Does a Grown Man Need to Wear a Bib to Eat Here?
Written: Jan 24 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Steamed jumbo jimmie crabs with a peppery edge
Cons: Be careful in nearby neighborhoods
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Baltimore |
If there's a state food in Maryland, it's got to be steamed crabs. Not just any crabs, but Chesapeake Bay blue crabs. Oh sure, some low-life restaurant owners will sometimes import crabs from exotic, far off lands, like North Carolina or Louisiana, but real Maryland restaurants with any degree of decency and self-respect will insist that only the Chesapeake Bay crab is fit for human consumption.
Sadly, economic realities and the vagueries of local harvests being what they are, it is increasingly rare to find any place in the state that still insists on only local crabs. Obrycki's in Baltimore is one such place. In fact, they close the entire restaurant for several months each year during the period when its impossible to get real Chesapeake blues.
Obrycki's is a real Baltimore landmark, located on Pratt Street just off Broadway in the Fells Point area. The immediate neighborhood is somewhat dark, and not the safest place in town, so take a taxi there, or park your car in Obrycki's lot across the street from the restaurant. I do not recommend parking a few blocks away and walking.
The building's exterior is somewhat ordinary and unappealing, but once inside, the restaurant is big, modern and bright. Obrycki's is popular with locals, and if you go on a Friday night in June, you can expect to wait for a table. Once you get your table, the waiters will come and lay down newspapers or brown craft paper. This is the nature of eating crabs. They'll also give you a big paper bib to wear -- without it, you're sure to leave wearing a badge of crab seasonings!
When the waiters come around to ask what you want, what do you say? Well, if you're a real Marylander, you know that male crabs -- called "jimmies" -- are preferred, and that the bigger the better. Big males will also do the most damage to your expense account, but purists will tell you they're worth it. Jumbo males are what I'd get ("A dozen number 1 jimmies, please").
Obrycki's crabs are a bit different from the crabs you get at most places around town. Sure, they're the real deal -- Chesapeake blues -- but the seasoning is different. It's not just Old Bay (the greatest spice known to civilized man). Every city in Maryland that's worth a spot on a map has a crab house, and most of them use Old Bay -- it's what most people in Maryland expect. But Obrycki's spice is a bit different -- it's more peppery than the familiar orange Old Bay (which gets its flavor mostly from celery salt).
If you're a stranger to the Chesapeake region, you'll need a lesson in how to eat crabs. The waiter will give you some hints if you need them, but it's not that tough. You can tear off the claw, and bending it back will often snap off a huge bit of meat with it. You can whack the claw with a mallet if you wish, but not too hard or you'll get little splinters of claw all over the place and mash the tender white meat inside. Next, you peel back the center spine of the crab's underside (called the "key") and snap it off. You should now be able to lift the top of the shell off, completely intact. Most people scrape away the guts, the lungs, and the yellow goo, called "mustard" -- you can eat all of this stuff, if you're brave (and people do it all the time without thinking when they get their soft-shell crabs). Then it's time to pick the tender meat from inside. It's a lot of work, but every morsel is pure ambrosia!
You can't get full from eating crabs. It takes more calories to pick them apart than you'd get from the meat! Most folks would order side dishes to go with them, such as corn on the cob, or cornbread. Of course you need some beer too! Obrycki's offers up some local microbrews -- give 'em a try!
Eating crabs isn't really dinner. It's more of a celebration -- a fun time to socialize and get a few knicks and scratches in your hand that can then sting from the salt. But that doesn't matter so much. You've got beer to numb your pain and good friends to help you laugh about it...that's what crabs are about!
Recommended:
Yes
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