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M&S Grill
McCormick and Schmick's runs a variety of seafood restaurants across the United States under differing names. The M&S Grill is their take on providing fresh seafood and aged steaks in a more relaxed setting. Located in the Inner Harbor next to the Harborplace amphitheater, you can enjoy views of the USS Constellation, National Aquarium, and watch the hustle and bustle around Harborplace. With the main McCormick and Schmick's around the corner, the CCR decided to sit outside on a nice day, enjoy the sun and a cold beverage, and see how the crab cake at the more causal location fares. Continue on to see how it all went down.
This review is for the M&S Grill located in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. There are 4 other McCormick and Schmick's locations in Maryland (at the time of this writing), but this is the only M&S Grill location. The main McCormick and Schmick's location will be reviewed separately at another time. Prices and offerings may vary across M&S Grills in other locations.
Reviewed was the crab cake appetizer, which is served with slaw (declined in my order as I just don't dig slaw), tartar and a lemon wedge. Cocktail not offered or served, but should be available upon request. Appetizer is the same as the sandwich, which comes with tartar and your choice of chips, fries, fruit salad or slaw. Appetizer is also available during dinner, however the sandwich is not, offered instead is the Maryland Style Lump Crab Cakes. Crab cake in appetizer, sandwich and entree are all the same cake (confirmed with the restaurant). Crab cakes are fried by default, but you can request them to be broiled.
Lump crab cake is mostly shreds with a few tiny lumps in the mix. Crab meat is dry with a stringy texture and hardly any flavor to it (not sure if it is due to using pasteurized crab meat or if they over-broiled my cake, which probably isn't the case due to the cake actually being moist). A lot more filler than you would expect. No shells or pieces of cartilage detected. Most of what you taste is the spicing, which is mostly salt (celery salt?) with a bit of an off crabby flavor to it. Not sure if someone went to town on the Old Bay or what, but the crabby flavor is a bit off (not quite Old Bay). The crab cake is at least moist, and not to the point of being "saucy", but with the amount of filler in there, it has a bit of a mushy texture to it, which doesn't end up being very satisfying.
I would have expected more from M&S, given their reputation amongst other national chains. From the dry, stringy crab meat to the overdose of salt, we have no other choice than to only hand out a rating of one crab and to suggest that if you are looking for a crab cake experience during your time in Baltimore, to consider going elsewhere.
Additional Info
- Restaurant Name: M&S Grill
- Address: 301 E. Pratt St Baltimore, MD 21202
- Neighborhood: Inner Harbor
- Restaurant Type: National Chain
- Website: http://www.mccormickandschmicks.com/
- Review Date: 5/16/2011 3:30pm
- Atmosphere: Not Busy
- Item(s) Ordered: Crab Cake Appetizer
- Cooking Style: Broiled
- Other Styles Available: Yes
- Available by mail order?: No
- Price: 15.00
- Order Type: Appetizer
- Crab Content: Lump
- Filler: Average
- Spice: Above Average
- Overall Impression: Stay Away
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Rating (out of 5 crabs):
