Mama's On The Half Shell set out to provide Baltimore with a "classic" seafood house that the city was desperately missing.  A seafood house with tastes and smells that Baltimoreans can remember growing up with.  While there are still some out there, you first have to find them, and then get to them.  And they'll most likely not be anywhere near the Inner Harbor.  Luckily, Canton is accessible by water taxi, so the adventuresome tourists can leave the sanctity of the Harbor and venture out to parts unknown.  And it must be worth the trip, as this place was packed on a Tuesday afternoon with tourists and locals alike.  But a raw bar and drink specials aren't enough.  A classic Baltimore flavor is the crab cake.  How did they do?  Let's find out!

What started out as a saloon back in 1889 has now become known as Hull Street Blues.  Located in what is known as Locust Point, the restaurant serves as a testament and honor to Issac Hull, who was a naval hero in the war of 1812 (which is kind of a big deal around Maryland).  If you haven't been in South Baltimore lately, there is a lot of revitalization happening, with new businesses and shopping centers opening up alongside historic locations such as Hull Street Blues.  Accessible by car or water taxi, we'll bet you're wondering if the trip is worth it.  Follow along and find out!

Since 1974, as the name implies, Jimmy's has been famous for their seafood offerings, although they offer far more than just seafood.  You're probably wondering how a restaurant can get so famous, seeing as how most of you are asking yourselves, "Where ever in the city is Broening Manor?"  Go there, and you may start to ponder what you're even doing there, and if the CCR lead you astray or not (the neighborhood is very industrial).  Fret not, fearless readers, Jimmy's is there!  Broening Manor is located in SE Baltimore, at the point where you're almost in Dundalk.  But is it worth the trek in our search for the city's tastiest crab cakes?  Let's find out!

Sinatra.  Sammy Davis Jr.  Ella Fitzgerald.  Walking into Supano's Steakhouse is like walking back into the good old days.  Cobblestone streets on the outside, wood and brick on the inside.  Sinatra-era music filling the restaurant.  Supano's Steakhouse has been a family-owned steakhouse since 1937.  It's a place you would think to find in Little Italy, but is located over by the Inner Harbor.  Water St is a bit hard to miss, seeing as how from the Light St side, it looks like a small alley that you can't drive on.  So how was it, once you stopped circling the block?  Let's find out!

The other weekend was Honfest, which despite all the controversy surrounding it, is a festival celebrating Baltimore and the hard working ladies of the 50's and 70's with their beehive hairdos and cat's eye glasses, otherwise known as Hons.  This yearly festival brings thousands to The Avenue (aka 36th St) in Hampden.  If you were there, you were most likely distracted by all of the activities going on and all of the other food vendors selling everything from grilled cheese to, yes, crab cakes.  Even without the distractions, it may be easy to miss one of Hampden's newest eateries, Alchemy.  Recently opened back in December 2010, Alchemy bills itself as a modern American eatery, that also boasts The Avenue's only champagne brunch.  Looking to escape the heat and craziness of Honfest, the CCR stepped inside to sample what they had on offer.  Read on to see how it all went down!

If it's a luxurious evening out on the town you are looking for, then search no further than The Prime Rib.  The Baltimore location was the first of the three locations in the area to open back in 1965, set to emanate the elegance of the supper clubs of 1940's era Manhattan.  Business casual is the minimum dress code, with most patrons in suits/jackets.  Live baby grand piano and string bass music fills the restaurant, creating the perfect romantic ambiance.  So why are we going to a restaurant specializing in prime rib for crab cakes?  Were we lured in by the claim of their recipe being "award winning"?  Or are we afraid of beef?  Continue on with the article to find out! 

When you think of Little Italy, your thoughts drift immediately to visions of spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, and gelato (mmmm....Vaccaro's).  If you had to think Italian seafood, then you would probably just imagine calamari, and maybe a nice bronzini.  But certainly not crab cakes.  But that is where Pacific Coast is different.  Located amongst the Italian eateries lies this new establishment to Baltimore's restaurant scene, which opened in April 2011.  The idea is a California grill using fresh, natural ingredients, which is something that a seafood town like Baltimore can appreciate.  So how does West Coast fare do on the East Coast?  Continue on and find out!

