And the ladies are back. Forwarding this note from Liz Watson of the Smith Island Connection to all foodies:

"Hello Everyone!  Smith Island Connection is happy to announce that the crabs have arrived! There have been several changes for the season and I wanted to let y’all know. I will be at the Wednesday Easton Farmer's Market only. The hours of the market are from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. I will have 20 lbs. of crabmeat and 1 dozen crabcakes for those of you that are interested.

Prices for the season are as follows:
Crabmeat-$20 per pound
Crabcakes- $8 per crabcake
8 layer cakes-$40
Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to seeing each of you.

Smith Island Connection, LLC
Liz Watson •  Allison Tompkins • 410-819-6585
www.smithislandconnection.com • smithislandconnection@yahoo.com

Some of the people who are involved with the co-op are undergoing surgery, the number of pickers is down, but they're still here. Smith Island Connection is a co-op that supports the crab industry and people of Smith Island. And honestly, the crab is awesome. Check them out and see if you can get your hands on some this season. 

The big news...I mean really literally big...is the 170-lb female Atlantic sturgeon caught at the mouth of the Choptank River where it widens into the Chesapeake Bay. Reports say that it's the first to be seen in the Bay for more than 30 years.

The sturgeon was brought live to the Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge. Her eggs, which will soon be mature, will be fertilized by male sturgeons currently at the lab. The (hopefully) resulting baby fish will be released into the Bay.

The reason for the celebration? CAVIAR! The roe, aka caviar, has been so prized that the fish was pushed to extinction. Sturgeon were caught before they could release their eggs. But maybe now...we're on our way back. There's a major effort on to restore the sturgeon, including money awards and adopt-a-sturgeon program. Check it out, and put your money where your mouth is.

Yesterday, we went to visit a new place for us: Lockbriar Farms just north of Chestertown. Oh my goodness! A truly beautiful U-pick farm, the strawberries are amazingly large and delicious. And the raspberries are just coming on, huge and the bushes are loaded. If you're the lazy type, don't be put off by the "do-it-yourself" aspect of this, you'll fill a basket literally within a few minutes..they will be perfect and of your own choosing.

 
Prices are 1.85/lb for strawberries, which works out to about 2.50 to 3.00 a quart for the best berries ever (I mean it), and raspberries are 4.85 a lb, and I don't know what that works out to, sorry, but a pound is a lot of raspberries. For times and directions, click here and then go. If you're coming over to the eastern shore over the weekend, make it a point to stop by. You will thank yourself — and me — over and over again.

Just outside the newly opened Brooks Tavern in Chestertown, two friends of ours sat on the benches smoking a post-culinary cigarette, as we arrived for our turn. "Well?" we inquired. "How was it?" One of the ladies exhaled in a satisfied way. "To die." The other nodded. "Have the duck." "And the grilled caesar," said the first. "Killer." "Share." They both took deep drags. 

What has come over us? The Upper Eastern Shore? Home of all that is good, clean and deep-fried? The Siren of Delicious finally beckons. Julia's, Imperial, Crossfire, Brooks. Life is suddenly sweeter. Stay tuned for reviews.

Meanwhile:  It’s time for the fifth annual Wine Cellars of Annapolis Feastival. If the event is sold out, and it most likely is, you might prefer the Winemakers Tasting the night before, from 7 to 9, June 8th at Maryland Hall. It’s real one-on-one time with the winemakers coming in for the event, and your chance to try an expanded selection of their wines. Tickets: $75. For more information, click here and go to calendar.