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Crab Cakes


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  1. One of the BEST crab cake sandwich in town in my opinion is at CF Folks in Dupont Circle.

    3 Replies
    1. re: Elyssa

      CF Folks' crab cake is extremely good. I also really like the ones at Oceannaire, even though it's a chain.

      1. re: Elyssa

        ITA. cf folks (open only midweek lunch) should be your first stop.

        1. re: Elyssa

          CF Folks is worth a special trip. They post their menu on their website so you can check to make sure they'll be offering the crab cake sandwich that day. http://www.cffolksrestaurant.com/inde...
          Parking is tight since it's downtown. Dupont Circle or Faragut North Metros.

        2. What's YOUR definition of a good crab cake? Classic MD version? Waterman style? On a sandwich? Today's upscale restaurant version? Broiled? Fried? Sautéed? One big one or a couple of small ones?
          Really subjective...

          1. Try Jerrys Seafood in Lanham, very good crabcakes but and excellent(albeit expensive)

            1. Can't help you with DC area crabcakes, but if you head north to Baltimore, G&M's crabckes are somewhat legendary. The places sits just outside the Baltimore Beltway at Hammonds Ferry Road and West Nursery Road. I am told that Faidley's, in Baltimore proper, are supposed to be excellent as well.

              Angelina's, in Parkville/Baltimore on the NE corner of the city, used to be great, but I have not been back since the restaurant changed hands 2-3 years ago. I think they also ship (www.crabcake.com).


              8 Replies
              1. re: Pool Boy

                We stopped at Faidley's on a road trip on the way to DC this weekend and while the crabcakes were quite good, this place is freaking depressing. It's located in an old decrepit mall full of bums and drug addicts. Made it hard to enjoy our food. If you can get it to go, definitely do that.

                1. re: oolah

                  Yes, Baltimore's Lexington Market certainly has "character". But the crabcakes are great.

                  They mail order as well, with secure packing.


                  1. re: oolah

                    I love Faidley's just where it is and like it is. That's how crab cakes were meant to be eaten. Lexington Market is loads of fun, and the neighborhood is part of its charm.

                    1. re: oolah

                      Doesn't make it a bad place to eat, though. The Lex has been at the same site since around 1750 and Faidley's itself for maybe 130 years. Bal'mer ain't no theme park, hon. Gotta take the good with the bad.

                      1. re: flavrmeistr

                        Thankfully, it 'ain't no theme park!' And, thankfully also, Lexington Mkt is not some built by a committee sanitized place. I take all my visitors there, and they all love it. A true Balmer gem....

                      2. re: oolah

                        Lexington market is certainly not an upscale place but I think your description of it as being "full of bums and drug addicts" may be a little much. People from all walks of life visit the market, which, I believe, was never anything other than Lexington Market (I don't think it was ever a mall per se), and the market has been operating on that site (though not in that building, which is obviously younger) for 200 or so years. It has garage parking directly across the street and the market itself draws a diverse and lively crowd. I have never once felt unsafe there and I don't think anyone should be discouraged from visiting if they are curious to see what its all about.

                        1. re: Lowbar

                          I didn't feel unsafe, just depressed. Being from NYC, I've certainly seen worse. And yes, there were non-bums there too, and like I said, it was worth the tasty crabcake, but there were certainly more unsavory characters there than I prefer to dine with.

                      3. re: Pool Boy

                        G&M crabcakes are also seemingly somewhat legendary on this board for having gone downhill over the past several years. I'd rather not say anything bad about them since they used to sponsor a team of mine, but that seems to be a common opinion of others on this board. I really do like Faidley's, a place which manages to live up to its considerable local and even national hype in my opinion.

                      4. One of my favorite crabcakes is, of all places, El Napolito, a Mexican restaurant in Plaza del Mercado (Aspen Hill, MD) unfortunately it comes with the normal Mexican sides of beans and rice, but the cakes are out of this world.