From the very spawning of the idea of doing a coast to coast Food Tour of the United States, a trip to Maryland to sample the crab was present. The state is renowned for its blue crab, callinectes sapidus, and it is a major source of income for the state. In 1993 the harvest’s value was calculated at $100 million, though this dropped to $61 million by 2004 due to declining crab populations. Served in crab cakes or simply boiled, slathered in butter and garlic, this state crustacean is a delicious attraction, attracting both tourism and buyers to Maryland every year.
Are you surprised that we decided that it had to be an absolute must? Understandably eager, we called by a favourite local spot for all things crab: Waverly Crab House, in Baltimore, Maryland. The place is in a bit of an…iffy part of town and the exterior doesn’t exactly beam welcome. There are no tables; you pick up your crab and move on out. As fast as possible. Perhaps I’m being unfair, perhaps, in fact, it is a lovely area. Perhaps I wouldn’t know a ghetto if it came and did a Morris dance right in my face. But then again, perhaps it just was in the ghetto. However, we had heard epic things in our Lonely Planet and were determined to persevere.
Are you surprised that we decided that it had to be an absolute must? Understandably eager, we called by a favourite local spot for all things crab: Waverly Crab House, in Baltimore, Maryland. The place is in a bit of an…iffy part of town and the exterior doesn’t exactly beam welcome. There are no tables; you pick up your crab and move on out. As fast as possible. Perhaps I’m being unfair, perhaps, in fact, it is a lovely area. Perhaps I wouldn’t know a ghetto if it came and did a Morris dance right in my face. But then again, perhaps it just was in the ghetto. However, we had heard epic things in our Lonely Planet and were determined to persevere.
We ordered 3 medium sized crabs with a side of garlic butter. They arrived in a brown paper bag, covered in a Cajun spiced salt rub that, from a distance, looked a little like dirty sand. Not exactly appealing though licked fingers proved otherwise. On enquiring whether we would require shellfish crackers to get into the crab or whether it had already been cracked for us, the stony faced ‘crab-master’ told us that we needed none of that and could just eat it with our bare hands. A dubious claim. We spent about 15 minutes bashing the beasts against the bonnet of the car in utter vain and with minimal success beyond spraying ourselves and our rental Toyota with crab juice and salt. In the end in a display of epic primordial strength I managed to snap a few of the legs and get at the succulent flesh inside. Tasty, sweet and meaty. Not fishy at all – salty, rich. Sadly we couldn’t get into about 70% of the crab and so I can’t comment much more. I’m almost certain that inside the shack the proprietors were having a right old laugh at the silly two British girls they had managed to play a prank on.
A bit of a fail. Next time maybe.
A bit of a fail. Next time maybe.
