A dozen Philly restaurants with soft-shell crabs on the menu
From South Philly to Mount Airy, you can get the soft-shell crabs in so many ways: batter-fried, grilled, pan-seared, and even stuffed inside a hoagie and wrapped in a potato pancake.
Soft-shell crab season has arrived, and Philadelphia restaurants are offering a variety of preparations — batter-fried, grilled, pan-seared, stuffed inside a hoagie, and even enveloped in a potato pancake.
Supplies of the delicacy are tighter and prices are up about 10% over last year, said Sammy D’Angelo, owner of Samuels Seafood, a large distributor in South Philadelphia. Soft-shells are blue crabs that have recently shed their hard outer shell and are briefly in a soft, vulnerable state. The “first shed” coincided with Mother’s Day weekend, D’Angelo said. He said the quality would be best through July 4, though the crabs should be available all summer, as usual.
Here are a dozen soft-shell dishes at Philadelphia restaurants. It’s recommended that you contact the restaurant to verify availability:
For those who love their crab on a crusty roll, owner Gina Cedrone at South Philadelphia’s Chick’s (1807 Washington Ave.) offers a hoagie with two fried soft-shells stacked with lettuce, tomato, onion, pesto aioli, crispy prosciutto, and cherry peppers ($36). A cut of proceeds from hoagie sales benefits the nearby arts group BalletX.
Chef David Jansen at Mount Airy’s Jansen (7402 Germantown Ave.) pairs a tempura-fried soft-shell with sweet potato curry, watermelon radish, and snow pea tendrils, with a cilantro-cashew chutney ($24).
At Fishtown’s Kalaya (4 W. Palmer St.), chef Nok Suntaranon goes bold with wok-fried soft-shell crab seasoned with fresh turmeric, lemongrass, and Trang pepper, served alongside jasmine rice ($48).
Chef Michael Brenfleck at Kensington’s Little Walter’s (2049 E. Hagert St.) is keeping to his Polish theme with Placek Ziemniaczany z Krabem ($32), a soft-shell tucked inside a potato pancake and complemented by apple powidła and roe sour cream.
At Rittenhouse’s Little Water (261 S. 20th St.), chef Randy Rucker’s lunchtime special is a chicken-fried soft-shell sandwich dressed with crab-fat mayo, watercress, and kumquat on a seeded ciabatta ($34).
At Phila and Rachel Lorn’s South Philly BYOB Mawn (764 S. Ninth St.), customers can add soft-shell to the crab fried rice ($34) and the all-star seafood fried rice ($52) for an additional $15. Sometimes a crab curry special is available, too.
Owner Sam Mink at Rittenhouse’s Oyster House (1516 Sansom St.) has a Nashville hot fried soft-shell sandwich with ramp ranch and pickles for lunch ($25), while the dinner dish has two grilled soft-shells accompanied by edamame, black rice, charred avocado, and a tamarind-chili crab sauce ($39).
At South Philly’s River Twice (1601 E. Passyunk Ave.), chef Randy Rucker cooks the crab over charcoal and finishes it with crab fat (a.k.a. tomalley, or crab innards) and golden ossetra caviar ($45).
At Rittenhouse mainstay Seafood Unlimited (270 S. 20th St.), David and Judi Einhorn dust two sautéed crabs in garlic and serve them with spinach and risotto ($38).
Chef Alex Tellez at Kensington’s Sor Ynez (1800 N. American St.) is offering a crab al ajillo special, pairing fried soft-shell crab with asparagus, garlic, mezcal butter, and Mexican rice ($19 for one, $28 for two).
Chef Patrick Czerniak at Rittenhouse’s Square 1682 at the Hotel Palomar (17th and Sansom Streets) brings a Southern flair with a cornmeal-fried soft-shell crab served with Old Bay and ramp rémoulade on a buttered seeded bun ($25).
Chef Bobby Saritsoglou at South Philadelphia’s Stina (1705 Snyder Ave.) lightly batters an extra-large (“whale”) crab and serves it with ramp leaves, Persian cucumber, and watercress dressed in a tomato-fennel vinaigrette ($30).