Any Menus with Soft Shell Crabs?

[rifkind81]

Or am I too early?

[ttournoux]

It's not soft-shell, but thought you might be interested in these two crab themed dinners (from GrubStreet):

News from LTO today: The one and only Eddie Huang of Baohaus and Xiao Ye will be replacing current pop-up chef Leah Cohen when her stint ends there (by the way, tonight as well as tomorrow and on Friday, Cohen is offering a $55 three-course dinner in addition to the five-course option). From June 3 till 9, Huang will serve a five-course family-style dinner that’s $88 per head, with the additional option of pairing courses with Four Loko beer, Champagne, and a Pimms Cup. The feast, as you can see from Huang’s explanation as well as the menu, is centered around blue crabs, and Huang isn’t the only one doing the crab thing: The Mermaid Inn has announced that from Sunday till next Tuesday, all three locations will be offering a crab boil complete with the bibs and mallets. $24 gets you a bucket of Maryland Blue Crabs, cornbread, red bliss tomatoes, and grilled corn on the cob. Here’s Huang on the LTO dinner, plus a video documenting the Fatty Crew’s recent stint at the restaurant.(http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/05/we_got_crabs_eddie_huang_does.html?e=grubstreet--20110525

)

Manhattan Fine Dining Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/fine-dining-i...

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Mermaid Inn
96 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003

Mermaid Inn
568 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10024

[steakrules85]

Wanted to resurrect this thread as is it early soft shell crab season. Looking for some more soft shell crab dishes. Had the soft shell crab at Scarpetta at the bar the other day and it was pretty good. I'm dying to try the one at Casa Mono and I see Mas seems to have them on and off this week (they post their menu daily).

[Cheeryvisage]

I was at Oceana and Rouge et Blanc recently and saw soft shell crab on their menus. I didn't get them myself though.

[r32nissan]

I was at Union Square Cafe recently and they had soft shell crab on their menu. Simple presentation (as most food is at Union Square Cafe) but very nicely done (as most food is at Union Square Cafe). Enjoy the season!

[erica]

I had a soft-shell crab appetizer at ABC Kitchen this week. One good-sized crab, fried, with chili sauce, served on a bed of watercress. Good but not among their standouts. This, and several other current, seasonal menu dishes, have not yet been added to their website.

[ttoommyy]

"I was at Union Square Cafe recently and they had soft shell crab on their menu. Simple presentation (as most food is at Union Square Cafe) but very nicely done (as most food is at Union Square Cafe)."

I saw that dish going out a couple of times last week at US and kept kicking myself for not ordering it (although what I ordered was amazing). It looked wonderful!

[loratliff]

If you're interested at all in cooking them at home, I've ordered them from Fresh Direct three times now this season and have been very happy with the quality.

[plumpdumpling]

I was served a dish with one at Momofuku Ko last weekend. One's probably not enough for you, though, huh?

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Momofuku Ko
163 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003

[LBNJNY]

I had a terrific soft shell crab appetizer over couscous at A Voce Madison last night. They have a pretty outdoor seating area for these (overdue) late Spring sunny evenings. I'd also recommend the octopus appetizer.

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A Voce
41 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10010

[rifkind81]

I actually ended up eating that softshell a few Sunday's ago...it totally satisfied my craving.

[ketanmv]

Just had a soft shell crab appetizer at Marea - was tasty!

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Marea
240 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019

[ttournoux]

I was just at Almond (22st and broadway) and they had a soft shell crab appetizer that was delicious!

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Almond
12 East 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010

[loratliff]

The Spotted Pig had them on special last night. So good!

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Spotted Pig
314 W 11th St, New York, NY 10014

[nmprisons]

The softshells at craft are pretty good right now.

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Craft
43 E. 19th St., New York, NY 10003

[steakrules85]

I've spotted soft shells on the menus at Spotted Pig, the Breslin, Gotham Bar and Grill, and Perilla so far just browing the internet.

