Growing up in the outskirts of Baltimore in Pasadena, MD, crabs become a religion. Friends and family spend hours sitting around a picnic table with old newspapers as table clothes picking every ounce of meat from a crab. A summer isn’t really complete until you’ve had them. Here’s a top five list of places to go wild with crabs. So get your mallet, knife, Old Bay and vinegar ready, and don’t be afraid to get those hands messy.

Bethesda Crab House

4958 Bethesda Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20815
301-652-3382
bethesdabigcrabs.com

Stuck between DC and Baltimore and don’t know where to turn for crabs? You may have a spot right in your back yard. Bethesda Crab house gives you that all you can eat crab feast experience and has been doing it since 1961. You may not get to works when it comes to sides, but if you just want to gorge yourself in crab meat, I suggest this spot.

May’s Restaurant

4 5640 Urbana Pike
Frederick, MD 21704
301-662-4233
maysrestaurant.com

This place may not be aesthetically appealing, but when you wander into the back and see the number of people sitting with brown paper covering the table, you know why they’re here: The crabs. It’s very reasonably priced and the crabs may not be the biggest, but they are full of flavor and the trays keep coming and coming.

Captain Pell’s Fairfax Crab House

10195 Fairfax Blvd.
Fairfax, VA 22030
703-560-0060
captainpell.com

Captain Pell’s is a seafood staple in Northern Virginia. The crabs are decent size and seasoned to perfection. If you’re from Maryland, you may have to pinch yourself because you may forget you’re in the Commonwealth.

Harris Crab House

433 Kent Narrow Way
Grasonville, MD 21638
410-827-9500
harriscrabhouse.com

It may seem out of the way, but Harris Crab House is one of the best places to dig in for crabs. Located on the Eastern Shore over right over the Kent Narrows Bridge, this crab house offers beautiful views of the Chesapeake Bay while giving you large sized crabs right from the water. If you have a boat, Harris’ allows you to pull right up to the pier, dock it, and enjoy a filling all you can eat crab feast.

Catch them, Steam them yourself

Nothing tastes better than the crabs you catch yourself from the Chesapeake Bay. Get yourself some crab pots and some chicken necks and get out on the boat. When you get back, you can season and steam them to your liking. Something just tastes better when you’re eating freshly caught crabs from the Bay. Trust me.