Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
of ordering once you get to the counter.
The most vexing choice for a first-timer may
be to decide which cheese you want on
top. Traditionally, Geno's supporters hold
out for provolone (or, in a pinch, American
cheese), while the Pat's camp goes for a
gooey layer of Cheez Whiz. Both places
serve all three kinds of cheese—just don't
ask for Swiss.
Although Pat's and Geno's are the most
famous, there are many other cheese
steak joints around town. It doesn't take
much to get a Philadelphian going on the
subject of which is best, and Pat's and
Geno's take a lot of flak from cheese steak
snobs for being touristy and overpriced.
Still, when judging cheese steak quality,
you've got to accept that it is, above all,
street food: An authentic cheese steak
needs the cheapest cuts of meat, the
greasiest onions, the airiest rolls, and yes,
that plastic taste of Cheez Whiz to come
out just right.
Pat's,
1237 E. Passyunk Ave. (
&
215/
468-1456;
www.patskingofsteaks.com).
Geno's,
1219 S. 9th St. (
&
215/389-0659;
www.genosteaks.com).
(
Philadelphia International (11 miles/
17km).
L
$$$
Rittenhouse 1715,
1715 Rit-
tenhouse Sq. (
&
877/791-6500
or
215/546-6500; www.rittenhouse1715.
com). $$
Penn's View Hotel,
14 N. Front
St. (
&
800/331-7634
or 215/922-7600;
www.pennsviewhotel.com).
Hometown Dish
201
Crab Cakes
Singing the Chesapeake Blues
Eastern Maryland
For most Marylanders, summer just isn't
summer until they've tucked into a plate of
crab cakes, molded out of succulent fresh
crabmeat, coated with moist golden
breading, and fried to sizzling perfection.
Though blue crabs live all along the Atlan-
tic Coast, the ones in the Chesapeake Bay
just seem to be meatier, sweeter, and all-
around tastier, especially if you're lucky
enough to eat them the same day they
were caught. Of course, to do that you've
got to come here between May and Octo-
ber—but if you do, here's a road trip that
should satisfy your crab cake cravings.
What you're looking for is crab cakes
made with little or no filler, and from Mary-
land blue crabs only (sadly, as the Chesa-
peake's yield is drastically diminishing,
some Maryland restaurants actually serve
crabs flown in from North Carolina, Florida,
or Texas). Starting in Baltimore, head for
the historic district of Fells Point and
Obry-
cki's
(1727 E. Pratt St.;
&
410/732-6399;
www.obryckis.com), which puts an
upscale gloss on the traditional brick-
walled crab house look—though the
gleaming wood tables are still covered
with paper, so customers can crack open
their steamed crabs with wood mallets.
Obrycki's has been making its crab cakes
the same way since 1944—a mix of back-
fin and lump crabmeat, bound with just a
whisper of eggs and seasoned bread
crumbs.
Then head south to Annapolis, where
waterfront
Cantler's Riverside Inn
(458
Forest Beach Rd.;
&
410/757-1311;
www.
cantlers.com) trundles in crabs by con-
veyor belt straight from the pier. In sum-
mer you'll sit outside at long communal
