Maryland Crab

Island View Waterfront Cafe is the kind of place that's made for summer. But that doesn't mean a wintertime visit is a bad idea. On a recent Friday night - cold and rainy - the summertime crowds were nowhere to be found. But the service was personable and efficient, the food comforting, and the space, with its Chesapeake tchotchkes and antique decoys, as charming as a seaside cottage. Located at the end of a long road in Essex, on a tip of land jutting out into the Chesapeake Bay near Hart-Miller Island, Island View Waterfront Cafe was built in 1920, originally as a dance hall and picnic spot for people escaping the city in the summer.

For many Marylanders, there is no more perfect meal than a pile of steamed crabs or a well-made crab cake (light on filler, please). These straightforward crab preparations are everywhere: on restaurant menus and backyard tables, especially in the summer months. Their simplicity shows off crabmeat's sweet, delicate flavor and tender texture. But Maryland's crabby culinary history runs deeper than newspaper-covered tables and piles of discarded shells. Not long ago, restaurant menus listed numerous crab dishes, and home cooks were familiar with dozens of ways to incorporate crabs into meals, from casseroles to imperials.

Is your Maryland crab cake true blue? Only a small number of restaurants in Maryland reliably make their crab cakes from local crabmeat, and the state does not require restaurants to identify the specific source of the meat in crab cakes. True Blue, a new  labeling and promotion initiative from The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), hopes to give restaurants that do use Maryland crabmeat a claw up on those that fill their crab cakes with inexpensive imported meat from Indonesia and Venezuela.

Heading to a crab house for a feast is fun, but nothing beats an afternoon of crabs in the backyard. Here are some tips for planning a feast of your own: Dress the part: Crab feasts are a dirty business; expect to get messy. Jen Harris, an upstate New York native who moved to Baltimore in 2010, learned this the hard way at her first crab feast. "Do not wear a dry clean-only blouse with white jeans," she warns. "Wear clothing you don't care about. " Set the table: Long, outdoor tables are ideal for crab feasting, but any table covered in newspaper or brown paper will do. Set mallets, knives and rolls of paper towels within easy grabbing distance of pickers (experienced pickers will appreciate bowls of water for hand-rinsing, too)

Crab soup is like mother's milk to Marylanders, who are likely to begin any seafood feast with a cup of steaming tomatoes and vegetables that are host to chunks of gleaming crab meat. Cream of crab soup, with its thick base of cream and its hint of sherry, certainly has its devotees. But there is something common, and comforting, about the spicy vegetable soup, especially at harvest time. Overripe tomatoes, the last of the Maryland sweet corn, fresh beans and limas and our old friend Old Bay make this soup a winner - literally - at seafood festivals and cooking contests.

More than 50 restaurants have signed onto the Maryland's 'True Blue' certification program and marketing campaign. Launched this spring by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the 'True Blue' certification program allows restaurants serving DNR-verified Maryland blue crab products to use a special logo in marketing or advertising the product. 'True Blue' wasn't so much designed to convert restaurant owners and diners to Maryland crab meat as it was to help diners who want Maryland crab meat find restaurants that serve it. “We're not saying that imported crab meat can't be delicious,” said DNR Fisheries Marketing Director Steve Vilnit when the program was announced.

Picture a steamed crab encrusted with Old Bay seasoning, an ear of Silver Queen corn, a cold Natty Boh served with a handful of Utz potato chips - and a hot summer night in Baltimore leaps to mind. Step back, though, and the relationship between food and place becomes less fixed. Today, the crabs may come from Thailand, the "Silver Queen" is probably a more durable variety with a less-resonant name, and National Bohemian, once the Baltimore Orioles' "official" beer, now is brewed in North Carolina.

