Anonymous wrote:even if a restaurant advertises "blue crab," they're lying to you. We've polluted and overfished the bay. Most of the delicious crabs you eat at a summer crab shack comes from other places.

Indeed, though MD is doing a lot to counter this. Here's a list of restaurants in the area that pledge to server only real MD blue crab:
http://www.marylandseafood.org/true_blue.html

But again, it's out of season, so not much to be found right now anyway.

Bethesda Crab House is a good experience. Yes, MD crabs aren't in season, but at this time of year they have them flown in from the Gulf (of Mexico) region. Just call a day before to tell them how many dozen you'd like. It's not cheap, but it's an experience.

Oysters are indeed in season. Various restaurants will have them. There's a place on 14th street in DC, a few blocks south of U, that specializes in them. I'm clearly getting old as I can't remember the place now, but I think it even has "Oyster" in its name. In the summer, we've taken visitors to the Eastern Shore (St Michaels) and they have some restaurants there with local seafood, but I'm not sure the hours these places keep in winter -- check ahead.

Chaps is a bbq place in Baltimore. It's sort of unique and down-home, though not seafood: http://www.chapspitbeef.com/

Anonymous wrote:Maryland blue crabs seasoned with old bay. Crab cakes with old bay. Maryland crab soup, tomato broth based. Again with the old bay.

First, the crab season is in the summer, and second even if a restaurant advertises "blue crab," they're lying to you. We've polluted and overfished the bay. Most of the delicious crabs you eat at a summer crab shack comes from other places. So as close as LA, but as far away as India:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/09/03/maryland_crab_isn_t_from_maryland_chesapeake_crab_is_a_lie.html

Maryland food to me is Chinese in Rockville, Indian in Langley Park, and Ethiopian in DC.

"Maryland Food" = Eastern Shore or Baltimore. You're not going to find it in Mont. Cty. Crabs are not really in season right now, but oysters are. You're looking for a place with picinic tables covered in brown paper with a roll of brown paper towels on the table. You order your food and a pitcher of beer. Don't wear nice clothes, you're going to get butter on them.

If you want crab cakes, again, you need to head to Annapolis or Baltimore. Clydes does a nice job but you're missing the atmosphere. MD crab cakes have very little filler and are most the lumps of crab meat rather than the bits and pieces which can be held together with binder and filler.

Dancing crab, but it's in DC (which of course was carved from Maryland )

Bethesda Crab House?

Anonymous wrote:Good suggestions, but I was thinking of restaurants. Any MD-ish restaurants in MoCo?

8:21 answered this.

Good suggestions, but I was thinking of restaurants. Any MD-ish restaurants in MoCo?

Maryland blue crabs seasoned with old bay. Crab cakes with old bay. Maryland crab soup, tomato broth based. Again with the old bay.

Annapolis is easiest place to find it. And Baltimore. But you can try local seafood restaurants around here.

And if you want to be brave, scrapple is very popular in the Baltimore area. I think it's Amish, from PA. But I don't think folks in CA eat it, so it will be new.

Blue crab! Crap dip, crab soup, crab cakes. Not sure about where to go in Montgomery County, but the Clyde's restaurants usually have crab cakes.

French fries with Old Bay on them.

Utz potato chips.

Natty Boh.

If your sister visits in the summer, get fresh Silver Queen corn from a farm stand.

Ledos pizza

Berger cookies - get them at Giant. We took 20 boxes to Ohio last Christmas for people we visited and they were a huge hit.

Crisfield in Silver Spring.

Smith Island Cakes - available at Giant

My sis it visiting from California. What is "Maryland food" and where is the best place to get it in Montgomery County?

We have only been here a few months so we don't really know.