Crab cakes

Somebody bet on the bay

FrontRunner, at the Santa Anita racetrack, makes a true Chesapeake Bay crab cake. Chef Tom O’Conner combines a pound of Maryland blue crab with cream, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, red and green bell peppers, chives and Old Bay seasoning. Browned in a pan and finished in the oven, the fist-sized cake is topped with a creamy remoulade sauce and served with ginger slaw and black-eyed pea salad. (Chesapeake Bay jumbo lump crab cake, $18.)

FrontRunner, Santa Anita Park, 285 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, (626) 574-1035.

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Exotic coating

Oceanfront Restaurant uses Dungeness crab meat, red and yellow bell peppers, paprika, garlic, heavy cream and rosemary in its cake. Then it’s dipped into an egg wash, covered with kataifi (the Middle Eastern pastry that resembles shredded wheat) and fried crisp in olive oil. On the side come aioli and a nappa cabbage slaw flavored with orange and lemon zest. (Crispy crab cake, $14.)

Oceanfront Restaurant, Casa del Mar, 1910 Ocean Way, Santa Monica, (310) 581-7714.

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Old school

When you order crab cakes at Morton’s, you get three sizable cakes made from jumbo lump crab meat, crackers, egg whites, fresh mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Old Bay seasoning, parsley and a shot of Tabasco. They’re fried golden in olive oil and served with remoulade sauce and sauteed spaghetti squash. (Crab cakes, $22.)

Morton’s, 8764 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (310) 276-5205.

-- Jessica Strand