Davis' Pub — Maryland Seafood / Pub, Annapolis
Davis' Pub is the crab cake benchmark that Annapolis residents use — a neighborhood pub that has been doing the Maryland blue crab preparation correctly for long enough to have developed institutional authority over what the correct version is.
The crab cake here is the Maryland style: jumbo lump blue crab, minimal filler (Old Bay, egg, a touch of mayonnaise), formed loosely and broiled rather than fried. The goal is maximum crab; the execution achieves it.
The steamed crabs — sold by the half-dozen or dozen, seasoned with Old Bay, served with mallets and brown paper — are the seasonal Maryland ritual that Davis' handles with the informality it requires.
The cold National Bohemian (Natty Boh) is the correct accompanying beverage and is served at the correct temperature. Crab and Natty Boh is the Maryland combination that visitors either adopt immediately or never understand.
Best Occasion: Perfect for Solo Dining
The crab cake and a cold Natty Boh at a Davis' Pub barstool. Solo dining's most specifically Maryland experience.
Best Occasion: Works for Team Dinners
Steamed crabs for the group — the mallets, the Old Bay, the collective mess — is the Maryland team dinner that produces the most genuine bonding.