The Corner Stable

Photography by Fitz

Not to be confused with the Corner Stable in York, Pennsylvania, The Corner Stable in Cockeysville, Maryland advertises the best crab cakes and ribs in the Baltimore area. Given that Baltimore is the crab cake capital of the free world, that boast seems just a little "much". I will say, however, that their crab cakes are indeed excellent. But let's not get out of hand. Best in Baltimore? I don't know. Let's say one of the best in Baltimore, which itself is no small feat.

The baby back ribs at The Corner Stable are the stuff of legend. They import them from Denmark. That's right - Denmark! Why? Who knows? Whatever they're doing is working, though. You don't last 40 years in the ribs business if your product isn't top drawer (first and last Auntie Mame reference you'll ever see on FGO!). On the occasion of my mother's 39th birthday, we dined at The Corner Stable as a family. Present were my parents, my sister, my grandfather, and both Fitzledges. A table for six at a place like The Corner Stable can prove problematic if you're not a fan of things like restricted limb movement and getting continually bumped into by servers and patrons. The place packs in a whole lot of people into not a whole lot of space. If a crowded venue is not quite your style, I'd perhaps suggest dining at this establishment at an off-time. But you will want to go because the food is really good.

I cannot personally vouch for the ribs because I was a contrarian and ordered a burger. Come on: how was I supposed to turn down a "monster ten ounce seasoned Certified Angus Beef Burger topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, homemade onion strings, our famous stable onion sauce and BBQ sauce"? Sounds amazing, doesn't it? So how was it? Well, it was, uh, big. To be honest, it was a tad bit overcooked (maybe this is one of those places where "medium" means "medium well"). The roll was really fantastic, and the flavor of the patty was pretty nice. I'd give the burger a "B". But I must admit that I wish I'd done the sensible thing and ordered ribs. Or crab cakes. Tami had ribs and found them very flavorful and tender. Her only real complaint was that she prefers a thicker sauce, as opposed to The Corner Stable Sauce that's more like a baste. She did like the flavor of the sauce, which was spicy and sweet. These weren't necessarily the meatiest ribs we've ever had. I believe Tami and I are a little spoiled when it comes to ribs ever since we discovered JoBoy's in Manheim. Overall her take on the Corner Stable ribs: not as good as JoBoy's, but better than Famous Dave's (another favorite of ours). And for the record, my parents and grandfather thought the ribs were absolutely spectacular.

I do give The Corner Stable major points for fries. They were fresh-cut, piping hot, and absolutely delicious. Apps weren't bad - we got perfectly decent chicken wings and fried cheese nuggets that had sort of a tator tot exterior. Tami thought the shrimp was good but overseasoned with Old Bay. And rarely do you hear my wife raving about cole slaw, but she had high praise for The Corner Stable slaw. I think she appreciated that they didn't chop the shit out of it.

How did The Corner Stable fare according to our FABS scale?

Food- All in all, quite good. I have a feeling the score would be even higher if it weren't just the two of us voting. Plus I'm admitting bad judgment in not getting ribs or crab cake. 20/25
Atmosphere- The place is cozy with a neat horse racing motif in the decor. But they've got too many tables for their space. And parking spaces are scarce. 17/25
Beer- Better than expected for this kind of place. They had Harpoon IPA and Fat Tire on draught plus Samuel Adams and the typical swill. 17/25
Service- Considering the business this place does, the speed and friendliness of the service are really commendable. The staff is always on the move. High marks here. 24/25

Total Score- 78 (out of 100)

For the second time, we are also able to implement the George Scale since my father was present. He rated the place as "excellent", which surpasses his previous max rating of "pretty good". I would roughly equate that to six stars out of a possible five.

-Josh