Maryland-style crab cakes are gearing up to crash Cincinnati’s spring food scene, courtesy of Maryland Flava, a new food trailer built around Old Bay-spiked sandwiches and East Coast seafood staples. Owner Dionne Gaddy plans to roll out a mobile menu of crab cakes, fried shrimp and other DMV-inspired classics for Queen City streets.
After relocating to Cincinnati, Gaddy decided the local market was missing true Maryland flavors and set out to build a trailer to fill that gap. She is aiming for a May debut, with the rig currently being finished and scheduled for delivery soon. Exact hours are still to be determined, according to What Now Columbus.
What’s on the menu
Gaddy has been teasing plates on her Instagram, and they lean hard into coastal comfort food. Photos show sweet-chili fried shrimp, a salmon sandwich seasoned with Old Bay, and a shrimp-and-blue-crab dish tossed in garlic sauce. Crab cakes and fried shrimp are expected to be everyday fixtures, with drinks likely to include water, soda and a family lemonade recipe. You can scope the food shots and progress updates on Instagram.
Where you’ll find Maryland Flava
For now, the exact parking spot is still a cliffhanger. Gaddy is weighing a permanent setup inside city limits against a roaming schedule built around neighborhood festivals and local events. The trailer’s delivery date will help lock in both the opening day and the regular parking plan, with a late-spring launch still the goal, according to What Now Columbus. Hours of operation are still being finalized.
A local fit?
Gaddy says she honed her recipes cooking for friends back in the DMV before deciding to branch out on her own. Maryland Flava will bring a seafood-focused option to Cincinnati’s growing mobile-food scene and could surface at events where crowds are chasing quick, portable bites. For locals craving East Coast seasoning and fried shrimp served hot off the griddle, the trailer is lining up to be a familiar taste on four wheels…