So where do you go when you want to pre-game for a show, but want a wide selection of beers to choose from? That's right, you go to Alewife! Located in the Theatre District, Alewife is a gastropub that focuses on highlighting Maryland cuisine. And getting to choose from 40 draft and 100 bottled beers isn't such a bad thing, either. You can't get much more Maryland than a crab cake (or the Blackened Snakehead, AKA "the Frankenfish"), so we decided to stop in and give them a try. Read on to find out how they were!

Alexander's Tavern is a neighborhood bar located in the historic Fells Point section of Baltimore. You may get confused by which door to go into (one goes into the restaurant, the other goes into the bar area), but that shouldn't stop you from coming in. You may not know by looking at the place, but they've won numerous awards, from a "Best of" from FourSquare in the Food category, to 3rd Best Pub by Baltimore Magazine Readers in 2012. If the happy hour specials won't pull you in, then the astounding selection of tots will. But knowing us, we're all about the crab cakes with a side of tots. So we checked out Alexander's one day to check out how they were. Read along to see how our visit went!

The Alley Cat is an interesting establishment to visit, no matter what the time of day is.  During the daytime when things are slow, you can see how this would be one of the local party establishments amongst Northern Virginia locals.  At night, well, I can't really speak of at night, but word around town is that this is one of the most happenin' holes in the walls.  

Not really near Old Town, but safely tucked away across from Landmark Mall, they claim to have not only one of the largest kitchens in Alexandria, but also one of the largest dedicated parking lots.  Bold claims, but the place is really big, so I won't doubt them on that.  The one thing that I would put them up to the challenge for is their crab cakes.  "Soon to be world famous!" their menu says.  Are they ready for the world stage?  Follow along and find out!

The American Tap Room is a take on the concept of a beer-inspired gastropub, owned by the same group that runs Austin Grill (the Bethesda location used to be an Austin Grill, but was recently converted to an ATR).  The only thing really "American" about it, aside from the name, is probably the food.  The beer list, while mostly American, does contain some foreign beers.  But crab cakes are American, right?  Yes!  So how were they?  Let's find out!

"It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me."
-- Edgar Allan Poe, excerpt from Annabel Lee 


In a town famous for the life and death of Edgar Allan Poe, it is here in Baltimore where he got married, lived out the rest of his days and was laid to rest.  It is only fitting that in this town you would also find a restaurant dedicated to the celebration of Poe, Baltimore and Maryland, named after his last complete poem, Annabel Lee.  But is their crab cake enough to make you fall in love, just as Poe did many years ago (although hopefully not as tragically)?  Read on to find out!