September 2014

Pat's Pizzeria, or Pat's Family Restaurant as you may also know them, started out in Pennsville, NJ back in 1974. Since then, Pat's has grown to be a regional pizza chain in the MD/NJ/DE/PA area. They've always been known as Pat's Pizza, but in 2004 they felt that they had evolved enough that they upgraded their dining rooms and altered the name to be Pat's Family Restaurant. Their pizza speaks for itself, and when the pizza is good, the other menu items tend to follow suit. Did this pattern stay true for their crab cakes? Let's find out!

The Peppermill Restaurant, located right off the beltway on York Rd. in Lutherville-Timonium, has been a local institution since they opened back in 1982. While The Peppermill has been on tour radar for a while now, it took the suggestion of Friend of the CCR, Mike A., to convince us to go. He, along with most other online reviews, warned that the clientele is made up of a mostly older crowd, but the younger generation are starting to discover what they have to offer. Will their crab cakes wow and amaze diners of all ages? Let's find out!

The Front Page has witnessed a lot of events in DC since it opened up almost 25 years ago. Not so much at the restaurant, but more so in the neighborhood. Located in Dupont Circle, The Front Page was just named one of the best brunches in America by Open Table. Catering to everyone from the causal sports enthusiast to politicians and businessmen, they have something for everyone. For us, they had crab cakes. Will we find a decent crab cake in DC? Let's find out!

The Old South Smoke House is a local BBQ joint located north of downtown Port Deposit. If it wasn't for the neon beer signs, you might actually mistake it for someone's house. That house is actually a 200+ year old house that used to serve as part post office and part something else. The house was relocated to its current location, which comprises almost half of the restaurant. It's small, it's quaint, it smells like BBQ when you step inside, and they advertise crab cakes. Of course, that just means that we had to stop by! Follow along and see how our visit went!

Ryleigh's Oyster started out in Federal Hill as a relaxed oyster bar with upscale cuisine. They pride themselves on making everything from scratch each day, using quality seasonal and local ingredients that support sustainability and local farmers. Recently they expanded to a second location in Hunt Valley, so we decided to check it out and see what they can do with local ingredients. Read on to see how it went!