The Crabcake

[MarketStEl]

Like any part of the world, there's going to be a local debate about whatever regional specialty is "best."  There's the perennial fight over Eastern and Western North Carolina Barbecue.  Who's fried chicken is best?  Who's grits?  French Laundry or The Fat Duck?  Coke or Pepsi?  Corn flakes or rice Chex?  Pat's or Geno's?

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Bryant's or Gates'?

You all gotta get away from the coasts every now and then.

This is exactly analogous to "Pat's or Geno's?" because in both cases, neither place is the best in town, but they are the ones everyone outside the city knows about.

Perhaps the argument is so heated because the crabcake, like the cheesesteak and barbecue, is a rather humble dish that anyone with a modicum of skill (and, in the case of barbecue, patience) can make competently as long as he or she uses the right ingredients. (Although neither The French Laundry nor The Fat Duck could even remobely be considered humble. So what are they doing in the above list anyway?)

I'm not certain of this, but it seems that the more likely it is that anyone can make a passable version of something, the more likely it is that you will have passionate argument over which is the best example of the professional version of the item. Of course, this definition excludes those purely industrial products like Chex and corn flakes, so perhaps it's not a broad enough hypothesis. But within its own niche, it seems to work.

[bavila]

Perhaps the argument is so heated because the crabcake, like the cheesesteak and barbecue, is a rather humble dish that anyone with a modicum of skill (and, in the case of barbecue, patience) can make competently as long as he or she uses the right ingredients.  (Although neither The French Laundry nor The Fat Duck could even remobely be considered humble.  So what are they doing in the above list anyway?)

I'm not certain of this, but it seems that the more likely it is that anyone can make a passable version of something, the more likely it is that you will have passionate argument over which is the best example of the professional version of the item.  Of course, this definition excludes those purely industrial products like Chex and corn flakes, so perhaps it's not a broad enough hypothesis.  But within its own niche, it seems to work.

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Yes, Sandy, this is what I mean. Is it that there's so little difference one must raise one's voice to standout?

Until Busboy and the like straighten me out, I just don't get it.

[ghostrider]

What's not to get? There's a variety of ways to make them & they can range from mundane to sublime. Personal conceptions of "sublime" will always differ & that's the food for discussion.

I've already expressed my crabcake preference in the Baltimore thread. I'm not a Marylander & crabcake purists may scoff, but Vikki's looks to me like a Baltimore institution & I wouldn't be quick to dismiss them. Their crabcakes seem to be made with ordinary white bread (horrors!), a healthy dollop of mustard (how untraditional!) and a serious dose of cayenne (you've got to be kidding!); and to top it all off, they're deep-fried.

Maybe this is totally the wrong way to make a crabcake. All I know is that I've had a lot of crabcakes in my life, I've never had any like those at Vikki's, and I can't wait to get back down there & eat lots more of them.