Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2021

36 www.MountPl easantPodcas t . com | www. ReadMPM. com | www. I LoveMountPl easant . com F or a Marylander — a Chesapeake Bay Marylander at that — being cynical about “Charleston blue crabs” has always come with the territory. If charged with the decision between Shore Boys cream of crab soup and the absolute best South Carolina she crab soup (don’t get me started on the “she” part), my taste buds would select the Shore Boys soup 10 times out of 10. I mean, do I want my cream and butter with a half- pound of sugar-sweet jumbo lump crab meat sprinkled with the oh-so-delicious Old Bay Seasoning? Or do I want soup with a couple of shoe strings of claw meat and sherry? But it’s not just about the soup or even the almost-sensual flavor that the brackish Chesapeake water gives my favored Maryland crabs. My Carolina crab facetiousness comes from being the child of two marine biologists who studied the bay for their entire careers. Perhaps I’m biased, but as BY CUL LEN MURRAY - KEMP From the Chesapeake to Charleston Uniting Past and Present Through Crabbing