Faidley's Crab Cakes

My dad grew up in Baltimore County, so he's very persnickety and discerning when it comes to crabcakes. It's his opinion that there isn't a decent crab cake to be found north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Geographically, this rules out every restaurant in my home state, so we often drive to Lexington Market in Baltimore to sate our crab cake cravings.

The destination? Faidley's Seafood, a family-owned and operated business since 1886. It is home to award-winning crab cakes acclaimed the world over. According to the Faidley's website, the restaurant was commissioned to develop crab cakes for the US Space Shuttle crew.

The tables are standing room-only. You'd think that this would detract from the culinary experience--you're quite literally rubbing elbows with the stranger beside you--but one bite of a Faidley's crab cake will melt your inner Scrooge. Each crab cake is made to order by hand.
The crabcake has a perfect golden brown crust, but you should never judge a 'cake by its cover: the true test lies in its composition. All too often, you bite into a mediocre crab cake that is mostly filler. There may be a few streaky patches of crabmeat, but it tends to be flaky and not-so-fresh, a disc-shaped patty that was defrosted and fried.

Behold the Colossus of crab cakes: a softball-sized, densely-packed orb of fresh jumbo lump crab meat.