Price's Seafood, Havre de Grace

[ol_ironstomach]

If you want good crabs.. go to Prices Seafood in Havre de Grace MD in Harford county (where I grew up). Its a crab shack but a family run place thats small and crabs are delivered daily from local fisherman.

Chef Willis' tip came in handy after a thrilling morning ride in a biplane - we were HONGRY and a bit lost among the bars lining the main streets of HdG. But stroll up to the north end of town, past the American Legion post and under the railway bridge, and follow the water for a short block to get to this local landmark for a taste of Maryland past.

Price's Seafood (650 Water St., Havre de Grace, 410 939 2782) uses Maryland crab whenever possible, and they use it the old-fashioned way. Cream of crab soup isn't gratuitously viscous nor luxuriously riddled with jumbo lump, but a straight-up cream soup with a powerfully heady aroma of blue crab that can only come from using the claw and body meat as well. The crabcake is a generous patty, nicely fried on both sides; again, made the traditional way with cracker filler and a touch of mustard and mayo. Busted apart and spread on crackers with a tiny dab of tartar sauce, I'm reminded of how utterly delicious the non-fancy style of crabcake is, and also of just how far the folks over at Phillips have fallen with their ersatz crabmeat.

One surprise hit is the fish taco on the appetizer list. The flour tortilla could use an upgrade, but there's absolutely nothing to complain about the battered and freshly fried pieces of good rockfish, served with shredded cabbage, tomato, and a nice slice of avocado. You get two generously-sized tacos for less than six bucks, which has to be the best lunch deal in town.

They have limeade on the specials board right now, and it's unskimpy and potent. Too potent, really - I cut mine about 2:1 with ice water just to knock the sweetness down to a more refreshing level. Good stuff.

I didn't finish my hush puppies...decent flavor, but somewhat oily on the exterior and a bit dry on the interior.

[1000yregg]

Went to Price's last night for crabs- a pleasure. They have genuine Maryland crabs- it was all you can eat mediums for $30. In addition to their very nice Old Bay crabs, they had a black pepper crab as well which you could get as well.

I liked both flavors- ate 18 crabs.