So, while I'm at Artscape, in my quest for Baltimore authenticity, I should get a crab cake? Any particular stand?

(I'll be at the hostel booth early afternoon Sat. and Sun., if anyone wants to drop by. I believe we'll have a/c. We'll be in the parking garage across from the theatre.)

that sounds barely palatable. why not just go pop open a can of deviled ham? blech.

The last crab cake I had was a Crabland in Essex. Not much flavor, but huge, fried and no jumbo lumps, much like my grandmother would make them.

The best crab cake I have had before that was from Box Hill Pizzarea, but it is more like crab imperial that is missing some mayonnaise.

Faidleys?

As a native Baltimorean, I insist on fried crabcakes - that's how I was raised.

When I can't or don't want a crabcake - it's time for coddies.

Sterling's Seafood on W. 29th Street in Remington.

Arundel Seafood makes crabcakes like that - they're very good!

What is the hostel booth and what does it do. I won't be able to stop by because I'll be accompanied by a GrandBoy.

Kibby's on Caton Ave has good crabcakes, though the it's The Peppermill Southwest B'more style.

Eve, the Baltimore Hostel has a booth to explain hosteling to people and so they can see what a hostel room looks like. A lot of folks think you have to be under 26 to stay in them. That hasn't been required in years.

The Baltimore Hostel is kitty corner from the library, and absolutely beautiful inside. It is also one of the biggest bargains in town.

Duda's is my go-to. Their platter of two enormous crab cakes and two sides is about $24. You can get a single crab cake, sandwich or platter, for much less! And they're deliciously stuffed with lump meat. And fried.

The best crab cakes I have ever had are from church kitchens, served at crab cake & chicken dinners or at a local festival. All the flavor is in the sweet special meat, like my grandmother would have made (had she lived in MD and not MA). No jumbo lump anything can come near the crab cakes served by an old AME church at the Maryland Seafood Festival for $7.

I think the cardinal sin in Maryland is to make crab cakes with crab meat from the Gulf or worse, South East Asia. I always look for the keyword "style" in the menu descriptions. They should just use Krab and price it like happy hour. Now that I think of it, that's disgusting but you get the idea

HHH, I don't think the Gulf of Mexico crabmeat is that bad, at least from some locations in the Gulf. Venezualan crabmeat, on the other hand, is definitely inferior, and the Asian blue swimmer crab is the worst.

I'm with you EL--I do love the fancy cakes, but I drool thinking about those state fair and carnival crab cake sandwiches. Ah, the smell that leads me to them! Heavenly greasy goodness!

Longtime reader, first time poster...
I like the expensive jump lump broiled ones too, but my guilty pleasure is Sugarbees' (on Lexington at Calvert) special of cheap crabcake sandwhich w/ fries and a drink lunch special - it was dirt cheap when I used to go there a few years ago. I hope they still have it.

vudean, I was there about a year ago, and they had it. Not bad, really, especially for the price.

Of course, I'm not a native, so listening to me on crab cakes is like listening to Joan Rivers on being butch.

THE BEST crab cakes are at the Double T diner on Pulaski Hwy and Ebenezer Rd. $14.00 for complete dinner including soup or salad.

THE BEST crab cakes are at the Double T diner on Pulaski Hwy and Ebenezer Rd. $14.00 for complete dinner including soup or salad.

The best crab meat is from Smith Island. Use that meat and any way you fix your crab cake it will be the best you ever tasted.

Mmmm, you know what I miss? A good knuckle meat fried crab cake and a Fresca.

http://baltimorecrabs.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/crab-knuckle-meat/

Box Hill Pizzeria, all the way. My relatives drive in from Colorado to eat those crab cakes, and they make them broiled or fried. Delicious!!

You should do a best of crabcakes award, voted on by us!

That's because hipster idiots ruin stuff for everyone. The serving sizes you get at those types of places would not feed a fly. Most of the time the chef serves low grade dogfood and people don't even notice. I got a steak once and you could see the marks where the jockey was hitting the horse.

