The elusive crab cake is still a winner at the beach

RehobothFoodie.com and the Rehoboth In My Pocket travel app get around 200 emails every day. People love to share their thoughts, and I love it because it gives me a cross-section of local trends and what’s “in” or what’s not quite so “in.” Here in the Cape Region, crab cakes are always “in.”

Many of our transplants grew up around Baltimore, and Charm City is militant about crabs. And nowhere is that more apparent than in my email box. So who’s the best? Not so fast! Crab cakes are like pizza and barbecue: They vary geographically, and everybody swears by their favorite. Lump, backfin, a shredded combo of both, spicy, not so spicy, fried, broiled, with filler, no filler, round, flat – each is somebody’s favorite. But some local trends have emerged.

Top spots include, in no particular order (I DO have to live here, y’know), the broiled orbs at Woody’s Dewey Beach Bar & Grill, where Jimmy O’Conor mixes up small batches of his secret recipe to order. A sleeper just north of the Nassau Bridge is The Surfing Crab. These jumbo lump gems took me by surprise, and they’re worth every penny.

Another place that might take you by surprise is Beaches Seafood in Milton. Expertly spiced, these fried orbs are almost pure meat. The taste reminds me of Baltimore’s Gunning’s Seafood (now sadly gone) and the legendary Faidley’s in Lexington Market (they’ve been doing it for 136 years). Marylanders: Take note.

No discussion of seafood is complete without mentioning Henlopen City Oyster House. They pan-sear their cakes to a slightly buttery crunch. This is not a bad thing. Another spot where the crab cakes shine is Big Fish Grill. The recipe belongs to Eric and Norman Sugrue’s mom Geneva, and Norm keeps a close eye on the preparation to ensure accuracy. Another spot I can’t leave out is Fins – on The Highway, in downtown RB, in Bethany and in West Fenwick. Like most everyone else, their crab cake entrée is presented at market price, and are worth the splurge. Quality crabmeat is very difficult to get nowadays, and good restaurants are adjusting their quantities and prices so they can keep bringing them to us without our having to take out a second mortgage.

I know there are more crab cakes out there, but Beach Paper grants me only so much real estate. But my email box doesn’t lie. Check these out and tell me what you think.