Jerry’s Place, Prince Frederick, Calvert County, Maryland

 I was asked where to find the best crab cakes in the Washington area and I answered, without a lot of thought, Jerry’s Place. But was I right? I’ve fallen in love with a lot of crab cakes, but I hadn’t really thought of which is best.

I wrote about Jerry’s Place once before here (when I’d had soft shells). It’s an institution in Southern Maryland. Jerry Gainer opened Jerry’s Seafood in Bowie, Maryland, 40 years ago in 1983, but he’d been selling seafood for 15 years before that, first from the trunk of his car, then from a food truck, and then from a restaurant/bar he managed until he and Peggy purchased it. Jerry retired after 28 years, but he soon established Jerry’s Place in Prince Frederick at 1541 Solomons Island Road (Route 4).

Recently, alas, Jerry has had health problems, and Jerry’s Place is run by Jerry, Jr., with a dedicated cadre of employees who maintain the original Jerry’s ethos and atmosphere. Many caricatures of employees are featured in the murals that adorn the walls. So is Mike and Liza’s dog, Carmen — there in the lower left.

Okay, it may not be Carmen but it’s a golden retriever and can pass for Carmen.

As Nancy and I entered, Jerry Jr. greeted us, and before we knew it we’d been seated and a plate of fried haddock bites appeared before us along with our water and menus. They seemed to have disappeared before I thought to get my camera out. The haddock bites were delicious, hot, fresh, and nicely seasoned.

Nancy and I ordered drinks, and we both chose crab cakes as our entrees. Crab cakes are the pride of the Chesapeake Bay, and usually weigh a quarter pound, sometimes five ounces. Hidden Harbor has an eight ouncer that I really want to try. That includes some filler to bind the crabmeat. Jerry’s Place offers crab cakes in three sizes — small (6 ounce), medium (10 ounce), and large (one pound). And there’s no filler at all. I guess they’re held together by magic, or maybe love.

Nancy ordered the “small” (6 ounce) crab cake,

and I ordered the ten ounce monster.

I ordered a side Caesar salad and cole slaw as my sides, and Nancy had the Caesar

and a baked potato.

The salad and the slaw both were good, and the baked potato was very good. Note the salt crusted skin. The crab cakes were delicious. It’s amazing just how good crab cakes can be. They come with a very good cocktail sauce, one with noticeable horseradish, but I prefer them plain, with just a squeeze of lemon, so that all the goodness of jumbo lump crab meat shines through without distraction. Wonderful.

So is it the best crab cake in Maryland, and the world? The competition’s fierce, and I’m staying out of the fray on this one. Go and try one for yourself. Tell me the restaurant where I can get a better one.

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