Jim Hissong

I believe that when I am vacationing in DC the next two weeks that the crabs are in season. Any suggestions on a family restaurant that serves whole crabs and cakes for my family?

thanx

Joseph

Jim,

I don't know about DC but O'Bryckie's in Baltimore is fabulous; there's also Fred's in Annapolis.

lynn

Hi Jim: The best crabcakes in the region are in Southern Maryland at a restaurant called "Stoneys". There are 2 locations: One is on Broomes Island and is a waterfront restaurant. Chesapeake Bay Life, the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun have all rated this restaurant THE BEST crabcakes in the area. They are made with jumbo lump crabmeat and the large ones are 9 ounce cakes; the smaller ones are 4-5 ounces.

Stoneys has a second location in the Fox Run Shopping Center in Prince Frederick, Maryland.

There are no crabhouses in DC - you would have to travel to Southern Maryland or to Baltimore. The previous post is correct about O'Bryckie's - I grew up in Baltimore and we ate there many times. Fred's is nice also.

In Southern Maryland there is Copsey's on Route 5, and Captain Leonard's also on Route 5, both in the Mechanicsville area.

Either way, you will need to rent a car. Try both areas. And there is nothing in Virginia that can compare to either place.

Alex

You can certainly go over to Alexandria to Ernie's Crab House on Fern St. (off Quaker Lane, off Shirley Hwy/I395, near Lindsay Cadillac). It's a great neighborhood/family place with entirely decent crabs, and not so far as all those Md. places from DC. There's another crabhouse just outside the DC line in suburban MD but someone else will have to supply the name.

Cindy

Bethesda Crab House in downtown Bethesda, on Bethesda Avenue (?) maybe 3 miles north of the District line. Lots of character; they have newspapers as tablecloths for all of the mess you will make. I recall you will be asked if you want pricey, large, sumptuous crabs, or inexpensive, dinky, pitiful crabs that aren't nearly as much fun. You decide (although the difference isn't really all that significant). I don't know if they serve crabcakes. Call first to confirm they have crabs. I neglected to call once, and they had no crabs and an empty restaurant.

Gail

Just for fun- You should try the docks in downtown Washington- Its a permanent floating seafood market, and you can get anything- Some of the venders cook for you right there. There are a few stand-up tables, so you can eat in the open- also quite a few seafood restaurants front the water just next door, Hogates has been there for 40 years (at least!).