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Getting Crabby at the Quarterdeck

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My mother is from Baltimore, Maryland, and there's no food more Maryland than hard shell crabs. When I was growing up, it wasn't summer without at least one—if not more than one—stop at a crab restaurant for a crustacean feast.

Mom's a crab-picking expert. While it's not hard to pick the meat out of the shells, you have to have a knack for it, and you definitely need to have patience. It takes time, and it takes work. Most people give up after three or four crabs, but Mom can pick a dozen in a sitting without batting an eyelash.

I wasn't a big fan of picking hardshells when I was little. I preferred it when Mom would pick out some of the backfin lump meat for me, or when she'd pass me some of the claws so I could suck out small bits of sweet meat. But one summer while I was in college, when I was working as a camp counselor, the camp held a crab feast for all the counselors, and I got past my sense of ick long enough to discover that I, too, had a pretty fair propensity for picking crabs. It helped that there was a cute boy I was trying to impress, but even though the boy never panned out to much, ever since, I join the ranks of crab-pickers every summer.

This year, I discovered a place right in my neighborhood that gets it exactly right. The Quarterdeck, which is located at 1200 Fort Myer Drive in Arlington, isn't close to any ocean, but is one of the best crab shacks around. They understand that liberal use of Old Bay seasoning is required when steaming crabs—the peppery seasoning is what really makes the difference.

The best place to eat the crabs is out on the Quarterdeck's patio, where tables are scattered around two sides of the building. Make reservations by calling 703-528-2722 before you go, because on beautiful summer afternoons, groups take up the tables quickly. Order a dozen crabs to start, or go for the all-you-can-eat feast for $26.95. After the steaming time is up, waiters will bring the crabs to you on trays and dump them onto the butcher paper that covers each table. Find your favorite condiment stashed in the shell buckets—some people like to add even more Old Bay, others like to dip the meat in vinegar, others dip the meat in drawn butter. I tend to be a purist—there's usually plenty of spice on my hands by the time I start picking that I don't need more, and dipping just takes away from the picking time. But I do like the vinegar, too.

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