I've had the soft shells at Gotham Bar and Grill a few years ago and they were incredible. Three large juicy perfectly fried soft shell crabs. One of the best dishes I have ever had. They rivaled the soft shells crabs I had at Galatoire's in New Orleans, which are undoubtedly the best I've eaten anywhere.

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Perilla
9 Jones Street, New York, NY 10014

Spotted Pig
314 W 11th St, New York, NY 10014

Gotham Bar and Grill
12 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003

The Breslin
20 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001

[RCC]

Had a very good fried soft shell crab over a bed of mesclun salad at Wild Edibles last Friday.
http://www.wildedibles.com/menu.cfm

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Wild Edibles
535 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016

[H Manning]

soft shell crab taco - Empellon

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Empellon Taqueria
230 W 4th St, New York, NY 10014

[SnowWhite]

I love soft shell crab season (and it's the main reason I came to this site today), but can't you get a spider roll any time of the year from any sushi place in town? And my local sushi favorite (Udo on Avenue B) has soft shell crab as an appetizer year 'round. Are these not as "real"?

I had Tipsy Parson's soft shell crab last year - and it was fantastic. Definitely a step up from plain fried soft shell crabs found elsewhere. Why do they only have them for a month when the sushi places (and most restaurants in Chinatown) have them all year?

So which soft shell crabs are we looking for? Gussied up crabs like Tipsy's & Union Square or plain old fried salt & pepper soft shell crabs found everywhere? How 'bout the best bang for your buck?!?!

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Tipsy Parson
156 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10011

[Nancy S.]

I believe the "all year around" places serve frozen soft shell crabs.

[SnowWhite]

Ah ha! The answer I was looking for!

So let's just omit the Chinatown restaurants - or are the crabs at Oriental Garden truly fresh?

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Oriental Garden
14 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10013

[sgordon]

If any place in Chinatown is going to have them alive & kickin' before serving, it's Oriental Garden.

Also, worth noting if the OP wants to cross the bridge is Henry's End in Brooklyn Heights. They always have excellent soft-shells throughout the season. You can order by the single, double, or triple, and pick one of three sauces to go with. Super-fresh, simply prepared, awesome.

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Oriental Garden
14 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10013

Henry's End
44 Henry St, New York, NY 11201

[JMF]

Great NY Noodletown only sells fresh soft shells in season. Never frozen. Personally I think they are the best in NYC.

[comiendosiempre]

Had a soft shell starter at Kenmare the other night, served on a bed of ramp risotto. The crab was tiny and just Ok. The ramp risotto was dry and clumpy. Sorry I can't report better ........

Yes, some seafood spots in Chinatown do great soft shell crabs, and whenever I have had them at Gotham Bar they have been outstanding.

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Gotham Bar and Grill
12 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003

Kenmare
98 Kenmare St, New York, NY 10012

[UES Mayor]

Spigolo has them on menu all past week-served fried w delightful crust placed on top of the most delicious savory/sweet salad of greens and pickled onions w hints of spiciness. Worth the trip!!!

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Spigolo
1561 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10028

[MVNYC]

NY Noodletown has them down in Chinatown. Expertly fried and something I look forward to every year

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Great New York Noodletown
28 Bowery, New York, NY 10013

[nmprisons]

as does oriental garden

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Oriental Garden
14 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10013

[loratliff]

The Breslin has had them on special a couple nights, from what I've observed on Twitter. Freemans had them one night too.

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The Breslin
20 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001

[BaconBits]

Had the soft shells w asparagus and ramps today at Union Square Cafe. The ramps were conspicuously missing, but it was a delicious nonetheless. Two meaty nice sized crabs.

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Union Square Cafe
21 East 16th St., New York, NY 10003

[nmprisons]

There are soft-shells coming out of Florida already, but not a ton and not great quality. Call around to the usual suspects and see who has them at the moment as availability seems to be day-by-day at this point.