Crabcakes And Sea Food

Someone wrote:

>results.  As someone who really likes seafood it is some what discouraging
>to have what some people call Crabcakes.  If any one can give me a little
>help in locating some of your favorites, I would appreicate it. Thanks

I forget the name, but there is a great place for crabcakes in Galesville (on the West River).  The exact location is at the intersection across from the small park.  I haven't tried the two places on the water there, but have been to this location a few times, just for the CrabCakes.

mike

Someone wrote:
: Hey there:
:   I know that this has alot of room for debate but I am looking for a new : place that has great Sefood.  I have tried a few with less than happy : results.  As someone who really likes seafood it is some what discouraging : to have what some people call Crabcakes.  If any one can give me a little : help in locating some of your favorites, I would appreicate it. Thanks

: Bob
: [email removed]

I've been really pleased with Bay & Surf in Laurel.  Their crabcakes are very meaty, with large chunks of crab.  You can get them fried or baked. I've tried them both ways; both are good.  The atmosphere is nice and the prices are reasonable.  (We've eaten for around $50.00 for two, including a couple of cocktails and one dessert.)

The restaurant is on US Rt 1, just past the Laurel Lakes Shopping Center, on the right.

Theresa

Someone wrote:
:Hey there:
:  I know that this has alot of room for debate but I am looking for a new :place that has great Sefood.  I have tried a few with less than happy :results.  As someone who really likes seafood it is some what discouraging :to have what some people call Crabcakes.  If any one can give me a little :help in locating some of your favorites, I would appreicate it. Thanks

I was raised in St. Mary's County and am convinced you'll never find any truly outstanding seafood outside of The County. Most of it is tolerable, but you can't find a good crabcake sammich. The best I can tell you use little or no filler; they are mostly crab meat. Some filler must be used to bind the meat together, but up here restaurants go overboard with filler.

One excellent crabcake I feel safe in recommending is at Fishermans Inn on Kent Island.

Someone wrote:
>   I know that this has alot of room for debate but I am looking
> for a new place that has great Sefood.  I have tried a few with
> less than happy results.  As someone who really likes seafood it
> is some what discouraging to have what some people call Crabcakes.
> If any one can give me a little help in locating some of your
> favorites, I would appreicate it. Thanks

There are (gross generalization follows!) two kinds of crab cakes, the ones that emphasize the crab, and the ones that emphasize the junk (IMHO) that accompanies the crab.  Many people (eg, my wife and my father) really love the latter, I am not in that category. If you should fall into that category, try Union Street Public House in Old Town Alexandria (on Union Street).  Although I hate their crab cakes, they do have a lot of crab in them and my wife thinks they're great.

For crab cakes that emphasize the crab, try Crisfield's in Silver Spring (the original restaurant is better, but they're very pricey and they only take cash), or Market Inn in Alexandria (not as good as Crisfield's, but easier on the wallet and they do take plastic).

For crab cakes that emphasize the crab, but have some noticeable spices and/or other flavors (OK, so there's more than two kinds of crab cakes) my personal opinion is that RT's in Arlandria (on Mount Vernon Ave not far from the Birchmere) is far and away the best.  Try their crab soup, VERY spicy, but EXTREMELY GOOD.  The phone number is (703) 684-6010 (I know that one off the top of my head).  I've noticed that their worst night seems to be Sunday. I think they're better sauteed than broiled.

A most recent discovery are the crab cakes at Mike's American Grill in Springfield.  They dress them up so that they are sitting on a bed of rice surrounded by some spicy tomato sauce (not impressive) and then they squirt on some stripes of sour cream and something else red.  I've had them twice in the last three days, and IMHO they're better if you ask for them without the extra stuff squirted on (although my wife disagrees...).  They're very good, lots of lump crab meat, some regular crab meat, and a little binder with some flavoring.

Slades (a chain) has some crab cakes that are mostly crab, but hickory grilled.  The hickory smoke flavor tends to overwhelm the crab, but they're an interesting change of pace.

I'm not sure in which category to place Phillips.  Many years ago (ie, decades ago) I would have recommended them unequivocally. However, these days I've been extremely unimpressed.  They no longer use just Blue crab in their crab dishes (I read an article in the Washington Post business section about how they had pioneered crab farming in the Phillipines where they were able to find some kind of crab that tasted similar to blue crab, and that was amenable to farming, supposedly they use that crab in a bunch of their crab dishes).  I've had their crab cakes recently at the Phillip's Seafood Grill in Tyson's Corner, and two days ago at the Phillip's in the Baltimore Harborplace.  Very unimpressive (but my wife thought they were good).  They're VERY over-priced for what you get.  If you have a good imagination, you'll find a lot of backfin in them, otherwise, happy hunting.  They're very tiny (anywhere from 25-50% smaller than all the others I've recommended).  If I happen to be at Phillips because others I'm with have decided to go there (eg, at lunch) I'll order the crabcakes because they're there.  But I would never make a special trip there for the crab cakes.

Gene Ouye