Margie & Ray's

It's only been a few weeks since my vacation, but I am already looking forward to next year's trip to Margie & Ray's. 

We started going a few years ago. Granny and Pop watch the ever-growing brood of grandchildren while the sibs go out for a night on the town at the shack. Bless their hearts.

Minus Beth **sniff

Not that Margie & Ray's is a shack. It's not. It's not a five-star decor restaurant, either, but the food is definitely out-of-this-wordly.

This is Margie. She works the bar, the front of the house and anywhere else she's needed. Don't ask her for anything fancy. This isn't a fancy kind of place. Ray works mostly in the kitchen, although you can find him at the cash register some nights, too.

This is over the bar. It took me two years to figure it out. (((((BLUSHING))))) My brother finally filled me in.

Margie & Ray's is a white-paper-on-the-table kind of place. Usually the waitresses write their name with Sharpie on your white paper table covering. This year they upgraded to Post-It notes.

Margie & Ray's is famous for their She-Crab soup. If I were ever going to write Bon Appetit RSVP asking for a recipe, this would be the one I'd ask for. I think I could recreate it, but the problem is that I wouldn't have access to the beautiful lumps of blue she-crab. *sigh There would be no point. I'll just eat it at Margie & Ray's. I could eat a bucket of She-Crab soup, but then there wouldn't be any room for the crabs.

Or the Crab Balls. Jim/Lesley and Becky/Anthony always order these bites of deep-fried deliciousness as an appetizer (with the soup!). They shared. 

But the main event is the freshly caught, steamed blue crabs. There are no words. They come steaming hot, aromatic with Old Bay seasoning and with enough implements to pluck out every last succulent morsel of crab.

I ordered a half dozen. There were nine.

Yes, I ate them all. 

So did everyone else. 

We have learned from our past mistake, however, NOT to finish the meal with a shooter of the vinegar/hot sauce/Old Bay they bring you to dip the crab meat into. 

Lesson learned.

I can't wait to go back.