The Crab Soup Cook-off is tomorrow at the Maryland Seafood Festival!  Are you going?  We are!  Come enjoy some of the finest soups the area has to offer!  http://www.mdseafoodfestival.com/entertainment/crab-soup-cookoff

It may be considered the end of summer, but it's not the end of crab season!  If you're a typical Marylander, crabs are certainly going to be part of your weekends until the boats turn up dry.  With so many places to choose from, why not pick a shack?  Enter Fat Boys to the rescue, located in Crofton not far off of Rt 50.  But while crabs are all well and good, we actually need to stay a little clean this time around (what with everyone wearing white pants for some reason), so crab cakes it is!  Does the Shack deliver, or should you stick to crackin' and pickin'?  Let's find out!

We'd like to welcome our sister site, the Crab Soup Review, to the interwebs!  If you like soups, and you think crabs in soup is a really tasty idea, then you'll love the CSR!  Check in with them and see what they've been up to!  www.crabsoupreview.com

The Black Olive is an authentic Greek restaurant, located right in the heart of Fells Point.  Constantly being rated as one of Baltimore's best restaurants, and receiving high accolades by Wine Spectator, this is one place that needs to be experienced when visiting the city.  Everything they do is organic, so you can expect everything to be fresh from the sea or farm to your table.  If you have the chance, take the waiter up on the "fish tour", where you'll get a first hand look at that day's catch, as well as platters of meat.  And for once, the CCR bypassed the fresh fish and opted instead for, what else, crab cakes!  Read on to see if they were every bit as fresh as the catch of the day!

Timbuktu is one of those names that will come up in the ever going debate on who has the best crab cakes in Baltimore.  Often considered part of the unofficial first family of crab cakes, Timbuktu has been around for at least 30 years.  Though not quite as famous as G&M, they run in the same circles with the likes of G&M, Hella's, Romano's, and Pappas.  So you at least know what you're in for, if your friends haven't told you already.  While the inside might be a bit dated, the crab cakes are timeless, and have won numerous awards.  Are they still the real deal after all this time?  We set out to answer this question.  Read on!

Walk along Annapolis' Main Street, and you'll come across everything that you expect in a small seaside town -- small shops, ice cream parlors, happy tourists, local restaurants and bars.  Oh, and the repeated claims of having Annapolis' best crab cakes.  And the Acme Bar & Grill isn't any different.  They've been around as long as we can remember.  During the day, they are a popular spot with the tourists and sailors.  And at night, the crowd turns quite a bit younger.  But, no matter when you go, the kitchen will be the same, and so will the crab cakes.  Are they really Annapolis' best?  Read on and find out!

The Fish Market has been around since 1976, traveling around different locations in the DC Metro area, and are currently located in Clinton, MD, which is right outside of Andrews AFB.  Upon walking in, you definitely get the old seafood house feeling with the decor of the restaurant.  On Wednesday through Sundays, The House Band entertains patrons, which features one of the owners on drums.  But we're not here to party.  We're here because we love crab cakes.  So how were they?  Let's find out!

Every now and again, in the course of our reviews, we get to come across a place that we may never have known about, or at the very least, would have passed by without another thought, if it wasn't for the lure of crab cakes that lingered inside (and the help of a restaurant.com coupon as well!).  Barbecue, Blues & Seafood is such a place.  Located on 648 over by Marley Station, you might think this is strictly some sort of biker or dive bar.  But guess again!  Step inside, and immediately become engulfed in the delicious aroma of steamed crabs.  Then you notice the down home decor, and realize that everyone in there is as friendly as can be.  So are the crab cakes worth the trip?  Let's check it out!

The Dark Horse Saloon in Bel Air has been around since 2010 and features southwestern favorites and authentic, award-winning barbecue.  (There is another location in Canton as well, but may be under different ownership.) The original building dates back to the post civil war era, having served as the home to John's barbershop, a watch repair store and the original headquarters of the Aegis newspaper.  The decor pays homage to this rich history, keeping with the Western theme and including relics of days gone past.  So you normally wouldn't expect a southwestern place to serve crab cakes.  But when they do, they go all out.  In addition to crab cake platters and sandwiches comes the Chesapeake Grilled Cheese.  Is it as amazing as it sounds?  Continue on and see for yourself!

Last week, we reviewed Annapolis Seafood Markets' Backfin crab cakes.  Based on a tip from friend of the CCR Kerry G, we set forth to see just how good this place was.  And when we got there, we discovered that there were two different kinds of crab cakes on offer.  If you missed the review, Annapolis Seafood Markets is a chain of seafood markets with 3 locations around the Baltimore/Annapolis area.  Their stores offer a variety of fresh seafood and prepared items available for carry out.  Annapolis Seafood tends to be a local's secret, with their seafood being bought and prepared fresh daily.  Seeing as how the backfin cakes were really good, we just HAD to try the jumbo lump cakes.  Do they meet or exceed the standards set forth by the backfin cakes?  Read along and find out!