Soft shell crab in California in September?
 

More and more places on the West coast seem to be offering soft shell crab these days. Most recently seen at an airport restaurant at STS.

a) I don't think it is moulting season.
b) I don't think this is a West coast dish (though crab itself clearly is).

I've always wanted to try one, but I'm deeply suspicious of the authenticity of late season West coast soft shell.

Where are these crabs coming from?

Soft-shell crabs come from Maryland, and the fresh ones are sold there from May through August. If you encounter them at any other place or time, they are frozen. You can buy the frozen kind in California at most seafood specialty stores such as Santa Monica Seafood.

Soft shell not from California?
 

I don't think the soft shell crabs are from here. I think they're from the east coast. I usually get them when I visit my friends in Baltimore. ^

We have Dungeness Crab and a few close cousins like Rock Crab and Red Crab in California, but I think the season starts around Thanksgiving, not now.


Steve

We don't have native "soft shell" crabs. I think they are mostly blue crabs from the east coast, or other asian species which are available here. If you are eating at a decent restaurant, you should expect that wherever the crabs are from, they should be good. Just like the steak you just ate didn't come out of the bay, neither will your soft-shelled crab dish. However, both may be tasty and fresh.

ps - how long have you lived in the Bay Area? :p

That was what I thought. I'll save myself for the East coast sometime :)

I'm a huge fan California Dungness in season. My favorite places have their own boats!

Thanks!

It's the only crab I like, and whenever I'm outthere, it's about the only thing I eat. I love them.

While it's hard to argue with California Dungness crab, *fresh* California rock or spider crab is also very tasty. The former is like a miniature version of a Dungness without the intense flavor, but just as sweet. The latter looks like a scale model of a King crab, but with a MUCH heavier shell....and nice lump crab meat in the strangely angular body.


Unfortunately, both are very hard to find in restauruants or fish stores... I learned to love them by haunting the fisherman's early morning (5-7 am) Saturday market at Santa Barbara Harbor...buying them right off the boats. You can also find all sorts of fish (red snapper, halibut, sole, herring, squid, etc.) and also grass shrimp and spot prawns in season. ^