Michael's Steak and Lobster House
www.michaelscrabcakes.com
6209 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224
(410) 633-6485

CRAB CAKES (2) 21.95

CRAB CAKE (sandwich) 10.95

One of my favourites from Artscape a few years ago was a pretzel with crab imperial and melted cheddar on top. Had a similar thing at a little breakfast place in Salisbury, a sandwich-sized English Muffin with crab imperial on. I miss Maryland!

Have you tried the Krusty Krab in Bikini Bottom?

If you want a great crabcake, skip the restaurant. Go to Faidley's on Lexington Market and chase it with some Natty Bo and some prime oysters. Not the cheapest, but it's a far more enjoyable atmosphere (and taste!).

For me, it's Captain Trey's in Cockeysville for a truly tasty BROILED Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, to go. Trey's is the very best in my area.

On this blog entry the topic is non-jumbo lump non-broiled cakes, right?

Browncoat that made me lol

I like to go to Sonny's in NJ---Sonny's is.....Oh never mind.

Come visit Seattle for fried Dungeness crab cakes. That's almost exclusively how they're made here.

Are you scooping them up at the Biddle Street Catering tent at the Flower Mart? We had a few there two years ago and the crab meat tasted like it had turned - far from the buttery goodness that it should have been. Is there another spot to get a c-cake there?

Yet another reason to make your own. Yes. There. I said it.

No, you're not helping the economy by making your own crab cakes. But reall, how much are you helping restauranteurs by feeding their delusion of what a 'real' crab cake is?

I stopped ordering them at restaurants when I too suffered through a horrible 'artsy' crab cake instead of a 'comfort food' crab cake.

Do it for yourself. Do it for Maryland. Do it for Crab kind! Get into the kitchen and make your own!

knuckle meat? who knew?

You guys need to come down to southern Maryland. Kingfishers on Solomon's Island offers a crab cake the size of a softball. It is reasonably priced, can be broiled or fried, and has almost no filler. Just some spices and a tiny bit of filler to hold it together. Now that is a true MD crabcake.

Shannon's in Ellicott City. it's listed--and priced--as a "backfin' crabcake. No huge lumps, but it;s all crab meat through and through. A platter of 2 decent sized cakes with 2 sides runs around $19.

Crabcakes? You might as well eat deep-fried cockroaches. Yech.

Crabcakes? You might as well eat deep-fried cockroaches. Yech.

Posted by: skuts

If they tasted that good then I definitely would. :)

Jonathan Y, you lost me and probably several others at "the size of a softball."

Who gives a damn how big it is?

Jonathan Y, you lost me and probably several others at "the size of a softball."

Who gives a damn how big it is?
Posted by: Jon Parker

I do, as long as it tastes as good as these do.

I think deep-fried roaches are a common snack in parts of Mexico and China.

Protein, you know.

You can always come to Orlando. The America's section of Epcot make a fine fried crab cake. And its Disney so there will be no expensive ingredients, just a high price.

I'm with Jon Parker. When the description of a crabcake starts with "it's really big", I don't expect much in the flavor department.

That sounds disgusting! You all sound fat too! How could you eat some fried ball of crab meat and mayonnaise?? Ugh I wanna barf just thinking about it.

No wonder america is obese.

But then you're from La La Land, so what do you know?

try going to Evans' in St. Mary's County. They will do you right!

I'm with Jon Parker. When the description of a crabcake starts with "it's really big", I don't expect much in the flavor department.

Posted by: Hal Laurent

I only meant to emphasize a large portion with great taste.

That sounds disgusting! You all sound fat too! How could you eat some fried ball of crab meat and mayonnaise?? Ugh I wanna barf just thinking about it.

No wonder america is obese.

Posted by: San_Diego_California
The fat intake is minimal, as the mayonnaise is nearly non existent. (just enough to hold it together) And if the cook knows what he is doing and heats the oil up to the proper temp then no real amount of fat is added by the oil.

I'm sorry if we aren't as cosmopolitan as the people of San diego. (Sarcasm)

Sheesh...I was going to recommend Edgewater Restaurant...they have just what you're looking for...but with this response...how long have you lived in this area? And eaten crab?

That sounds disgusting! You all sound fat too!

Honey, does this blog make me look fat?

