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Kansas City has barbecue. Boston has clam chowder. And Washington, D.C. claims to have the crab cake. After a rigorous regional taste test of 25 area seafood restaurants, the staff of The Washington Post Food section revealed their picks for best crab cakes in “The Lump Sum” on Wednesday, July 28, 2009. Seven kitchens serving crab cakes year round were awarded top honors. Two of them are sibling restaurants: DC Coast in downtown Washington and the relative newcomer PassionFish in Reston, Virginia. Parent company, Passion Food Hospitality operates five restaurants where 75% of the dishes presented are an array of freshly caught, sustainable seafood.

A regal beacon at the corner of 14^th and K Streets, DC Coast pays tribute to the bounty of three coasts. The menu of Mid-Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf dishes are presented in the cool elegance of the District’s first Art Deco building. In their round-up, The Post cites chef Brendan Cox for his restraint. The lack of filler and crisp exterior lets the seafood shine: “Minimalism is the watchword of this crab cake.” At lunch and dinner, the crab cakes are plated with a piquillo pepper sauce and crisp arugula with saffron vinaigrette.

Thirty minutes away at PassionFish in thriving Reston, Virginia, chef Chris Clime, a Jeff Tunks veteran, wins a nod for his jumbo-lump meat crab cake is enlivened with “a touch of Old Bay, Tabasco and chives.” At lunch, it arrives as a sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries; at dinner, the crab cakes (two 4oz. portions) arrive with a guest’s choice of side dish and one of five sauces – The Post’s foodies picked classic tartar is their favorite. And at the long, winding bar, crab cakes star in little sliders topped with Old Bay remoulade. Insiders know to come on weekdays between 4pm-6pm, when these, and 10 other savories, are $5 during happy hour.

Passion Food Hospitality co-owner and longtime restaurateur, Gus DiMillo, is delighted, and remarked, “If you are a chef in the Mid-Atlantic there needs to be a crab cake on the menu. This is no shell game. Our chefs are blessed with the talent to make delicious, meaty crab cakes every time, even in a pinch.”