Stone Crabs-Boca to Ft L

We%26#39;ll be staying on the beach south of Boca Raton. Is there any restaurants to get stone crabs in the area (say from West Palm to Ft L-I%26#39;ll travel if necessary). Also, any less than very expensive sea food places in general?

Stone Crabs-Boca to Ft L

Stone crabs are really expensive everywhere- there is a well reviewed restaurant in Boca- Jake%26#39;s Stone Crabs- in the Royal Palm Plaza on Federal- a review from 2005 says four jumbo claws were $66 there. Unfortunately that%26#39;s pretty typical. Further south on Federal in Lighthouse Point is Seafood World a combo fish market/restaurant that has great stone crabs, but also expensive, although the restaurant is very casual in atmosphere. The food in general there is excellent but pricey( Four stars in the local paper review). Further south in Ft. Lauderdale a restaurant on Andrews Ave. ,Catfish Dewey%26#39;s between Commercial Blvd and Oakland is an old time place and has ';all you can eat stone crabs'; on some days , but I%26#39;m sure it will cost you . They would likely be less expensive than the other places though.

Honestly what I do in Stone Crab season (Oct-May )is buy them at Publix or the Fresh Market , both in Boca , as takeout. Stone Crabs are always sold precooked and I like mine cold anyway- they are probably half the price ( still expensive) if you take them back and eat them in your hotel with the wine or beer of choice. Publix is likely lower priced than Fresh Market and I think they will heat them in the steamer for you if like.

I love Stone Crabs, but I can%26#39;t think of any place where they aren%26#39;t horribly expensive . I often will order an appetizer serving when we are out, which usually cost as much as the entrees - I just can%26#39;t bring myself to order a dinner serving at $50+- (price fluctuates depending on the supply)

Stone Crabs-Boca to Ft L

Thanks- I had no idea that the crabs would be that expensive. On sale, we can get dungeness crab for about $3.95 a lb, so how much better can stone crabs be. Your suggestion that we get them at the market is a good one because we will be staying in a place with a kitchen.

Be sure to get some mustard sauce to go with- it%26#39;s traditional. When I%26#39;m out tomorrow I%26#39;ll price them and post the latest, but at least $25 a pound would be likely- most restaurants just say Market Price and it fluctuates, but is always high. Nothing better than stone crabs at home ( or by the pool maybe) twice as many for the same price as a restaurant. Make sure they pre crack them for you , which they generally do- much easier to manage than Dungeness- I was in San Francisco last fall- loved the Dungeness but Stone Crabs are easier to handle - like plump crabmeat lollipops.

Here%26#39;s a site with a picture- as you can see - they are touting a ';bargain '; price, not sure if shipping gets added on- but at least it will give you an idea:

www.farm-2-market.com/products/gem3.html

So at my neighborhood Publix seafood counter they were selling only ';Large'; stone crab claws ( they are not the biggest - there are also ';jumbo'; and even ';collossal';) at the price of $30 per lb- that will give you an idea of how expensive they could get at restaurants. A local ';bargain'; fish and chicken store (Delaware Chicken in West Hollywood) was advertising a sale on ';medium';- the smallest size usually only served as appetizers -for I think $17 in yesterday%26#39;s paper.

They will definitely be pricey- and if anyone is coming closer to May- last year they had a severe shortage and most places had run out of them by May.

Oh, and just for information- no crabs are killed for this delicacy- awful as it is they cut off the claw and throw the rest of the crab back in and it grows a new claw. Last years supply was said to be poor- low in number and harder to get the larger ones- as a result of the crab beds being disrupted by the hurricane. I think this year the numbers are better, but the prices are still caviar like. I know in San Francisco, they told us much of the crab was brought in from Asia. I think stone crabs are available nowhere else ( or so I%26#39;m told) which might explain the outrageous prices- I still love stone crabs though and try to eat a modest number each year!

Jake%26#39;s in Royal Palm Plaza (Boca) is very good but not cheap. I hear it%26#39;s the manager from Joe%26#39;s in Miami. If you want a less expensive seafodd choice, go to Seafood World in Pompano or Whale%26#39;s Rib in Deerfield.