I’m flying out from Las Vegas to Baltimore in the morning, and it just dawned on me that in less than 15 hours, I’ll be eating Maryland Blue Crab crabcakes. I’m ready. I’m pretty sure I’ll be going to Alewife, as they’re one of the “True Blue” certified places, and close by my hotel. No Asian swimmer crab for me.
Since I’ll be there for almost a week, there will be other opportunities for good dinners. I know I’ll be hitting Pierpoint. Any other suggestions for places (reasonably) near the convention center? Apart from crab and other seafood, I’d really like to find some good comfort food – meatloaf, pot roast, etc. Doesn’t have to be walking distance, but a short bus or water taxi ride would be preferred.
In view of the activity (or lack thereof) on this board, I thought I would follow up on my OP. I did go to Alewife back in October, and the crabcakes were pretty good, but not nearly as good as those at Pierpoint – which also uses locally sourced crabmeat, and whose 'cakes now rate as the best I’ve ever had. I had a great eggplant layer cake there as a side as well. Chef Nancy Longo does an excellent job and is a very nice person, and quite knowledgeable.
A bit more on crab and crabcakes:
On an earlier (early summer) trip to National Harbor, I took a drive out to the Eastern Shore (is this the right board for that?) and hit up an old favorite for lunch – The Narrows in Grasonville, MD. Pretty good, but not as good as I remembered from earlier trips. When I pressed them about their crab source, they told me “Venezuelan, because it’s cheaper”. Duh. I didn’t notice the menu price being any lower though. (Their cream of crab soup was great as always.)
It’s not like Venezuelan crabmeat is terrible (it’s a damn sight better than asian swimmer crab, IMO), but I do feel it’s somewhat inferior to the local stuff. I believe I can compare the two fairly accurately, since for dinner that same day I went to Snappers in Cambridge, which served local crabmeat. Smaller 'cakes, but noticeably better flavor in the crabmeat. However, prep counts for something as well, and the following night at The Wharf in Alexandria, I had some very tasty 'cakes, despite their being made from Venezuelan crabmeat. They also served an excellent she-crab soup.
Not much else of note to report on either trip, other than some pretty-good meatballs at Sullivan’s next to the Baltimore CC.