Where to get good Crabcakes
 

Where is the best place in or around The Villages to get good crab cakes?

I'm guessing Clearwater. :jester:

I heard the crab cakes at Harry's Seafood Bar & Grill in the Ocala town square are very good, but I haven't had them.

Crab Cakes
 

My criteria is minimal filler with good flavor, not crab flavored filler.

Hemingway's at Havana meets that criteria and are the best I have found in this area..

Square 1 Burger had a crab cake sandwich as their special last evening which came close. Minimal filler but also minimal seasoning. I would order it again though.

Harry's are pretty good also.

Go to Sam's Club and you can get back fin crab meat usually for about $17 a 16oz can. My wife has been making them all her life, and we haven't found any here worth eating, so we continue to make our own. We've been meaning to head west on Hwy 44 to Crystal River area to Riverside Crab House, but never seem to find the time. We did go last year to a marina restaurant in New Smyrna Beach for steamed crabs but they were terrible, didn't even have any Old Bay on them.

Waterfront seafood dining

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/med...crab-house.jpg

There are several seafood restaurants in the Crystal River/Homosassa area that look good, another is Pecks Old Port Cove, Crystal River . Just do a search of seafood restaurants in that area on this trip advisor link and they should all come up.

Square 1 has a crab cake burger. Haven't tried it though

I buy frozen crab cakes at Winn Dixie. They are pre-cooked and frozen. There are five cakes per package. I think they are very good and always keep a couple of packages in the freezer. They are located in a freezer case across from the fresh meat case. They come in two favors, Cajun and regular. I like the regular flavor the best.

I'm from Louisiana, so I'm also picky about my crab cakes. So I make them myself, using this recipe. I buy lump crabmeat at Costco. There is more crab and less filler in this recipe and it's super easy. I make a bunch and freeze them uncooked. Thaw and bake or fry, depending on how you like them.

MRS. DUVALL'S CRAB CAKES Recipe : Food Network

The crab cakes at Nancy Lopez are not bad. We love them.

Fresh Market on CR 466 sells good crab cakes.
Occasionally they have a BOGO sale.

We had our Taekwondo golf outing last night at Hacienda Hills and ate in the restaurant afterwards. They didn't have any good vegetarian options, so I broke down and had the crab cakes. They were delicious! Also, if you are ever in Orlando near the Grand Cypress hotel, they have a restaurant in the hotel called Harry's which serves the best crab cakes I've ever had. But remember, I'm from New York, not Baltimore, so I don't mean to insult any Terrapin fans.

Looks like an excellent recipe with lots of crab & less filler
 

Looks like an excellent recipe with lots of crab & less filler.....
Here's a similar one from a Maine Cookbook I've had for decades.

Crab Cakes
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (about 12 crackers)
2 tablespoons minced green onions (scallions)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Old Bay seafood seasoning
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked (Maine crab meat / Maryland crab meat)
Vegetable oil
Lemon wedges

Preparation
Combine first 10 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring until well blended.

Gently fold in crabmeat.

Form mixture into 8 crab cakes (about 1/3 cup each).

Cover and chill 1 hour or until ready to cook. VERY IMPORTANT TO CHILL FIRST.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Cook crab cakes (in batches, if necessary) 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Serve with lemon wedges.

************************************************** **************************
Super easy to make yourself with above recipe.....

or to purchase via mail order to keep stocked in your freezer for spur of the moment crab cake appetizers or "on a roll".........convenient to have in the freezer if you only need one or two & if you catch them on sale...............

We were having crab cakes for lunch by the docks in Maine, when the owner confided that he gets his crab cakes from Maryland, shipped up frequently. They were great.

I think QVC also sells them...........however, the FROZEN ones from below suppliers are great, especially around the holidays..........one less fish dish to make on Christmas Eve.......or New Years Eve if having a house party.

They are restaurant quality.

Restaurants have many secrets......using top quality frozen prepared foods is one of them. They are not all there in the kitchen up to their elbows in crabmeat..........shaping patties. It can be your secret as well. Enjoy.

However, they are super easy to make from scratch if you can get some fresh crabmeat while vacationing near the seacoast, or better yet....living near the seacoast with someone who likes to go crabbing.

http://www.kansascitysteaks.com/Crabcakes.3.htm
Maryland Crabcakes from Kansas City Steak Company

http://www.omahasteaks.com/product/Gourmet-Crab-Cakes-8-3-oz-00423
Gourmet Crab Cakes from Omaha Steaks






　

Been there, those crab cakes list onions as an ingredient. A good Maryland crab cake doesn't have any onions.

As far as a recipe, pick up a 6 oz can of "Old Bay Crab Cake Mix" at the grocery store and on the side of the can the recipe is written. It's similar to what Senior Citizen wrote except leave out the onion. I can write it out later when I have more time.

Fresh Market provides a tasty alternative for peeps like me who have permanently hung up their aprons! :pepper2:

Unfortunately, Sam's no longer carries the crab meat you referred to. I believe the name was Blue Diamond. Best I have had down here. Still looking for good crab cakes.
Ex- Marylander.

Blue Diamond sounds right. That happened two years ago. We bought crab meat at Sam's for about a year and they stopped stocking the crab meat last summer and we dropped our membership. That was our main reason for being a member. We rejoined last winter when they started selling it again. They'll have it back, give them a few months.

Another fan of the Fresh Market crab cakes. I don't care if they have onions....that's fine with me. The regular crab cakes are very good, and the "ultimate" crab cakes are very, very good!!! Not cheap, at $6.00 each, but I stock up when they have a sale.

Absolutely, the best crab cake you will ever have is at Jerry's Seafood in Lanham, Maryland. The also make the best Crab Imperial and their specialty is The Crab Bomb.

It is almost worth a trip to the DC 'burbs to go to Jerry's.

thanks. first try is going to be Hemingway's at Havana. Will move on from there. thanks everyone.

Ponte Vedra Fresh Seafood | Palm Valley Fish Camp

A little closer than Maryland.....LOL. Still a bit of a trip, just for a meal, but if you're up for a road trip, Palm Valley Fish Camp used to have the BEST crab cakes ever!! I haven't been in a few years, but I had no reason to believe anything has changed.

The crab cake burger is delicious and very generous in size! The crab cake at Ruby Tuesdays is also good!

If the oiiginal poster is from Maryland, they are not going to find crab cakes in Florida to compare to those in Maryland. The lowliest roadside cafe in Maryland has better crab cakes than 5-star restaurants anywhere else. Just a fact!

Bonanza, you need to get on their mailing list and then you receive advance notice.
I think I enrolled online at The Fresh Market

Maryland

Glenview CC has the best crab cakes. made with real crab and not a lot of filler.
Also on Sunday brunch they have a good crab cake benny

Just had the best crab cake ever. We caught the crabs off the dock, steamed them, ate all except the backfin, then my daughter made the best crab cakes ever! Finished that off with some of our own grown oysters stemmed on the grill. I am going to miss all our fresh seafood this winter, but I will enjoy TV!

The recipe on the lump crabmeat sold at Costco is pretty good and you can make it at home whenever you wish.

Just out of curiosity, are good crab cakes made of chunks of crab or a puree of crab? I have had both and I kind of prefer the pureed style.

Z

We've always liked the crab cakes at Bonefish, but will definitely give some of the other suggestions a try! Of course the best is in Maryland. :)