Best soft shell crab sandwich??
 

Husband and I will be in Maryland sometime in July, husband is huge foodie. Would love opinions on where to get the best soft shell crab sandwich. Thanks

Bueller? Bueller? Anyone??

Wherever it is it will be frozen soft shell. Doesn't really make it "too" much different, but just so you know. The season is over. I eat them year round, if I want one.

My understanding is that fresh softshells are available throughout the blue-crab season, roughly May-Sept. in MD. As a lad, when I spent summers in Tylerton, we caught them all summer.

We never froze them. It ruins much of the inside, which contains a fair amount of liquid. The delicacy of a fine soft-shell is not enhanced with the thaw....

There's an excellent article from last year's Washington Post, http://tinyurl.com/249byb6 , which gets into the nitty-gritty. In sum, it says that you should aim to eat within two days of harvest--no easy task.

If I really wanted a soft-shell, I'd head for Crisfield....

In Annapolis Cantlers, Buddy's or Mike's. Check online and call ahead about soft shelled. No need to go all the way to Crisfield.

On the Shore, at the Kent Island bridge is Harris'. Again, call ahead about availability.

Don't know your schedule but a day in Annapolis is great. Naval Academy has awesome tour, Annapolis has sweet residential areas and good Main St., West St., Maryland Ave. and Annapolis St. shopping. Buddy's is at the foot of Main St. on 2nd floor. State House nice also.

Soft shells are available throughout the summer. If you are in the DC suburbs, go to Crisfield's on Georgia Avenue for a soft shell crab platter. Yum!

Thanks so much for the ideas. I will start my investigation of reviews for these places. Thanks again

My bad. I am surprised, although I do know they have to grow, which of course, involves the soft shell phase. On the SE coast it is May and June.

We had a crabber neighbor and they claimed that crabs molted at the first new (or was that full?) moon after the laurel trees blossomed. I could find nothing to substantiate this online. They also said to prune my roses when the forsythia blossomed. Haven't looked up that one.

Here's some info from online: "Females molt 18 to 20 times, not counting larval molts, in the course of a lifetime. Males are believed to go through the ordeal 21 to 23 times. With both sexes the time between molts (instar) grows progressively longer ranging from 10 to 15 days for one-inchers to 30 to 50 days for legal hard-crab catch size and beyond."

The best/biggest soft crabs are typically available in the spring, but you can get them fresh all summer long. I've had soft crab sandwiches a lot of places, but the best I've had is at Bo Brooks crab house in Baltimore, on Boston Street in Canton. They deep fry them as opposed to pan fry or saute, which I prefer. I think they use a nice panko bread crumb coating, and they come out nice and crispy. Makes an excellent crunchy sandwich!