Baltimore Crab Cakes: How to Order and Judge One

Baltimore crab cakes are the city's signature plate, and three kinds of place show the range: a neighborhood pub that broils a big cake, a seafood house on Holabird Avenue with carry-out, and a Canton restaurant that serves them as a starter, a sandwich or a platter. Order one at each and rate the crab, the filler and the cooking.

This page covers where to find each kind of crab cake, what broiled and jumbo lump mean, how to order one and how to compare cakes fairly. Menus and prices change, so check before you go.

Where can you eat Baltimore crab cakes?

Neighborhood pubs such as those in Lauraville are the first stop. Many make their cakes fresh each day by hand from a family recipe with jumbo lump crab meat, and some broil a large cake.

Seafood houses on Holabird Avenue are the second kind of stop, many with carry-out counters, and their cakes are often large, made with jumbo lump Maryland crab. Canton restaurants are the third, serving crab cakes as starters, sandwiches or platters.

What is a broiled crab cake?

A broiled crab cake is cooked under high heat rather than fried, so the outside browns while the crab stays moist. Many neighborhood pubs broil their cakes.

When you order one, ask whether the cake is broiled or fried, since both are common. A broiled cake tastes more of crab; a fried one has a crisp crust. Neither is wrong, and a note about which you chose is useful in a rating. Name the cake and the cooking method, and attach a photo of the cut cake so the lumps are visible to a friend deciding where to spend their crab budget.

What does jumbo lump crab mean?

Jumbo lump refers to the largest whole pieces of crab meat from the body, the part cooks prize for a cake that looks like crab rather than filler. Plenty of Baltimore menus use the phrase.

Judge a cake by how much holds together without bread, how sweet and clean the crab tastes, and whether the seasoning lets the crab through. A good cake is mostly crab. Look for the visible lumps when you cut it open, and note whether it needed any sauce. If the cake falls apart on the fork, that is not always a flaw, since a cake with little binder is fragile. If it is dry, say so. Honest notes about texture and seasoning are what make a rating useful to the next hungry visitor.

Where do you find Canton crab cakes and Holabird Avenue seafood?

Canton is on the harbor, east of Fells Point, and its restaurants sit on the square and nearby streets, serving crab cakes beside coddies, rockfish and oysters.

Seafood houses in southeast Baltimore often have a carry-out counter as well as a dining room. If you are planning an afternoon, pair Canton with a walk by the harbor and the southeast side with a drive. A full crab cake tour in one day is a lot of crab, so spread three stops over a weekend if you can, and eat the second cake only when you are hungry again. Write the stop in your rating so you remember which cake was which.

How do you order a crab cake?

Start with one cake, not two, unless you are sharing. Ask for it plain first, with the sauce, bread or lemon on the side, then add a sauce on the side if you want one, so you can taste the crab. A sandwich is lighter than a platter, and a starter is enough for a tasting.

Fresh local crab is at its best in warmer months, and some places use other crab at other times of year, so ask. If you are traveling, a carry-out cake keeps well for a short trip, but ask the staff how to reheat it.

How do you track Baltimore crab cakes with Mosey?

Rate the cake by the dish. Mosey needs only the place and stars; then you can name the crab cake, add tags such as Great Value, Good Portions or Group Dining, and attach a photo. A rating that says "broiled, mostly crab, no sauce needed" tells the next diner more than a score.

Make a list called Baltimore crab cakes with one cake per place and a line on how it was cooked, then send the invite link to a friend so they can add their own. Follow friends to see what they rated and saved, and tag the people you ate with so each can add their own rating of the same meal. The ratings page covers dish ratings.

What else should you read?

For more of the city, the pit beef guide covers the other local plate, the public markets guide goes to the market halls and the neighborhood guide covers Fells Point and Hampden. See the Baltimore page, the Maryland page and the US food guides.

On your next crab cake crawl, get the Mosey app, rate each cake by the dish and keep the best in a list.