Where To Go For Great Crabcakes
 

I was recently in the Baltimore area (staying at a BWI-area hotel) and had teriffic crabcakes at a restaurant recommended by the hotel clerk, G&M Restaurant and Lounge.

The broiled cakes were big and had a lot of flavorful crabmeat - they used just enough filler to hold the cakes together.

The service was friendly and fast - the place was full on a weeknight, but I did get seated right away. Full seafood menu which also has some Italian dishes), a full bar and also a takeout section, if you want to take the crabcakes back to your hotel. Most BWI hotels will take you over on their shuttles.

http://www.gandmrestaurant.com/index.php

I think the crab cakes(balls) are first boiled, then run under a broiler.

G&M has a decor rating of 7 in Zagat, which is the worst in Baltimore area.

When I saw the title, I came in to post about G&M... My best friend from college lives in Catonsville and got me hooked on them. Unfortunately, his wife doesn't like them, so now we don't go as often. But I've been known to fly into BWI instead of DCA so I can get dinner at G&M. The "two crabcake" dinner is not for the feignt of heart... think six traditionally sized crabcakes. I usually cannot finish, which probably shocks those of you who have eaten with me before.

G&M has the decor of a Greyhound station. That's part of the charm. Actually, it's not that much worse than most diners. And if there's a wait, and there generally is one, it's a bit uncomfortable.

Hehe...I thought you soliciting advice, not giving your opinion...oops, my bad. Never ate a G&M crabcake as I'm not a huge crab eater, but I've heard on many occasions that Bob Chinn's Crabhouse in Wheeling, IL has really great ones. (I used to work there, but there was an overwhelming amount of people that commented on those and the garlic blue crab claws.)

Give me fresh blue crab and a bottle of good champagne and I am set for the night.

Until today I would have agreed 100% with this assesment. I was there for lunch today (thinking "I need to let the folks on FT know about this place" - should have known it was already mentioned! :D ) and while it was still better than most other places, they had increased the amount of filler :eek: . I will certainly try them again and I'm hoping it was the exception (last one made in a batch?) not the rule. Has anyone else been there recently?

I was there a few months ago and definitely thought the crabcakes were good... I would hope a lot of filler just meant you got the corners of the batch that didn't quite get mixed all the way.

At our old company, our travel department forced all DC area air traffic to BWI - and this was the "treat" for having to be so far out of the way. I swear what they saved in airfare we dinged back in crabcakes! ;)

I was told that there's a family whose members started various similar
eateries in the BWI area - the ones I recall are Timbuktu, G&M, and
Hellas. They are all said to have had respectable crabcakes: in all
my experiences I've found the quantity more impressive than the
quality (slawecki's perception of their having been boiled may not be
far from the truth - I believe the meat has been pasteurized), but the
value hasn't been bad.

Timbuktu in Dorsey is the oddest of the lot, its takeout outlet next
door doubling as an adult bookstore. Its crabcakes were the first
(IMO) to go downhill - when I went there in Sept. 2001 the cakes
were enormous but held together with a large proportion of egg-based
binder. Not been there since but have sent advance scouts there,
who have detected no improvement.

When C. lived in Glen Burnie, we used to go to G&M periodically.
Haven't been in a while, as she's a bit farther south now. I recall
the crab not being Chesapeake blue (in fact, I would bet that none
of the three now uses the native crab). A friend reports that the
crabcakes have gotten a bit smaller but points out that at least
it didn't fall into the Timbuktu trap of trying to keep the size up
with filler.

We now occasionally go to Hellas in Millersville, which offers the
same kind of crabcake - giant, slightly dry (undoubtedly from the
pasteurization) lumps in a sizable portion.

-

Haven't been there in a while, but the Crab Cake Factory on West
St. near rte 3 used to have tremendous food - it's had its ups and
downs; last time we went, a year or so ago, it was up.

Recently pleased by the crabcakes at Kentmorr on Kent Island, which
has the advantages of being accessible by boat or private plane, if
you are into that sort of thing. The cakes were very nice although
small and pricy.

