At Lowry's Crab Shack, the ideal meal is a tray full of steamed Maryland blue crabs, liberally sprinkled with Old Bay. The ideal spot to eat them is outside the restaurant at a tiki-umbrella-shaded picnic table outfitted with butcher paper, mallets, seafood crackers, and clarified butter. And the ideal time to eat them is during the spring's and summer's blue-crab season, when they're snatched from nearby Chesapeake Bay tributaries.

The Lowry family has a long history with Maryland-style seafood: Leslie Lowry's father operated Williams Chesapeake Seafood in Hamilton, Virginia, from 1970 to 1999; her farm stand transitioned to selling produce and seafood after his passing. But that background doesn't mean their little eatery—founded in 2007—doesn't explore the many horizons of seafood and homestyle cooking:

• Regional specialties: Lump blue crab cakes that are gently seasoned, baked, and served in a platter or sandwich; lightly steamed or fried Chesapeake Bay oysters (September–April); golden-fried soft-shell crab (May–September); live or steamed blue crabs available to take home.
• Seafood dinners: A combination of items—snow-crab legs, lobster tails, steamed shrimp, or fried fish—are surrounded by sides ranging from hushpuppies to ham-seasoned green beans to corn fritters. Unless, of course, you order the lowcountry crawfish boil.
• Non-seafood items: Lowry's is also well-known for it Southern-style fried chicken. The kitchen prepares cheeseburgers and pulled-pork sandwiches, too.