The Olde Crisfield Crab and Steak House and Tawes Museum hosts Ocean City - Part 2

The Olde Crisfield Crab and Steak House  and Tawes Museum hosts Ocean City - Part 2, Olde Crisfield Cooking School

CLICK HERE FOR PART 1

Olde Crisfield Crab and Steak House and tiki bar is now closed, with no plans to re-open, as of March 2012.

There is nothing better than rounding off a tour of Crisfield than sampling our mouth-watering foods. For this tour the Olde Crisfield Crab and Steak House teamed up with the Tawes Museum and the Sweet Shoppe, a local bakery that specializes in Smith Island cakes, the official Maryland State dessert.

Enjoy the photos, and make Crisfield the destination for your next tour. 

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Guests start off their meals with a variety of wines.

Nothing like fresh steamed crabs. The restaurant gives demonstrations on how to pick these tasty crustaceans. 

Guests try and entice me to try the first course...

Just look at that lump crab meat.

Make way for Maryland crab cakes.

Good wine, good food, and good conversation.

Owner Jerry Hardesty pours wine for his guests.

Everyone agreed this was a "thumbs-up" meal.

Anyone for dessert? Bring on the Smith Island Maryland State dessert!

What the heck is a Smith Island cake? Tour groups get a full demonstration from the good folks at the Sweet Shoppe. Stick around and we'll give you a sneak peek - it's all part of the Olde Crisfield School of Cooking. But first you need to learn how to cook Maryland crabs, another one of the amenities offered on the tour.

First you get some "real" Maryland Blue Crabs. There are several places in Crisifeld that will ship crabs or oysters anywhere in the world.

Gather all your ingredients...

And add them to the pot along with the crabs.

Voila! Maryland Crabs.

 Each guest on the tour gets their own crab to practice on.

Jerry gives lessons in the fine art of crab picking.

 Staff were on hand to assist.

 The guests were fast learners. 

Sweet meat!

Are we done yet? Heck no! Now you are going to learn how to make Maryland crab cakes. Guests left with the recipe.

Are we done yet? Nope. Now you get to see how we make our state dessert. Keep in mind while looking at the these photos, that the layers are individually baked. No cheating when it comes to the real deal. 

Cheryl Tull, owner of the Sweet Shoppe, explains the history of the Smith Island cake. Tull makes her cakes with 10 layers.

This is the demo cake.

The entire cake is made from "real" ingredients, not that artificial stuff. FYI: The Sweet Shoppe ships! Jingle bells, Jingle bells. Put one on your holiday table. They are great for birthdays, too, but you can have a "Very merry un-birthday" any day of the week.

And we're still not done. Goody bags were passed out along with instructions on how to steam and crack a Maryland Blue Crab. Also included, a recipe for crab cakes.

Don't forget the gift shop when you visit. It is one of the many we have around town.

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Thanks Jerry, for inviting me to drag along. You have a great team.  I encourage everyone to put a little thumb tack on their places-to-go-maps. You will enjoy our restaurants, museum, shopping, tours around town as well as boat trips to Smith Island and Tangier Island,  and the pure beauty that is Crisfield. Oh, and the friendly people! Come and stay a week and experience the Eastern Shore. And be sure and get out and enjoy our back-roads. Don't know where to go? Email me. I will point you to my favorite places, except my secret place, of course. I know. I drive you crazy with that one.