I'd say, though, that the best thing to do is make your own, if you
can get fresh (or even carefully canned) blue crabmeat.

I went to Timbuktu last November and I'd agree with your assessment. The crabcakes had a lot of binder and I found them to be rather bland. I'm looking forward to hitting up G&M next time.

Monterey Bay in Pittsburgh
http://pittsburgh.citysearch.com/profile/8607090

Angelina's in Baltimore. ^ The best. They also ship Fed Ex. We have them sent in every year for New Year's Eve dinner. :)

These are pretenders to the throne. Faidley's Seafood in the Lexington Market is the real deal. http://www.citypaper.com/bob/story.asp?id=218

They have generally been top ranked by most of the locals since I lived in Washington in the late 80s. Based on the link above they still are. Another good choice, in DC (or right outside) is Chrisfields.

That's "Crisfield," named after the Eastern Shore town, for those
Googlers among you. My long-time favorite dish there was the fried
clams - it was one of the two restaurants I've ever been to that
used cherrystone clams in that dish; haven't been to Silver Spring
in a while, though. The crab cakes were pretty good, I agree, as
well. Not really fond of their fries and slaw, though.

Best for me that I can recall was recently in Naples Florida ! :eek:

HUGE lumps of crab meat and virtually NO filler. There were two places, one being a market/restaurant where you could buy the cakes to prepare at home. I'll review my notes and post.

--

Oops, thanks for the correction. Their fried chicken is also very good.

I love crabcakes!
 

Alexander's on the Bay

The best crabcakes I've ever had were at Alexander's on the Bay. It is a quaint, fancy, little restaurant in Virginia Beach, VA. All of their seafood dishes are delicious but their crabcakes are broiled and mmm mmm good. Highly recommend them! ^

Yup. G&M is as described.

Softball sized crab cakes, not those dainty little hockey pucks we get here in L.A.

I sit at the bar, order a martini that comes in one of those little 50s red booth kind of glasses, and pig out on crab cakes.

They're probably not as good as they used to be (what is, really, any more), but they're mighty good. The place is a throw back and a unique experience.

Robert Morris Inn
Oxford, MD (Eastern Shore)

Best. Crabcakes. Ever

Mike's Crabhouse in Riva, MD
 

Not just the best blue crab you can get anywhere, but the atmosphere is excellent. Eat out on the deck over the Chesepeake Bay. On Friday & Saturday evenings they have a live musician. Less than an hour drive from Baltimore.

I eat at Timbuktu almost every week and have never had a bad crabcake there. They are huge with very little filler. I think you must have caught a bad night. I have heard Angelina's are better but don't often get up to that area of town.

We go there every Easter with my sister's family. Crabs are good but I have had better. Beautiful location.

As a native of the Baltimore suburbs, clicked on the thread eagerly (despite my fatal seafood allergy- which extends to crabs though we didn't know that in my childhood so I ate them happily w/o trouble).

My great uncle used to say the best crabcakes were on the B&O train from Baltimore to Chicago, and people would ride it just for the crabcakes. . .

I was in Seattle for 6 days and ate crab cakes every day. I have been to Crisfield, Annapolis and Norfolk in search of soft shells and crab cakes, and am traveling to BWI in June and hope to try Faidley's Seafood after seeing a show by Al Roker on Food Network.

Last week I reconfirmed that my favorite crab cakes are served at the Houston's here in Atlanta.

btw, one of the best crab houses in Baltimore will be opening a restaurant in Concourse B at BWI this summer. Here's the press release:

http://www.baa-bwi.com/documents/NewsRelease2-16-05.pdf
http://www.obryckis.com/obr/stores/1...erspective.jpg

I think Faidley's is in Lexington Market

Ha! He believes Al Roker but not me ;)

Faidleys is definate superb, and yes it is in Lexington Market. If you are really adventurous try their "Maryland Surf and Turf" which includes crab and muskrat. They will also cook your fish that you buy for you. They are essentially a seafood store that also prepares stuff.

