I love crab. Crab cakes, she-crab soup, deviled crab, cajun crab dip; what’s not to love? All this crab love but I’ve never been to an authentic Maryland crab feast. I finally got my chance last weekend when Sandy’s cousin got married in Cambridge, Md.
The ceremony was at a vacation home right on the water in Cambridge, Md. It was a short, non-traditional (read: hippie) ceremony. Short is the key word there. The ceremony was not more than ten minutes long and did not even require the guests to take a seat, in fact seats were not even provided for those outside of the wedding party. No complaints here, with the wedding out of the way we could get to the food and festivities.
First a note on attire, the dress was casual for the most part with everyone given instructions to bring clothes to change into as the activities would be almost entirely outdoors. On top of this the forecast was oppressively hot with a strong chance of rain. Summer + wedding = seersucker right? I stuck with this formula despite the warning of rain. The only change I made was ditching the white bucks for the more casual top siders.
- White OCBD shirt
- blue/white seersucker pants
- navy/green ribbon belt
- classic brown/white top siders
It was comfortable in the heat and given the nature of the wedding and the other guests, it was just formal enough without being overdressed. The beer is Yeungling for those that are curious and yes, it’s just coincidence that the bottle coordinates with the belt so nicely.
Things got decidedly more casual after the ceremony and when the crabs were brought out. The crab experience was pretty cool. It took some time to get used to opening them up but after a few crabs I wasn’t bad at it.
The crab feast works like this: the table is covered with paper for easy clean up, everyone is given a wooden mallet and a knife, and the crabs are pilled up in the center of the table. It is basically a free fall once the crabs out. Everyone grabs a crab, opens her up, and digs in. There was Old Bay and vinegar available for dipping. I wasn’t a fan of the vinegar but Old Bay is always appreciated.
Opening the crab wasn’t too hard once you learned the proper method. My hands were definitely sore after breaking apart the crabs but it was worth it. If you’ve never had fresh crab like this I recommend it. All the crabs we ate were Maryland caught. From what I heard they weren’t cheap either. Apparently Maryland crabs have been in rare supply over the last few years and a bushel was going for roughly $175! A bushel is about 7 or 8 dozen I think depending on the crab size.
It turned out to be a great trip. The weather held up with no rain. It felt terrific to be back near the water again and the drive was not bad at all. I was able to get the use of an Acura TSX complete with the navigation system and a sweet 6 speed manual transmission for the weekend which made the drive extra special. The crabs were tasty and I got to meet more of Sandy’s family. If you ever get an invite to a Maryland style crab feast I highly recommend attending.
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