Crisfield

Crisfield is shaped like a bar, with a long counter running along both sides and stools where people sit to eat and drink. An adjoining dining room has walls covered with white tile and cinder blocks, with all the charm of a locker room. Service is brusque and efficient and prices are fairly high (at least on the Roadfood scale). A full dinner easily can run $50.

What to eat at Crisfield

We can’t complain about the prices because some of the food served here is top-drawer. Crisfield is a fish house; its specialties include seafood Norfolk style (i.e. swimming in butter), and huge fillets of flounder, broiled or fried or heaped with mountains of fresh lump crab meat, as well as oysters and soft-shell crabs in season.

On a recent visit, the “Crisfield special” (lump crabmeat mixed with a bit of mayo and baked until golden brown) wasn’t as sweet as we remember it from years ago; but the crab-stuffed flounder was mighty fine: a gigantic, milky-white filet covered with a full-flavored crown of crab. We especially love the “Combination Norfolk” – hunks of crab, whole shrimp, and pieces of lobster all crowded into a copper pan up to their waistlines in melted butter. It’s a simple preparation, but unbeatable.