Big T's Crab Shack

Last weekend, my wife and I were returning to the Washington, DC metro area after having spent the day on some friends' boat on the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay.  It was dinnertime, and we were getting kinda' hungry; my wife was keen to try some local seafood joint.  We passed Big T's Crab Shack alongside Hwy. 5 in Mechanicsville, which had the appealing look of a colorful little mom-and-pop local joint, and thought we'd give it a try.  Although the place was not crodwed at all (maybe three other tables with people dining), the service was incredibly, excrutiatingly slow, and the waitress couldn't seem to remember anything (and didn't write anything down).  It was exactly ONE HOUR before our food was finally served, and all of it was pretty uninteresting and overcooked (fried).  There were two groups of people who were eating piles of steamed crabs, and they seemed to be pretty contented; the only other party dining refused their food when it was served, and got up and left.  Here's the long and the short of it...  If you just want some all-you-can-eat steamed crab, Big T's Crab Shack is probably worth a try, but I wouldn't recommend this place for anything else in the way of seafood.  (By the way, my wife was sick to her stomach later at home, although it's probably just because she's unaccustomed to such deep-fried, greasy, heavily-breaded foods.)  Only a mile or two farther north along Hwy. 5, we passed "St. Mary's Landing" restaurant on the opposite side of the highway in Charlotte Hall, and remembered -- too late -- that that's the place our local friends had recommended.  (We'll try it next time.)