Our favorite recent dishes that have us coming back for seconds

 Whole steamed blue crabs at Crab Corner

Flown straight from the Chesapeake Bay to our humble burg, these beauties are priced between $45-$85 a dozen (depending on size), and six of them are about perfect for two people to get crabby with. They come coated with the Old Bay Seasoning in which they’re also steamed, along with a mallet, a nutcracker and a two-pronged tiny fork for picking out the good stuff from the legs, claws and under the carapace. The secret, according a Maryland crab aficionado friend, is to “separate the shell from the meat, not the meat from the shell.” Easy for him to say. But the staff here will gladly give you lessons in crab anatomy and every crack, poke and dig is worth it once the sweetest shellfish meat on earth hits your lips. — John Curtas

(4161 S. Eastern Ave., 489-4646)

Vintner Grill Cobb salad

A perfectly arranged platter of tender filet mignon, properly hard-cooked eggs, lightly dressed greens, pungent chunks of blue cheese, hearts of palm and bacon is much more than the sum of its parts. This composed salad is the perfect midday meal — satisfying all of your veggie and carnivore cravings at once, and leaving you ready to attack the afternoon after your power-lunch meeting at this northwest gastronomic mainstay. If you can stay away from the addictive bread plate with seasoned butters they serve here, you can (almost) feel as if you’re remaining faithful to Dr. Atkins.

(10100 W. Charleston Blvd. #150,
214-5590)  — J.C.

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