Weekly reviews of crab cakes around the MD and DC area

Hull Street Blues

Hull Street Crab Cake Hull Street Crab Cake Crab Cake Review

What started out as a saloon back in 1889 has now become known as Hull Street Blues.  Located in what is known as Locust Point, the restaurant serves as a testament and honor to Issac Hull, who was a naval hero in the war of 1812 (which is kind of a big deal around Maryland).  If you haven't been in South Baltimore lately, there is a lot of revitalization happening, with new businesses and shopping centers opening up alongside historic locations such as Hull Street Blues.  Accessible by car or water taxi, we'll bet you're wondering if the trip is worth it.  Follow along and find out!

On Mondays, the menu is limited to the 'lunch and lite fare' menu, which sports a crab cake sandwich.  Tuesday nights brings the $12 menu, which features a single crab cake entree.  Normal dinner entrees give you the option of a single or double platter.  All crab cakes come served with a 3-mustard aioli.  The Tuesday platter came with snow peas and rice.  No lemon, cocktail or tartar served or offered, but with the aioli that comes with the crab cake, you really don't need it unless you're going to hold the aioli.

Once you break into the crab cake, you first notice that the jumbo lumps are mostly broken up.  The amount of filler is a little shy of average, and accentuates the crab flavor nicely with the flavor of the bread.  The flavor overall is good, but not terribly exciting, borderlining on bland as you work through the cake.  The texture is meaty and bready, and fairly dense (as a Maryland style crab cake will be).

The 3-mustard aioli is a bit strong and pungent, and overpowers the flavor of the crab.  The menu describes the crab cake as being topped with the aioli, but mine was served with the cake on top of the mustard.  A tiny bit is all you really need for each forkful, so it might be helpful to ask for it on the side unless you really like the flavor of mustard.  Because the flavor of the aioli is so strong, the cake ends up supporting the aioli, not the other way around.  It's a crab cake, not a hot dog.

While the crab had some flavor and the cake was a good size, as a whole it wasn't too exciting.  The 3-mustard aioli takes over the dish and gives your taste buds a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick, negating the flavor of the crab.  For $12 on a Tuesday, it's not bad, but there are better crab cakes out there, even with their own Tuesday specials. 

Hull Street Blues Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Additional Info

  • Restaurant Name: Hull Street Blues
  • Address: 122 Hull St Baltimore, MD 21230
  • Neighborhood: Locust Point
  • Restaurant Type: Local
  • Review Date: 06/21/2011 6:42pm
  • Atmosphere: Not Busy to Moderate
  • Item(s) Ordered: Hull Street Crab Cake
  • Cooking Style: Sauteed
  • Other Styles Available: No
  • Available by mail order?: No
  • Price: 12.00
  • Order Type: Single Platter
  • Crab Content: Jumbo Lump
  • Filler: Average
  • Spice: Minimal
  • Overall Impression: Average
  • Rating (out of 5 crabs):

    3-crab