Could jl be referring to McGarvey's Saloon, which still has "Chesapeake crab balls" on the menu? It's at 8 Market Space, only a couple of doors away from the Middleton Tavern at 2 Market Space. The late, lamented Riordan's (with its prime rib sandwich) was around the corner at 26 Market Space, and O'Brien's is even further away on Main Street.

McGarvey's!
hmpstd, thank you.
I wonder if they'd consider adding pie and cheese to their menu.

JL is correct about that delightful WI law - it is still on the books. However, it is more specific than that - it must be a slice of WI cheddar cheese. But, as with many strange, obscure laws, offenders (if there are any) are rarely ticketed much less convicted. Thanks for the memory, JL!

4. Third lesson I learned about MD crab feasts: Never handle Old Bay-laden crustaceans when you have a cut on your finger.

You don't understand. It only hurts the first time. Then the crust of Old Bay sticks to your finger and protects it.

Ah, where to put this...

The current issue of Gastronomica has an article on famous food fights. Great fun!!

Go and check it out and, as EL always says, remember to come back here.

My rule of crab feasts... always have something else to eat. Crab picking is a zen activity. But the time it takes and the results you get aren't enough to sustain a person through a long afternoon. Especially if you're washing it all down with cold beer.

Rosebud ... Fun link but I'll have to watch them at home. And the list is obviously not exhaustive. How could they have not included the Cheers Thanksgiving food fight?

Freshly-picked crab meat from freshly-steamed crabs tastes far better and sweeter than anything from a tub that's been sitting around for a few days or weeks. Bleah!

"He gave me some of his OB stash -- in a Baggie. Like it was Maryland cocaine. No kidding"
No kidding. It IS Maryland cocaine!

Mike,
Zen, yes. I have seen expert practitioners go at crabs. Amazing.
I bow, I scrape.

YES crab balls, you can get them at the Canton Dockside.. in well Canton.

And yes to the cut on the finger, though what's really brutal is the cuts you develop trying to get at the miniscule meats with in the little brute.

The following is for a recipe called Crab Delight. Anyone notice anything conspicuous missing? http://fromsadtoraw.com/Recipes/CrabDelight.htm

And for those of you who were wondering, the Louis Kemp Company offers four varieties of Crab Delights and two of Lobster Delights under the general heading of Seafood Delights: http://www.louiskemp.com/seafood_delights.html. The Crab Delights contain less than 2% snow crab.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/crab-facts.html

Things you always wanted to know about crabs.

Piano, what sort of cheese goes best with crab?

JL: The Old Bay website calls for cheddar cheese in its recipe for hot crab dip. Another site, with a recipe for crab and cheese spread, uses cream cheese. I will investigate how some MKE restaurants serve crab.

Blasphemous, sir. No cheese goes with crab (well okay, cream cheese in dip, but THAT IS IT.)

Maybe "Crab Delight" is to crabs as doggie treats are to dogs: You feed them to your crabs as a treat.

how bout beer cheese?
http://www.chilipaper.com/FRecipes/Fappeteazers/Fhdos/beer_cheese.htm

Beer Me - A person after my own heart (and hardening arteries). Thanks for this recipe!

RtSO: What do you mean, "no cheese goes with crab?" Go to the Old Bay website.

I am ready for Maryland crabs now. I was in (very) rural Louisiana for 10 days and got to eat mudbugs (crawfish) one evening. They provide even less meat, but, like crabs, are well worth the work.

They are wrong. It can happen. (With apologies to Cheese Heads, cheese does not go with everything.)

the correct answer to "What cheese goes with crab" is Wisconsin cheese.
So there.

JL: I have an e-mail request in to the restaurant critic of the MKE Journal Sentinel, asking her assistance in clarifying the use of cheese with crabs and/or in crab dishes (RtSO pronouncement notwithstanding). If she replies I will report, but I also invited her to check out the Sandbox.

Yea, look to the upper mid-west for cooking advice for blue crab. Makes sense to me.

Think how awful would be imperial crab cloaked with melted American cheese (or Wisconsin, jl). Now if its dairy, well heavy cream and sherry are good components for cream of crab soup. Crab and butter go together, too.

Hey Piano Rob, you're stepping all over tomorrow's Mystery Crab Product. That's okay, there plenty of mystery to go around. I like this quote: "WOW... thanks so much for putting it on your site!! It is so much like a creamy crab/tuna salad." Without the cream or crab.

Raw foodism must be a form of mental illness. NO, I don't ever want to cook anything, just make disgusting food in a blender. The next step in the vegan crazy continuum are "fruititarians" who only eat food if it falls off a tree or bush. You can't pick it - that would be rude. I guess if yuo stand in front of the elephant cages at the zoo you might be allowed to catch a few peanuts in your mouth.

OMG: yr hmbl srvnt apologizes for stepping on your talons.