Blue Crabs - peel and eat - Help

[Luv2travel]

I need help! My wife loves to eat blue crabs, the kind you get a dozen of or more and break them apart and eat to your heart's content. But, where around here can we get such a delight? Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Shirleevee]

I need help! My wife loves to eat blue crabs, the kind you get a dozen of or more and break them apart and eat to your heart's content. But, where around here can we get such a delight? Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I think the season is over, but you can call Magnolia's in Leesburg, I had my fill there a few months ago. If you want to clean and cook them yourself, try Bubba's Crab House also in Leesburg.......they run ads in the Daily Sun!

[jackz]

If you are traveling to Orlando, go to High Tide Harrys on Semoran Blvd close to the Airport. They have blue crabs (call ahead to ensure they have them when you plan on being there) as well as peel and eat shrimp and best of all they have all you can eat specials on both as well.

Check out their link: High Tide Harrys (http://www.hightideharrys.com/)

[CatskillBill]

I think the season is over, but you can call Magnolia's in Leesburg, I had my fill there a few months ago. If you want to clean and cook them yourself, try Bubba's Crab House also in Leesburg.......they run ads in the Daily Sun!

The season closes for just a short time according to this link:

Recreational Blue Crabbing (http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational/blue-crab/)

We make a trip to Bubba's every 7-10 days for his fresh, great eating extra large blue claw crabs. We steam them with a mixture of 2 quarts water, two cups of white vinegar, and a can of beer. Each layer in the steamer gets a good dose of Old Bay. Florida crabs don't dig themselves into the mud for the winter like they do in the northeast, but I wonder if their growth slows down as the waters cool. The last batch we got seemed a little lighter in weight.

Last month the XL's were measuring 6 1/2" to 7 1/2", but were getting scarce. The large ones run 5 1/2" to 6 1/4" and are around $24/doz.
Some people don't like to bother eating them beacause of the cracking and picking, but to us it's a labor of love for the best and sweetest of all crab meat. IMHO.

Also his little neck clams are farm raised in the Crystal River area and are just great. 120 count bag for $20 with the $5 off newspaper coupon. They're sweet as can be and nothing like the awful Maine mahogany farm raised clams you see cheap at the stores in the north eat. Yum Yum

[Walker]

My personal favorite:
Peck's Old Port Cove
139 North Ozello Trail Crystal River, FL 34429
Sit down restaurant right on the Gulf, live crab pens in back, all you can eat available, newspaper and mallets on the table, need I say more?

[bubblehead1026]

I need help! My wife loves to eat blue crabs, the kind you get a dozen of or more and break them apart and eat to your heart's content. But, where around here can we get such a delight? Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Bubba's near intersection of 441 and 44a in Leesburg. Take money, lol!

[golf2140]

My personal favorite:
Peck's Old Port Cove
139 North Ozello Trail Crystal River, FL 34429
Sit down restaurant right on the Gulf, live crab pens in back, all you can eat available, newspaper and mallets on the table, need I say more?

Walker,

You didn't mention the lions, tigers and bears you face while traveling there. Just a warning. :a040:

[Monkei]

Thanks this thread on blue crabs to date has been my favorite on TOTV. I only wished Bubba would steam them there to take out. But cleaning and picking out the meat along with the little cuts on your fingers when you are all done are worth it. The lingering old bay on your lips is a slice of heaven.

It is my understanding that they can get them mostly year round but that the boat that rounds them up doesn't go out when it is terribly cold or raining.

[skyguy79]

Dang!!! When I saw the title "Blue Crabs - peel and eat - Help," I thought you were looking for Help in eating them. Now I'm feeling blue and craby! :sigh:

[Monkei]

went to Pecks today on the motorcycle, excellent ride excellent crabs. blue crabs were fantastic.

[CatskillBill]

went to Pecks today on the motorcycle, excellent ride excellent crabs. blue crabs were fantastic.

We're thinking of making the trip out to Peck's in Crystal River too. How big were the crabs, and how much are they?

