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Mt Washington Tavern
The Mt. Washington Tavern has been around since 1979, priding themselves on serving a stiff drink with a heavy hand, and providing a comfortable neighborhood eatery. Declared a historic landmark, the interior of the tavern is filled with artwork and decorations that honor their local heritage. You could easily get lost in this place, as there is a connected maze of unique rooms throughout the tavern (after passing through the bar area with the carved wood, you wouldn't expect the back garden room). Always having stuck to drinks during any visit, we decided it was time to give their food a shot. How did their crab cakes hold up to expectation? Let's find out!
Crab cake platter consists of two 5-oz. crab cakes served with cheddar grits and green beans. Sandwich is also available, served with your choice of roll and cole slaw. No tartar or cocktail sauce served with the platter, nor was it offered. All prices are listed as Market Price.
Often, a menu will claim jumbo lump crab cakes but fail to deliver. The lumps in the crab cake here are definitely jumbo lump. But that's about the only thing you notice. The filler is almost non-existent, save for a few bread crumbs (which is typically a good thing). The cake is densely packed, and was a bit hard to break through. When I did, I immediately noticed how stringy and dry the crab meat was (both crab cakes were hotter than the sun on the inside, even after sitting for 5-10 minutes). The crab cake as a whole was very dry, as there was no sauce or moisture on the inside, just lumps of overcooked crab meat. Even the juice from the lemon evaporated quickly, leaving behind no trace of flavor.
Crab meat had a little sweetness to it, but not much. Couldn't taste any spice or additional flavors, either. There was some Old Bay sprinkled around the plate, which did get picked up in a few bites, but overall the taste was very flat and faint.
This crab cake has some potential given that the cakes were a nice size and the amount of jumbo lumps were right on. But the lack of any substantial flavor from the crab, let alone any supporting/accenting spicing, makes this a very boring crab cake to eat, and the overcooking just adds insult to injury. The menu claims the crab cakes are broiled to perfection, but it would appear that the definition needs some revision.
Additional Info
- Restaurant Name: Mt. Washington Tavern
- Address: 5700 Newbury St Baltimore, MD 21209
- Neighborhood: Mt. Washington
- Restaurant Type: Local
- Website: http://mtwashingtontavern.com/
- Review Date: 5/23/2011 8:04pm
- Atmosphere: Moderate to Busy
- Item(s) Ordered: Crab Cake Platter
- Cooking Style: Broiled
- Other Styles Available: No
- Available by mail order?: No
- Price: 29.00
- Order Type: Double Platter
- Crab Content: Jumbo Lump
- Filler: Minimal
- Spice: None
- Overall Impression: Mediocre
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Rating (out of 5 crabs):
