Description: Phillip’s restaurant occupies the end of the Harborplace buildings closest to the Maryland Science
Center. It is the building parallel to the USS Constitution. There are four dining areas, a big
room taking up the entire end of the building, an outside patio, a more intimate room under the
stairs, and a take out counter to the left of the stairs.
We visited Baltimore fairly often, mainly to have a crab cake sandwich for lunch at Phillip’s.
There are two types of crab cakes, red and white, the color being determined by the amount of
crab seasoning (available in cans as “Old Bay Seasoning”, or add paprika and/or chili powder to
McCormack’s widely available Season All). We prefer white because the lower quantity of
pepper does not cover up the delicate flavor of the crab, and Phillips sets the standard for crab
cakes.
The crab cake sandwich is straight forward– a bun with lettuce and a crab cake, accompanied by
good fries and mustard and/or tartar sauce on the side– and it is one of finest meals we have
encountered anywhere. Once, for dinner, we broke down and had a diner plate of two crab cakes–
more money, more of the same delicious crab, but there is something about crab cakes on a bun
that rises above naked cakes on a plate. The bun is more than a device to hold the crab cake. It is
an essential contributor to the experience.
I can’t say anything about the rest of their food, which is reputed to be excellent, because we
could never pass up the opportunity to have crab cakes. Neither should you.
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