Talk of the Mountain Screams Crab Cakes

Talk of the Mountain Screams Crab Cakes

By Ali Patusky

What began as a food stand selling only crab cakes on the side of the road has since blossomed into a restaurant and food truck selling all types of seafood and side dishes.

Bryant “Boo” Green created Talk of the Mountain Seafood in 2014 following the death of his father, drawing inspiration for the name from the reaction of his community.

“My dad was my super hero, he was my everything,” Green said. “So when he passed... I knew people were going to be talking about my dad, and they were going to be talking about me, and it was going to be the talk of the mountain, so that’s where the name came from.”

This expectation came to be a reality when his friends and neighbors expressed their support by checking in on him wherever he happened to be selling crab cakes. In the early stages, that was usually on the side of the road in Markham, or at local wineries and farms.

In 2019, the owner of the Liberty Gas Station in Front Royal, Virginia, approached Green while he was working on the side of the road. She offered him the opportunity that would lead to major growth for his business: selling his crab cakes in her store. She passed away soon after he became established in her gas station, making her an “angel” to him.

“She got me in the gas station, and then she went on home, so it was like an angel helping,” he said. “Then right away we blew up, and the [new] restaurant space became available in the same year. We just kept going right up to the top.”

Talk of the Mountain’s permanent storefront and restaurant is located at 117 E. Main Street in Front Royal, Virginia. And Green’s food also can be found at wineries, markets, and events all around the Washington area.

The mobile menu served out of a truck he recently purchased generally includes dishes and sides such as smoked mac-n-cheese, spinach and crab dip, potato salad, fried shrimp and of course, those fabulous crab cakes, both with and without gluten.

The decision to sell crab cakes came to him during a trip he took to Maryland, when he saw how popular they were with so many customers.

“We arrived in Maryland, and I was like ‘man they’re selling a lot of crab cakes,’” he said. “I did a little Googling and they were in the top five most eaten/requested things, and that’s where the idea came from.”

Green also noticed that the crab cakes he ate in Maryland were filled with breading. As a result, he prides himself on Talk of the Mountain’s crab cakes that are made “without filler…I make them big and I don’t charge a lot.”

The quality of Green’s seafood is often enthusiastically confirmed by his customers, even those from Maryland.

Chris Damewood described how he impressed two of his friends from Baltimore with Talk of the Mountain crab cakes.

“I came and picked it up and cooked it at their house and they were like ‘this is the best crab cake I’ve ever had, hands down’…They’re amazing.”