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RD's American Grill
Every now and again, the CCR likes to venture out past its normal territory to see how crab cakes are interpreted by our neighboring counties/states. On a recent trip to Lancaster, we happened upon a small roadside restaurant: RD's American Grill. Opened in 2013, RD's focuses on traditional American comfort food and BBQ. While slow cooked meats is usually one way to grab our attention, the inclusion of crab cakes on the menu is the clincher. So one night we decided to stop on by and check them out. Read on to see how crab cakes are done north of the Mason Dixon!
RD's offers crab cakes as an entree, single or double, 4 oz each, served with sautéed vegetables, side salad, and American fries. You can add a crab cake to any meal if you can't settle on just crab cakes. Crab cake sandwiches are also available, served on a toasted roll topped with lettuce, tomato, and onion, and accompanied by Old Bay American fries and a pickle. Our visit paired a crab cake with tenderloin tips on the specials menu, served alongside a loaded potato and side salad.
RD's crab cakes are made with a recipe handed down by a "true Eastern Shore man", comprised of lump crab meat, a predominately mayonnaise-based binder, and spices. The crab meat ends up being fairly broken up, with a few small lumps found in the mix. Using mayonnaise as the main binder with minimal breading makes the cake really saucy and fairly flat.
When we think of a crab cake, we expect the crab flavor to be featured first. Unfortunately, we didn't quite get that experience at RD's. While we could take the crab meat, the Old Bay seasoning really took over as the main flavor. Maybe if the crab meat wasn't overworked and broken up, it could have concentrated the crab flavor a little more, but dialing back on the spicing will certainly help. Also cutting back on the amount of sauce will help the crab cake keep its form a little better.
So while we weren't really impressed with the crab cake from RD's, the tenderloin tips were super tasty. If we happen to pay them another visit, we'll definitely have to check out their BBQ.
Additional Info
- Restaurant Name: RD's American Grill
- Address: 1426 Lancaster Pike Quarryville, PA 17566
- Neighborhood: Quarryville
- Restaurant Type: Local
- Website: http://rdsamericangrill.com/
- Review Date: 12/12/2015 7:21pm
- Atmosphere: Moderate to Busy
- Item(s) Ordered: Crab Cake
- Cooking Style: Sauteed
- Other Styles Available: Yes
- Available by mail order?: No
- Price: 10.95
- Order Type: Other
- Crab Content: Lump
- Filler: Average
- Spice: Average
- Overall Impression: Mediocre
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Rating (out of 5 crabs):
