A reader question:
Dear Editor,
I admit I am finding the responses to favorite Clam Chowder interesting even though I am not a fan of Clam Chowder. I do like Crab Cakes. I am wondering if people have a favorite place for Crab Cakes?
My mother and I attended the Newport Folk Festival and driving back to Pittsburgh we stopped at a restaurant just inside Connecticut from Rhode Island and they had great Crab Cakes. I forget the name. I am sure this will generate competition between New England and Baltimore.
I grew up in New England but now live in the Washington, DC area and have to say that Baltimore crab cakes are by fat the best.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in NJ but moved to Maryland 20+ years ago. After trying all things crab many different places since I've moved here, I'd have to say Maryland is tops (although I acknowledge that we have to "borrow" some from NC during certain times of the year). That leads to some pretty delicious crab cakes.
ReplyDeleteThe correct answer is: Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay waters of Virginia is where "Maryland" crab really comes from. Crabcakes are meant to be made with blue crab, which have been supplanted by invasive green crabs in New England. Green crabs are delicious but are much smaller than blues and do not produce large enough jumbo lumps to make a proper crab cake.
ReplyDeleteYou're so right. We're in Virginia and have bought crabmeat from Virginia and Maryland about the same time in the summer and Virginia's is much better. The crab we've had from Maryland is almost tasteless; it used to be much, much better years ago.
DeleteTop choice--Best crab cakes ever: The Annapolis Yacht Club (dinner the night before the Annapolis to Newport Race.) Runner Up: Crab cakes for breakfast at the Double T Diner in Annapolis.
ReplyDeleteThe Robert Morris Inn of Oxford, Maryland on the Eastern Shore. The highest quality jumbo lump local crabmeat broiled with butter . The mid-Eastern Shore rivers -- Choptank, Tred Avon, Miles, & Wye -- produce the finest blue crabs due to the balance of salinity poised between the fresher water of the northern bay and the saltier waters to the south.
ReplyDeleteAs a native Marylander, I second the Robert Morris Inn. The author James Michener agrees and says he did extensive research while writing his book Chesapeake and the Robert Morris Inn had the best crab cakes.
DeleteThe true test was my discerning mother in law. She declared them “very good.” I asked her if they were the best she has ever had. She replied, “I guess.” This is the highest praise ever heard from her.
You might be interested in making your own crab cakes. If so, use New York’s 21 Club recipe.
ReplyDeleteAnother native New Englander who has spent a long time in the Mid-Atlantic. I love seafood everywhere, and there is a lot to be said for Rhode Island, where I spent four years. My opinion - NE has better lobster, and the mid-Atlantic has better crab, hence better crab cakes. There are too many good sources for crab cakes in Maryland to name; a local gourmet ($$$$) seafood seller near our house, the Market at River Falls, routinely wins awards for their crab cakes. They're better than what you get at most restaurants, and they ship them overnight Fedex anywhere in the lower 48.
ReplyDeleteAs a native New Englander who has also lived in Tidewater (Virginia) and whose parents retired in Annapolis, the Chesapeake wins. Some of my favorite spots have already been named (Robert Morris, Annapolis Yacht Club), but I also like Cantler's. I learned from my mother that a proper crabcake is more of a crab pile, made with a little seasoning and a bit of crumb and mayonnaise, just enough to not quite hold it in a true cake shape. Fry it in a bit of bacon fat. Better still, pick a bunch of callinectes sapidus, pile it on a thin slice of salty country ham, dot it with butter, and broil it lightly. I have fond memories when Mrs. Tazewell, in her home on Crab Creek in Norfolk, would hand us a big aluminum pot, a couple of strings with safety pins on the end, and a chunk of bacon or chicken neck, and say, "Boys, go get dinner."
ReplyDelete+1 for Cantler's! My wife and I loved that place when we lived in the DMV. Only problem is you're sometimes looking at a wait of an hour or more on the weekends.
DeleteI know this answer is "basic," but I've always loved the crab cakes at Old Ebbitt Grill. Yeah, I know it's owned by Clyde's Group now and it's a touristy spot, but last time I was there (a few years ago now) the food was still great.
My favorite is the Edgewater Restaurant in Edgewater just south of Annapolis. 2nd is The Boatyard Bar & Grill Restaurant in Eastport, MD.
DeleteMaine crab meat is sweeter than crab meat down in the middle Atlantic. Crab rolls here in Maine are excellent but our crab cakes are filled with breading(usually) and not that great. Crab cakes down in the Middle Atlantic are excellent, my point: Don't come to Maine for the crab cakes. Get the crab roll.
ReplyDeleteI would vote Maryland- although it's close. Would love to see a competition between Maryland Pit Beef and mass North shore Beefs.
ReplyDeleteMaryland--hope you like Old Bay.
ReplyDelete