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Captain Billy's Crab House
Captain Billy's has been around since 1947, located right on the Potomac River, near the same spot where a young Billy used to sell crabs. Today, it is a thriving restaurant with a nice deck overlooking the river. So you might be asking yourself, just where is this Captain Billy's? It's down south. Way down south. You know where Waldorf is? Keep going. Skip La Plata and, yup, keep going. Don't worry. There's a large billboard by the side of 301 to tell you where to turn. The other option is to come by boat. But you're on your own for those directions! Either way, you've made it here with crab cakes on your mind. Was it worth the trip? Let's find out!
The Maryland Crab Cake platter comes with two jumbo lump crab cakes and a choice of two sides: house salad, famous fries, veggie of the day, apple sauce, potato salad, or cole slaw. There is also a Classic Crab Cake platter, which are cooked fried, but come with the same sides. Also on the menu is the crab cake sandwich, which can be broiled or fried, and is served with chips. No lemon, tartar, or cocktail is served, but you can pretty much just ask if you require them. Old Bay and tabasco are at the table, should you need a little bit of spice.
The Maryland crab cakes are mostly jumbo lump crab, with a mostly mayonnaise binder, along with some chopped green and red bell peppers. Unlike the name would suggest, these are not Maryland-style. There is a slight bready texture/flavor to it, but it's feint. Along those same lines, there is not much by way of spicing, allowing the flavor of the crab meat to take center stage.
The crab cake retains a nice amount of moisture, and the crab meat has a nice, sweet flavor to it. Again, there isn't much by way of spice, so while there is that slight bready flavor, overall you mainly taste the crab. The bell peppers add some color and texture, but do not impart much in the way of flavor. Which is a good thing, as green peppers can be very pronounced. At least it's not onion!
All in all, this was a very good crab cake. Nice, large lumps of crab, not too many broken up pieces. Texture and supporting flavors are good, but could use a tiny bit more. Adding some Old Bay really opens the flavor up, although if that's not your bag, then a wedge of lemon would work as well. We'd also highly recommend the apple sauce. It's super chunky with a great homemade flavor.
Additional Info
- Restaurant Name: Captain Billy's Crab House
- Address: 11495 Popes Creek Rd Newburg, MD 20664
- Neighborhood: Popes Creek
- Restaurant Type: Local
- Website: http://www.captbillys.com/
- Review Date: 05/13/2012 7:24pm
- Atmosphere: Busy with a wait
- Item(s) Ordered: Maryland Crab Cakes
- Cooking Style: Broiled
- Other Styles Available: Yes
- Available by mail order?: No
- Price: 28.99
- Order Type: Double Platter
- Crab Content: Jumbo Lump
- Filler: Minimal
- Spice: Minimal
- Overall Impression: Very Good
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Rating (out of 5 crabs):
