About two weeks ago I had a really fantastic soft shell crab wrapped in prosciutto as an appetizer at Keefer's. It was a plump one!

I know For a fact that Myron and Phil gets soft shell fot the weekends. They do a great job with them. I reccomend them on a bed of linguini.

john manion's branch27 on chicago in west town had a killer softshell blt for brunch. if it still exists, it's super worth it.

Both Spoon and Avec had soft-shell crab specials this week.

(Spoon's version with red curry is a favorite of many of us here, though to be honest I can't be sure it's made with fresh and not frozen crabs.)

Chinn's 34th st. Fishery in Lisle serves some sauteed ss that are mighty tasty! 32.95 for four jumbos, just had them last night!!!

See my recent note regarding an excellent example of soft shell I enjoyed at Ginza. Also, Sabatino's frequently does an excellent soft shell. I think this little crustacean is becoming a more and more popular dish in Chicago, which is a good thing.

I recently had soft shells at our namesake Little Three Happiness at two in the morning after a gig. Awesome.

Had the Softshell Entree at Bluegrass last night. They offer them either tempura fried or sauteed in lemon butter. I opted for tempura-style and found the batter just a tad heavier than I would have liked. Plate consisted of 3 meaty crabs with dipping sauce, fantastic al dente garlic green beans, and some fairly bland and over-cooked Asiago orzo.

The softshells were also offered a la carte as an appetizer. If I had to do it again, I'd order the appetizer, sauteed, and a side of those terrific green beans.

Bluegrass
1636 Old Deerfield Rd
Highland Park, IL 60035

We had soft-shell crabs last night at Inovasi in Lake Bluff, and they were terrific. The very slight amount of tempura-style breading was just perfect, allowing the crab flavor to shine through rather than overwhelming it. These are among the best you'll find anywhere.

Link to Inovasi discussion on LTH
Link to Inovasi website

Chef Des Rosiers says this is the last week of the season for softshells!

EDIT: Sorry for posting here, didn't realize there was a newer topic on softshells

Longman & Eagle had a soft shell crab entree tonight, beer-battered over roasted zucchini with smoked tomato fondue, soy caramel and a pea shoot-radish salad. I didn't try it, unfortunately, but my sister liked it.

What happened to Franks and Dogs?

mbh wrote:What happened to Franks and Dogs?

I had to compromise due to an unexpected situation involving a Breville toaster oven. In lieu of Franks 'n' Dawgs, we ended up at Longman & Eagle with the aforementioned soft shell crabs, pork cheek, meatballs, scallops, gnuddi and tete du cochon. Then we decided we were still hungry (OK, only really me) and went to Big Star for a second dinner of tacos, tostadas and milkshakes. We would have lingered there except I was being eaten by bugs, so we crossed the street and took refuge at the Violet Hour with cocktails. I told my sister it would have been a lot easier if she had just let me have my two sausages.

I'm currently doing them @ Pensiero, but the season is winding down. Sautéed and served with Bagna Caude and Grilled Baby Artichokes.

Anyone up for going to VP tonite????

Soft Shell Crab Sandwich at Big and Littles. Go now as it may or may not stay on the permanent menu. A great sandwich if you like Soft Shell Crab and only 8.00!

FoodSnob77 wrote:Soft Shell Crab Sandwich at Big and Littles. Go now as it may or may not stay on the permanent menu. A great sandwich is you like Soft Shell Crab and only 8.00!

Second this recommendation!

I was there the other day and ordered a burger before seeing the soft-shell crab sandwich special on the little board. Can't and won't complain about the burger, it was terrific, but I might have to get back soon for that sandwich.

GT Fish & Oyster -- with strawberries and out of this world!


GT Fish & Oyster
531 North Wells Street
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 929-3501
http://gtfishandoyster.wordpress.com/

Open Mon-Thu,Sun 4pm-11pm
Fri-Sat 4pm-12am

Longman & Eagle last night; two nice sized perfectly fried crabs with lobster-bacon potato salad and grilled mini pattypan squashes. Really excellent.

Aren't most soft shelled crabs frozen? I was under the impresssion that (like hard shelled crabs) they have to be kept alive until they are cooked, and most will perish during transport. I think they are frozen while still alive, so even the frozen ones are pretty fresh, but I don't know what affect that has on the texture. Maybe somebody with more knowledge on the subject can fill us in on the processing of these tasty little beasties.


Here is a link to an interesting (but short) article on soft shelled crabs. According to it, crabs are caught before they molt and are kept alive in tanks until they lose their shells.

http://www.bluecrab.info/buying_softs.htm

d4v3 wrote:Aren't most soft shelled crabs frozen?

Most soft shell crab are frozen, that spider roll did not start from a live soft shell unless Morimoto is serving it to you himself. However, during the season better restaurants and fish markets offer live soft shell crab, a most delicious treat.

I receive Dirk's email blast, soft shell are on special at $4 per.

Live soft shell at Dirk's Fish



Dirk's Fish
2070 N. Clybourn
Chicago, IL
773-404-3475

Wow $4 per. I see some soft shelled beasties in my near future. I have never cooked them myself, but it can't be that hard. I will have to look in the proper forum. Thanks Gary.

To answer the topic question, I'm making them.

d4v3 wrote:To answer the topic question, I'm making them.

In rereading Dirk's email blast I see soft shell crab are $4 though the 22nd, today, $6 per after, still a good price.

Soft shell cooking thread

Restaurant wise, my wife said the soft shell crab she had at Ceres Table last week were "divine"

I had the most amazing soft shell crabs at Cafe Spiaggia a couple weeks ago:


Moleche @ Cafe Spiaggia by TrackBelle, on Flickr

soft shell crab, white polenta, asparagus, tarragon, lemon, spring onion blossom

G Wiv wrote:In rereading Dirk's email blast I see soft shell crab are $4 though the 22nd, today, $6 per after, still a good price

Sunday special price was actually $3.50, I made Crab Shack sandwiches for lunch.

Crab Shack Sandwich, additional pictures/info in the Soft Shell Cooking Thread

My wife had an outstanding soft shell crab po-boy at the Fish Bar yesterday. Two perfect crabs with remoulade seasoned cole slaw in a New England style bun. At $10.00, it was very fairly priced, and really tasty.

The menu also showed individual sauteed soft shell crabs at $5.00 each, but I didn't see anyone order one. I saw lots of po-boy's moving, though!

I think the hardest part of cooking them is cleaning them properly, and that's not rocket science, either.

They were prepping and cooking live ones at Nightwood (this was clear to see in their open kitchen) this past Friday evening (5/20).

=R=

Nightwood
2119 S Halsted St
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 526-3385

We at Myron and Phil have been preparing Soft Shell Crab for going on ten years. We serve them on a bed of liguine with lemon butter and garlic. I haven't seen anybody prep them the way we do. I wish to invite our friends at LTH to come in and try. (original posts May 2009)Tell us you with LTH and I will throw in a Glass of our house wine or our one of are martini specials.

CrazyC wrote:

FoodSnob77 wrote:Soft Shell Crab Sandwich at Big and Littles. Go now as it may or may not stay on the permanent menu. A great sandwich is you like Soft Shell Crab and only 8.00!

Second this recommendation!

On behalf of Mr. pairs4life I would highly recommend this sandwich. One fat crisp crab for $9 with the quickness at Big & Little for lunch today (no I didn't eat any). The sandwich arrives open and he picked off the legs and ate those first as he waited for it to cool enough for the sandwich treatment.

Returned again to Fish Bar, the spouse had a pair of sauteed soft shell crabs with a spicy lemon aioli.

Yum. Good!