Costas Inn
4100 Northpoint Blvd.
Dundalk, Baltimore
410-477-1975
Seafood
www.costasinn.com
Cost: $$$
Reservations: Recommended (reserve "large" crabs)
Date of meal: Saturday August 11, 2007 (7pm)
National Price-Quality Frontier: Inside It
Baltimore Price-Quality Frontier: On It
Costas Inn is a traditional, paper tablecloth, hammer as utensil, crab place. To say it is casual would be an understatement. It is Dundalk, which is East/Southeast of downtown and pretty far off my radar screen. I had never heard of the area before this meal.
We made a reservation the day before; they suggested we reserve crabs which we didn't do. When we got there, they were out of large crabs so we got medium-sized crabs. We hat potato skins and crab dip to start and crabs for dinner. Potato skins were great; crab dip wasn't. Crabs were good; prices are high but that is pretty much par for the course. (If you haven't done this before, be warned that eating crabs is extremely messy and a lot of work.) We also had two pitchers of beer (there were four of us). All in, the meal cost $40 per person plus tip.
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About Marginal Foodie
6 comments:
I went to Costa's for the first time ever early this summer. I was with a big group and we sat in the bar (and were highly entertained by what seemed to be a regular crew of karaoke singers). I also thought the crabs were good, though I was surprised when we got the bill and discovered we'd been charged $4 a dish for melted butter...
Is there somewhere else you'd recommend for crabs in Baltimore?
The sneaky over-charge you mention is disappointing. This lack of transparency is a pet peeve of mine. I'm more used to it with specials. Did they quote you crab prices when you went? (I think they told me when asked but I wonder if they volunteer this.)
I took my wife and two teenage children there for dinner tonight. It's our favorite Baltimore crab place.
Next time you go, be sure to get a bowl of the Maryland Crab soup. It's excellent.
Note that the restaurant name is "Costas", not "Costa's."
Oops. Thanks for the correction. I've fixed this.
Mr. Bill's Terrace Inn is pretty competitive w Costa's - and i think their crab supplies hold up better
http://www.citypaper.com/eat/review.asp?rid=10543
LP Steamers is a good option if you don't want to drive out to the country or get ripped off at a touristy place
http://www.lpsteamers.com/
rd
As you suggest, it seems like driving a long way or going to a touristy place are the two paths of least resistance. Thanks for suggesting these alternatives.
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