I think the best crab places are those owned by Calvert County native Philip Stone. Stoney's Kingfishers Seafood House (14442 Main St., Solomons Island, 410-394-0236), and Stoney's Seafood House (Fox Run Shopping Center, 545 Solomons Island Rd. North, Prince Frederick, 410-535-1888) are open year-round and offer a wide variety of crab and seafood favorites. But Stoney's Seafood House (Oyster House Road, Broomes Island, 410-586-1888, www.stoneysseafoodhouse.com for all three locations) is an idyllic crab house. The Solomons location has a good view of the harbor, but the Broomes Island branch has a fantastic setting and an ambience that is hard to match. Overlooking a tranquil section of the Patuxent River, with docks to which you can arrive by boat, Stoney's at Broomes Island is the place to spend a languid summer afternoon.
For local flavor, my favorite is Courtney's Restaurant & Seafood (48290 Wynne Rd., Route 252, Wynne, 301-872-4403), a whitewashed cinder block building north of Point Lookout, where Smith Creek enters the Potomac River. It looks like nothing has changed at Courtney's in 50 years; there is a small bar in the entryway with beer and boxes of wine in a cooler and a dining room where most of the red tablecloths have been sun-bleached to a much paler shade. There is a view of the water, out past the RVs that seem permanently parked at the adjacent campground. The crab cakes are terrific and the soft-shell crab slammer (so called, the owner said, because it's so thick and unwieldy that its components slam down on the plate) is worth the drive. It's cash only, but a sandwich and a drink will leave you change from a $10 bill. This is a true relic that attracts the locals, fishermen and yuppies alike.
Nearby, Scheible's Restaurant (48342 Wynne Rd., Ridge, 301-872-0028) is only slightly more touristy that Courtney's. There are mounted fish on the wall, blue oilcloth on the tables and slightly more comfortable chairs. The bar is in the back, in a separate room. The crab cakes here are good, too, and the fried oysters are crisp and tasty. Technically you can't order steamed crabs to eat outside, but you can buy them as takeout and take them to the picnic tables near the water.
Spinnaker's Waterfront Restaurant (16244 Millers Wharf Rd., Ridge, 301-872-5020), once the queen of Point Lookout, has been rebuilt after it suffered heavy damage during Hurricane Isabel. It's now all vinyl siding, vinyl handrails, a composition board deck and a chain restaurant lime and lavender color scheme with reproduction old-fashioned oak chairs. The views are spectacular, but the food doesn't quite measure up, so go for drinks.
Lighthouse Inn (14636 Solomons Island Rd., Solomons, 410-326-2444, www.lighthouse-inn.com) also offers a view of Solomons Harbor, a broad seafood menu and a place to dock. The star attraction is the bar, a one-third-size replica of a working skipjack. Although not on the water, Capt. Leonard's Seafood Market ( 27240 Morganza Turner Rd., Mechanicsville, 301-884-3701) serves steamed crabs and everything else on the brown paper-covered tables that fill this roadhouse. On a Saturday night, it seems everyone heads for Capt. Leonard's: families with small children, bikers, yuppies and singles. My favorite item on the menu, the captain's fried large shrimp basket, will remind you how fried shrimp is supposed to taste.
DINERS: Who can miss Bert's 50s Diner (28760 Three Notch Rd./Route 5, Mechanicsville, 301-884-3837)? There's a car on top! And on weekend nights, the parking lot is full of them, including classics such as a 1956 Chevy. But not all the fun is in the parking lot (where classic car and hot rod groups often gather; Friday is the official cruisin' night). Inside there is a constant party. Bert's serves no alcohol but has the best 21st-century soda jerks around. The hand-dipped chocolate milkshake (as opposed to the soft serve, which is also available) is right out of the 1950s. There is a cadre of attentive and enthusiastic servers. And, if it's your birthday, you don't get a quaint rendition of the "Happy Birthday" song -- the servers form a squad and lead a birthday cheer! It's not for nothing that the entrance is in the shape of a giant jukebox -- the real one inside is stocked with great '50s rock-and-roll.
What Bert's doesn't have is breakfast. Cindy's Pancakes Plus (6580 Crain Hwy., La Plata, 301-934-1740) serves breakfast -- to just about every elected official in Charles County and plenty of other people -- as well as lunch. It's open on weekends, too, and draws a big local crowd. Other diners include the Tasty Kwik Diner (1541 Solomons Island Rd., Prince Frederick, 410-535-3242).
TEA ROOM: The Royal Tea Room (110 E. Charles St., La Plata, 301-392-1111) is La Plata's newest dining establishment. Located in the former rectory of Christ Episcopal Church, it is owned by Dee Jameson, who once owned the English Tea Room in Leonardtown. And now she's back with all the antique cups and saucers, teapots and cozies. The house, built in 1929 for a prominent dentist, survived the 2002 tornado pretty well, but has been spruced up by Jameson and her husband, down to refinishing the floors. There are soups, salads, quiche and sandwiches for lunch, a proper "Royal Tea" (includes a soup or salad) and a "Full Afternoon Tea" beginning at 1:30 p.m. -- for those who make reservations. For others, "Cream Tea," with just a pot of tea, scones and fruit, is served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Jameson plans to add brunch and ultimately dinner but for now is concentrating on lunch and afternoon tea. There is a tea shop and several antique dealers upstairs to additionally pique your interest.
