La Boca, Santa Fe, N.M. A Spanish-style cheese made in Wisconsin and similar in taste and texture to manchego mingles with lump crabmeat at this Mediterranean-accented tapas spot. Red peppers, green onions and cayenne add crunch and heat to Executive Chef James Campbell Caruso's cakes, which are garnished with charred-red-pepper-basil aïoli.

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R&I RECIPES:

Bo Brooks’ Jumbo 
Lump Crab Cakes 

Brown Crab Cakes

Crab Cakes on Ginger-Scallion Aioli with Cucumber-Carrot Namsu

Crispy Blue Crab, Grilled Corn and Roasted Green Onion Flan Cake with Grilled Fennel Salad and Lemon

Fifty Seven Fifty Seven Crab Cakes With Roasted Pepper Aioli

Lotsa Crab Crab Cakes

Nori-Wrapped Crab Cakes with Lemongrass Cream

Salty's on the Columbia River, Portland, Ore. Paired with house-made seafood chowder, Executive Chef Dana Cress' mini sandwiches make an intriguing yet approachable lunch. Thinly shredded phyllo dough adds a crisp finish to the Pacific-crab cakes, which are tucked in sourdough buns with a tangy topping of arugula, red onion, shaved celery and lemon-thyme aïoli.

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. At the University Club & Restaurant, special and claw crabmeat are seasoned with cumin, coriander, green onions and red peppers and sparked with lemon juice, hot-pepper oil and Worcestershire sauce in Chef Jane Leary's recipe. The panko-crusted cakes are fried and then finished in the oven.

Deleece, Chicago. Truffle aïoli adds a luxurious touch to Chef Josh Hansen's rendition of crab cakes, in which 2-ounce patties are formed with a mixture of claw meat, cooled risotto and chopped parsley, rolled in rice flour, and seared in a cast-iron skillet. Hansen finishes the dish with a seasonal salad dressed with lemon juice for added acidity.