Part of the original 42 lots of Bel Air, the Main Street Tower's location has been many things over the past two centuries. A hotel, another restaurant, a barber shop, a stationary store, and a pool hall, amongst other things. But since 2002, it has been Main Street's family-oriented Italian restaurant and lounge owned and operated by the Buontempo family (who also own a pizzeria on the same block). Despite being mainly Italian, they do offer one of the region's favorited delicacies -- crab cakes! Read on to see how they were!

Mama's On The Half Shell set out to provide Baltimore with a "classic" seafood house that the city was desperately missing.  A seafood house with tastes and smells that Baltimoreans can remember growing up with.  While there are still some out there, you first have to find them, and then get to them.  And they'll most likely not be anywhere near the Inner Harbor.  Luckily, Canton is accessible by water taxi, so the adventuresome tourists can leave the sanctity of the Harbor and venture out to parts unknown.  And it must be worth the trip, as this place was packed on a Tuesday afternoon with tourists and locals alike.  But a raw bar and drink specials aren't enough.  A classic Baltimore flavor is the crab cake.  How did they do?  Let's find out!

When you walk into Mamie's Cafe, you are instantly transported from the strip mall that it's located in to Grandma's kitchen and living room. Gone is the overshadowing glances of the Home Depot, the line of cars at Wendy's, or the throngs of cars flying by on Route 22. Originally located in Hampden, Mamie's Cafe is now located just off of 95 in Aberdeen.  The Cafe is an homage to old fashioned home-cooked meals, and friendly service with a smile, where every meal ends in with a complementary dessert (offered for here or to go). The sign out front adds "with love" to the name. Do the crab cakes get the same love that the customers do? Let's find out!

Marchionda's is a family-owned and operated fine Italian restaurant in the Parkville section of Baltimore. Looking on a map, it may seem like it's in a familiar section. If you thought that, then you'd be right! Marchionda's is in the same location where Angelina's used to be in July of 2013. It's certainly not what the place used to be, with a fresh makeover that brings some class without being overly fancy. It's what dinner out should be like. And Marchionda's continues the tradition of crab cakes started by the former tenants. Do they live up to the tradition? Let's find out!

A long time ago, there was a bar tucked away amongst the windy back roads around Loch Raven Reservoir called Sander's Corner. This building has a long history dating back to the 1950s, serving once as a blacksmith shop, post office, and several restaurants. Today, it remains a restaurant, whose full name is McFaul's Ironhorse Tavern at Sander's Corner. The kitchen focuses on local and seasonal dishes, putting together items that are both family friendly and have a local twist. Our favorite local item, of course, would be the crab cakes. Are they worthy of a trip out of the city? We went to check it out, so read along and see how it went down!