Question for the Maryland crabcake experts

[Island]

On the West Coast and want to send my elderly father in PA a gift of some great crab cakes for his B-Day. Can you please recommend a tasty and reliable mail order source? Thanks.

[Island]

Thanks for all the suggestions I'll check them out.

This is one that keeps popping up in my searches, http://www.cbcrabcakes.com/
Anyone ever try that company?
Shipping $ is a bi#ch though, but probably so for any food site.

[Bacardi1]

Yes - shipping is always a wallet-biter when it comes to perishable food items. Anywheres from $15-$30 depending on the company & where the goods are going to. But you have to figure that the items have to go via 2-day or overnight shipping, plus the goods are usually packed in an insulated styrofoam box with frozen gel packs or dry ice.

[dining with doc]

never heard if them

[Tom34]

Bobby Chez is king of crab cakes in NJ. I have not heard any complaints to date. If you qoogle his name his site will come up. He ships.

[StrandedYankee]

I'd have to nominate G & M. They ship, and they make the BEST old-school crabcake I've ever tasted. Flavorful crab chunks nearly the size of my thumb? Check. Minimal filler and unobtrusive coating? Yep. Anything else? No. Is anything else necessary? Hell, no!

http://gandmcrabcakes.com/

[dining with doc]

g and m uses asian crabmeat and i strongly suggest that you avoid this crabcake even though it is the size of a softball.

[ocpitmaster]

Just curious about your opposition; to G&M or asian crabmeat?

[dining with doc]

G&M crabcakes are gross, have an ammonia taste and smell and don't compare to a classic Maryland crabcake such as those served at Samos, The Prime Rib Baltimore, The Narrows restaurant or Faidleys in Lexington Market. The crab meat is not sweet and does not look (pieces are huge) like MD lump or backfin crabmeat

[jck]

I agree that G & M are gross but they have their fans. I am self admitted crab snob and would never send anyone asian swimmer crab cakes. I have used Faidley's many times to send out of state and have gotten rave reviews every time....I prefer to send them uncooked and they arrive next day fresh w/ cooking instructions......they freeze well but like anything else in this world, fresh is best! You order directly from Mr. Faidley when you call the number on the web-site and he is a trip and a half. Borderline crab cake nazi if you know the Seinfeld reference....I love him! Be sure to order the lump crab cakes.....worth the upcharge.

[dining with doc]

faidleyscrabcakkes.com ships the world famous faidleys crabcake from lexington market in baltimore

[barmike]

Phillips Crab cakes are ok but not in a league with the
almost pure lump crab used by Black Salt and River Falls.

[ocpitmaster]

Agree; if you can find the brand: Metompkin Bay Seafood, out of Crisfield, MD; they have both hand-picked MD Blue & Indonesian farm-raised. The Jumbo lump is trememdous & no shells.

[Veggo]

Sometimes Publix stores in FL do a buy-one-get-one-free with the Phillips crab cakes- that's the only time I buy them. They are pretty good on an English muffin with a chipotle tartar sauce.

[corvette johnny]

Philips crab cakes are not bad...not great IMO but they do the trick at home. Do you have a costco near you? Costo carries them here on the east coast.

If you melt a little butter on those they come to life.

And they are right, they use asian swimming crab meat. It is good and chunky but lacks the sweet blueclaw flavor...still decent but not up to par with local crabs.

[ocpitmaster]

Check out phillipsseafood.com........longtime MD crab/seafood restaurant

[Bacardi1]

Unfortunately, Phillips no longer uses Chesapeake Bay Blue-Claw Crabs for either their canned crabmeat or their crab cakes - they import the crab for both from Thailand. I've purchased both & have read the labels.

[ocpitmaster]

True; and as a native MD'er, at first I was unhappy until I tried Indonesian crabmeat. Got to be honest, to my taste, it's sweeter, larger pieces comparing jumbo lump to jumbo lump; and never find a piece of shell.
From talking with watermen friends, a fair share of the seasfood-consuming industry is slowly switching away from domestic crab due primarily to the high level of pollutants and bacteria found in the meat harvested from east coast domestic waters.

[Bacardi1]

Yes, I have to agree with you there. It took me a bit of time to "come over to the dark side" - lol! - but the Phillips product is excellent in both texture, flavor, & processing (as in no shell bits). Even their less expensive "special" (aka claw) meat is terrific, & a great bargain if you just need some crab for a dip or a stuffing, etc.

In addition, after some investigation, Phillips actually does take a serious interest in where its crabmeat comes from (all info one can glean from their website), which unfortunately isn't always the case with other companies who seem to have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

[barmike]

Not sure if they ship but the crab cakes at Black Salt in
Wash DC are awesome as are the ones at River Falls
food shop in Potomac MD. They are both almost pure lump crab,

[danbee1]

Google "captain chucky blue bell" or "captn chuckys crab cake co". They have several locations and are terrific. I believe they ship but not positive. It''s worth a call.

[Bacardi1]

I'm currently in VA, not MD, but grew up crabbing on the shores of Long Island, NY, & know good crab.

While I haven't eaten them myself, I did gift my elderly parents with crab cakes from these folks, & they LOVED them. And my parents were used to doing their own crabbing & making their own crab cakes. They could, of course, just have been making me feel good, but I think they would have been honest if the cakes had been poor.

http://www.ilovecrabs.com/crabcakes

Now, while I haven't tried the crab cakes from this place:

http://www.bluecrabtrading.com/

I did enjoy a very nice order of seasoned steamed Blue-Claws a few months ago. They arrived promptly, re-steamed beautifully, & were quite full. In fact, I still have some leftover picked meat in the freezer to use in something.

Anyway - just two places you may want to look into.

[carolinadawg]

I recently got lobsters and crab cakes from Blue Crab Trading, and while the lobsters were fine, the crab cakes were not good at all. Lots of breading and no lump crab at all, just little shreds.

[Bacardi1]

Thanks - good to know gift-wise. But their steamed crabs were good.

I rarely if ever buy crab cakes for myself - too easy & better to make myself.

[carolinadawg]

I agree...I'm virtually always disappointed when I order crabcakes in a restaurant.