The Maryland Crab and Oyster Celebration continues through Sunday. Look for chefs' specials featuring Maryland crab and oyster at some 20 restaurants. Alewife is dishing up a smoked tomato gazpacho topped with Maryland crab and roasted corn relish; Charleston is serving Cindy Wolf's signature cornmeal-fried oysters with lemon-cayenne mayonnaise; and Ryleigh's Oyster in Federal Hill is offering anywhere from seven to 14 varieties of raw oysters every day. For a full list of participating restaurants, along with their special menu items, go to the Dine Downtown Baltimore website . Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood

SHEILA LUKINS HAS made a considerable impact on the great wide world of cuisine. She has written several cookbooks, including "The Silver Palate Cookbook" (Workman, 1982), a tremendously successful work that, among other innovations, called for soaking chicken in a marinade that combined prunes and olives.In the narrow world of Maryland crab-cake making, however, she may be remembered as the woman who advocated putting lobster, capers and orange zest in crab cakes. That is what her new cookbook, "U.S.

AND SO WE come to these imponderables: Is the world - or, at least, the Eastern Shore - ready for the McDonald's crab cake? Can we accept it both as concept and as something one actually might eat? Can the Golden Arches, symbol of ubiquity and sameness in American fast-food culture, find success by offering a beloved native dish on its menu? Will customers craving a quarter-pounder with cheese opt for a 3.5-ounce crab cake sandwich instead? The operators of at least 35 McDonald restaurants in Maryland, Virginia and southern Delaware will get the answers to these and other intriguing questions this summer.

April 1 is the official start to the blue crab harvest in Maryland. But don't reach for your mallet just yet. "It's not time for crabs," said Jessica Borowski, a manager at Midtown BBQ and Brew. "It's too cold out. " The crabs seem to agree. The Chesapeake Bay's water temperature hasn't risen enough for the crabs to become active - and catchable. Consumers set on Maryland crabs will see limited availability for now - and prices to match. Prices for Chesapeake Bay crabs are typically high at the start of the season, and people who want them in April will have to pay even more than usual.

Remember how everyone threw on all their purple and hauled their spirited selves down to the Harbor Monday to see the Ravens off? Well, the "Today Show" folks are hoping at least some of them will be back there Friday as they film live to show off Baltimore's Super Bowl pride. Natalie Morales will be representing the 'Today' crew at the Inner Harbor amphitheater from 7 to 10 a.m. while Al Roker does the same thing from San Francisco. They'll want to see screaming, passionate fans of purple.

Island View Waterfront Cafe is the kind of place that's made for summer. But that doesn't mean a wintertime visit is a bad idea. On a recent Friday night - cold and rainy - the summertime crowds were nowhere to be found. But the service was personable and efficient, the food comforting, and the space, with its Chesapeake tchotchkes and antique decoys, as charming as a seaside cottage. Located at the end of a long road in Essex, on a tip of land jutting out into the Chesapeake Bay near Hart-Miller Island, Island View Waterfront Cafe was built in 1920, originally as a dance hall and picnic spot for people escaping the city in the summer.

If you were choosing an official Maryland sandwich based on popularity, there'd be no contest. The crab cake would beat the soft-shell crab sandwich every time. So, if the General Assembly enacts a bill this session that makes the soft-shell crab sandwich (rather than, say, the crab cake) the state sandwich of Maryland, it would be the biggest state symbol upset since the Wye Oak toppled in 2002. Some Marylanders are supporting the undercrab. "I love them. It is kind of iconic for the region," said John Shields, whose restaurant, Gertrude's, is a citadel of Chesapeake cooking.

