2 Annapolis Restaurants Make Best Seafood Dives List

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Maryland diners know their seafood, what’s fresh, what’s honest-to-goodness blue crab, and what restaurants serve ‘em up best.

Coastal Living magazine has jumped into the fray, naming the Best Seafood Dives in Maryland.

These are neighborhood favorites known for their seafood menu.

The magazine says: “If seafood dives were divided into boxing categories, Maryland would punch heavweight. Home of some of the most famous crab feasting the world has ever seen, this Chesapeake-blessed state is the home of not only superlative crab joints, but a host of fantastic seafood dives.”

A couple of Annapolis area joints made the list.

No. 2 on the list is Cantler's Riverside Inn, 458 Forest Beach Road in Annapolis. For four decades the waterfront restaurant and crab house has been serving fresh seafood to watermen, boaters, and land lovers, its website says. Located along Mill Creek and minutes from Annapolis City Dock, it offers Maryland blue crab, crab cakes, clams, oysters and more seafood.

The magazine authors gush of the inn: “Blue crabs in all their glorious manifestations form the heart of the menu. Try the stuffed rockfish bursting with Lump Crab Imperial. For purists: go for the fresh and hot steamers.

At No. 6 is Davis’ Pub, 400 Chester Ave. in Annapolis. The magazine says: “This comfortable neighborhood bar with a view of boat-filled Back Creek has fantastic crab cakes, made with crackers instead of breadcrumbs.”

The restaurant says of its Crab Cake Sandwich, a pub favorite, “We use the classic 1940s Old Bay™ tin recipe with all backfin crab meat.” Yum.

Where do you find the best local crab? Which restaurant has the tastiest crab dish? Tell us in comments.

Maryland should have a great blue crab harvest this summer, state officials said in April, with crab numbers up significantly.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources released its 2016 Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, which show another year of growth in the stock of the Chesapeake Bay crab population and bodes well for a better harvest this year.

The survey shows a bay-wide crab population of 553 million, a 35-percent increase over last year. This is the fourth highest level in two decades, and builds on last year’s 38-percent boost in crab numbers.

The 2015 bay-wide crab harvest increased by 42 percent over 2014 to 50 million pounds and remained at sustainable levels for the eighth consecutive year, the survey said. Combined with increased abundance, a slight liberalization of harvest limits for female crabs may be warranted this summer, officials said.

“Our experts will now discuss the survey results with our internal and external stakeholders,” Fisheries Service Director Dave Blazer said in a release. “Any modest adjustment to the current regulations, be it season length or bushel limit, will be considered only after the department receives input from all parties.”

The dredge survey is the primary assessment of the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population. Biologists use dredge equipment to capture, measure, record and release blue crabs at 1,500 sites throughout the bay from December through March. Crabs tend to bury in the mud over the cold winter months, which makes it possible for scientists to develop accurate estimates of the number of crabs.