Actually crab meat is unbelievably healthy, very low fat, high in EPA and a three ounce portion has over 100% of the RDA of B-12. I was amazed.
http://baltimorecrabs.wordpress.com/2009/07/03/blue-crabs-high-in-vitamin-b-12/

OMG, I'm more amazed at the Cholesterol. I knew shellfish were bad in that department, but that's an eye-opener. thanks

Is Timbuktu (sp?) still around? They were the best I every had back in 1996.

Hey, you stay classy, San Diego

Stringer Bell made the best crabcakes before he packed up and moved to scranton.

Mom and Grandmom always made crabcakes with a combination of claw meat and regular meat(that's what it was called back then), these were deep fried. These were about the size of a tennis ball.
Grandmom use to sell them in the barroom for $.25 each, with crackers only!!! Along with hardboiled eggs, pickled pigs feet, pickled pig knucles and those huge white pickled onions.

Oh yeah, San Diego? well, you come live in place that has 2 months of summer a year and see what you do to your anorexic body the rest of the time. So what if we're fat? We've got next to no weather to show off in anyway.

Bitter? you betcha!

I see two mentions of box hill pizzeria. Well, we eat at their sister restaurant Riverside Pizzeria for lunch a lot during the week. The other day while waiting for my food to cook I'm watching the "chef" rolling out a ball of crab goo with his bare hands. Same bare hands he'd been working with for the last 15 minutes at least slicking back his hair and not washing them once. Anyhow, he's rolling and padding and reaches one of his crab and mayo covered hands into the bread crumb mix and grabs a hand full and starts sprinkling over the ball-o-goo in the other hand. Then he starts padding again with both hands. He keeps doing this 3 or 4 more times dribbling crab bits and crumbs back into the bread crumb holder.
Does nobody in the restaurant industry know a damn thing about cross contamination? I see this crap all the time! At least he wasn't handling money too.

I agree with the others about making them at home if you know what you want.My grandma used to make crab cakes with the cheapest meat she could get and fill with lots of crackers and mayo and they still tasted better than the stuff I get in a restaurant now.
On the other hand - why ruin a perfect crab with mayo? Steam that mofo with some old bay and go to town.

Ignorant furriner here again. What am I supposed to do with the saltines that come with a crab cake?

G&M Seafood in Linthicum Heights...cheap ($13) For a huge, all lump, no filler, no nonsense crab cake.

I have had the same disheartening experience finding a good crab cake in the Baltimore area. The first was almost 10 years ago, when I attended a wedding party at a very well-known restaurant. There were capers and little bits of pineapple & mango in it. Capers! Pineapple & mango!

Blech!

It has gone downhill from there, with only the darkest holes of cautionary sanitary practices serving what must now be known as the "real" crab cake.

I weep for my fellow gastronimicuers (that's not a word), and hope that some day soon, the simple yet sublime crab cake will return to menus state-wide!

Ironically enough, I now often enjoy what was once known as a traditional "Maryland crab cake" in my home state of New Hampshire. I hope the frou-frou additives to filling doesn't make its way up here. We have cheap lobstah now, anyway.

with only the darkest holes of cautionary sanitary practices serving what must now be known as the "real" crab cake.

I think I'm in love

I must concur with John Y, The Kingfisher Inn in Soloman's Island is probably the best I've ever had, and yes it was the size of a softball and it was perfection. After the crab cake, headed to the tiki bar and had a night I wish I could remember

you're a restaurant critic and you can't find what you describe in Baltimore. Look around! There are at least 3 places of the top of my head that still do it that way. I'm not going to tell you, because you should learn to do some research before you spit out a paragraph. BTW...I know where they are and I haven't lived in Baltimore in 15 years! Nice journalist

Let's see...the type of crab cake that EL described isn't made by the kind of restaurant it is her job to review. Plus, Jim, you seem to be implying that she should eat in every single restaurant in Baltimore, so she can find crab cakes for every mood.

Research includes asking other people and evaluating those data appropriately.

Plus this is a blog. Blogs are all about opinions, light thoughts and silliness. They aren't even as reliable as Wikipedia (which isn't, particularly).

I don't think it is EL that needs to learn how to research.

Jim,
Got Snark?

"I'm not going to tell you..."

