"Good pizza, disappointing crab cakes. Update Sep 21, 2014 Grade: B-/C+ On our last visit we had the pizza and enjoyed it. After reading about their legendary crab cakes, we wanted to try them this time. Sadly, we were very disappointed with them. The waitress said that the broiled crab cakes were better than the fried so we tried those. Large, at 8 oz. and full of jumbo lump meat, that was the best part of them. The peak of mine had gotten charred while the inside was only just warm. The mix of the crab and mayo was a little too runny and it was lacking in flavor, with little or no Old Bay or other spice mixture. For that matter, the tartar sauce was pretty runny and the cole slaw was plain, too. Next time, we're going for the pizza. Grade: B Box Hill is an odd marriage of pizza, Italian standards, gyros and Greek specialties, and crab cakes that locals eagerly endorse. The overwhelming aroma of crab meat greets you as you come through the door, entering on a path that is separated from the kitchen by partial glass. The dining rooms lay beyond, one featuring two booths flanked by the restrooms (which provides the aroma of air freshener with that of your food). Box Hill's menu is involved, but we'd heard that they had good pizza so we went in that direction. I'm pretty glad that we did. We ordered a small with pepperoni and onions...and several minutes later, our waitress returned to see if we were ready to order. Fortunately, she quickly reoriented and remembered that she'd taken and submitted our choice. Keeping in mind our frequent encounters with substandard pizza in Northern Virginia, this was pretty good. Its crust had interest, crispy without being overly dry or chewy and with good flavor. There was a hint of sweetness in the sauce that worked well, and the strings of raw onion were sweet and flavorful. The pepperoni was lackluster, however, almost flavorless against the other ingredients. In all, this is much better than any pizzeria that delivers to us. Maybe we'll try the crab cakes next time."
