As the summer winds down, I feel like I am desperately trying to to squeeze in as many outdoor activities as possible, before my tan fades, the temperatures start dropping and I start complaining about wearing pants again. A must during the summer in this area is getting on a boat at some point. That had not happened yet for me this year, but luckily my wonderful Johanne sent me the following sweet text:
Well, at least you can count on your true friends to keep your ego down. So on an absolutely beautiful Sunday morning, I drove to Annapolis to meet up with Johanne and some of her friends from Columbia. They had rented a 22 foot boat, and seven of us hopped on, armed with Bud Light Limes, Coronas and seven bottles of sunscreen (white people). After spending the morning tubing, drinking, and swimming in the South River, we decided that we needed actual food to pad our stomachs in order to make it through the next few hours.
The pros in the group picked Mike’s Crab House, and we docked the boat and headed on their pier. This large, casual restaurant offers “traditional Maryland seafood” and with its location right on the water, is understandable packed during the summer with people wanting to enjoy crabs along the river. We lucked out and only waited for about five minutes before our buzzer rang, and we got were seated on a large picnic table outside, overlooking the water. Johanne and I were both starving at this point, so we immediately put in an order for crab dip and steamed shrimp before anyone else had even opened up a menu. These arrived fairly quickly, and we all dug in. The crab dip was served in a bread bowl, and they definitely did not skimp out on the large chunks of crab meat (which were covered in warm, gooey cheese). The shrimp was also good, cooked well and slightly salty.
Next up, we ordered three dozen raw oysters for the table. The large, briny oysters were slurped down easily by most of us, and we were ready for the main course: steamed jumbo crabs. We decided to start off with two dozen, and our server came around and prepped our table by covering it with paper before providing two rolls of paper towels, several pitchers of water, and plastic bowls of butter. Not too long after, our giant trays of crabs arrived:
I actually have not had crabs all summer, and I definitely made up for it by gorging myself with crabs here. They were seasoned to perfection, and the juicy meat was slightly sweet and oh so heavenly. I managed to finish off four of these bad boys, which included their crab brains as well, which apparently freaks/grosses everyone out. Good thing I didn’t let it phase me and just slurped up the discarded brains from everyone sitting within arm’s length of me. We all felt absolutely satisfied and happy at the end of the meal, and I thought the price for our meal (around $55 per person, which included drinks) was totally reasonable for the amount of food consumed. I would recommend Mike’s to anyone looking for a casual spot on a beautiful day to enjoy the Maryland’s specialty.
Is it time to eat yet? 