Weekly reviews of crab cakes around the MD and DC area

Faidley's Backfin Crab Cake

Faidley's is a Baltimore icon, serving up world famous all lump crab cakes in the historic Lexington Market.  Always front and center in any crab cake debate, people have gone out of their way to see what the fuss is all about.  When you get to Faidley's, you will notice that there are three different styles of crab cakes:  All Lump, Backfin and Regular.  Which one you choose could impact the rest of your visit, either walking away completely satisfied that you made the right decision, or disappointed to find out you didn't choose the one that everyone is raving about.  We've already reviewed the All Lump offering from Faidley's, so let's see how the Backfin compares.

Faidley's offers crab cakes in three styles:  All Lump, Backfin and Regular.  This review is for the Backfin, although comparisons are made to the All Lump.

By default, all Faidley's crab cakes are cooked fried.  For an extra $.50, you can get yours broiled.  Crab cakes are pre-fried, and then microwaved for a few seconds before being served.  Lemon wedge provided upon request, possibly along with cocktail and tartar.  I took my crab cake to go, which was accompanied by lettuce and crackers (no tomato like the All Lump gets).

Because it was pre-cooked than microwaved, the cake was warm at first, but quickly cooled off (I should point out that from the time I paid to the time I sat down, about 3 minutes had passed, so perhaps yours will best be enjoyed inside Faidley's).  

The first thing I noticed is that the filler is less noticeable filler than in the All Lump crab cake, as the bread crumbs can hide amongst the lesser sized bits of crab in the Backfin variety.  A lot more cartilage/shell bits than the All Lump, which had none.  But at least there was a good amount of crab present in the cake itself.

The flavor of the Backfin crab cake was the same as that of the All Lump, but with a bready texture.  Still packed with lots of crab, but the bread crumb flavor of the filler overpowers the crab taste.  While cheaper than the All Lump, unless you really love the flavor of the filler, I'd recommend going with the All Lump version. 

Faidley Seafood Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Additional Info

  • Restaurant Name: Faidley's
  • Address: 203 N Paca St Baltimore, MD 21201
  • Neighborhood: Lexington Market
  • Restaurant Type: Local
  • Website: http://www.faidleyscrabcakes.com
  • Review Date: 04/20/2011 2:18pm
  • Atmosphere: Moderate
  • Item(s) Ordered: Backfin Crab Cakes
  • Cooking Style: Fried
  • Other Styles Available: Yes
  • Available by mail order?: Yes
  • Price: 8.95
  • Order Type: Other
  • Crab Content: Backfin
  • Filler: More Than Average
  • Spice: Average
  • Overall Impression: Average
  • Rating (out of 5 crabs):

    3-crab
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