Kent Island Maryland

Smackdown: Maine lobster vs. Maryland crab

St. Michaels, Md. 

Chatting about crab houses with a Marylander is like talking politics or religion: Opinions fly, but few minds are changed.

A draw at The Crab Claw Restaurant  (410-745-2900; thecrabclaw.com ) off the Chesapeake Bay on the Miles River in the cute tourist town of St. Michaels is crab feasts — a proud Maryland tradition. "If he doesn't kick, we don't cook," proclaims a sign assuring crabs are fresh. They're steamed, then presented to be pounded with wooden mallets at paper-covered tables inside or on a deck overlooking the water. Discarded shells pile foot-high. Rolls of paper towels serve as napkins. Tour buses park. The Claw's so popular it doesn't need to accept credit cards.

Downing delicious crab bits with melted butter, Old Bay seasoning and vinegar is a messy social ritual. "Too much work" for the amount of meat retrieved, says Stern, no longer a fan of cracking crabs. As for the Claw's crab cake, a secret family recipe that's won many awards? Fine but not divine on a recent day, served with cole slaw, fries and a packet of Kraft tartar sauce rather than homemade.

For crab cakes, Stern suggests The Narrows Restaurant  (410-827-8113; thenarrowsrestaurant.com ), near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge . Step inside the waterside building — more upscale than most crab joints — and ask to be seated on the glassed-in porch. Watch sloops glide by and herons fly. Order an award-winning jumbo lump crab cake ($17.95 with one side at lunch, $18.95 at dinner), and try not to wolf down the golden-brown broiled dome kissed with mayo, mustard and Worcester and Tabasco sauce. Like the best crab cakes, it has virtually no filler — just a bit of cracker meal.

About an hour's drive south in the hamlet of Hurlock, via roads that pass cornfields, another worthy cake awaits. The Suicide Bridge Restaurant  broiled version (410-943-4689; suicidebridge.com ) has a crispier, paprika-dusted crust, is spicier thanks to Old Bay and is my companion's favorite. A jumbo lump crabcake is $18.95 and includes sides. Diners sit at tables topped with maps of the Chesapeake and overlook the bridge that gives the eatery its eerie name. According to the tale on place mats, the bridge has been the site of a half-dozen suicides.

Historic Old Post Office-Stevensville MD

Thern end of Kent Island known as Kent Point.

You can visit the Historic Post Office or can you visit me.  Hi, I'm Lisa Longest at Exit Gold Realty.  I specialize in real estate services, that include "green" services.  So if you have any real estate needs in Stevensville Md or surrounding areas, or know someone that does, just give me a call at 443-786-4200 or email me www.lisalongest@exitgoldrealty.

Kent Island, Maryland, a developmental study

The English statutes in Maryland

Remembering Kent Island, stories from the Chesapeake

Congressional edition

Frommer's Maryland and Delaware