This is the very place that first served stone crabs, so just based on that, Joe’s should be on this list. But here’s the thing: Joe’s is a Miami institution for good reason. People wait, sometimes for hours, for limited-reservation tables because Joe’s does so many things right, including the stone crabs. Fresh? Yeah, Joe’s has its own fleet hauling in claws. Mustard sauce? This is the place that invented that too. If you like stone crabs, you should just accept that you have to pay Joe’s pretty exorbitant prices to eat at the original.
When people in the rest of the country talk about the holidays, they’re usually referring to Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year and the like. But here in Miami, we know the most magical time of year begins October 1 and doesn’t end until May 1. That’s when you’ll spot them on menus nearly everywhere in town: the sweet, tender, mustard-mayo-dipped little marvels we know as stone crabs in Miami.
They’re not cheap, but there are plenty of places across the city that’ll serve you delicious, fresh-caught claws ready for the cracking—you just have to know the right spots to look. Craving stone crabs in Miami? Bib up and head to these well-connected restaurants and dedicated local seafood markets to take advantage of the most magical time of year: stone crab season in Miami.
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