We wanted to love Crisfield Seafood Restaurant. The blue cinder-block walls, the long, ’40s-style U-shaped counter, the oyster plate and beer stein collection, the fading glamour shots of Jimmy Buffett, Dennis Hastert, and Arch Campbell. Owned and operated by the Landis family since 1945. It all called out to us like a siren song from the industrial semi-wasteland of this part of Georgia Avenue.

Crisfield, which celebrates 60 years as a Silver Spring institution this year, clearly has a lot of history behind it, and hundreds of fans. Take-out lines sometimes wrap around the counter bar, and everyone seems to be having a good time jostling and maneuvering around each other while they wait. Serious waiters prep fresh oysters and clams as they banter with a diverse group of regulars at the counter.

But a lengthy history and a pleasantly crusty environment can’t make up for the underseasoned and uninspired fare.