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Annapolis, Maryland: home to the Naval Academy, sailing capital of the US, home of the Colossal Challenge and much more.  With COVID-19 still limiting our travel options, we again targeted Maryland for a short vacation.  Though still on the water, we skipped the beach this time.

We arrived at the capital city of Maryland just before 11:30 and just as everyone was ready to eat.  Coincidently, eating is the theme of our visit.  The theme has three components:
1)  Visit the Annapolis restaurants that have been featured on TV
2)  Sample the crab cakes and Orange Crush anywhere that offers them
3)  Liam’s version of number two, sample the burger everywhere that offers it

If all you care about is what we thought about the crab cakes, crushes, or burger, scroll to the bottom.

Day 1

We left our car at the Newman Street parking lot (pay parking) and made the short walk to Pusser’s Caribbean Grill hoping to be able to secure a table on the Pier (this is the only waterfront dining in downtown Annapolis).  Thankfully, we beat the lunch crowd by about 20 minutes and got a fantastic table with a view of Ego Alley and the dock.  Our food was good, the weather was beautiful and it was a fantastic way to begin our visit.  Sarah got the Mahi tacos and they were good, but not great.  Fionnuala (9) got the kids chicken fingers and they were as expected.  Liam (11) got the burger and gave it an enthusiastic endorsement.  I ordered the crab cake sandwich and it did not disappoint.  I also order the Orange Crush.  While the drink tasted fine, this was not the same drink that you will receive in Ocean City or Baltimore.  For starters, nothing was crushed.  In a sufficiently nautical mood, we still had a few hours until our 3 PM check-in time at our Airbnb so we started exploring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last visit was in October 2009 and Ego Alley had been blocked off as part of a boat festival. So, taking advantage of a sunny spring day we headed down the street to the dock where we made a brief visit at the Alex Haley memorial.  We then walked along the water admiring the boats that were docked there and made it the park at the end of the dock.  The children spotted the outdoor ping pong table and asked if we could play.  Despite the wind blowing off the water, we enjoyed our ping pong match until the ball was blown into the street.  Once we recovered it, we decided it was time to stop.

We wandered along the shop on Ego Alley and made our way up Main Street to Annapolis Ice Cream.  Upon reaching the shop we realized that it was only 1:15 PM and the store doesn’t open until 2.  Though this is supposed to be the best ice cream in town, we elected to return to Ego Alley and sample the ice cream at Storm Brothers Ice Cream Factory.  The ice cream was very good ($3.30 for one scoop) and we sat on the edge of the water while we ate our ice cream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fortified with ice cream we headed up hill to State Circle.  We admired the buildings along Pinkney Street as we made our way to the State House.  We explored the entire circle, reading every sign and examining each monument.  The grounds are really a wonderful place to walk or sit on a sunny spring day.  The State house serves as the capitol building for Maryland.  It also served as the home of the first government of the United States upon independence from the English and is the longest continuously used legislative building in North America.  Unfortunately it is also closed to the public today due to COVID 19.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By now it was approaching our check-in time so we walked to the hill to our car and headed to our Airbnb.  The house was great, and located really close to everything downtown.  It would be great for an even longer stay.  We spent a couple of hours relaxing at the house.  Sarah and I took advantage of the beautiful weather to enjoy a glass of wine on the fantastic deck behind our house.  The children explored the house for awhile before settling in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About 5:30 we began the approximately one mile walk to the Boatyard Bar and Grill.  Nestled in the neighborhood of Eastport, it almost looks like one of the houses.  We enjoyed the tent that is set up for outdoor dining in what was previously the parking lot.  The walk over was perfect on a nice evening, and the the restaurant was really enjoyable despite being busy.  We had crab balls for an appetizer and I order an orange crush.  The crab balls were good, but the crush was the same as lunch (except 25% cheaper), apparently Annapolis doesn’t make real Orange Crushes.  I would skip it next time.  The crab cake dinner however was fantastic and that includes the potatoes and broccoli.  Liam had the burger and it was very good.   Fionnuala enjoyed the kids pizza.  Sarah had a house salad and Chicken sandwich which were mediocre.  For desert we ordered a slice of Smith Island Cake to take home (I wanted the children to know what it tasted like).  Smith Island Cake is a Maryland delicacy, and if you haven’t had it before you should.

The walk home was wonderful and includes a stunning sunset that we got to witness as we walked across the draw bridge.  When we reached the house we shared the cake and the kids loved it.  A wonderful first day.

