This restaurant is definitely off the beaten path. To get to it you drive through all kinds of different neighborhoods on winding roads that just seem to go on forever. As we rounded a corner to the restaurant we noticed a guy standing in the road talking to the cars ahead of us. We pulled up and he told us that the parking lots for the place were full and that we'd have to just wait in the car line until a parking spot opened up. I was a bit surprised that there was such a wait as early as it was but we decided to wait and see what happened. The guy suggested that one of us get out and walk up to the restaurant to put our name down and get a buzzer...and since Tony was driving that meant me. :)
I walked up and there was another line just to get in the door to get your name on the list for a table. It didn't take long, but when I asked how long the wait was she said it would be about an hour! I texted Tony because I wasn't sure he'd want to wait that long but in the end we decided we'd wait because we wouldn't be able to get anywhere else much quicker anyways since we'd driven so far out of the way...and there was nowhere for him to turn the van around with the narrow roads and people milling about all over the place.
We ended up only waiting about half an hour and then we were seated outside. It was in the 90's so it was quite warm outside, but under the covered portion of the deck it was decent. All of the seating is at picnic tables and we were plopped down right between two other parties. Our waiter came over and put some brown paper on our table, gave us a pitcher of water and took our order: a dozen medium male crabs ($50) and an order of their crab dip ($15). Tony also ordered a Sam Adams Summer Ale and I had to laugh a little when they brought him a can of beer and a little clear plastic cup! He's so used to either having draft or bottled beer that it was funny to see him get a can. We also ended up trying a Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy because the waiter accidentally brought Tony the wrong beer when he asked for another. I liked the shandy though because it really tasted like lemonade with some beer in it!
We only waited a few minutes before a woman came out of the indoor dining area carrying a tray of crabs meant for us. She had them on what resembled a school lunch tray and when we confirmed that we'd ordered a dozen mediums, she tilted the tray and dumped all the crabs right in the middle of our table.
It's been quite awhile since I've eaten crabs and it took me a minute to remember how to pick them, but I got the hang of it quickly and wow were they good! I kept finding the broken off claws and picking the meat out of them because they're much easier than pulling the meat from the crabs and the claws don't have any of that special dipping sauce that the body comes with! :) I think Tony ended up eating 8 crabs to my 4. He's a faster picker than me and I was too busy eating the crab dip! Let me tell you, if you ever go to Cantler's, make sure you order that dip! It was delicious!
It was nice being able to sit outside to eat and our view was lovely:
I thought it was super cool that some people were docking their boats right outside and walking up to the restaurant for dinner.
I'd totally recommend this place to anyone looking for a good place to get dinner. They offer more than just crabs but I'm not sure why anyone would order anything but that.
1 comment:
Spoken like a true Marylander.
Post a Comment