enough. It's comfortable. It's efficient. The
non-steamed-crab dishes are pretty good. But on every trip to Baltimore
I've had better crabs elsewhere. So I say to you: if you want to see what
non-insiders consider the standard, by all means go to Obrycki's. You'll
have a fine time. But please don't make it your only crabhouse visit, as
so many tourists do.
For More Information:
Gabler's
Shore Restaurant
2200 Perryman Road
Aberdeen, MD 21001
410-272-0626 (fax)
Costas
Inn
4100 North Point Blvd
Baltimore, MD 21222
410-477-1975 (tel)
410-477-9816 (tel)
410-477-2464 (fax)
www.costasinn.com
Ocean
Pride Seafood
1534 York Road
Lutherville, MD 21093
410-321-7744 (tel)
410-823-2320 (fax)
Crab
Quarters
2909 Eastern Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21220
410-686-2222 (tel)
410-686-0343 (fax)
Mike's
Restaurant and Crab House
3030 Old Riva Rd.
Riva, MD 21140
410-956-2784 (tel)
www.mikescrabhouse.com
Jimmy
Cantler's Riverside Inn
458 Forest Beach Road
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-757-1311 (tel)
cantlers.com
Captain
Harvey's Crab House
11510 Reistertown Road
Owings Mills, MD 21117
410-356-6688 (tel)
410-356-6629 (fax)
Bo
Brooks Crab House at Lighthouse Point
2701 Boston St.
Baltimore, MD 21206
410-558-0202 (tel)
Gunning's
3901 S. Hanover St.
Baltimore, MD 21225
410-354-0085 (tel)
The
Original Gunning's Seafood Restaurant
7304 Parkway Drive
Hanover, MD 21076
410-712-9404 (tel)
410-712-9603 (fax)
Bohager's
701 South Eden St.
Baltimore, MD
410 563-7220 (tel)
www.bohagers.com
Obrycki's
1727 East Pratt St.
Baltimore, MD 21231
410-732-6399 (tel)
http://www.obryckis.com
David Rosengarten has been passionate about food,
wine and cooking his entire life. He is the publisher of the unique,
info-crammed Rosengarten Report, which presents in-depth analyses of
everything from BBQ ribs to European travel to South American Syrahs. To
order a subscription, log on to
www.davidrosengarten.com or call toll-free (866) 321-7654.
Back to
TravelLady Magazine |