North Ocean City MD

North of 94th Street the island narrows into high-rises. This is renter country. Families stay a week at a time and the restaurants are built for volume. The crab trade concentrates in a tight run of the 120s and 130s on Coastal Highway. The Original Crabcake Factory has held 120th Street since 1996. Higgins Crab House North steams at 128th. The Crab Bag grades its hard crabs from medium to colossal at 130th. You can walk all three in fifteen minutes.

Every one of these houses runs a to-go counter alongside the dining room. Many families carry the crabs back to the condo balcony instead of waiting for a table. Prices on steamed crabs move with the catch, and the honest houses say so. Dozens and half-bushels get quoted by phone, not printed. The number changes day by day. Call before you drive.