Watch: Review For Blue Crabs From A Parking Lot Plus The Top 10 Crab Cake Spots In Maryland
When it comes to shelled seafood, nothing beats a fresh bushel of Blue Crab right outta the Chesapeake Bay. If you've never experienced rolling out the crabfest paper for a hot summer day, I implore you to try it ASAP.
Although I grew up in Massachusetts, all my extended family always lived in Maryland so we visited there often. And now that my parents moved back full-time, I've been crabbing my ass off any chance I can get. Sure it's way more physical work to carve out a dozen crabs for the same amount of meat as a lobster, but the taste difference just doesn't compare.
Would people even eat lobster if melted butter didn't exist? I'm not so sure my friends. All you need for a great crab is some Old Bay, a steamer, and a dream. And some dedicated messy fingers. But in my experience it's always worth the effort.
Lest we forget, lobster used to be the ultimate throwaway trash food. Kinda insane to see that narrative chang completely by now. Big Lobster must have a wicked PR firm kid.
In colonial New England, lobster was indeed a food item associated with poverty and was sometimes given to prisoners, indentured servants, and even slaves. They were so plentiful in New England that they were sometimes considered a nuisance to fishermen. And due to their abundance and low value, lobsters were nicknamed "the poor man's chicken" or "the poor man's protein"
Look how far we come! But I'm not trying to spin up a lobster vs. crab debate, just saying I've lived in both worlds. 2 different eating experiences for sure so to each their own.
Although I will say, I've never heard of anyone making a lobster cake the next day, or ever. That's where the blue greatness really shines. The crab cake forming process is in the 2nd half of that video above but here's the prestige again for good measure.
A perfect blue crab cake belongs in the Louvre, I'll go to my grave believing that. Of course not all cakes are created equal and it they are a pretty time intensive process to create. So you do really gotta commit to the cause. Thankfully my dad is a KING.
But if you're not looking to spend a few hours picking out every lil nook of a crab, our guy at Barstool DMV came up with a list of the Top 10 spots around Maryland for some A+ cakes.
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The comment section certainly had some thoughts, and although Jimmy's is a friend of the program I gotta give my #1 pick to Koco's Pub. And since @VivaLaFood is for the common man & woman, we let the people SPEAK too. Ronnie would be proud.
Koco's jumbo lump crab cakes are things of legend and simply not of this earth. If you're looking to try one for the 1st time, head there and strap in for a fucking RIDE. Just accept that it'll be nearly impossible to match that experience in the comfort of your own home.
But practice makes perfect. So take a trip down to the DMV and go start picking that yummy mustard out. And wash them down with some Bergers while you're at it, that homemade fudge always goes smooth.
Miss you Cool Joe Flacco, hope you're smiling and being tall wherever you are.
