A Truly Great Crabcake

Two days ago SallyAnn and I drove to Annapolis where I received the first of my two COVID-19 vaccine injections.  Two days earlier we made the same trip so she could get hers.  It is a thirty minute drive from our home on the edge of Washington, DC and an easy trip in light mid-day traffic.  The injections went without a hitch and it goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that we are both very happy to be vaccinated and look forward to returning to Annapolis for the second round of injections in a month. 

We took the opportunity of being in Annapolis to treat ourselves to a celebratory take-away lunch from O’Brien’s Oyster Bar and Seafood Tavern, one of our favorite eateries in our very historic state capital on the shores of Chesapeake Bay.  Located at 113 Main Street adjacent to the City Dock, the building housing O’Brien’s has a long and varied history.  Built in 1774, it first housed the Rose & Crown Tavern when Annapolis was an important colonial port, and later Maryland’s capital.  The Maryland State House, just up the hill on Main Street, is where the 1783 Treaty of Paris was ratified on January 14, 1784 thereby ending the Revolutionary War between Great Britain and the United States by recognizing American independence and establishing the boundaries of the new nation.  From November 26, 1783, to August 13, 1784 it housed the US government thereby serving as the first peacetime capital of the United States until it moved to New York City.  On December 23, 1783, George Washington came to the State House to resign his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and establishing civilian authority over the military.  His decision prompted King George to say "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world."  Washington returned to private life at his Mount Vernon, Virginia plantation until his election as president on April 30, 1789. 

Over time 113 Main Street has been synonymous with various taverns, eateries and other establishments catering to captains and sailors, merchants and businessmen, legislators and lobbyists.  Word has it that the upstairs was at one time a house of ill-repute.  Fran O’Brien (1936-1999), an offensive tackle with the former Washington Redskins, bought the building in the 1970's and opened O’Brien’s which is decorated with memorabilia from his football career (has also played in Cleveland and Pittsburgh), the sports heroes of the nearby Naval Academy, and the history of Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay. 

We have been eating at O’Brien’s for several decades . . . our go-to spot for lunch when we are in town . . . and we have come to the easy conclusion that they serve the best cream of crab soup . . . period.   The only other that comes close is served at Cooper’s Tavern, in Baltimore’s Fell’s Point neighborhood (another favorite).  And the Maryland crabcake (as a meal or a sandwich) is both very large and absolutely delicious; no fillers . . . just large chunks of succulent sweet crab meat shaped into a thick patty.  Other favorites are the oysters from the Choptank River on Maryland’s Eastern Shores along with excellent Middleneck clams and mussels.   Unfortunately these were not practical for takeaway but I look forward to our return when we can once again belly up to the bar for some nude oysters served over ice with a tall, cold beer.  And kudos to O’Brien’s for partnering with the Oyster Recovery Partnership, a locally based non-profit that designs and promotes restoration and repopulation strategies for the Chesapeake Bay and beyond.  Used shells, which are in short supply these days, are recycled to create and sustain oyster reefs.  They don’t belong in landfills.  Better to return them to the Bay.

We both ordered the soup and I had the crab cake while SallyAnn enjoyed a large crab pretzel.  We ate in our car parked at the end of the City Dock with a pleasant view of the harbor where it opens onto the Bay.  Not what we are used to but a treat just the same!!