Southern Maryland is best known for crab shacks and barbecue joints, and with good reason. Every inlet seems to boast at least one crab place, and the main highways are lined with barbecue joints. A trip to the area isn't complete without at least one meal with a view of the water and another with the smell of burning hardwood.
Of course, dining in Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's counties isn't limited to these two Southern Maryland cuisines. There are elegant country inns, at least one really rocking diner, an Arts and Crafts food mecca, quaint tearooms and an increasing number of ethnic eateries. And there is hardly a new shopping center in the whole area that doesn't boast at least a Starbucks and either a Subway or Quizno's.
Restaurants are clustered in the major population centers -- Waldorf, Lexington Park, Solomons, the twin beaches area (North and Chesapeake beaches), St. Mary's City. These are some recommendations for dining:
ITALIAN: At the upscale northern Italian restaurant Gustavo's (6810 Crain Hwy., La Plata, 301-934-6200, www.gustavosristorante.com/), every meal begins with crusty Italian bread and proceeds to appetizers such as light and tender fried calamari or bruschetta topped with tomatoes and capers. The pastas are silken smooth and never overwhelmed by their sauce. Specials such as a tuna steak or veal chop are simply grilled, allowing the flavors to shine. A well-chosen wine list complements the fine cooking. DiGiovanni's Dock of the Bay (14556 Solomons Island Rd., Solomons, 410-394-6400, www.digiovannisrestaurant.com) sounds like the name of yet another seafood place, but it's actually an Italian restaurant with expertly prepared seafood dishes among others, such as filet mignon. But you can also get cream of crab soup and crab cakes. Mamma Maria's (2850 Crain Hwy., Waldorf, 301-374-2333) offers an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet every day until 2:30 p.m.
ASIAN: At the China Harbor Seafood Restaurant (13958 Solomons Island Rd., Solomons, 410-326-6888), owner Yvonne Lee has fashioned her menu to highlight duck and local specialties, including oysters. Crispy fried rockfish has become a favorite. Dishes come from a variety of Chinese regions, and China Harbor cooks them in an authentic manner, which means if it says the dish is spicy, it's apt to be really spicy. Just ask for a milder version.
Asahi Japanese Steak & Seafood House (22576 Macarthur Blvd., Suite 302, California, 301-866-9070) has a small sushi bar with excellent selections but specializes in the kind of grilled foods that made the Benihana chain famous. Two locations of the Washington area chain of Sakura Japanese Steak & Seafood Houses (3205 Plaza Way., Waldorf, 301-870-1666, and 106 Solomons Island Rd., Prince Frederick, 410-414-9005, www.sakurasteakhouse.com) offer similar cuisine. Thai Seafood & Grill (2732 Crain Hwy., Waldorf, 301-932-4388) also incorporates local seafood in an ethnic cuisine. There is a long menu of traditional Thai and vegetarian dishes, with a description of each and how fiery it is. For Indian cuisine, try Taste of India (131 Smallwood Village Center, Waldorf, 301-632-6999).
OTHER ETHNIC: For Greek food, try Ouzo's Greek & Regional Cuisine Restaurant (68 Drury Dr., La Plata, 301-392-9500, www.ouzos.com). The spare dining room with splashes of blue and white evokes the Greek islands. Southern Maryland locations of two Virginia-based chains offer a good selection of Mexican foods. La Tolteca (2708 Crain Hwy., Waldorf, 301-705-5353) is a Williamsburg-based chain that has limited its expansion so that only relatives and friends of the original owners operate its 13 locations. The menu is long, with seemingly endless combinations. The salsa is especially good. Mexico Restaurants (2936 Festival Way, Waldorf, 301-374-9337) is part of a Richmond-based chain.
BARBECUE: Charles County is the epicenter of Southern Maryland barbecue, with decades-old favorites like Johnny Boy's Ribs in La Plata, Randy's in Hughesville and Lefty's Bar-B-Que Unlimited in Waldorf. There are also roadside shacks that open only on weekends in out of the way locations known only to a few locals.
