Weekly reviews of crab cakes around the MD and DC area

Brian Boru

Brian Boru Crab Cake Sandwich Brian Boru Crab Cake Sandwich Crab Cake Review

Irish pubs aren't what you usually think of when it comes to searching for delicious crab cakes.  Cold, tasty Guinness?  Yes.  Corned beef and cabbage?  You betcha.  But crab cakes?  Color me skeptical.  However, there is a simple explanation for it.  You see, there used to be this restaurant in Annapolis called Little Campus.  Little Campus was one of those colorful local Annapolis haunts that served good food at an affordable price in an environment that is distinctively Annapolis.  But that all changed when Little Campus closed and an Irish bar by the name of Galway Bay took its place.

You see, legend has it that Little Campus employed a lady who was known as Miss Peggy.  And Miss Peggy was known for her crab cakes.  People would flock from far and wide for Miss Peggy's crab cakes.  So when Little Campus closed, the owners of Galway Bay carried on the tradition.  And the crab cakes are so good that the restaurant group that owns Galway Bay also carries her secret recipe at their other locations, the Killarney House and Brian Boru.

We all know what happens when someone buys the rights to something.  Typically it's just a cash grab at making a quick profit on a known, trusted name.  People still go out of their way to try the "brand", but because of the need to maximize profits, the quality suffers and isn't the same as it used to be, what made that name so famous in the first place.  So how has Miss Peggy's secret recipe fared since being taken over by an Irish restaurant group?  Follow along and find out!

Miss Peggy's Crab Cake is served as an entree, sandwich, salad and as an appetizer in mini form.  Entree consists of two oven baked jumbo lump crab cakes served with garden rice and homemade tartar sauce.  Sandwich is a single jumbo lump crab cake served on a potato roll with Irish chips and tartar sauce.  Cocktail sauce isn't served with your meal, but is available upon request.  The salad is a broiled jumbo lump crab cake over chieftain salad with a citrus vinaigrette.  The appetizer is 2 mini jumbo lump crab cakes served with their signature cole slaw.

The crab itself is very tasty -- nice and sweet as one would expect from Maryland.  The crab cake is Maryland style, which tends to be bready because of the bread crumbs.  But the end result is very moist, right at that perfect point where a crab cake should be.  Not too saucy, not too bready.  Just right.  The spicing is on point, with the perfect blend to compliment the crab but not compete with the flavor.

Overall, this crab cake is fantastic.  The only sin we could think of was putting it on a bun and serving it as a sandwich.  While the ordering option is not mentioned on the menu, you would do yourself a favor by asking for this "on crackers" (which is just the crab cake without the bun, lettuce or tomato) if you're looking for a single entree, which is not explicitly on the menu.

Brian Boru Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Additional Info

  • Restaurant Name: Brian Boru
  • Address: 489 Ritchie Highway Severna Park, MD 21146
  • Neighborhood: Severna Park
  • Restaurant Type: Local
  • Review Date: 08/24/2011 1:19pm
  • Atmosphere: Not Busy
  • Item(s) Ordered: Miss Peggy's Crab Cake Sandwich
  • Cooking Style: Oven Baked
  • Other Styles Available: Yes
  • Available by mail order?: No
  • Price: 13.99
  • Order Type: Sandwich
  • Crab Content: Jumbo Lump
  • Filler: Minimal
  • Spice: Average
  • Overall Impression: Outstanding
  • Rating (out of 5 crabs):

    5-crab

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