2008 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008

The name tells you what you ought to ask for at the counter, and the broiled, jumbo lump crab cakes that follow are true to Chesapeake tradition. They're sweet with seafood and light on the seasoning. Ordering the crab cakes as part of a platter nets you two more of the small joint's attractions: crunchy, scallion-laced coleslaw and terrific, twice-cooked french fries with bits of skin for added flavor. Bobby's roost in Rockville Town Square doesn't pretend to sit on the water, but owner Bobby Bloch does his best to make his customers feel as if they aren't eating fast food in the heart of suburbia. Blue booths, brick walls, marble tabletops and sepia-toned photographs pretend to age this fledgling seafood purveyor, where the lobster roll is the equal of the crab cake, the macaroni and cheese sports a fine cracker crust and the key lime pie emphasizes tang over sweetness. Service might be indifferent. The food never is.

The Food section rated this restaurant's crab cake for a July 2009 story about the area's best.

Our single, broiled five-ouncer ($18.75) sat up nicely but was a bit dry. Perhaps on a different day, Bobby Bloch's popular and well-regarded rendition might have ranked higher. (Is there such a thing as crab cake guilt?) Brown mustard adds depth, and the minimal amount of filler is admirable. The hand-cut french fries are well executed.

Two 4-ounce jumbo-lump crab cakes, $26.50; two five-ounce jumbo-lump crab cakes, $32.95

(July 29, 2009)