Crab Cakes In Inner Harbor
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Best Crab Cakes In Baltimore: 6 Delicious Spots
August 3, 2020 by Molly Beauchemin
You cant visit Baltimore without trying some succulent Maryland blue crab the prized local ingredient that makes Baltimores crab cakes so delicious and renown. Crab is so popular here that its no surprise the worlds favorite crab seasoningOld Bay was actually invented in Baltimore.
Baltimore, moreover, is known for its crab cakes, and there are a number of intriguing places to eat them here. Each of the restaurants on this list use recipes that have their own flavor, nuance, and style.
Some people swear by no-frills takeout counters like Faidleys, while others prefer the charming dining experience at sea-to-fork establishments like Gertrudes.
Either way, no matter what kind of crab cakes youre looking for in Baltimore, the ones below will not disappoint. The seasonings and presentation might differ, but the fresh local crab at the core of each recipe offers an indelibly authentic taste of Maryland.
For the quintessential Baltimore crab cake experience, try more than one crab cake. Then, decide for yourself which one you like best.
Also: Crab is a rich source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, which helps quell inflammation and improve mood.
Below, we spotlight the best places to try authentic Baltimore crab cakes in the city. Enjoy!
The 15 Best Places For Crab Cakes In Baltimore
Mike Kafes: Koco’s has the BEST crab cakes!! I Dare you to find a better one. Awsome wings and great family “pub” atmosphere… Read more.
Drew Hicks: Thursdays they have their crabcake platter for 20 bucks… That’s a 12-ounce crab cake with your choice of fries and cole slaw or a Caesar salad. Literally the best crab cake I’ve ever eaten.
Andrew Syropoulos: Love the crab soup and crabcakes. Best in Baltimore. Get there early. The bar is the most fun.
David Wertheimer II: Some of the best crab cake sandwiches, plus a raw oyster bar. Dozen raw oysters, add some lemon, horseradish, hot sauce, and wash it down with a Natty Boh!
Cracken .: Best crab cake in town and they have Boh on tap.
Kirti D: Best crabcakes you’ll ever have. Spring for the lump crabcakes. For sides, you can’t go wrong with their macaroni salad.
Shawna Deavers: Love the new place! Very beautiful. Lobster is great, crab cakes are great, and the fish is AMAZING!
Susie Richmond: After reading reviews apprehensive but oysters excellent, snow crab n steak great and crab cake fantastic no complaints. Server kirstin also great. Would definitely recommend.
Barb Youchah: Crab Cake Platter and Vegetable Crab soup are great!
Angela Wen: Chocolate tart with macadamia nut is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had!! Also good is crab cake, lobster mac and cheese, grilled octopus, and of course, the oysters!
Meg Bowes: Try the old bay mussels, the crab cakes and the orange crush
for you
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Mamas On The Half Shell
Mamas on the Half Shell is an outstanding Baltimore-style seafood restaurant that opened its door to customers in 2003. The restaurant serves one of the best crab cakes in Maryland with various sides based on the season, from Brussels Sprouts to fries, green beans, and mustard. Dont miss trying a crab cake sandwich!! Mamas impressive interior and blended atmosphere make it the perfect choice to go with families. For the best Baltimore meal, start with fried crab cake with mustard and popular orange crush.
Best Crab Cakes Menu list in Mama's on the Half ShellCrab BallsCrab DipMaryland CrabCrab Cake SandwichCrab Cake Entree
Address: 2901 ODonnell St, Baltimore, MD 21224
Phone: 410-276-3160
The Avenue Kitchen And Bar
Chef Audiel Vera has put has stamp on this relatively new Hampden destination. The space formerly housed Le Garage and The Avenue has continued its reputation of good food, good drink and a good time.
On Wednesdays, you can get their 1/2 pound crab cake for just $15. This broiled beauty is all jumbo lump crab and while you need to order sides separately, you dont really need the sides. All you really need is a glass of wine or a beer and this massive beauty of a crab cake.
This too has all the creamy sweet flavors that you look for when you crave a Maryland crab cake. The Avenue runs specials four other nights of the week but the crab cake is definitely the highlight.
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Alright Nomsters, which crab cake looks the yummiest to you guys? Definitely let us know what you think by commenting below. A huge thanks to our foodie friends for spilling the beans on the best crab cakes in Baltimore! Make sure you check them all out and follow for more noms on the regular. To browse more MD foodporn, click here. Until next time, friends!
