Back Fin Blue--Gulfport FLA
 

I have a home in the tiny little town of Gulfport Florida which is at the southern most tip of Pinellas County on Boca Ciega Bay. There you will find Back Fin Blue, a small restaurant with outdoor dining and the best crab cakes outside of Annapolis Maryland! No kidding, don't know how they do it but the crab cakes are jumbo lump, broiled to perfection and priced reasonably.
CAH

Crab cakes are one of the most fun foods in the U.S., because it is really, really hard to find a good one. In fact, I have never had a great crab cake outside Maryland. Even though I prefer Dungeness crab to Blue Crab in general, for some reason crab cakes (e.g., in California or the Pacific Northwest) made with Dungeness are not as good.

That said, my favorite are at Cantler's Riverside Inn outside Annapolis. This is a rare restaurant that is touristy yet excellent. (The atmosphere really makes for part of the attraction.) The broiled crab cakes are all crab -- no vegetables, spices, saw dust, etc. -- and just fall apart and melt in your mouth.

The absolute best I ever had were Faidley's in Baltimore - prepared and served by the matron herself. Nothing I've had since compares. Minimal binding, just thick chunks of pure luscious and delicious crab meat.

I paid a return visit to G&M last night, and it was even better than my initial visit. The new decor is not bad at all - it has much less of a 1950s feel, uses lots of wood, and the space is broken up into several dining room/areas. I sat upstairs over the bar, which was fine for a solo diner as I had a perfect view of one of the jumbo flat-panel televisions on the walls (I was able to watch the ESPN special about the USFL - the sound is of course kept off, but the captions are set 'on').

The crab cakes were excellent - the same size as before, minimal filler and broiled just perfectly. I found that avoiding a potato/starch side in favor of slaw and mixed veggies as my sides made the meal more enjoyable (and it allowed me to demolish the double-crabcake platter)

I had a nice chat with the shuttle driver on the way back to the hotel, and we talked about some of the other places near the airport (Timbuktu, Snyder's and a place I hadn't heard of, Mo's). He stated that he preferred more flavoring in his crabcakes, specifically from the inclusion of mustard and Old Bay seasoning. But, in hindsight, I think I prefer the unadulterated flavor of the crabmeat that shines through at G&M.

sounds to me like they ruined the place. burn it down again, hon.

i like this place. it is a step above the common thai

http://www.littlespicethairestaurant.com/

although it sounds to me that they are going common very fast. shame.

Dahlia Lounge in Seattle. Yummy :)

I totally agree. I live in Alaska, and we have phenomenal king crab, but for some reason nobody can make a compelling crabcake out of it.

I'm from Maryland originally. I've never had a truly excellent crabcake anywhere else.