Keith Lee’s family sampled crabs from Kahler’s in Rosedale. The Maryland favorite proved tough to crack.

Keith Lee can’t eat blue crabs, but his family made sure to sample some while in Maryland. And now they’ve got the internet picking apart their crab-picking technique.

The TikTok food critic has been touring the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area for the past week, eating at local mom-and-pop restaurants and posting his thoughts. (His enthusiastic video about Baltimore’s Rooted Rotisserie helped drive scores of new business to the Hollins Market dining spot.)

Since Lee announced his DMV visit, though, some followers wondered how he could truly get a feel for the area’s cuisine without eating crabs. The TikToker has a shellfish allergy, and has previously posted about taking precautions to avoid a reaction.

His family stepped in to lend a hand (and their tastebuds), stopping by Kahler’s Crabhouse in Rosedale to chow down on a half-dozen steamed crabs. They approved of the freshness of the crab meat and appreciated the generous seasoning — but struggled to find the right approach to picking the juicy morsels.

One person used teeth to crack into a leg. Lee’s wife, Ronni, pressed down on the middle of a crab shell like she was performing CPR.

Ultimately, their efforts worked — and picking crabs is not an exact science, despite what many Marylanders might believe. But some viewers had thoughts and advice.

“Oh no! Yall should’ve watched a tutorial on how to eat Maryland crabs,” one person commented.

“The way they’re cracking those crabs is stressing me out!” said another.

Rachel Troyer, the general manager at Kahler’s, said the crabhouse’s staff is accustomed to giving dine-in customers crab-picking tutorials. “We’re more than happy to sit down and show them how,” she said.

Troyer said friends and family have been texting her about the video since early Thursday. Labor Day Weekend is already a busy time for the crabhouse — an answering machine message recommended making reservations Friday — but Troyer said she thinks Lee likely gave the business a bit of a boost, too.

“A lot of people have said congrats on the review,” she said. “We’re just this little crabhouse in Rosedale, and for them to choose us, I think, is just amazing.”

Though Marylanders take pride in our blue crab-picking skills, we were all novices at one point. In that spirit, the Sun is resharing our guide to picking a steamed crab, complete with photos illustrating each step.