As we all know, a riptide typically refers to a dangerous ocean current. And while Riptide By The Bay is really in Fells Point, Baltimore's Inner Harbor is often known as being the gateway to the Chesapeake Bay. While Riptide may not pose any immediate danger to you, it will attempt to pull you out of your ordinary day and entice you with local seafood from the Chesapeake, culinary innovation, and of course, entertainment. Voted Baltimore's Best Crab House in 2010 and Best Crab Dish in 2011 by Baltimore Magazine, Riptide By The Bay is certainly a place you should visit on your next trip to Fells Point. But the real question is -- do you stop in for the crab cakes? We took the plunge, so read along and find out!

The Riverside Pub & Grille is an upscale sports bar nestled away in a corner off of I-95 at Exit 80 next to the Springhill Suites. It's a small establishment with a few tv's, 3 beers on draft, and a decent selection of wines. Sports memorabilia line the walls of this quaint restaurant. From what we can tell, they've been around for a few years, yet the place looks fairly new. We only happened upon it thanks to an internet search looking for crab cakes in the area. Were they worth the trip? Let's find out!

Ryleigh's Oyster started out in Federal Hill as a relaxed oyster bar with upscale cuisine. They pride themselves on making everything from scratch each day, using quality seasonal and local ingredients that support sustainability and local farmers. Recently they expanded to a second location in Hunt Valley, so we decided to check it out and see what they can do with local ingredients. Read on to see how it went!

It's not often that you come across a crab ranch. But when you do, it's nothing like you expect. Sadly, there aren't men in cowboy hats, riding narwhals corralling crabs into traps. But what it is is a local establishment in Towson that opened in 2011, featuring steamed crabs and southern barbecue. Usually, you'd expect to smell either smoked meats or Old Bay, but usually not both. But sometimes you have to ask yourself, "Why not both?" Fighting the urge to snatch one of the many trays of steamed crabs walking by our table, we decided to corral us up a crab cake and see how things are out on the Ranch. Read on to see how it went!

Last week, the CCR reviewed Schultz's Jumbo Lump crab cake. This week, we continue our review of Schultz's and try their other popular offering, the Backfin crab cake. In case you missed it, Schultz's has a history dating back to 1950. Originally a barroom, in 1969 the place has expanded to the establishment that it is today while still carrying on the Schultz name. We felt their Jumbo Lump crab cake was quite nice, but the backfin is certainly cheaper and was on special the night we stopped by. Is it as good as the Jumbo Lump? Let's find out!