Why Crisfield’s isn’t overrun by hipsters, I do not know. Crisfield Seafood is superb. Effortlessly so, seemingly. And it is not swarming with neophytes, hooray.
I am truly, madly, deeply in love with this old flame. Forgive me my lapses, I have been away waywayway too long.
Crab Cake, Crab Salad, Fried Perch, Oyster, SOFTSHELL. Get thee to a softshell. So tender and sweet when they have just shed the straightjacket of youth – one of their youths to be precise. Back to the vulnerability of infancy, they are tasty, poor things.
Soft shells, in season, the tastiest insect-like thing you will ever eat. A reason to live when you are grappling with February’s mid-Atlantic death grip.
Crisfield Seafood is old DC, the DC that patronized Reeve’s Bakery and Restaurant, Whitlow’s on E Street 
, Scholl’s Cafeteria
, the original Old Ebbitt Grill 
, the counter at People’s 
, and Schwartz’s Drugs lunch counter 
.
Crisfield’s is not a ghost of DC past. It lives and breathes.
They do not serve oysters in the summer, there are four to a plate of softshells and the counterman heartily recommends the cheesecake. We admired his salesmanship and shared a slice – creamy, nutty, caramely, fresh, just as promised.
I weighed almost 3 pounds more on the way out. Going to GospelFest for a little cardio.
The Lunch Encounter 