When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. Where: Marvin F. Wilson Stadium, Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex, Landover Coaches: Anthony Burgos (Franklin), Baltimore; Lance Clelland (South River), Washington Last meeting: Washington won, 14-6 Series: Washington leads, 3-1 KEY LOCAL PLAYERS TO WATCH Baltimore : Deryk Kern, QB, Westminster; Michael Anderson, ATH, Howard; Reggie Ellis, ATH, Franklin; Derrick Kittrell, ATH, New Town; Bradley Metcalf, ATH, Westminster; Keyon Pinnock, ATH, Atholton; Eric Latham, RB, Perry Hall; Isaiah Gillis, WR, Harford Tech; Donnie Knox, C, Century; Brady Orem, C, Franklin; Alec Auwaerter, OG, St. Paul's; Ned Emala, OG, Gilman; Sam Evans, OG, Loyola; Dariz Hill, OG, Dunbar; Moise Larose, OT, Wilde Lake; J.P. McManus, OT, Calvert Hall; Marvin Gross, DE, Dunbar; Nik D'Avanzo, DT, Archbishop Curley; Frank Kozlowski, DT, North Harford; Mike Jones , DB, Milford Mill; Kyle McEachern, DB, Milford Mill; DeAndre' Lane, DB, Catonsville; Wyatt Dickerson, S, Gilman; Kennedy Frazier, S, Calvert Hall; Stephan Osong, S, River Hill; Jay Patti, K, Hereford Washington : Connor Cox, QB, South River; Jack Gordon, QB, Arundel; Lavon Chaney, ATH, South River; Kevin Johnson , OL, Meade; Fiyin Makinde, OG, St. Vincent Pallotti; Michael Minter, OT, Severna Park; Malik Dorsey, DT, Meade; Mike Williams, DT, Archbishop Spalding; Elvis Dennah, LB, Annapolis Area Christian; Perez Mackell, DB, Annapolis Area...

The Maryland Crab and Oyster Celebration continues through Sunday. Look for chefs' specials featuring Maryland crab and oyster at some 20 restaurants. Alewife is dishing up a smoked tomato gazpacho topped with Maryland crab and roasted corn relish; Charleston is serving Cindy Wolf's signature cornmeal-fried oysters with lemon-cayenne mayonnaise; and Ryleigh's Oyster in Federal Hill is offering anywhere from seven to 14 varieties of raw oysters every day. For a full list of participating restaurants, along with their special menu items, go to the Dine Downtown Baltimore website . Follow Baltimore Diner on Twitter @gorelickingood

If there's a great view of Fourth of July fireworks from your restaurant, why not make a party out of it? And if you've got an absolutely amazing view and can get away with charging a premium, I say go for it. It's the American Way. These restaurants really do have a view worth the trouble: •The Rusty Scupper (402 Key Highway, 410-727-3678, selectrestaurants.com/rusty) hosts its annual Fourth of July celebration from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. in its Topside Lounge and upper-deck areas.

Good old Rusty Scupper. The Inner Harbor restaurant with the sweeping views opened way back in 1982. It has grown. Two major renovations have added private rooms and a 1,200-bottle wine cellar. In commemoration of its 30th anniversary, the Rusty Scupper is offering a fixed-price, two-course lunch for $19.82. The special, which runs until the end of April, features items from the restaurant's original menu. Appetizer choices include a cup of cream of crab soup, a cup of Maryland crab soup, Scupper house salad and a traditional Caesar salad.

'Ravens Tailgate Party' Celebrate the start of the football season with food, games, music and more at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, at the Elkridge Senior Center, 6540 Washington Blvd. Information: 410-313-5192. Crab feast Join a bus trip to the Fisherman's Inn Crab Deck in Grasonville on the Eastern Shore for a crab feast. The bus leaves at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 21, from the Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401 Frederick Road. The all-you-can-eat menu includes steamed crabs, Maryland crab soup, chicken tenders, coleslaw, corn on the cob, hush puppies, dessert, iced tea, soda and draft beer.

Eat Maryland crab meat and win a prize. Throughout September, diners who eat at restaurants participating in Maryland's True Blue program can win a pair of tickets to the Mermaid's Kiss Oyster Fest, an after-hours celebration of Maryland seafood on Oct. 3 at the National Aquarium in Baltimore . Launched this spring by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the True Blue program allows restaurants serving DNR-verified Maryland blue...