Eat this Word: Stone Crabs

WHAT? Seafood for the softhearted. As only the sweet, white claw meat of this warm water crustacean is eaten, fishermen twist the claws off and throw the crab back in the sea. The claws regenerate after about 18 months, although the new claw--known as a retread--is smaller than the original. Fisherman typically leave each crab with one claw so it can defend itself. James Peterson wrote in Fish & Shellfish that he was "shocked" the first time he saw the claws for sale because he assumed, mistakenly, that the crustacean had been killed for a relatively small amount of meat. The crabs, considered a delicacy today, were popularized 80 years ago at Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant in Miami Beach, now a historical landmark. You eat them, usually cold, by cracking the shell with a mallet and dipping the succulent meat in sauce. WHERE? Gordon Maybury's Beard House dinner WHEN? April 8, 2010 HOW? Florida Stone Crab Salad with Watermelon, Avocado, White Anchovies, and Blood Orange