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History of the Crab Cake Wars

In 1998 our readers really got their chins up and out. Sure, a few said "the only place to get really good crabcakes is in my kitchen. . . at my mother's. . . at my aunt's in Baltimore." But most played by the rules and strongly recommended the crabcakes at some favorite Crummy But Good restaurant. We checked out more than two dozen places that had received the most votes from readers or sounded most interesting and were within a two hours drive of our favorite stomach pump. Which leaves some places - like Baltimore - unvisited. But we will get to them. Like the endless quest for the perfect Crummy But Good restaurant, the search for the best crabcakes is never over and the search itself is half the fun.

And the Winners Are . . .

Best All Around Crabcakes: Just Two Stoney Throws Away

Good crabcakes are more than just crabmeat, filler and seasoning, just as a good kiss is more than the mere throwing together of four lips. The best crabcakes came wrapped in a special feeling that said, "Welcome to Chesapeake Bay country. We make crabcakes the right way - our way." Although we gave 80 percent of our review grades to the crabcakes that were set before us, the remaining 20 percent helped measure the step up from mere good food to a great eating experience.

First Fan Eddie Becker (Silver Spring, MD) said, "If you know about a crab cake that is better than Stoney's at Broomes Island, MD, then I want to know about it." We don't. Stoney's did the best at bringing everything together: excellent crabcakes, tables that overlook the water, a wait staff eager to serve, a fun, peaceful location on a working waterfront, and an entertaining mixture of tourists and locals, boaters in shorts and black business socks and watermen in proud sweat.

But does Stoney's qualify as Crummy? Another fan, Melissa McCormick (Solomons, MD), proclaimed Stoney's: "The only crab cake that exists in Southern Maryland . . . Isn't crummy, it's casual. You know, a pull up in your boat and bathing suit type place." Some who pulled up in bathing suits should have worn a boat, but that's part of the fun.

We decided that Stoney's qualified for at least one crummy "C" just because the Patuxent River had battered away enough spit and polish to show who's boss. And because enough passing bathing suits revealed bodies whose temple days were numbered.

Still the Best Crab Cake Port in Any Storm

But when the weather is too hot, too cold or too wet to sit outside, or when you find yourself closer to BWI than Broomes Island, then try the crabcakes at G&M. This is where the first shot in the Great Crabcake War was fired, when Ann Moses (Silver Spring, MD) convinced me it was the only place to go for crabcakes. To quote me: "Excellent. And so meaty as to belong in the heavyweight class of crabcakes without filler." (Crabcake platter with salad, two vegetables, bread and coffee or tea, $17.95) Or as new fan Peter Marx (Annapolis, MD) lamented, "OK, when my mother visits, I'll probably take her to Stoney's. But I'll be talking about G&M." We even froze some G&M cakes and snuck them into our crabcake cook off, where the G&M crabcakes beat out three fresh home-cooked crabcakes.

Top Runners-up. . .

Captain Billy's Crab House

A nice setting overlooking the Potomac in a quiet part of southern Maryland. The restaurant does seat 400 and can get crowded. Crowded is an entertaining plus for some, a distracting minus for others. Crabcakes were good, although not quite lumpy enough for us. But the cole slaw and especially the corn fritters were worth fighting over.

Jerry's Seafood

Dear Expense Auditor: Derrick made me do it. He said I had to try the most expensive crabcake yet. How could I not when Derrick Damions (Greenbelt, MD) double dog dared me: "I grew up in a Chesapeake family and have had my share of Maryland crab cakes and such but, Jerry's cakes are called BOMBS and they will blow you away." So did the price. In addition to the Award for Most Expensive Crabcake, Jerry's won Best Service. I was amazed to pull into yet another drab shopping center at 2:00 on a Wednesday afternoon and find a line of 15 people waiting patiently in the hot sun to get into this modest looking restaurant. Jerry himself came out to serve us free shrimp appetizers.

Cantler's Riverside Inn

We arrived by water, after dodging Coast Guard boats, which were busy setting up traffic cones in the river. Seems the President was speaking at the Naval Academy. The final water approach to Cantler's was framed nicely by the hulks of two old boats, like old retired sailors sitting low in the water, each bobbing on about their yesterday. Today's story was the dock at Cantler's crawling with bushels of crabs being sorted into holding tanks. All of which built up expectations that made the not-perfect freshness of the crabcakes doubly disappointing. Our waiter assured us that the crabcakes were made fresh every morning, but on our visit that longed for crabby sweetness in a fried cake was missing. We will be back. Too many readers have praised Cantler's menu, and it's just too enjoyable a location not to try again.