Maryland's Best Food and Drink For 2018: Popular Website

BALTIMORE, MD — It's a given that Maryland's finest food involves its native blue crab and Old Bay. But which restaurant serves it up the best? And what other foods should you explore. The popular food site The Daily Meal has answers for you.

The website has provided what it considers the "complete" guide of the best food and drink in Maryland for 2018. With 2017 coming to a close, the Daily Meal says it rounded up venues in the state that showcase seafood and much more.

"When you ask someone what the best food in Maryland is, everyone’s go-to answer is the blue crab. Encrusted in Old Bay Seasoning, steamed, sautéed, or crafted into a cake, blue crab from Maryland has adopted many forms," the Daily Meal says. "However, there are more delicacies than that to enjoy in Maryland — if you know where to look."

Maryland’s cuisine has a lot to offer in terms of stellar cold beer and a world-class crab cake, the authors say, but it’s got a crazy dessert scene, too, such as The Smith Island Cake featuring up to 14 layers of moist yellow cake layered with smears of chocolate frosting.

Here are Maryland's top bars and eateries in each category, and The Daily Meal's justification for distinguishing them:

• Best Chinese Restaurant: Peter Chang’s China Café in Rockville, where a wide variety of Chinese specialties are prepared with care
• Best Craft Brewery: The Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick produces 100,000 barrels of unique and delicious beer annually
• Best French Fries: Thrasher’s in Ocean City serves fries by the bucket, and famously offers cider vinegar instead of ketchup
• Best Pizza: Johnny Rad’s in Baltimore, a casual skater hangout with some seriously creative and delicious pies
• Best Sandwich: The pit beef at Chaps in Baltimore is one of the best roast beef sandwiches you’ll every eat

Best Bar: The Brewer’s Art (Baltimore)

"Famous for its Belgian-style ales. ... there are six house-brewed beers offered, as well as plenty of options for non-beer drinkers: the bar serves several bourbon cocktails such as the Stein (Buffalo Trace bourbon, citrus black tea syrup, Charm City Meadworks honey, and cardamom bitters)."

Best Chinese Restaurant: Peter Chang’s China Café, Rockville

"Try Chang's famous scallion bubble pancakes with curry sauce, and/or the Sichuan-style dry-fried eggplant, spicy dan dan noodles, fried boneless whole fish with pine nuts, pigs’ feet stir-fried with dried chiles and Sichuan peppercorns, and most anything on the “Chefs’ Specialties” section of the menu."

Best Craft Brewery: Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick

Originally opened as the Flying Dog Brewpub in Aspen, the brewery is now housed in a state-of-the-art facility in Maryland that produces over 100,000 barrels annually. "While the beer speaks for itself, Flying Dog’s iconic labels also have a fascinating history. When co-founder George Stranahan was introduced to English artist Ralph Steadman by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson (who lived down the road from the brewery in a “fortified compound” in Aspen), he met the man who’d create his bottles’ unique look, beginning with the Road Dog Porter."

Best Cupcake: Flavor Cupcakery & Bake Shop, Bel Air

"Though the cupcakes at Flavor are undoubtedly gorgeous, its no-frills, all-flavor attitude has landed it a loyal local base. Its triumphant win on season four of Cupcake Wars didn’t hurt either. The cupcakery surprises guests daily with a unique cupcake of the day and offers tasty flavors patrons can count on, like mint Oreo and Boston cream."

Best Dive Bar: BAR, Baltimore

"When a place is called simply BAR, you know it’s a true dive. That’s certainly the case for BAR in Baltimore. The décor is simple, just vinyl-covered stools and a black and white checkered floor. The beers are dirt cheap, especially the Natty Light, and the bartenders are crabby. Just drink your beer, do your shot, and leave."

Most Expensive Restaurant: Charleston, Baltimore

"Open since 1997, restaurateur Tony Foreman and chef Cindy Wolf’s Charleston has been the go-to destination for well-to-do Baltimoreans. The tasting-menu-only restaurant’s prices start at $79 for three courses ($135 with wine pairings), and stretch up to $124 for six ($212 with wine pairings)."

Best Seafood Shack: Woody’s Crab House, North East

"At Woody’s Crab House, you can expect to find local Maryland blue crabs crawling all over the menu. ... Woody’s is known for its Chesapeake Bay-sourced dishes, and its award-winning crab cakes are made fresh every day from jumbo lump crab meat."

Best Steakhouse: Lewnes’ Steakhouse, Annapolis

Dubbed an Annapolis legend, the menu features steakhouse classics like shrimp cocktail or "stellar jumbo lump crab balls, follow it up with a New York strip or rib-eye with some hash browns and sautéed spinach, and chase it down with a selection from their ample wine list. A couple Greek specialties, like garides scortholemono (Aegean-style shrimp) and a popular Greek salad, are nods to the owners’ heritage."

See: Complete List: The Best Food and Drink in Maryland 2018

Read the whole report here.

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