The Weekly Dish

PICKIN' AND GRINNIN': I'm the kind of crab fan who tends to choose his destination based on what kinds of sides the restaurant offers, not all of them edible. Cantler's Riverside Inn in Annapolis, for instance, comes with picnic tables overlooking Mill Creek, while the Harris Crab House in Grasonville frames Kent Narrows. This summer I added a new place to my list of favorites, this one in Virginia: Tim's Rivershore Restaurant & Crabhouse (1510 Cherry Hill Road, Dumfries; 703-441-1375), which throws in a postcard view of the Potomac River along with (woo-hoo!) karaoke on Friday nights.

Actually, Tim's isn't all that new. The site has been around for more than 50 years. But there really is a living, breathing namesake, Alexandria native Tim Bauckman , and he's owned the seafood restaurant since 1993. "Indoors or out?" the hostess in short shorts asks when you show up. Vote for the latter and you find yourself in a white plastic chair on a tiered deck, a big plastic menu in your hands. Behind you are a railroad track and a forest of trees; ahead of you are water and boats. The sound of rumbling trains, fast boats and tap-tapping mallets makes for a diverting summer concert.

But mostly, you're here for hard-shell crabs. The kitchen steams its main attractions -- available in sizes ranging from small to jumbo -- in a brew of beer, vinegar and spices, then dusts them with a coarse red powder of salt, red pepper and the inevitable "secret ingredients." Beer makes an excellent chaser to the sweet and meaty beasts, most of which are plucked from the Chesapeake Bay right now. ("All-you-can-eat" costs $20.95 Monday through Thursday, $29 the rest of the week.) Cracking open the shells and retrieving the sweet meat from body and legs is enough work to offset whatever damage you've done by eating one too many hush puppies or onion rings, which is easy to do; both sides are terrific, as is the coleslaw.

The best time of year to eat crabs is right now, though Tim's is open year-round. Drivers should know that parts of the road leading to the restaurant are unpaved. Boaters should know that Tim's has a free shuttle to transport sailors to and from the restaurant. And if anyone plans to fly in? "Please land in the water," the Web site advises.