Nanny nanny boo boo

Timbuktu is still there - surviving all the development around it. Still looks like the dirtiest place you'd never want to go into, but the crab cakes are still awesome from what I hear.

I've also heard that Friendly Farms in upper Baltimore County has the best crab cakes, with the Peppermill in Lutherville running 2nd.

I think you should stop your belly-aching. You could be living in England where they use mashed potatoes and oatmeal in their heinous version of your beloved crab cake. Mmmm..... oaty

http://baltimorecrabs.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/english-crab-cake-recipe/

Omar! You mean to tell me that last scene was just staged and Stringer's in witness protection? In SCRANTON?!

The actor was on The Office

you'all are so funny...i was just looking for the best maryland crab cake recipe..ya know just the homemade kind..would someone please please post one??? and you can leave out all your fillers...potatoes,mango and pineapples alike. thanks soo much..

chris, that's like asking for the formula for the perfect woman. They all pretty much get the job done, it's up to you to decide what details you like best.

RevEd, you're assuming Chris is male. Oh wait, maybe that doesn't actually matter...

Chris, I use a slightly modified version of Henry Hong's CityPaper recipe, which in turn is a slight modification of the recipe on the Old Bay can.

Okay chris, I have a classic recipe for you. It's from the Lord Baltimore Hotel from 1932. It contains no Old Bay and that sounds great to me. Crab cakes have been around since Colonial times and the nasty celery seed spice mix was invented in the 1940s. Like all recipes, you can tinker with it to suit your needs, This one is OG. It uses white pepper which is interesting. Don't substitute black peper; it's too strong for crab meat.

http://baltimorecrabs.wordpress.com

I like that the bread crumbs are on the outside. That would give it a nice crust and keep the crab moist on the inside.

So who has tried this recipe? Anyone want to experiment this week end?

Hmm...that recipe looks interesting. No Old Bay. I might have to try it. Looks like it could be halved or quartered with no problem.

this covers it for me

Oh Joyce, that is so yuk. That recipe exemplifies everything I dislike about crab cakes. Just my opinion.

I am mentally formulating a variation on the Lord Baltimore recipe that I think will be great.

Owl, that Lord Baltimore recipe looks rather salty.

Joyce, that recipe is very close to the one I use.

Older recipes seem to use a lot more salt. That's easier fixed. I would omit the salt entirely given the presence of Worchestershire sauce

The best crabcakes I have found are at By The Docks on Eastern Ave. in Middle River right next to the Bengies Drive in. Get the single or double crabcake meal broiled. THE BEST!!!

The crabcakes at By The Docks are a perfect example of what's wrong with so many crabcakes nowadays. Large, beautiful white lumps, and practically no crab flavor at all.

There also aren't any docks to be seen, but that's not why I thought the crabcakes were terrible.

wrong with so many crabcakes nowadays.

Conspicuous consumption

Form over function.

Form over function.

And Asian blue swimmer crab being passed off as North American blue crab.

I picked up a copy of North Atlantic Seafood by Alan Davidson at an outlet mall bookstore not too long ago -- Third Edition with copyright dates from 1979 to 2003. When I finally got around to flipping through the index I found his recipe for "Maryland Crab Meat Cakes." It seemed to be a pretty authentic -- similar to one marked in my catalog as made by Senator Mikulski.

The odd part was the final paragraph, which I know isn't about crab cakes per se but which caught my attention as a Crab Norfolk fan.

"This kind of crab meat cake is not too rich, thanks to the breadcrumbs. Crab or Lobster meat prepared Norfolk style, which is to say with nothing else but butter and seasoning, is too rich for some. I have been eating it off and on at Martin's restaurant in Georgetown, D.C., for nearly thirty years, but I plan to give it up on my sixty-fifth birthday. [And I did.]"

I can't think of a thing I'm planning to give up on my 65th birthday, but wonder if anyone else has such plans.

No Canon, if anything I'll probably try something new.

Hal, I totally agree with you about Asian swimmer crab. I can only think that the people who are fooled by the huge sizes of lump are missing the presence of the delicate crab flavor known well to us in Baltimore but forgotten to many, as crab meat has climbed in price over the last few years.

