The Windsor Inn manages to do a lot of different things well. Its menu has everything from grilled-cheese sandwiches to lobster tails. It's a bar and a liquor store. And it even has video-poker machines in the back.
As for us, we came for the crabs - and a few extras - and we weren't disappointed.
The bland tan, windowless inn sits on Windsor Mill Road in Woodlawn. A large res- taurant-lounge takes up most of the space. But carryout orders are placed in a small liquor store next door.
Facing a 20-minute wait for our order, we decided against killing the time among the pork rinds and beer in the liquor store, opting instead to wait in the restaurant, where we had a drink and watched baseball highlights on one of several televisions.
As promised, the order was ready in 20 minutes, and the unmistakable smell of steamed crabs filled the car on the way home.
The crabs that night ranged from $24 to $46 a dozen. We went for the middle and the $35-a-dozen variety. They turned out to be surprisingly big. They were also steamed just right - neither too mushy nor too spicy - and made for the perfect main course for a warm spring supper.
The extras were also basically good, solid bar food. Cream of crab soup ($3.95) was a bit too thick and had only fleeting traces of crab meat, but had a nice taste with a hint of sherry. Another appetizer, buffalo wings (10 for $5.50), had a peppery zip, but was swimming in oil. The shrimp in a basket ($6.50 with fries) were the deep-fried, skinny, short variety - and hard to resist. Finally, the broiled lump crab cake ($10.50) may have had slightly too much breading and sliced bell pepper for my taste. But it also had plenty of fresh chunks of crab meat. And that is usually a formula for success.
An even better formula? Just order crabs and crack them open yourself. One piece of advice: If you don't like waiting in liquor stores or smoky restaurants for a carryout order, call ahead.
Windsor Inn
Food: ***
Service: ***
Waiting area: *
Parking: ***
Where: 7207 Windsor Mill Road, Woodlawn
Phone: 410-944-0446; fax: 410-944-3523
Hours: 9 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. daily
Prices: From $4.75 for many sandwiches to $37.95 for stuffed lobster tails; credit cards accepted