G&M...where the crab cakes are so good people get stabbed over them.
source Crab cake to fight for
Trial opens in G&M stabbing A knife fight over who gets the next crab cake? Only in Maryland.
The fist-sized cakes served at G&M Restaurant, a modest Linthicum carryout, are so famous you can order them online and the restaurant will FedEx them to you the next day - anywhere in the country.
In fact, a county prosecutor told a jury yesterday, "There are people who actually stab for them."
Keith Anthony Rantin Jr., 31, who was a customer at G&M one day last year, is accused of stabbing 37-year-old Jeffrey Rites as the two men argued over who was next in line. He's charged with first-degree assault.
The two men were at G&M at lunchtime on March 28. Mr. Rites had ordered lunch and was coming to pick it up, while Mr. Rantin, who rehabs houses, was coming to get lunch with two women he knew from a Home Depot where he often shopped.
The prosecutor and defense lawyer agreed on the basic facts: Mr. Rites started to walk to the counter, Mr. Rantin told him he was going out of turn and a shoving match ensued. During the fight, which employees tried to break up, Mr. Rites was stabbed.
But the lawyers disagreed about who started the fight and who had the knife first.
Assistant State's Attorney Michael Dunty said Mr. Rantin, upset because Mr. Rites tried to go before him, walked up behind Mr. Rites and said, "(Expletive), you ain't next."
He said Mr. Rantin then spit in Mr. Rites' face, causing Mr. Rites to shove him. Mr. Rantin then came up behind Mr. Rites and stabbed him in the back and hand, Mr. Dunty said. He said a witness who saw Mr. Rantin pull the knife out and walk up behind Mr. Rites backs that account.
Defense lawyer Kenneth Ravenell said Mr. Rantin, of Reisterstown, was in the store already and had just walked over to talk to his friends before ordering when Mr. Rites came in and walked to the counter.
Mr. Rites wasn't angry at first, Mr. Ravenell said, but rather told Mr. Rites, "I'm sorry, you're not next."
Mr. Ravenell said Mr. Rites started the shoving, and Mr. Rantin simply came up behind him at the counter and shoved back.
"There's no knife," Mr. Ravenell said. "It's a push."
Mr. Ravenell said several witnesses heard Mr. Rantin say "He's got a knife!" during the fight, backing up Mr. Rantin's side of the story.
After banging Mr. Rantin's arm on the counter until he dropped the knife, Mr. Rites went outside and passed out on the sidewalk. Mr. Rantin left and wasn't arrested for two days.
There were about five customers waiting when the fight broke out, and Mr. Ravenell said the confusion about who was next might have stemmed from the fact they weren't in a straight line. As in many carryout restaurants, people simply stood around waiting for their turn.
The trial is expected to end Friday. Whatever the jurors decide, if they want crab cakes for lunch while hearing the case in Annapolis, they'll have a hard time finding ones as big as G&M's for the price. There, a sandwich with fries is just $11.45.
