So you are staying in Annapolis, perhaps for a meeting or a conference.  There are lots of places to stay in this area.  But you, lucky traveler, got to stay in the Doubletree Annapolis.  Ah, yes.  Comfy bedding.  Attentive service.  Everything that you've come to expect from the Doubletree.  So, now, your thoughts turn to dinner.  Maybe you have a rental car, maybe you took a cab.  Annapolis Town Center is right across the street.  Maybe you could walk.  Or, maybe, just maybe, you could hit up the hotel restaurant.  Maybe, perhaps, Ports of Call.  But every other time you have patronized the hotel restaurant, you always wondered "Why?" afterwards.

Well, let me tell you about Ports of Call. The chefs there are well versed in local cuisine.  Unbeknownst to you, the Executive Chef has won many honorable achievements, such as 1st place for his Vegetable Crab Soup at the MD Seafood Festival 3 times.  Or that he has taken 1st place for his Cream of Crab soup in the very same festival 4 different times.  And his Executive Sous Chef?  A food champion himself with the American Culinary Federation.  So they have the staff all set to prepare you a gourmet meal without leaving the premise.  With this culinary dynamic duo at the helm, one would think crab cakes should be a slam dunk.  'Nuff said (as they say in the old Adam West 'Batman' series).  So did they?  Read on and find out!

Never underestimate the small mountain towns.  Yes, they may be landlocked and far away from the Chesapeake Bay.  No, there may not be much to do there.  But it all depends on how you look at it.  That small diner that you pass off as being too ordinary may have once served Harry Truman and his family.  The French restaurant may seem out of place, but may have once served as a private club for French airman back in the 1950's.  And maybe, just maybe, Noah's Ark might finally one day be built.

Today's fiber optic field trip takes us to the far reaches of Maryland, out in the Western panhandle, to a small town called Frostburg.  You may have heard of it.  If you're a history buff, then it will be because Frostburg was one of the first towns on the National Road, and quite a popular stopping point for passing celebrities and dignitaries.  Or you may have gone to school here, or known someone who has (go Bobcats!).

Which brings us to Sand Springs.  Now, this establishment may not have the history as some of the other restaurants in town (such as the Princess Restaurant or Au Petit Paris).  But it has been around since 1994, and will probably have some stories of its own to tell.  But they have crab cakes, which will always draw the CCR in.  So how were they?  Let's find out!

New to the Pasadena area is a steak and seafood restaurant called Two Rivers.  The idea is to bring fresh, local ingredients and chef inspired food to an area that generally caters to the lower priced family restaurant.  And while the concept is a bit upscale when you look at it on paper, the execution is very causal and family-friendly.  So how did their crab cakes fare?  Let's find out!