There is also The Tea Room at the Maryland Antiques Center (26005 Point Lookout Rd., Route 5, Leonardtown, 301-475-1980), which features a menu of soups, sandwiches, salads and quiches along with afternoon tea, by reservation only.
UPSCALE FAVORITES: Cafe des Artistes (41655 Fenwick St., Leonardtown, 301-997-0500) does so many things well. The menu of French classics, brightened by a California-style approach to fresh ingredients, is one of the best in the area. There is a fine wine list, and the restaurant is open on Sundays. But one of the best features is the changing tableau of music, which has included a piano player, a guitarist and a trio with stringed instruments on different nights. The Crossing at Casey Jones (417 E. Charles St., La Plata, 301-932-6226) is an Arts and Crafts jewel box decorated with handcrafted artifacts and warm colors. The food is similarly handcrafted. Fish is delivered to the restaurant by FedEx, the meats are organic, and the vegetables are grown organically by a local farmer. While grounded in the classics of French and American cuisine, the combinations are thoughtful, modern, attractive and filled with flavor. The wine list is a standout and reasonably priced.
Claudia's Steakhouse at the Hawthorne Country Club (8760 Hawthorne Rd., La Plata, 301-609-7900) offers a variety of high-end steaks in two dining rooms. The view across the rolling hills is lovely, especially at sunset.
If you never had a reason to go to North Beach, a tiny Chesapeake Bay town in Calvert County, you do now: the Westlawn Inn (9200 Chesapeake Ave., North Beach, 410-257-0001). Single-handedly, the inn is redefining the twin beaches' culinary image from a land of biker bars, fried seafood and the Tastee-Freez. The kitchen's three professionally trained chefs are turning out food far more sophisticated -- and flavorful -- than their twenty-something ages might suggest. And the enthusiasm of owner Lee Travers, a local builder and sometime rock musician, has infected the entire staff. Passing through a Victorian-style vestibule, a wood-panel bar is situated to the left (the actual serving bar is faced with old panel doors Travers found in the attic), and a dining room, with windows all around, is off to the right. Up a flight of stairs is a smaller dining area, and there is a private dining room in one of the old boarding house's bedrooms. A wide veranda, cooled by several ceiling fans, wraps around the front and side of the first floor, offering outdoor seating in warmer weather. John Kozik, 27, a local who trained at the Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Arizona, heads the kitchen. He worked at Kinkead's in the District and as a caterer before joining Travers's venture. Kozik describes the restaurant's concept as "casual upscale," but I call his food mouthwatering. With a blend of New American and Southern Maryland seafood, and some meat dishes mixed in, you are certain to find something pleasing here.
The Old Field Inn and Lounge (485 Main St., Prince Frederick, 410-535-1054, 301-855-1054 ) has been a labor of love for chef Brendan Cahill and his wife, Ashley, for 10 years, the last two as owners. Built in the 1890s as the home of a prominent local judge, the Old Field Inn (so-called because the tract was considered worn out for planting) is undergoing a metamorphosis as the center of -- and architectural inspiration for -- a new office and medical park. Eating at the Old Field Inn is like dining in a fine old home. The inn serves dinner nightly and recently added weekday lunches. The New American menu includes gratinéed oysters and traditional crab soup, along with steaks and a range of other meats and seafood. Be certain to note the old photographs of the house and previous owners.
A ROMANTIC EVENING: I have to admit that I was prepared to dislike the Brome-Howard Inn (18281 Rosecroft Rd., St. Mary's City, 301-866-0656, www.bromehowardinn.com), partly because of the high-heel-destroying gravel in the driveway, partly because the owners never acknowledged our presence though they spent a long time talking to neighbors who were dining at an adjacent table, partly because some of the tables in the home's original tiny room are so tiny and partly because of the really ugly glasses used for wine. On the other hand, the main dining room is intimate with a wood-burning fireplace and a spectacular votive candle chandelier. Games and other distractions in the adjoining parlor amused even a fidgety 5-year-old. But Chef John Carter's food dispelled any doubts I had about Brome-Howard. Every morsel was exemplary: salmon cakes made with chunks of fresh salmon and accented with a savory mustard sauce; petite crab cakes of jumbo lump crab served with a tangy tartar sauce; duck breast served perfectly rare; and sea bass, specially roasted for my husband, who didn't want the duchess potato and cheese sauce preparation offered on the menu. And don't skimp on the desserts, most of which are made in-house, including a creamy cheesecake and a homey fruit cobbler. Take a stroll around the grounds before dinner to see the view of the St. Mary's River. The place grows on you.
