Buy Crabs On Rte 40 Directly From The Eastern Shore Waterman Who Caught Them This Week

Cap. Bunky working a trotline. These crabs will be sold from his truck in Ellicott City. Photo by @JayFlemingPhoto pic.twitter.com/REMHO9Y8vi
— Steve Vilnit (@SteveVilnit) August 17, 2014

You can buy real Maryland crabs today from the folks who caught them this week if you head up to Rte 40 today in Ellicott City.

The photo above is Captain Bunky catching crabs Sunday.  He sends a truck up to the Normandy Crown gas station just east of Rte 29.

I had planned to be buying them right now.  But I hadn't emphasized at home that they're live crabs.  A bargain compared to other local sources and truly fresh from the Chesapeake Bay.

Then I learned that Mrs. HowChow really didn't want to steam live crabs in our house.  It's been a change over time.  She thinks she can eat them, so I'm going to buy hot crabs from Frank's Seafood in Jessup.  But she just couldn't have live crabs stored in the house and then cooked in our place.

More crabs for you.  If you can steam them, then this is the ultimate in local eating.  You're buying right from the waterman.  You get top-notch product for less than I'm going to pay at Frank's.  Maryland seafood matters if you like the idea of having a local industry, so it's a huge win for everyone.

Except the crabs.

Ask when you visit, but I understood that they'll send a truck to the Normandy Crown at least through Labor Day. I don't exactly which days. Crabs are delicious and heavy in September and October, but demand drops once people think that summer has ended.  The Normandy Crown gas station is 8505 Baltimore National Pike -- just east of Rte 29 on Rte 40.