My current favorite Southern Maryland barbecue place is Piggy Wiggy's Barbecue in Dunkirk (10092 Southern Maryland Blvd. [Route 4], 410-257-4477). Don't be fooled by the strip mall location; this is the real thing (though I wish it did have a wooden screen door!). Piggy Wiggy's may look like a small cafe, with tables covered by red and blue tablecloths topped with clear plastic, but the tables are just a convenience. You order at the window, as at any good rib shack. Piggy Wiggy's affords several choices when it comes to barbecue. There is pulled pork, nice long shreds without any sauce; North Carolina barbecue, pulled pork that is chopped and simmered in a traditional vinegar and red pepper sauce; and minced pork, which is chopped and simmered in a mild sauce. Opt for the pulled pork with some incendiary North Carolina sauce. It's the best of both worlds: juicy strands of meat, a great smoky taste and a bit of fire at the end. The ribs are meaty and well-cooked, with a dry rub that accentuates the smoky flavor. The potato salad is outstanding, a veritable homage to the potato. The chunks of perfectly cooked red potato are bound in a creamy dressing with just a little egg. Don't bother with the coleslaw; it's pretty tasteless. And the deviled eggs are a little rubbery, but the stuffing is good.
Second on my list is Johnny Boy's Ribs (Route 301 and St. Mary's Avenue, La Plata, 301-870-2526). It is a squat shack with a group of uncovered picnic tables out back and wood stacked outside. The pork is nicely charred with a good meat taste enhanced by the slightly sweet but still fiery hot barbecue sauce. The baby back ribs are meaty and cooked just to the point at which the meat is pulling back slightly from the bone. The taste of smoke permeates the meat, and the sauce just makes it better. The coleslaw, shredded and crunchy but needing a bit of vinegar, and the potato salad with nice chunks of potato with celery, red pepper and celery seed, are wonderful accompaniments.
There are many other local barbecue places, of which I recommend a few : Randy's Ribs and BBQ (Route 5 near Gallant Green Rd., Hughesville, 301-274-3525) operates in tiny cinder block building with an asphalt parking lot where people can eat in their car and watch the traffic. Don't be surprised if there is a crowd waiting for orders to be filled, even on a rainy Sunday. Smoke is a key flavor of the pulled pork and ribs, both of which display the characteristic pink color that smoke produces. The potato salad is a little sweet and a little watery and seems to have a hint of Old Bay seasoning. The coleslaw is perfect, with long shreds of white and red cabbage and carrot and a good, sweet, vinegary bite.
Lefty's Bar-B-Que Unlimited (Pinefield South Shopping Center, 2064 Crain Hwy., Waldorf, 301-870-8998) is a family operation that specializes in roasting ribs, pork and chicken slowly over hickory wood. The sauce, hot or mild, is added later. Founder Charles "Lefty" Nash Sr. learned how to roast pig growing up in Washington, Ga., and has parlayed that early learning (after 30 years working for Safeway) into a restaurant and catering operation. The pulled pork lacked any bit of char, and the sauce, while mighty tasty, was way too thick to be true Eastern Carolina style. But the vegetable side dishes are grand, especially the fried okra. The cornbread is too finely textured and sweet to my taste, but the coleslaw is wonderful.
For those who want more of a restaurant atmosphere for their barbecue, there are two locations for the Memphis style meat offered by Red, Hot & Blue (680 N. Prince Frederick Blvd., Prince Frederick, 410-257-6035, and 3350 Crain Hwy., Route 301, Waldorf, 301-705-7427, www.redhotandblue.com).
CRABS AND SEAFOOD: Captain Billy's Crab House (11495 Popes Creek Rd., Newburg, 301-932-4323, www.captbillys.com) is probably the largest crab house in the area. With sweeping views of the Potomac River and the Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge, and a mega-size parking lot out front, Captain Billy's packs customers into the wooden booths that fill the restaurant. Don't be surprised to see tour buses negotiating the narrow blacktop road that leads to the restaurant. But biggest doesn't make it best, though I loved the hush puppies. Steamed crabs are available in season, and there are long tables on the deck to accommodate crab pickers. The adjacent Robertson's Crab House (11455 Popes Creek Rd., Newburg, 301-934-3300, www.robertsonscrabhouse.com), the original restaurant begun by the legendary Capt. Billy Robertson, also has a river view and has more flavorful offerings.
