Resto Review #3: Mama’s on the Half Shell (Baltimore, MD — Canton)
My friend really likes seafood, so we decided to go here because we thought the value was worth it for the restaurant week menu, which was a three-course meal for $45. It’s a bit away from campus, but there are a ton of restaurants in the Canton neighborhood, so it’s worth going. We had basically already decided what we were going to order before we got there, and it made us super excited. Plus, we’re on Baltimore, a city well-known for its seafood.
Initial feelings: Excited for some good seafood!!
Overall notes: On their regular menu, they also have steak and lamb, not just seafood.
Crab Egg Rolls: Nice, crunchy shell, and then you’re hit with a fresh crab taste. The shells definitely had that eggy flavor that, imo, blended well with the juciness of the crab. The crab texture has a nice bite, and you can feel the stranded texture of the meat. It comes with a spiced sauce that is reminiscent of The Food Market’s carbonara sauce, with a hint of horseradish. Really good combo.
White Wine & Garlic Mussels: HANDS DOWN my favorite item for dinner. The mussels were cooked perfectly with a slightly soft, yet bite-able texture. The sauce is literally everything. The garlicky falvor paired with the white wine gives the sauce an acidic complement to the mussel. It comes with a toasted baguette, which is great to dip in. I would come again just for the sauce. They should sell it, no joke. 10/10.
Soft Shell Crab Sandwich: The entire crab came fried, which gave a nice contrast to the other fresh parts of the sandwich (like the tomatoes, lettuce, and pickles, etc.) The aioli was not very noticeable, but the crab makes up for it because it is so unique. Good choice on the bread because it wasn’t too buttery to outshine the crab. It came with a side of fries.
Crab Cake: There were two options for how it was cooked: fried or broiled. We chose the fried option, but I definitely wonder what it would have tasted like if we had chosen the broiled. Similar to the crab egg roll, the crab texture was perfect. But, it was too similar to the egg roll. The seasonal veggies were really good. They had the fresh texture of the veggies with a nice, buttery taste. You could taste the butter, but it wasn’t overpowering at all!
Strawberry Shortcake: It was honestly a bit disappointing. The pound cake was cold and didn’t have a particularly unique texture or taste. It was pretty dense too. Fresh strawberries though.
Banana Bread: SO SO SO SO GOOD. It was very warm, and the chunks of banana added to the overall creamy bread pudding. The bread pudding was like a nicely soaked cake, not too soggy. I don’t really like whipped cream, but it added a more airy texture to the somewhat dense pudding. It was very good.
Final rating: 7.5/10
There were some items I really liked, and there were other items that were ok. I would come again just for the mussels and bread pudding. Getting the seafood for restaurant week is really worth it!! The interior is a dark, old-wooden style. They had old-style curtains, so it was an interesting vibe.
Thanks for reading, and hope you try it :))
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