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Nomtastic Foods: Jimmys Famous Seafood
The hype is so real! Theres so much to love at Jimmys, but their crab cakes definitely THE highlight. Wed go as far as to say one of the best crab cakes in Maryland.
Just look at this meaty, magical deliciousness: 1% filler, 99% crab. And theyre the size of softballs! And they apparently also offer a gluten free version as well for those of you with dietary restrictions. Join them in house at 6526 Holabird Ave or get them shipped straight to your door because treat yourself.
We Tried 7 Classic Baltimore Crab Cakes Including Faidleys Kocos And G& m Heres What We Thought
Ask people their favorite place to get a crab cake, and youll likely hear at least one of three names thrown in somewhere: G& M, Kocos and Faidleys. .
We set out to try seven popular crab cakes in the Baltimore area to see which one was our favorite. A few themes emerged during our travels.
Freshness is key and elusive: Only one of the seven we visited carries the states True Blue logo, meaning its reliably Maryland crab meat.
Texture is hard to get right: The cake should be moist on the inside but retain its shape it shouldnt fall apart when you stick a fork in it. Its not the kind of dish with a lot of room for creativity, as the chef for Alexander Brown Restaurant told me when explaining why he refused to put a crab cake on the menu.
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Where To Get The Best Crab Cakes In Baltimore
Alright Nomsters, weve been getting messages left and right about this topic so were extra excited to share todays post with you guys. Weve asked some of our favorite Maryland foodies to talk about the best crab cakes in Baltimore and we added our own two cents as well, so stick with us until the very end to see who made the cut.
Best Crab Cakes In Maryland
Are there any waterfront restaurants in Maryland?
Finding local restaurants in Maryland that boast sensational waterfront views is pretty easy, no matter what your taste preferences. For a truly memorable experience, plan to visit Rusty Scupper Restaurant and Bar in Baltimore, a popular seafood restaurant for more than three decades. The fine-dining restaurant in Maryland offers jaw-dropping waterfront views and dishes up some of the best seafood in the state.
Ocean City is home to numerous waterfront restaurants that are bucket list-worthy, including M.R. Ducks. The oceanfront restaurant promises front-row views of the water, live entertainment on the weekends, and some of the best seafood in Maryland.
Where can I dine at themed restaurants in Maryland?
Add an extra bit of excitement to your next dining adventure by eating at a themed restaurant in Maryland. If youre a big fan of pirates , pull up a chair at Mutiny Pirate Bar and Island Grille in Pasadena. The popular eatery features a menu of classic Caribbean barbecue and some of the best seafood in Maryland.
Stroll down Memory Lane or discover the 50s for the first time at Berts 50s Diner in Mechanicsville. The classic 50s diner serves a full range of traditional diner favorites from burgers and fries to crab cakes.
What are the best mom-and-pop restaurants in Maryland?
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Ask People Their Favorite Place To Get A Crab Cake And You’ll Likely Hear At Least One Of Three Names Thrown In Somewhere: G& m Kocos And Faidleys We Set Out To Try Seven Popular Crab Cakes In The Baltimore Area To See Which One Was Our Favorite A Few Themes Emerged During Our Travels
The Prime Rib
After decades in business, the classic Baltimore steakhouse gets almost everything right, and their crab cake is a shining example. Delicately broiled and brown on the outside, it retained the perfect amount of inner moisture while still holding up beneath the fork. It tasted great, too. One caveat? The crab is from Florida, not Maryland. If that were made with Maryland crab it would have cost $60, our server informed us. Instead, its $18 as an appetizer. Well, you cant have everything, can you? 1101 N. Calvert St., Midtown-Belvedere. 410-539-1804. theprimerib.com/baltimore-md
Duda’s Tavern
Crab cake texture is spot-on at this family-owned Fells Point tavern: huge hunks of crab meat stick together with just the right amount of filling. But Maryland crab lovers may have their claws out: General manager Scott Curlee says the restaurant sources the meat for their $21.99 crab cake from Indonesia. 1600 Thames St., Fells Point. 410-276-9719. facebook.com/DudasTavern/
Pappas Restaurant and Sports Bar
This 8 oz. bad boy from Pappas Restaurant and Sports Bar in Parkville is a favorite of Oprah Winfreys, a fact that you’ll no doubt be reminded of anytime Pappas comes up in conversation. The crab is sourced from around the world, according to a manager. During a recent visit, our $20.99 crab cake tasted wonderfully fresh, though the subtle meat flavor was nearly overwhelmed by an eggy filler.1725 Taylor Ave., Parkville. 410-661-4357. pappasparkville.com
Koco’s Pub
Best Crab Cakes In Baltimore
People sometimes forget that the DelMarVa area of which Maryland is part of has been settled for over 400 years. Early settlers brought Renaissance cooking techniques from Europe, which included making all kinds of loaves, savory and sweet pies, as well as crumbles. This involved mixing the main protein with seasoned bread crumbs and fat before cooking. The common technique accomplished many things: stretching out the expensive/hard to obtain ingredient, preserving it to some degree before the days of refrigeration, and of course, flavor.
