sigh... i cant wait until august for crabs!

[MarcDC]

i want em now!

i mean, i guess you can start to get some decent blue crabs in july but really August is when the prime pickens start.

so on that topic, what is your current favorite place that sells BLUE CRABS (not the gulf stuff)?

Cantlers?

[sweetpotater]

We got a dozen mediums at Canton Dockside (used to be Canton's Pearls, I think) for $48. Not cheap, but I suppose that's to be expected this time of year. We thought they were good and generously large for official "medium" designation.

[hon]

Had Cantlers crabs a couple of weeks ago, over priced and light. My favorite places are Mr. Bill's Terrace Inn in Essex and The Seaside in Glen Burnie.

[Soup]

Had some last week, both soft and hard. Soft is great right now. It is very end of the season as I understand it. As for Hard, I guess the crabs aren't as fat but they were pretty good. My favorite place, my home then peety greens.

[MakingSense]

There will be soft shells all summer. Every time a crab outgrows its shell, it has to shed the old one. They're available all year round from the Gulf, just more plentiful in the summer, and local ones are available into the Fall.
There's something of a shortage this year as the overall supply of crabs is low so we will see high prices. The fleets in the Gulf still haven't recovered from Katrina and the other 2005 hurricanes, and there are fewer watermen in the Chesapeake who can make a living at it so many have given up the business.

[mpambrun]

Have you thought of driving north to the Gaspé region of Québec? If my memory serves well, the best crab is in June (I bought mine from a shop in a city called Rimouski, right on the St-Lawrence just at the western edge of Gaspé). A bit of a drive, but if you are really craving, it might be worth it!

[Hal Laurent]

If by "the gulf stuff" you mean crabs from the Gulf of Mexico, they are indeed blue crabs, the same species that lives in the Chesapeake Bay. The Asian crabs that Phillips uses are another matter entirely.