Day 2

Everyone was awake by 8 AM and this was the best morning weather we would have, so we headed to Ms. Shirley’s (a Baltimore intuition that has expanded to Annapolis) for breakfast.  The waitstaff were great, and our server Michael was a fantastic waiter.  Everyone enjoyed their breakfast.  The food is nothing fancy, but is well cooked and eating outside on a pleasant morning added to the enjoyment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mile walk there and back was also very enjoyable.  It was nice to get moving a little bit before breakfast and then we enjoyed checking out all of the bird sculptures on the way back to the house.  Once back at the house we waited 30 minutes for the stores to open before heading out again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We left the house at 10 AM and walked down Main Street to check out everything.  We made a stop in Irish Traditions, browsed, and bought two Club Oranges for the kids (mine and the children’s favorite Irish soft drink) before heading out.   I was impressed with the noticeable amount of Irish in the shop!  Children’s toys as well as some token signage.  It was a nice touch!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Irish Traditions we headed to the dock.  We stopped into Rise Up Coffee, bought a bag of coffee and made our way back up Main Street.  We window shopped and browsed in some of the tee-shirt shops.   Next thing we knew, the children said they were hungry.  Our lunch destination was obvious, Chick & Ruth’s Deli (seen on Man vs. Food).  We arrived just after 11 AM, and were able to sit down immediately.  I ordered the Reuben, fries, and a Loose Cannon.  Liam (11) got another burger (he rated it the best so far), Fionnuala (9) ordered a bagel with cream cheese, and Sarah got the the grilled chicken sandwich.  The pickles that were include were crisp and delicious, by the way.  All of the food was good and I was planning on ordering milkshakes, but everyone was too full.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Newly nourished, we wandered up the Maryland State House and enjoyed the nice grounds that surround the capital building.  After we were finished exploring and enjoying the weather, we went back down Maryland Street to the dock passing the Paca House, which looks amazing.

Soon after a light rain began so we headed back and reached the house about 1 PM just before the downpour began.  We spent most of the afternoon relaxing in the house.  The heaviest of the rain had passed through just before 6 PM, and we took the opportunity to leave for dinner.  We made the 10 minute walk to Galway Bay (which is very near to the State House) which was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

I ordered the fish and chips with a Guinness and a house salad.  It was very good.  Liam, of course, ordered the burger (see review below).  Sarah had the Beet Salad, and Fionnuala ordered chicken fingers.  Fionnuala and I also had the children’s ice cream for desert.  The food here was fine, but nothing special.  We did, however, really enjoy a very nice walk home on empty, wet streets.

Day 3

After the rain last night, the temperature dropped a lot.  We ate breakfast at the house and headed out about 11.  We looked at a few menus before the kids asked for a return visit to Chick & Ruth’s Deli, so back we went.  This time Liam got another burger, Fionnuala got another bagel, Sarah got the turkey sandwich with salad, and I ordered the Crab Cake sandwich (see review below).  Everyone enjoyed their lunch, probably a little more than yesterday.  This time we sat upstairs, yesterday we sat downstairs in one of the booths.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch the kids wanted to feed the ducks, so we stopped by the docks.  We continued down Ego Alley and walked through the front of the Naval Academy, up East Street and to Capital Comics to buy the newest Dog Man book that we had seen in the window.  We were able to buy the last copy of Mothering Heights for Fionnuala and Liam chose Grime and Punishment.  The employee in the store was great!  It is a cool little store.  From the comic store, we walked to Acton Cove Park (near our house).  We all enjoyed this one block waterfront park and the children especially enjoyed the floating dock.  At 1:30 it started to rain, so we returned to the house.

A little after 5:30 we began the frigid walk to Davis’ Pub in Eastport.  Davis’ Pub was also featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  That’s how we found it.  Like Boatyard (and only a couple of blocks away), Davis’ Pub also almost blends into the surrounding houses in the neighborhood.  There is only street parking, and it doesn’t stand out until you are there.  When we visited, it was too cold to eat outside (though all but one table was open).  We did have to wait about 20 minutes for a table though.  We briefly explored the mini-park across the street while we waited.

It turns out it was worth the wait!  Fionnuala got the teak sandwich, Sarah ordered the chicken sandwich, Liam got the burger, and I got the crab cakes (review below) with a house salad.  We all shared nachos as an appetizer.  This was the best meal of our stay and the only time everyone gave their meal an A+.  What a perfect way to end our last night.  Once again we had a nice (but cold) walk back to the house, but not before a brief stop in the park/pier across the street.

Annapolis was a wonderful mid-week getaway.  We loved the restaurants, and being able to walk everywhere from our downtown airbnb.  It was the perfect first trip of the year for us.

The Best Crab Cake in Annapolis

1. 1. Boatyard – Filled with lump crab meat, nicely seasoned, no filler.  Potatoes and broccoli were also really good.  

   2. Pusser’s – Had the sandwich.  Crab cake was filled with lump crab meat, not as much seasoning as Boatyard but the crab flavor was great.  A really good crab cake.

   3. Chick and Ruth’s – Had the sandwich.  A really huge crab cake with lump meat.  The crab cake was probably better than Davis’ Pub, but the sandwich completely fell apart.  I liked the taste of the sandwich, but nothing stayed on the bun and that really took away from the meal.  The first few bites were really good though.

   4. Davis’ Pub – Portion was smaller than everywhere else.  No lump meat in crab cakes, but seasoning was very good.  They know how to make a good crab cake but the meat wasn’t as expensive as the other three places.  I would definitely order it again, but it’s not even close to as good as Boatyard or Pusser’s. 

The Best Burger in Annapolis (Liam’s Rankings)

1. Davis’ Pub – Liam ate the entire burger before touching a French fry.  This has never happened before!  

2. Chick and Ruth’s – Ate most of the burger before having a fry! Twice!

3. Boatyard – Liam ranked this just a tick behind the first two.  Kevin would have ranked it #2.  

4. Pusser’s – While this was a good burger, it was not quite as good good as anything listed above.  Still you won’t be disappointed.

5. Galway Bay – Not in the same class as any of the other burgers we ordered on this trip.  The only one we wouldn’t recommend ordering.

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