Cantler's Closed in January for Painting, Cleaning

The famous seafood destination is temporarily closed for a cleaning and repainting.

One of Broadneck's best seafood venues is closed for the month of January for a cleaning and painting, a store employee said. A sign outside Cantler's Riverside Inn lets potential customers know that they'll have to wait until February to get some of their famous seafood. I attempted to take my in-laws to Cantler's on Wednesday. They had heard me praise their clam chowder, which I consider to be the best I've ever had. But we were all dismayed to see the closed sign. After asking around on Facebook where we should eat instead, Broadneck residents pointed to The Point Crabhouse and Grill, Broadneck's newest seafood restaurant. We were treated well, and the shrimp was divine. Where will you be eating when you crave Cantler's this month?

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

D. Frank Smith

9:26 am on Friday, January 4, 2013

Naptown, I was just reporting what I was told about why it was closed for a month. Thanks for commenting.   more ›

Two Local Seafood Restaurants Serve 'True Blue' Crabs

Cantler's Riverside Inn and a new restaurant, The Point Crab House and Grill, qualified for a new state program promoting use of local crabs.

Two Broadneck area restaurants are among 50 across the state that recently passed certification for Maryland’s True Blue campaign, which promotes local businesses that use genuine blue crabs in their dishes. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) launched the True Blue campaign in May, which is a way to promote businesses that use locally sourced crab meat. Those who participate in the program can use a special logo in marketing or advertisements for their dishes—a blue crab insignia, certified by the state.   The promotional campaign began a month after Gov. Martin O'Malley announced the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population is the highest it’s been in almost 20 years. Recently, the DNR released a list of 50 businesses that …

• Photos (3)

Could Cantler's Clam Chowder Be the Holy Grail of Soups?

A long journey for the best clam chowder came to an end for me this week.

Everyone knows the legend of King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, the chalice of Christ. But not everyone remembers that at the end of that journey, the man watching over the cup was called the fisher king.  I found my own fisher king at Cantler's Riverside Inn at the edge of the Broadneck peninsula this week when I stumbled onto what I consider the holy grail of clam chowders. It marked the end of a personal search for the best chowder that I set out on in my youth, and I didn't even have to travel to Maine like I'd planned. Ever since I was a kid, I've considered myself a connoisseur of soups. Campbell's was a staple throughout my youth, until I was old enough to know better of course. As I became an adult, cooking and perfecting …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (2)

On the Waterfront

Crabs in Broadneck

The upcoming holiday means one special treat for local residents.

Nothing says summer quite like hot steamed crabs and ice cold beverages over Fourth of July weekend. Crabs are one of the central thematic icons that unify us and provide us with a sense of place that transcends geography and evokes a kaleidoscope of emotions and memories for all. If you are lucky enough to have grown up in Annapolis, you might share my childhood memories of crabbing from a neighbor’s pier while a wet dog wildly barks the day’s catch. You might recall the idyllic imagery of crabbing boats emerging from the misty drawn beneath the Greenbury Point Towers. Perhaps you can appreciate the luxury of that post-beachy fatigue that comes from a day in the sun; the humming of outboard engines singing from up the creek; and the smell…

• Photos (3)