i ate crabcakes at a steakhouse. one of my mottos for restaurants is "order what the place specializes in." and the people i was dining with -- one of whom is a total meat 'n' potatoes guy -- were rapt about all-american's steaks. they had been there several times before, and it was good enough for them to come back. but this is maryland, land of the world's best crabs! so after quizzing the waitress about whether the crabcakes were those pre-made things larded out with red bell pepper and other fillers -- they're not! -- i ordered all-american's crabcake plate.
the two 5-oz cakes on the $25 platter looked sorta small, about the shape of ice cream scoops in france. but they were honest crabcakes, made with lump meat with only enough filler to bind them together. nice flavour (as we spell it in canada) and a bit of browning on the outside. they weren't as good as the monster crabcakes from the edgewater restaurant not far from here, which are the best i've eaten anywhere in the world. but all-american's are decent. if you're gonna eat seafood at a steakhouse, this is a good choice.
p.s. our servers this tuesday night were prompt and efficient. my daughter's boyfriend was still talking about how excellent the service was on new year's eve last year when all-american muffed his dad's steak order, but they were super-solicitous about apologizing and making it right. that good treatment was what keeps him coming back.