Grocery shopping can sometimes be an adventure, especially when you go to a store that you are unfamiliar with.  What new treats await you in the next aisle?  Are they worth the cost?  Can I find these in other stores, or even the same store in a different location?  

Imagine how elated the CCR was when stopping by a random grocery store and seeing a brand of frozen crab cakes that haven't been encountered yet.  And they came in two different varieties -- normal crab cakes (being reviewed) and jumbo lump crab cakes (future review).  They also sat alongside Phillips frozen crab cakes, so which to choose?

You may not know this at the store, but do some internet researching, and you will find out that Chesapeake Bay Brands is the same company that sells gourmet crab cakes on QVC, appeared on Oprah's "O" List, and were even voted by the Baltimore Sun as the best mail-order crab cake (although this was back in 1993).  So there may be some high hopes for the quality of these crab cakes.  Follow along and find how if their reputation precedes them!

A while back, we reviewed Chesapeake Bay Brand's Crab Cakes as part of a crab cake throwdown.  You can read the review for their lower end crab cake, but suffice it to say, things didn't go well.  Which was disappointing, as these are the same folks who sell those gourmet crab cakes on QVC that got really good reviews.  But if you take a closer look, the product being sold online is for the Jumbo Lump crab cakes.  We reviewed the regular version!  Talk about comparing apples to oranges!  But sitting alongside that regular variety were the Jumbo Lump crab cakes.  Granted, the ones you get from QVC will probably not be frozen, but it should still be the same product.  So did they live up to the expectation?  Read on and find out!

Real crab cakes can be hard to find in the off-season, especially if you expect it to contain any precious Maryland Blue crab.  So when you are walking through the grocery store and spy a new brand of crab cake, the words "made with real crab meat" might pique your interest.  And if you are super proud of your country, then the "Made in USA!" will have that package jumping into your cart in no time.  Found at my local Giant supermarket, I decided to fight terrorism the only way I know how -- by eating crab cakes.  How were they?  Continue on and find out!

What's the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions Lancaster? That's right, you think about the Amish, who do influence a lot in the area. Which brings us to beer. What the Amish Country is known for goes into every Lancaster Brewing Company beer. Which is, according to their website: fresh country air, clean water, and rich, non-irrigated farmland. What results is incredibly fresh, quality beer made according to German purity laws. Lancaster is a bit out of the way to go for crab cakes, yet there they are on the menu. Do the same attention to quality go into their crab cakes that they put into their beers? Let's find out!

McCormick and Schmick's runs a variety of seafood restaurants across the United States under differing names.  The M&S Grill is their take on providing fresh seafood and aged steaks in a more relaxed setting.  Located in the Inner Harbor next to the Harborplace amphitheater, you can enjoy views of the USS Constellation, National Aquarium, and watch the hustle and bustle around Harborplace.  With the main McCormick and Schmick's around the corner, the CCR decided to sit outside on a nice day, enjoy the sun and a cold beverage, and see how the crab cake at the more causal location fares.  Continue on to see how it all went down.