Having just nominated St. Louis for the "10 worst foodie towns" thread, you all may laugh at this recommendation, but Bristol Bar & Grill in suburban St. Louis (Creve Coeur) makes some of the very best crabcakes I've ever eaten.

More crab cakes
 

I have been a crab cakes fan for quite a while, and I look forward to trying them at some of the more out-of-the-way places on this thread.

Within my limited experience, in order of preference:

1. Fraidlay's in the Lexington Market in Baltimore. All crab meat, but you eat standing up, and the white wine is in screw top bottles.

2. Legal Seafoods in Boston, especially the Kendall Square branch.

3. Z Tejas in Tempe, Arizona -- a bit spicy, but excellent.

Fox Valley Restaurant :)

Amazingly, some of the best, if not the best, crab cakes I have ever eaten were served at Fox Valley located in a small town outside of Birmingham, AL :)

Aren't the Baltimore markets wonderful! You can do the same at the Cross Street Market.

Northern Virginia suburbs crabcakes
 

Best crabcakes I have had in some time is from Seafoodie http://www.seafoodies.com/ in a small shopping center in Reston, Virginia (near my home). Kevin, the owner/chef, shifted from technology a few years ago. His place makes gourmet take-out food (primarily seafood) that you cook at home. Bake the crabcakes at 450 for 15 minutes, for instance.

Seriously, these crabcakes are unbelievably great. ^ ^

Angelinas Restaurant
Harford Road
Baltimore MD


mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good

(Shameless plug ... )

Jake's Famous Crawfish in my hometown. I could swear that they sometimes have salmon cakes, but don't quote me.

As a JHU alum, when I go back to Baltimore, I stick to an all crab cake diet and have to have them at least once at each of the following: Faidley's, Alonso's in Roland Park, McCabe's in Hampden, and Obrycki's in Fells Point. They are all different but they are all superb. Am still in mourning for the crab cakes (and Italian salad) at the recently closed Marconi's. Sometimes hit G&M on the way to the airport, but I agree with the person who said it is more about size than taste.

My personal fave is Gibby's in Timonium, MD. I miss those yummy crabcakes!

Now that I live back in CA, though, there has been nothing remotely close. Every restaurant thinks they need to add onions, celery, or other random junk into those delicious balls of crab. Why can't someone out here do it RIGHT?!

Tampa Bay Crabcakes
 

I'm not wild about the restaurant "scene" in Tampa, but I have to admit (and a former Baltimoron as well) that Grillsmith in Clearwater has absolutely fantastic crabcakes. Probably 95% crab with just enough filler to keep it together. There's another location in Tampa, but haven't eaten there ...

I was in Baltimore this weekend and ventured out to eat crab cakes at both Faidley's (lexington market) and the G& M restaurant. I preferred the Faidley's though they both were very similar in size and content. the Faidley was a little crisper and had a slighly mustard taste to their secret crab cake recipe.

The best crab cake I had this weekend was at a restaurant in little Italy called Aldo's. 306 South High Street 410/727.0700

:D I buy crabcakes at Trader Joe's for two pack, frozen, at $2.99. They're decent, not restaurant quality of course, but the price is great and all you need to do it put it on a pan, wait till it goldens and it eat. :D

Anglelina's is no more ... at least unless someone buys the restaurant and continues the tradition. The owner has passed and the restaurant is being auctioned. Unfortunately, only one person placed a bid and it was not accepted. The crab cake recipe is being sold with the restaurant although, you can still order them on the website.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertai...,3397835.story

Best ones I have had have to be the ones at Charlie's Crab - http://www.muer.com/

Nooooooooooo!

I found Angelina's several years ago when I was researching a place to stop for crab cakes on a road trip to DC. The group consensus was that they were superb, and I returned on every trip to Baltimore. This is very sad.

Philips, another Baltimore seafood house, sells frozen crab cakes which are available at Costco, but the crab content has become skimpier in the last couple of years.