Anyone who has had a top-notch crab cake in Maryland knows that they are a world apart from what is served under that label in other parts of the country. I’ve only had a few over the years, but they made a significant impression on me.
Most of the establishments that serve the best crab cakes in the state specialize in seafood and are near the coast from around Baltimore down to the southern part of the state. Box Hill Pizzeria is an exception on both accounts. As its name indicates, rather than a seafood restaurant, it’s a pizzeria that also specializes in crab cakes. And it’s in Abingdon, which is just off I-95 about 25 miles north of Baltimore and less than an hour-and-a-half south of where I live.
Abingdon is also about half-way between Philly and Washington, making it a perfect spot to meet up there for lunch with John Tanner, who lives in the D.C. area and whose barbecue blog I’ve mentioned before. If you’re heading anywhere south of the Philly region, I highly recommend checking it out. He’ll steer you in the direction of good food.
The last time I had a real Maryland crab cake before our lunch was in 2017 at G&M Restaurant of Lincicum Heights, MD, on my way back from seeing the Eagles play in Charlotte. I was way overdue for another, so my journey down 95 to meet John last Thursday was a highly anticipatory one.
Box Hill Pizzeria sits in a shopping center along a busy commercial stretch. We arrived a little on the early side, but the unexpectedly large restaurant already had a decent-sized crowd. I initially thought having both a crab cake and pizza would be the way to go but wasn’t that impressed by the photos I had seen of their pizza and decided to stick with their main claim to fame – the crab cakes – which can be purchased and shipped overnight via a link on their website.
As tempted as I was to order a pair, given my modest appetite, I decided to stick with one, figuring I can always tack on another if I had space for it. That turned out to be a wise move, as a single half-pound crab cake with sides was enough to satisfy me.
Our platters arrived fairly quickly. John went with the standard fries and coleslaw, while I substituted applesauce for slaw.
Box Hill offers their crab cakes broiled or fried and we both opted for the former. They arrived perfectly browned.
I was probably shaking a bit with excitement while I photographed mine. The look and smell of it was other-worldly.
And it tasted just as good as it looked and smelled. John has a lot more experience eating Maryland crab cakes than I do and he appeared to be impressed with his first bite. I know I was with mine.
While it wasn’t composed solely of jumbo lump crab as is the case at some places in Maryland, the small amount of binder probably made for an easier eating experience and didn’t detract from the pureness of the crab’s flavor in the least.
The memories of the other Maryland crab cakes I’ve had aren’t fresh enough for me to say if the one I had last week topped them. But I’m sure it was at least in the same class as those others.
The fries were also nice and crispy – a perfect compliment to the crab cake.
It’s great to know Box Hill is close enough to pop down there again for lunch whenever I’m jonesing badly enough for another one.
Last week also marked my return to Sunday-gravy making. I had a pack of hot Italian sausage and some ground beef for meatballs in the freezer. It was just a matter of picking up some good canned San Marzano tomatoes and I was ready to go.
The gravy simmered for 5-6 hours with an occasional stir. When it was finished, I mixed it with a box of orecchiette pasta, which I boiled to al dente and I was set with nearly a week’s worth of comfort meals.
I’m still working on it and enjoying every serving.
I’ve been taking a break from blogging after putting out the top 20 cheesesteaks list that was the culmination of over two years of heavy eating. I still don’t feel much desire to return to it on a regular basis and can only say at this point that I’ll post when I feel moved to do so.
My wife and I have a vacation scheduled for later in the winter that I’m sure I’ll report on and I may get a few other posts in between now and then.
As always, thanks for reading.
BZ Maestro Eats 
I’m so jealous that you got to have lunch again with John! Looked lovely.
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You’re well ahead of me. I’ll finish my write-up before long. It was, of course, great to get together, and thanks for the mentions. Where to next?
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We’ll figure it out. Maybe there is some great pastrami somewhere between us. It was great to see you again.
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That crab cake looks outstanding, and the pasta’s no slouch, either!
Box Hill should change its name to “Pizzeria & Crabcakery”.
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After a speech that I gave in August 1994 at the Enoch Pratt Free Library for the Mencken Society, my host took me to a downton restaurant that was frequented often by H. L. Mencken. I forget the name of the restaurant off the top of my head (I believe it closed a few years later), but I was determined to eat a crab cake there, and boy was that good! It was the best I’ve ever had! And still is nearly 30 years later.
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Hausners?
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I lived in Bel Air, MD for many years and Box Hill has the BEST crab cakes hands down. I don’t even bother ordering them anywhere else. We send them to my MIL in Frederick, MD for Christmas every year and she is a blue crab aficionado. (And I don’t know how you would make the crab stick together if you didn’t have a binder in them.)
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