A new recipes section has just been added!  Check out what we have listed, and submit your own favorite crab cake recipe!

In order to appreciate what others have done with their crab cakes, you must first learn how to make them on your own.  Everyone has a secret recipe, as well as their own preferred style.  The Basic Crab Cake can be used as a base to start your own culinary explorations and experimentations.  Like a breadier crab cake?  Add more bread/bread crumbs.  Is saucier your style?  Try different blends of mayo and/or Dijon.  Add in other spices as well, such as Old Bay, garlic powder, etc.

To kick things off, we are going to go with a basic crab cake.  Here's what you need to get started:

1 egg
1 lb. crab meat
Bread crumbs (~1/2 cup to start) or 2 slices of bread with crusts cut off, ripped into small pieces
Spices (optional)
Oil

Step 1:  Crack the egg into a bowl and pour in some bread crumbs.  If using jumbo lump, you may want to beat the egg before adding the bread crumbs in order to minimize breakage.
Step 2:  Add crab meat and spices.  Carefully mix by hand until blended, adding more bread crumbs as needed/desired.
Step 3:  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, for best results, chill overnight.
Step 4:  Form into patties and cook as desired:

Fried:  Use enough oil so that it covers the bottom half of the crab cake.  Depending on your stove, keep the heat to low or medium.  When in doubt, try cooking a small crab ball to test.  Cook each side until golden brown, about 1.5 - 2 minutes per side should do it (depending on your stove/heat settings/etc).

Oven:  Cook at 375˚ for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown.

Behold, our results!   Our crab cake looks a little darker in color due to the seasonings chosen, which were 6 - 7 dashes of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce and 3 - 4 dashes of Old Bay (using the small oval opening).  The two really complimented the flavor of the crab meat without overpowering or adding too much complexity.  Backfin crab meat was used during this trail run (mostly because of the available selection at the grocery store that day), but next time it'll be interesting to see what good quality jumbo lump will do to improve the results.  Also worth noting: safflower oil was used for frying.

The Crab Cake Review highly recommends using the Maryland Blue Crab whenever possible.  In this trial run, the CCR used Graham & Rollins blended backfin crab meat, found on ice in the fresh fish section of our local Safeway.  You can find packaged crab meat in other locations, such as a local market (Lexington Market, Cross St Market, Eastern Market, etc.), super market (Whole Foods, Safeway, etc.), or even at restaurant outlets like Mo's Seafood Market in Little Italy, or Faidley's in Lexington Market.

Always choose fresh, premium quality crab meat for best results.  If it's on ice, then it's a good start.  Beware of the retail packages found in the refrigerated sections of the fish section.  If that is your only choice, compare the ingredient labels.  For example, Safeway's Waterfront Bistro label sells jumbo lump crab meat in 8oz containers, but the crab used is blue swimmer, not Maryland blue.  (Maryland blue crabs have a more intense, sweeter flavor than other crab varieties, hence why Maryland is known the world over for their crabs/crab cakes.)  The other thing to watch out for is the opaque packaging with a small window in the lid, allowing the packer to hide smaller or broken pieces of crab meat underneath the few lumps placed on top.

While situated near water and not on a dock (as the name may imply), Canton Dockside is one of Baltimore's newest crab houses.  The outside patio is as you would expect with a crab house: wooden picnic tables that get laid down with brown paper before a tray of Maryland's finest are presented before you.  Go inside, and the crab house feel takes on a more upscale feel.  Family owned and operated, Canton Dockside was listed by the Baltimore Sun in 2011 as one of 15 crab houses that you need to visit this summer.  If they know crabs, then one would figure they know crab cakes.  Do they?  Let's find out!