Or it could be pasteurized crab meat from Maryland, with a refrigerator shelf life of up to a year. Until Phillips, the granddaddy of seafood restaurant groups in Maryland, opened its Harborplace location in 1980, crab was a seasonal product. Phillips pioneered the practice of bringing in crab meat from Southeast Asia, from a closely related crab, Portunus pelagicus , or the blue swimmer crab, as opposed to the Chesapeake's blue crab, Callinectes sapidus . It's very high quality, Goldsborough says, with large white lumps and a minimum of shell. But in dishes like crab imperial and crab cakes that are seasoned and sauced, most people can't tell the difference.
People have an attachment to it.
If you care, ask. I believe Chesapeake Bay crab ought to be worth more. Chef Michael Rork, who owns Michael Rork's Town Dock in St. Michaels and is also in charge of the kitchen at Baltimore's Polo Grill, believes that Maryland has the best crab meat available. His shore restaurant doesn't serve steamed crabs, so he doesn't have to worry about the dwindling supply. He's using less crab in his seafood dishes these days because he refuses to serve imported or pasteurized crab meat.