Crab cake platter consists of two 5-oz. crab cakes served with cheddar grits and green beans. Sandwich is also available, served with your choice of roll and cole slaw. No tartar or cocktail sauce served with the platter, nor was it offered. All prices are listed as Market Price.
Often, a menu will claim jumbo lump crab cakes but fail to deliver. The lumps in the crab cake here are definitely jumbo lump. But that's about the only thing you notice. The filler is almost non-existent, save for a few bread crumbs (which is typically a good thing). The cake is densely packed, and was a bit hard to break through. When I did, I immediately noticed how stringy and dry the crab meat was (both crab cakes were hotter than the sun on the inside, even after sitting for 5-10 minutes). The crab cake as a whole was very dry, as there was no sauce or moisture on the inside, just lumps of overcooked crab meat. Even the juice from the lemon evaporated quickly, leaving behind no trace of flavor.
Crab meat had a little sweetness to it, but not much. Couldn't taste any spice or additional flavors, either. There was some Old Bay sprinkled around the plate, which did get picked up in a few bites, but overall the taste was very flat and faint.
This crab cake has some potential given that the cakes were a nice size and the amount of jumbo lumps were right on. But the lack of any substantial flavor from the crab, let alone any supporting/accenting spicing, makes this a very boring crab cake to eat, and the overcooking just adds insult to injury. The menu claims the crab cakes are broiled to perfection, but it would appear that the definition needs some revision.
Have you tried the Mt. Washington Tavern Crab Cake Platter? Tell us about it in the comments!
