Last call for fresh and succulent stone crab claws: Florida’s annual recreational and commercial stone-crab harvesting season ends May 15 and it doesn’t resume again until October, allowing stone-crab stocks to replenish during a state regulation-mandated harvesting hiatus.
From a dining-out perspective, the window already is closing on the availability of stone-crab claws. While some restaurants in Palm Beach will continue to offer them through May 15, other restaurants, for varying reasons, recently stopped serving them, including Nick & Johnnie’s and PB Catch.
“Whenever the quality was really the best, there were times we had medium, large, jumbo and colossal stone crab claws all at once in our raw bar,” says Daniel Smith, general manager of PB Catch, which stopped serving stone-crab claws about a week ago.
Cafe Boulud generally stopped serving stone-crab claws over the winter. According to executive chef Jim Leiken, “As a modern French restaurant, they (stone-crab claws) were not really a staple for us, but we always do like to feature unique, seasonal items, especially such a local, iconic delicacy. They are fun to show off when the season first opens (in October) and it’s nice to know it is a sustainable product from a well-managed fishery.”
Among Palm Beach restaurants still offering stone-crab claws—with the de rigueur mustard-based dipping sauce, of course—are dining outlets at The Ritz-Carlton, which plans to serve stone-crab claws until May 12.
The Breakers plans to serve stone-crab claws for about another week, provided the quality of supply meets the resort’s chefs’ standards.
According to Anthony Sicignano, The Breakers’ executive chef of restaurants, “Overall, it has been a pretty good year….Our vendor provided us with consistently outstanding quality product. This year, we also offered fresh stone crabs with our Circle dining room Sunday brunch. This was very well-received by our clientele. In our restaurants, namely our Seafood Bar, stone crabs have been as popular as ever.”
The Four Seasons will serve stone-crab claws through May 15—and in that regard, good things come to those who wait: On May 15 at the Four Seasons, stone-crab claws—served in the resort’s Ocean Bistro and Atlantic Bar & Grill at lunch and The Restaurant at dinner—will be offered at 50 percent off to anyone who checks in on the Four Seasons’ Facebook page (www.facebook.com/FourSeasonsResortPalmBeach) or Twitpics a photo from the resort on Twitter (use @FSPalmBeach in the tweet).
