The crab fluff at L.P. Steamers
Ingredients: The folks at L.P. Steamers understand that if you love something, it ought to be deep-fried. They start with a 4 oz. crab cake and deep fry it. Then they drain the grease from it, beer-batter the once-fried cake and deep fry it again. One word: genius!
Damage: $11.95
Decision: The double deep-fried frenzy that is the crab fluff blowed my mind. It was nearly the size of a football and probably as heavy as a newborn. And though one might expect a dense, grease-laden exoskeleton, what you get is actually a light, fluffy breading. (Uh, crab fluff. Get it now?) When I cut into it I could see the rings of deep-fried relating, much like tree rings, the wonderful history of my fluff—about being fried, and then being fried again. The crab cake at its core is great, and it should be since L.P. Steamers is known for serving the most authentic Maryland crab cakes in Baltimore. (When I was there, one customer was visiting all the way from Minnesota.) The crab fluff, in a word, is awesome, but since we're already living in the most obese nation in the world, it's probably for the best that more restaurants don't jump on the double deep-fried chuck wagon.—Mark Gross
