Maryland Crab & Oyster Company

Buying live crabs for the first time as a newcomer to Maryland I was intimidated by the prices at some of the markets in the area. I made calls to a couple places near Annapolis listed on the state Department of Agriculture's seafood Web site and was fortunate to find Maryland Crab & Oyster. It's off the beaten path on a farm just south of Edgewater, but well worth a visit for the price, quality and service.The guy running it, Warren, gets his product from Crisfield on the Eastern Shore. He was very generous in packing as many crabs as he could into the bushel basket, and brought me back to the storage shed while he sorted them out. It was only $150 for a bushel of No. 1s -- about $50 less than what some of the markets were charging. It kept our crowd of about 30 people happy and well-fed with enough left over to make crab cakes for 10 the next day. He can steam them for you, too, and there are even a few tables in the yard, so he was letting a few customers have a crab feast right there.