One of Baltimore Magazine's Top 25 Crab Cakes of 2013! Michael's Cafe dates back to 1984, when the Dellis family opened a restaurant where they focused on quality, service, and atmosphere. Fast forward 30 years, and that winning combination, in addition to a world-famous crab cake recipe, has Michael's Cafe going strong, recently completing their third major renovation that adds an inside lounge and an outdoor patio. Considered one of Baltimore's top crab cakes year after year, we just had to stop by and pay our respects. Was the hype worth the trip? Read on and find out!

Ocean Pride has been gracing the Lutherville/Timonium area since 1971. At that time, the place was owned by Robert Curreri. The Bielski brothers worked at Ocean Pride as crab steamers from the time the place opened until 1980. Then, in 2004, they bought the place and have been running it ever since. Not only has Ocean Pride been acknowledged as some of Baltimore's best crabs, they also have a store onsite that sells seafood (such as crabs, crab cakes, lobsters, etc.), adult beverages, and restaurant swag (t-shirts, coolers, etc.). The CCR stopped by to see how their crab cakes stack up against everyone else's. Read on to see how they were!

Ryleigh's Oyster started out in Federal Hill as a relaxed oyster bar with upscale cuisine. They pride themselves on making everything from scratch each day, using quality seasonal and local ingredients that support sustainability and local farmers. Recently they expanded to a second location in Hunt Valley, so we decided to check it out and see what they can do with local ingredients. Read on to see how it went!

One of Baltimore Magazine's Top 25 Crab Cakes for 2013! And to be quite honest, for as long as we've lived around Baltimore, we have never heard of Tark's until reading the list. (I know!) Although it was a bit hard to find at first, we finally made our way to the quite sizable restaurant. Tark's gives off the vibe of a high-end restaurant with the dark woods and white tablecloths, while at the same time maintaining the casual appearance, especially with the large patio outside. Tark's is no stranger to the Baltimore Magazine Top Crab Cake list, having been on it at least 5 times (going by the plaques at the hostess stand). So with the expectations set, we headed out to see if Tark's is worthy enough to serve one of Baltimore's top crab cakes. Read on to see how it all went!

The Peppermill Restaurant, located right off the beltway on York Rd. in Lutherville-Timonium, has been a local institution since they opened back in 1982. While The Peppermill has been on tour radar for a while now, it took the suggestion of Friend of the CCR, Mike A., to convince us to go. He, along with most other online reviews, warned that the clientele is made up of a mostly older crowd, but the younger generation are starting to discover what they have to offer. Will their crab cakes wow and amaze diners of all ages? Let's find out!