Open since 1944, this historic restaurant in the Fells Point neighborhood of Baltimore specializes in spiced Maryland blue crabs. While locals regard it as an expensive tourist trap, the restaurant is spacious enough to accommodate groups with reliably tasty crab dishes in enough preparations to suit most picky eaters.

Though steamed shrimp, clams and scallops are delicious bets, no order at Obrycki's is complete without some crab. From spicy crab soup to deviled crab balls and backfin crab cakes, this sprawling warehouse restaurant, open from March through November, cooks up varieties of crab to suit almost any taste.

Get a taste of the restaurant's different starters with a combination of different dishes. The house appetizer for two combines buttery clams casino, small round versions of the deviled crab cake entree, fried clam strips and shrimp steamed in the spicy crab seasoning. Obrycki's makes two types of crab cakes. The standard backfin cakes are more popular with little filler and the best quality crab meat, but the spicy deviled cakes are a savory alternative. Sauteed lump crab meat comes in an iron skillet doused in butter and the restaurant's famous seasoning. Heavy batter overpowers the delicate soft shell crabs, but the deep-fried shrimp stuffed with crab meat are a good dish.

Those who aren't embarrassed to tie on a bib and get their hands dirty should look no further than the signature hard-shell crabs with the restaurant's "magical" seasoning. The waitresses are happy to show newcomers how to wield their mallets before digging into the delicate crabs. As for washing it down, the seasoning goes surprisingly well with the house lager. For those who don't like seafood, the restaurant also dishes up New York strip steaks, grilled chicken and Philly cheesesteaks.

--Erin Hartigan (April, 2006)