CCR Takes Part In Best In Chow - Baltimore (or: why there's no review this week)

Filming for the show took four days, from Monday, June 23 through Thursday, June 26. The CCR first joined the crew for part of Tuesday to do our "super streeter" interview, where Cris asks us a bit about a brief history of crab cakes, and the different types of crab cakes. We were originally going to do this part of the interview on the street, but the producers thought it would be fun to do the interview on a boat floating around in the Inner Harbor. The electric gliders in front of the Aquarium were so underpowered, that the wind kept on blowing us around, and not letting us go where we wanted to go. About to scrub that idea, it was finally decided to do the interview holding on to a wire that blocks off a small habitat in front of the World Trade Center building.

On Thursday, we joined the other 9 judges to go around to Pappas, The Crackpot Restaurant, and Faidley's Seafood (all no strangers to the CCR!) to meet with the owners and chefs, hear a bit about their history, and sample their crab cakes. First stop was Pappas, located in Parkville at the corner of Taylor Ave and Oakleigh Rd. Well known around Baltimore, Pappas has been in business since 1972, making crab cakes their way and shipping them to all corners of the country. The drill was simple - film a run-in, meet the owners, and sample the crab cakes. As you can see, they went all out in giving us full platters complete with two sides. We're pretty down with crab cakes for breakfast, so the sight was welcome. After filming us enjoying crab cakes, it was on to the next stop.

Stop number 2 was The Crackpot Restaurant, located in Ravenwood Shopping Center at the corner of Taylor Ave. and Loch Raven Blvd. The Crackpot was the first restaurant in Baltimore to import crabs from Louisiana so they could be sold year round. But they also hold the distinction of serving the largest crab cake in Baltimore, named the "Pounder Plus" (half of one is pictured below). At the restaurant, there was a similar scene to the last place: run-in, meet and greet, and then enjoy even more crab cakes. Only, they served each of us half of a Pounder Plus. Which wouldn't have been a problem had the last location not been just 5 minutes away. But we powered through like true champs and did what damage we could.

Faidley's Seafood, located in the historic Lexington Market, was the last restaurant on the list. What began back in 1886 has become one of the most associated names with the city of Baltimore when it comes to crab cakes. Interestingly enough, we learned that Faidley's was the first establishment in Lexington Market to serve cooked food, a phenomenon that has since caught on and become popular in the market. Same filming drill as before, but we were served a more normal portion of crab cake this time. After we filmed our spot, we knew we had just one more job to do.

As soon as we threw our forks down, we were whisked away to historic Fort McHenry, best known for it's part in the War of 1812, where the Americans defended Baltimore Harbor from the British, inspiring the creation of our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. Fort McHenry has also served its part in the Civil War and both World Wars. But a different war was about to be won at this location - which crab cake was the Best In Chow.

At stake was their reputation. The price was bragging rights and the trophy pictured above (which oddly resembles an english muffin more than a crab cake). The decision came down to a group of 10. Some had never eaten a crab cake until this very day. Others were a little more familiar. All in all, it was a good selection of background and personalities to help decide one restaurant's fate.

So, I know what everyone wants to know. Who won??? Well, for that answer, you'll have to tune in when the show airs to find out! Best In Chow's Season 2 starts on June 30, 2014 on CMT (Canada) and July 2, 2014 on The Cooking Channel (US).

A special thank you goes out to the producers, Pyramid Productions, and host Cris Nannarone for inviting us to take part in the filiming of the Baltimore location. Photo credits are shared between the Crab Cake Review, Cris Nannarone (for the picture of us in the boat), and my fellow judge Sarah (who provided the group shots at Fort McHenry, as well as our voting shot).