Boiled and cracked out of the shell.

in Florida or somewhere else?
In season or out?
Served warm or cold?


Stone crabs are cooked immediately after being caught but are usually not frozen, while most other crabs eaten in the US are flash frozen at sea. As such stone crabs need to be eaten in season and very soon after being caught, while king, snow, and dungeoness etc are pretty good and consistent no matter when or where you have them.

Florida
In season
Cold

Joe's stone crab

Probably the problem :D Joe's is seriously over rated.

A nice sustainable fishery. Legal harvesting in the U.S. means that claws can only come from male crabs, and the smaller claw must be of a certain size (so the crab can feed/defend itself). The crabs grow back the claws and are said to be good for 3-5 cycles.

Last time I had stone crabs was buying it from a fisherman near Cape Coral in Fort Myers. Previously I used to go to Everglades City from Marco Island but that outlet decided to go wholesale only.

Yes! That was the last time I had Stone Crab I vividly remember it was at that restaurant and it was excellent though the visit was not during the last two times we went to Vegas.

I've had Joe's (at a couple places), but best I have had were at Ballyhoo's in Key Largo. All you can eat.

Joes in Miami gets thier stone crabs from here:

http://www.keysfisheries.com/

which is down in the Keys in Marathon.

I was there on October 14th and split a pound of jumbo stone crabs with my wife. Along with 3 bottled beers and some fries; it was a nice light dinner that was in the $40 range for the 2 of us. I'm a seafood lover and these stone crabs were simply amazing: sweeter than any lobster I've ever had. The "sauce" they serve with the crabs - supposedly just mayo and mustard - sounds terrible until you try it; it must have a few spices added in because I sure cant re-create it !

This is a ramshackle place with picnic tables; all the tables are on the water. We had a few beers and watched some stone crab boats come in, met some of the boat owners, and watched an amazing sunset.

I've been to the Joes in Chicago, and believe me, this place is 10X better !!

Thank you for coming to visit us and yes you had Stone Crab Claws. They are one of the best crabs out there! We do serve them Hot and Cold, hot does come with melted butter (my favorite) and the cold ones are served with our famous mustard sauce. We only buy from local fisherman, our source is less than 1/4th of mile from us. Hot vs. Cold is simply based on your choice. We are also very well known for our Blue Crabs, hense the name Riverside Crab House. Our Blue Crabs are caught from the river and delivered to our Blue Crab Holding Tank where they are kept until you order them. Yummy! We hope you will come visit us again soon.
Homosassa Riverside Resort
"Home of Monkey Island"
Check Out the Live monkey cam

I pray to the Stone Crab Gods......
 

There are those of us who patiently wait for October 15th each year here in SoFla. Joe's is good, but way overpriced. Truluck's on Brickell offers an AYCE on Monday nights. However, I usually end up at Catfish Dewey's on Andrews in FLL, although jumbo and large sizes are not always available. Not a fancy place, but always packed.

How much does Truluck's charge? I've had the Catfish Dewey AYCE before and was very under-impressed by the quality (over cooked, flavorless, meat stuck to the shell).

Pretty sure it's still $69.95 (size has varied on me in the past, primarily based on location), and only on Monday. Since you are in SoFla, there is also Kitchen305, and perhaps Billy's does it in Dade. I usually ask the manager anywhere if the stone's are succulent before I order........

it isn't just y'all in SoFla.:) Wiping the dusting of snow off my car this morning, I was thinking about preparing some seafood for dinner tonight & thought about stone crabs.

Ah stone crabs...my favorite seafood (and frankly any other food) there is! Yes, the mayonnaise/mustard dipping sauce is divine.:)

As someone who grew up in the Windy City, it's our consolation for not having many good restaurants down here. Once in a while, we just have to fly there....for Greektown, Al's, Home Run Inn and a host of others. We do have great Cuban down here though.

If Chicago was home to stone crabs, I would have never left ;)

I agree 101%.

Totally divine and yummy.

I tried raising some stone crabs here in Chicago but the Asian Carp ate them.:)

Never tried stone crabs before, but I'll have to look for them on upcoming trips to Tampa and Naples!

I have 3.5 hours at MIA tomorrow. Is there anywhere nearby that sells stone crab at a reasonable price? The place in MIA wants more for 3 lbs than the price with shipping for 5 lbs. Anyone want to drive 5 or 10 lbs to me? :)

try contacting this place, very close to airport, I've eaten in the restaurant but remember they did have a market section to the restaurant as well where fresh & frozen seafood was sold.

Heads or Tails Seafood
3621 NW 54th St
Miami, FL 33142
(305) 634-2581

Remember to ask for fresh & if they pack goods for air travel.