G&M Restaurant and Lounge, Linthicum Heights

[jparrott]

G&M, Linthicum, MD. One exit past the airport on the BW parkway, I think. Great crab cakes, everything else sucks. Doesn't matter. Useful in that corridor for a lump crab fix.

[jparrott]

At G&M, EVERYTHING else sucks? I've heard talk of the crabcakes before, but it'll probably be a tough sell since 1/3 of the party doesn't eat anything out of the sea.

Yeah, you probably don't want to bother then.

[Pool Boy]

I heard this place changed hands of late. True? Are the crabcakes still as good as ever?

[Joe H]

The crab cakes were NEVER that good. Huge, yes, but filled with Indonesian or Mexican lump crab meat. I've also long felt that they never had the flavor of the Narrows, Stoney's on Broome Island, Faidley's or Jerry's in Seabrook. On three visits over the years G & M has continued to disappoint me.

[Sthitch]

The crab cakes were NEVER that good. Huge, yes, but filled with Indonesian or Mexican lump crab meat. I've also long felt that they never had the flavor of the Narrows, Stoney's on Broome Island, Faidley's or Jerry's in Seabrook. On three visits over the years G & M has continued to disappoint me.

Joe my only quible with your post is the use of the word flavor, simply because they don't have any. Just a huge mass of flavorless calories.

[Pool Boy]

Well I guess we disagree. I like them.

[Sthitch]

I am curious what is it that you like about them? I was being snarky in my previous post, but honestly I could not taste any crab flavor in the one that I had, and whatever it is that they used to bind it all together was a bit sour but otherwise flavorless. I asked my father the same question (he is a fan of them as well), and all he could laud was the enormous size of the crab cake.

When I compare the flavor with the examples at Central, Prime Rib, or even Matchbox I find G&M to be significantly lacking. But they are big and cheap.

[Pool Boy]

I haven't been there in over a year, but I have always found them to be flavorful and delicious. Will they make me swoon like almost anything I get at Komi or Palena? No. Will they make my tastebuds happy? Sure. The place needs a serious remodeling though.

[Dmnkly]

Well, as a recent import this is of great interest to me.

I haven't done the full crabcake survey yet, but I'm trying to familiarize myself with the conventions. Faidley's rocked my world and granted me immediate understanding of why all Marylanders (?) I've known have simply scoffed at crabcakes elsewhere in the country. But when I was doing the apartment hunt a few months back, I also stopped by G&M. As an outsider, I don't get it at all. It struck me less as a crabcake and more as a pile of vaguely warm, very wet, mayonaise-y crab salad. I was there on Mother's Day and it was a total zoo, so I'm committed to returning on the assumption that I caught a bad plate. But is that how they're supposed to be? If so, count me in the camp that doesn't find G&M appealing at all.

[Lydia R]

A major plus for G&M is their proximetry to BWI Airport. I've used it many times to feed my just landed, jet-lagged and hungry masses. I doubt I'd make a special trip there, but it's good for catching up conversation [though I'd avoid on Mothers Day] and refueling before the hour long drive back home.

[blakegwinn]

The best crab cakes I have had anywhere are from the Narrows on Kent Island. Jerry's crab bomb in Seabrook is legitimately outstanding and, appropriately expensive for what they serve.

A couple of pieces that I wrote over three years ago about searching for the best crab cake or Maryland style seafood restaurant:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/171496

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/171420

I personally believe that Maryland's overall best "Maryland style" seafood restaurants are Jerry's and Suicide Bridge in Hurlock, MD. I also agree with Steve-G & M's crab cakes really do not have any discernible flavor. I would further suggest that the most difficult restaurant to find in the state of Maryland is Suicide Bridge... Waterman's is the most atmospheric crab house, even more so than Cantler's or Stoney's on Broome Island or the Drift Inn.

G&M's sucks. I'm sorry, I said it. Whew. I feel better now.

[Pool Boy]

We went here, almost a year ago now, and it is still a dependable joint for crabcakes and other fare. This after their re-model after the fire they had. The space is a bit better looking now, but it still retains that Baltimore 'charm'. The biggest issue I have with the place is the abject lack of parking. If the tiny lot in front and he slightly larger lot out back are jammed, drive a bit down the street to the park and ride lot and park as close to the restaurant as you can -- it is just a short walk (maybe 600-700 feet) to get to the restaurant.

Oh and they do not take reservations.

[pras]

Had dinner here after picking my dad up from BWI.  Still very good.  The service was friendly, full of Baltimore charm, and the crab cakes were good.  Full of lump with little filler.  This place was pretty jammed on Sunday during an epic rain storm.  We were seated immediately, but I am sure if it wasn't raining the wait would have been significant.

[MarkS]

Good to know. Their crabcakes are great though the place is old school.  Very much in the style of the Edgewater Inn, whose cakes were highly regarded but very old and dated.

[ol_ironstomach]

I find this description surprising, because G&M’s crabcakes (and I had one just last week) are (1) not blue crab, and (2) use considerably more filler than a truly minimalist crabcake, despite an abundance of jumbo lump meat.  One notices the cracker meal binding the relatively bland meat, unlike say Faidley’s lump crabcakes, or River Falls’.  Enjoyable, reliable, full of charm, a favorite of the people around Linthicum, but not really striving for crabcake excellence IMHO.

[pras]

On 7/26/2018 at 10:30 PM, ol_ironstomach said:

I find this description surprising, because G&M’s crabcakes (and I had one just last week) are (1) not blue crab, and (2) use considerably more filler than a truly minimalist crabcake, despite an abundance of jumbo lump meat.  One notices the cracker meal binding the relatively bland meat, unlike say Faidley’s lump crabcakes, or River Falls’.  Enjoyable, reliable, full of charm, a favorite of the people around Linthicum, but not really striving for crabcake excellence IMHO.

As I type this I wonder why I am doing so.  Why do I feel the need to justify my opinion?  I had a meal at G&M with my wife, daughter and dad.  It was the second time I have visited.  The more and more I write and read reviews on this website, I wonder what is it which makes a meal special?  I have come to the conclusion, that the food is secondary.  What is most important is the company, the time you had, and creating memories.  I have had crab cakes at Faidley's.  My memory of that was eating it out of a box before we took my mom home From Johns Hopkins after recovering from her whipple procedure (a meal never to forget).  I haven't tried the cakes at River Falls though.

On this wet evening, we picked my dad up at BWI from a weekend of traveling.  It was his first solo trip since my mom passed away in May.  He first went to Chicago to see his nephews, then to Sturbridge for my mom's cousin's wedding.  We got to talk about what a good time he had.  The waitress was very nice and knew how to deal with my dad's sarcasm.  While I understand that the purpose of this website is to review restaurants, and the quality of the food, the company was much more important and definitely "clouded my judgment".  I thought the cakes were good though.  I like the taste, it was full of lump (didn't know they don't use blue crab), and I didn't note much filler.  One thing is for sure, a dinner at G&M is different than one at Faidley's in Lexington Market--you don't have to fight off the rats on your way to dinner.  So if all of the other elements clouded my judgment on the cakes, I apologize.  

[ktmoomau]

To each his own- in 2009 before we were obsessed with sourcing even Wapo admits that sometimes non-local MD blue crabcakes can be delicious.