Just finushed the last 18 we got from Bubba's yesterday. Larry at the shop said the XL Jimmies are really scarce now and until late spring. His large ones are around 6" ers. Still great eating. Only takes cash. Get a bag of clams. They're super, and there's usually a $5.00 off coupon in the paper.

[Shirleevee]

Thanks this thread on blue crabs to date has been my favorite on TOTV. I only wished Bubba would steam them there to take out. But cleaning and picking out the meat along with the little cuts on your fingers when you are all done are worth it. The lingering old bay on your lips is a slice of heaven.

It is my understanding that they can get them mostly year round but that the boat that rounds them up doesn't go out when it is terribly cold or raining.

Try Magnolia's in Leesburg, the blues are in they serve them boiled, seasoned with a hammer lol $2.00 ea............nice treat!:pepper2:

[Dancing Queen]

Dang!!! When I saw the title "Blue Crabs - peel and eat - Help," I thought you were looking for Help in eating them. Now I'm feeling blue and craby! :sigh:

Good One!

[BobnBev]

Sounds like most of the posters are from the Eastern Shore of MD.:mmmm::wave:

I understand that the Hacienda CC has the recipe for crab cakes that came from Ocean City, MD. The cook or somebody there used to own a restaurant there, that was known for their crab cakes. Very little filler, lots of meat.

Personally, I don't eat them. My wife's happy about that. More for her, she says.:rolleyes:

Yep, she's from Maryland.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I'm not sure they have Blue Crabs, but if you want to travel a little way, Joe's Crab Shack on Daytona Beach is great.

[bluebird]

I need help! My wife loves to eat blue crabs, the kind you get a dozen of or more and break them apart and eat to your heart's content. But, where around here can we get such a delight? Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I'm going to assume your from Maryland. I haven't tried them yet but Bubba's in Leesburg sells live crabs, if u are up to steaming them yourself. He advertises in the Villages paper all the time.

[butterfly sue]

Bubba's is the best here but like you say - cook it yourself.

If you want to travel, try these BUT always call first. In colder weather, availability is a question. Also, check if closed any days during the week or for hours.

Old Fish House
239 W Cocoa Beach Cswy
Cocoa Beach, Fl
321-799-9190

Blue Crab Crabhouse Restaurant
3057 Julington Creek Rd
Jacksonville, FL
904-260-2722

Walts Fish Marekt & Restaurant
4144 South Tamiami Trail
Sarasota
941-921-4605

Billy's Steamed Seafood Restaurant
3000 Thomas Dr
Panama City Beach, FL
850-235-2349

[John_W]

Has anyone tried Riverside Crab House in Homossassa Springs? It's not far from Peck's but you don't have to go through the sticks to get there, it's right off Hwy 19. I've been meaning to go over there and try both eventually, probably can't be much more than an hour's drive. I tried a place in a marina in New Smyrna Beach last year and they were terrible, they didn't even know what Old Bay was.

http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/b5/b0/08/riverside-crab-house.jpg

[butterfly sue]

Yes we have been to Riverside. We have GPS and was hard to find. GPS drops you off at end of road. You turn right there. I remember parking was hard to find as not many spots for restaurant and a lot of no parking here signs. As for the crabs I don't really remember except that we haven't returned. I think they were small in size and don't remember the taste.

[butterfly sue]

THere is also a place called The Freezer. More info at link
Photos for The Freezer Tiki Bar | Yelp (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/the-freezer-tiki-bar-homosassa?select=hzdB9igtsQTZAaM_t7BgMA#mRqhbFSonH t7vL0dWY5L1g)

Hard to find though. It is a secret kept by locals in Homossassa.
Food was good and we did eat the crabs here. We never did see a sign on the outside of the building. We just saw this white building next to another seafood market and went in there. At one time this white building was an actual freezer so thus the name. You go up to the bar and order from the menu posted and they will deliver to the table. We went and it was crowded.

[Uncle Tom]

I need help! My wife loves to eat blue crabs, the kind you get a dozen of or more and break them apart and eat to your heart's content. But, where around here can we get such a delight? Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

People around here dont appreciate Blue Crabs or Real seafood. They think Red Lobster is a real Seafood resturant???

