The Maryland Crab Cake platter is a double platter of jumbo lump crab, broiled golden brown and accompanied with red pepper cream, and bistro sauce. (At the time of this writing, the description on the website's menu is outdated) Served alongside the vegetable of the day and garlic smashed potatoes. No other condiments accompany the platter, although with the sauces that come on the cakes, we doubt you'll be needing anything further.
The cake is packed with crab, mostly broken pieces with a few lumps present. There is so much crab that you'll wonder how you will finish two, let alone one. No real visible binder, which begs the question of how these cakes stay together. Nice amount of moisture on the inside. The red pepper cream sauce has a hint of horseradish to it, giving it a bit of a bite. The Bistro sauce is a tomato-based sauce. No noticable spicing inside the crab cake, as the sauces serve as your spice.
While the crab was nice and moist, the flavor was a bit subdued. Some sweetness did come through, but was taken over by the bite of the cream sauce. Once you get through enough of the cake, you start to get some of the Bistro sauce in there as well, and the two sauces start to compete (which is pretty tasty). Together, they do work on some level, but not entirely -- you may want to ask for your sauces separately on the side.
For an upscale take on a Maryland tradition, this iteration might just be a bit too fancy. Throw a bit more spice into the cake for a more pronounced flavor profile and dial back the sauces a bit. On a side note, the potatoes were phenominal. Nice and thick, chunky, with a nice garlic flavor.
Have you tried the Maryland Crab Cakes at Eden's Landing? Tell us about it in the comments!