When I first started purchasing crab meat there were backfin and claw, period. ( Also there were small medium and large steamed crabs). Now there are probably 10 or more varieties of crabmeat for sale and you can't take it for granted that they're from MD (they probably aren't) let alone that they're NABC.

Give up stuff? No, as I get older, I want to try more stuff. I used to work in a nursing home, and I'm terrified of becoming as limited as many of my patients were.

Give up things when I am a pensioner? Certanly not.

I hope that they invent deep-freid bacon flavored heroin by then.

anyone watch andrew zimmern on the travel channel......he hated crab cakes...one of the worst things he couldnt stomach

Crabcake john, you've gotta be kidding me? A man who eats bugs and worms has an "opinion" on crab cakes. I guess he'd rather have a bowl of tarantulas but that's ok, it leaves more for the rest of us!

Ok, here we go. For the very best crab cakes always buy extra crabs when having a backyard get together. After everyone has had their fill of steamed crabs then it is time to start picking the extra crab meat and don't forget the mustard.

Raven Expat - LOVE the mustard! And, to the naysayers, yes, I know what it is!

I love good food at fairly prices meals.

I love Crab Cakes (all variations). Here is a crab cake recipe from a resturatant in my hometown (St. Paul MN) ,that I , that does a (Persian-Greco-Roman) Crab Cakes.

I know it is not a Maryland Crab Cake, but it is so good! ~Parnelli

CRAB CAKES
Recipe from Downtowner Woodfire Grill
http://www.downtownerwoodfire.com

INGREDIENTS:
½ small Red Onion, minced.
1-pound Cooked Crab Meat.
½-cup Aioli (garlic mayonnaise).
2½-cups Panko (Japanese bread crumbs), divided use.
½- bunch Italian Parsley, finely chopped.
1-tablespoon Chives, finely chopped.
¼-tablespoon Dill, finely chopped.
Zest & juice of 1 Lemon.
½-tablespoon Kosher Salt.
½-tablespoon crushes Red Pepper.
½-tablespoon Spanish Paprika.
½-cup Flour.
1 Egg.
2-tablespoons Whole Milk.
¼-cup Vegetable Oil

MIXING CRAB CAKE:
In large bowl, combined minced Red Onion, Cooked Crab Meat, Aioli,
(1-cup) Panko, finely chopped Italian Parsley, finely chopped Chives,
finely chopped Dill, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice, crushed Red Pepper,
& Spanish Paprika. Avoid having the Crab Meat chunks from
breaking apart while combining. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

BREADING CRAB CAKES:
Place flour in small shallow bowl #1.
Wisk egg and milk in shallow bowl #2.
1½-cups of Panko is shallow bowl #3.

FORMING CRAB CAKES:
Form mixture into 9- round cakes, packing gently but firmly.
Dredge each crab individually, through flour, then through egg-milk ,
finally through panko. Remove excess panko crumbs.
Refrigerate for an additional 30 minutes.
Crab Cakes

COOKING CRAB CAKES:
Heat vegetable oil, in large-heavy skillet, over medium heat.
Pan-fry 3 crab cakes at a time, 4-5 minutes on each side, or until
golden brown.
Add more oil to skillet as needed, allowing oil to regain heat.
Drain crab cakes on paper towel or metal mesh drain rack.

(Persian-Greco-Roman) Crab Cakes.

I have no words

The recipe looks like it might be tasty, but I keep picturing a troop of wrestlers fighting off invading Persians.

There are elephants in there, too, although I realize that is totally the wrong war.

If one pound of crab meat makes 9 crab cakes, that works out to 1.78 oz. per cake. The cakes must be either small or laden with filler.

I also looked at the menu for the Downtowner Woodfire Grill. The only crab cakes it offers are, um, Dungeness crab cakes as a brunch or dinner appetizer. I can't quite picture St. Paul, at the northern end of the Mississippi, as a good source for fresh Dungeness crabs.

Once you leave the 50 mile radius of the Chesapeake Bay, a good crabcake is REALLY hard to find. Surprise! The Busy Bee in Poughkeepsie (yes, that is spelled correctly) , NY has a fabulous crabcake as appetizer or main course. And it definiteley is not the size of a softball but I wish it was....

Just go to Faidley's and be done with it !! :)