[Uncle Tom]

Luiginos in spanish springs has great peel & eat shrimp. If you go to Eustis, the Oyster Troff has a lot of fresh shrimp, clams, crabs etc... Very good. As for Blue crabs probably Cedar Key. Hope that helps

The owners of Luiginos are very professional and run a great resturant. I dont understand why they dont get a bigger crowd. Bourbon street was the last resturant in there, and it closed. They pay BIG rent, but the people walking by dont support it. I say keep a great resturant on the square, stop in at least buy a drink or, beer soda whatever.

[Uncle Tom]

If you are traveling to Orlando, go to High Tide Harrys on Semoran Blvd close to the Airport. They have blue crabs (call ahead to ensure they have them when you plan on being there) as well as peel and eat shrimp and best of all they have all you can eat specials on both as well.

Check out their link: High Tide Harrys (http://www.hightideharrys.com/)

High tide Harrys, if you go to the Orlando airport plan on lunch there. When leaving the airport stay on 436 its on the right.

[butterfly sue]

We took a ride 5/8 to Peck's Old Port Cove, 139 N Ozello Trail, Crystal River, FL It takes about 1 1/2 to 1 hr 40 minutes to drive out there. You go pretty much straight west on 44 then a few turns after that. The last road you feel like you are heading to nowhere land and wonder how a restaurant could be out there, but they are. Only two blocks more and the road ends in the Crystal River with an actual sign that says road ends here with arrow pointing to where the water starts (LOL!!)

We called our favorite place on the east coast and no crabs so we then called Peck's and they had them (small in size) and reserved 24 of them just for us. They were really good. Only thing is that after opening them up, you better dump the water out as there was a 1/2 cup water in the shell otherwise you will get dirty, but, oh, we ended up dirty anyway. Didn't take the bib.

The cost was $49.86 for two dozen and they do have all you can eat (ask them what days when you call) and they do have garlic crabs. The crabs are served with a free appetizer (onion strings), french fries, good coleslaw and two hush puppies. Yummy!!

Phone is 352-795-2806

Oh, we did wash our car this morning after passing through a swarm of love bugs before you cross the freeway near Wildwood.

[cjc145]

The freezer in Homasassa is a grat place for steamed crabs and schrimp

[casita37]

The problem with The Freezer is they still allow smoking inside. The day we were there, it was raining/cold, so they had the plastic window covers rolled down. It was like sitting in a smoke house! Fish dip was great and so were the shrimp, but I doubt we'll be back. If smoke doesn't bother you, though, it's a great little spot.

[butterfly sue]

end of June 2013

Headed to Cocoa Beach to our Blue Crab place, The Old Fish House. In April when we stopped in they sold out of crabs. This date we grabbed the last of the 8 medium sized crabs. They also had some small sized ones. Talked to the waiter and was told the crabs are getting scarce and hard to catch. He then told us that they cook them and then freeze them because they don't have that much of a request for them. Hmmmm The crabs were good. For a Friday night not many people in the restaurant and wonder how the business is going.

So Saturday we tried a place I have heard about, Ms Apple's Crab Shack. It is localed on 520 right by where the Indian River crosses on the west side of the river. (580 W. Merritt Island Causeway, Merritt Island, FL) A very interesting place! They are closed on Sundays and Mondays. It is not really a restaurant. They do cook meals for take out (so not everything is crab, but seafood). They also have picnic tables outside with mallets for eating the crab (but no drinks so bring your own if you choose to go this way). For the blue crabs you go to actual tanks where the live crabs are stored and sorted into sizes. You grab a bucket and tongs and pick out your crabs being careful of the pinchers. You can have them cook your selection starting at $2.50 (took 20 minutes). We then hightailed it home and ate them. We bought 12 large size with the cooking and the bill came out to $40 which is reasonable. They did not have much in the large size when we were there, but we were advised that two boats were delivering around 2pm.

So if you want to enjoy some cool ocean breezes and then enjoy blue crabs, this may be the place for you.