Baltimore has its own takes on crab cakes, they’ve become world-famous. Locals get the hankering for a traditional flavor though they’re more expensive than they used to be. Tourists can’t seem leave town without sampling one .
Certainly, there’s a sub-industry for listing the best crab cake. Hey, you’re reading this list! Publications have competing annual lists, vehemently disagreeing with each other. There are a lot of factors that go into what makes a great crab cake, not the least of which involves personal palates. Historically, crab cakes were made with mostly backfin meat, which has a distinct flavor. Modern tastes tend to adore the sweeter, milder and more costly jumbo lump meat. How much breading do you like? Some people like a creation that’s more akin to Crab Imperial, it’s so creamy and rich. Others love the crunch that’s brought on by fried bread crumbs .
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The Top 5 Crab Cakes In Baltimore
Traveling to Baltimore, Maryland? Be sure to taste the delicious crab cakes while you’re there.
As the souvenir t-shirt states, Maryland is for crabs. And around these parts, those crabs are blue crabs, aka Callinectes sapidus. Once plentiful in the Chesapeake Bay, pollution and over-fishing have caused Marylanders to resort to importing blue crabs from the Carolinas and the Gulf of Mexico. No matter–wherever they come from, blue crabs are some of the most flavorful shellfish around.
While we like to eat them simply steamed, encrusted with a spicy salty seasoning blend, sometimes we prefer the more expedient/less messy way of getting crab into belly–crab cakes. Here in Baltimore, the largest city in Maryland, we have several fine examples of the crabby patty, and many restaurants brag that theirs are the best in town. But whose crab cakes really are the best? Well, that may be a matter of personal taste. Some people prefer their crab cakes to be nothing more than a pile of crab meat, held together by sheer will. Others dont mind if their cakes are a little on the saucy side. Seasoning differs from restaurant to restaurant–not everyone uses the ubiquitous Old Bay–but no bell peppers, please. They detract from the delicate flavor of the crab.
So who has the best crab cakes in Baltimore? Here are five of our favorites.
It Takes A Village To Make A Crab Cake
“People from all around the world come here to Baltimore just to grab a bite of the famous Faidleys crab cake,” Al says in his new TODAY All Day series “Family Style,” which premieres Wednesday. “Its made from fresh Maryland crab and family love.”
Faidleys has been in Nancy Faidley Devines family for four generations. She created her own crab cake recipe in 1987 and told TODAY she hasn’t changed it since. Her secrets include using crushed saltines instead of breadcrumbs, which bind the crab to a creamy “magic sauce.” The crab cakes at Faidley’s are deep fried in soybean oil and then served up with an array of sides including macaroni and cheese, potato salad and coleslaw.
“I watch people for the fist time putting it in their mouth and they say, ‘Oh my God.’ And they’re standing at a table in a market,” Faidley Devine told Al. “They’re not sitting down to a white table cloth and having someone serve it on a silver platter. It’s on a paper plate, but it belongs on a silver platter.”
One of the most lovable parts about Faidley’s is that its core menu has stayed the same for decades even Al recalled the iconic crab cake tasting exactly as it did when he first visited 26 years ago.
“I think that people are astonished to see my parents at 84 and 89 still working, Faidley Devines daughter, Damye Hahn, told TODAY. People ask her for autograph, they ask her for her picture, they ask her to hold their babies … Its really fun.
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The Best Crab In Baltimore: Crab Cakes Soft
Looking for the best crab in Baltimore? Baltimoreans dine on this famous crustacean in four ways, and crab houses like Phillips Seafood in the Inner Harbor and Bo Brooks in Canton usually offer all of them. Try as many preparations as possible to see what you like best.
Also note that much of the crab served in Baltimore is no longer from the Chesapeake Bay. This prompted the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to start the True Blue campaign in 2012, which recognizes restaurants that serve only Maryland blue crab. If eating local crab is important to you, check the website for a list of dining options.