Does seafood float your boat? Try Phillip's

With its 870-person capacity and four other branches within the Harborplace Light Street Pavilion alone, Phillips is, very simply, a tourist trap.

Phillips, Ocean City's homegrown seafood giant, embodies the stereotypical regional spirit: the fisherman, up at 6 a.m., out on the Chesapeake in his sailboat, fishing nets in hand. Or bucket o' seasoned crabs on the waterside before the baseball game.

However you would like to see it, Phillips features an array of crabs, fish fillets, shellfish, steaks and, well, crabs. Entrees come straight-up, home cookin' style, served alongside a handful of veggies and a scoop of mashed potatoes.

The food itself is reasonable, albeit a little pricey. Entrees in the sit-down restaurant range from $15-35, and sandwiches and salads are between $6-12. Drinks are as much as $8 apiece and frequently come in a souvenir glass. While the food does not win the restaurant any "Best of Baltimore" awards on a regular basis, it is pretty good eats, and at the very least, filling. If you get an entre, expect to take part of it home.

Phillips is known for its crabs, although admittedly, the majority come from East Asia. But that is true with any of the local crab houses. Regardless, the crabmeat itself is wonderful. It comes in an array of dishes, from the most basic crab cakes (broiled or fried) to the slightly larger (and meatier) crab cakes to crab meat sauts to softshells to crab imperials (crabmeat in a rich, creamy sauce).

If you have extra time and energy, get a bucket of hardshells and go at it right there on the table. The tables are all wood, and they are all pretty solid, being made to withstand the impact of mallets on shells.

Phillips offers a handful of other fish, from the buckets of mussels or clams to the lobsters in various degrees of intactness (full Maine lobster down to lobster claw scampi) as well as tuna steak and the occasional rockfish and/or swordfish when in season. And you can get any of it stuffed with, well, more crabmeat.

To start off dinner, Phillips features a cream of crab soup and a crab and spinach dip. Both are incredibly rich. Aside from the cream of crab, lobster bisque is frequently the soup of the day, and is comparable in quality. The crab dip comes in a toasted bread bowl with crackers for dipping. It is something that the wait staff tries to push on larger groups. In the rich-but-not-too-filling category is the mushroom caps, stuffed with a creamy mix of crabmeat and also a good choice.

For lighter dining, go with a salad platter - you will get a large bed of lettuce, fruits and vegetables topped with a crab/shrimp/seafood salad. Or pick a sandwich for a manageable quantity of the fillet or salad of your choice.

If you do not like seafood, there is a chicken sandwich, a chicken Caesar and a few hamburger/steak items. I am a big fan of the Caesar salad. For the most part, it is all pretty standard fare.

If you are a vegetarian, Phillips does offer an option aside from French fries. You can probably get a better veggie-cake somewhere.

After the meal, if you did not fill up on an entre, fit in a dessert. Also in very generous portions, none of the cakes are baked in-house but they are good nonetheless. Cheesecake, Derby pie and White Russians (chocolate cake with Kahlua cream filling) are usually options. Otherwise, there are some pretty rich mixed drinks (peaches n' cream), ice cream or coffee (Do not ask for espresso, though. It comes from a plastic bottle).

The clientele changes on a day-to-day basis. Sunday afternoons the over-60 crowd packs the house to hear the live oldies band, and on weekend nights the folks in the bar are singing "American Pie" well into the early morning hours after the majority of the wait staff has left. Otherwise, Phillips usually gathers a good handful of people from whatever convention is being held downtown or whichever team is playing the Orioles.

So, should you go to Phillips? Some of the smaller and less visible seafood restaurants are definitely better. However, if you have been strolling through the Inner Harbor, it is a weeknight so the line at the door does not stretch around the corner (Phillips does not take reservations) and you are in the mood for some crabs, Maryland-style, then come on in. Just ask for a table with a view.