Blue crabs in the frozen north

May 8, 2009 12:34 PM

Where can a guy find a few bushels of male blue crabs on the cheap in NYC this Sunday?

I'm having a crab boil, for which I'm needing some crabs. Last year I went the Chinatown route, which was plenty inexpensive but they were all female, which means less meat per crab. The internet is awash in advice, but never seems to differentiate between sooks and jimmies (and aaaalways ends up recommending Chinatown).

We do have a car for a couple hours, so places I'd have to drive to are fine! I'm in Park Slope, if that matters.

posted by soma lkzx to food & drink (3 comments total)

If you're doing a few bushels, call a wholesaler like Eagle at [phone]. But since you asked at 3:30 on a Friday afternoon, many wholesalers will have sold what they had. They might be able to tell you what retail outlets they sold to, though.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 12:45 PM on May 8

Sigh, Eagle's number seems to be disconnected and a lot of these wholesalers seem to only be open Monday-Friday.
posted by soma lkzx at 1:14 PM on May 8

I hear "Sea Breeze II" off the 18th Ave. stop on the D (Bensonhurst) is pretty good, but they're not open Sundays. (Not sure about Saturdays or Friday nights.) Last weekend I looked for places to buy oysters and Chinatown ended up being the only cheap alternative.
posted by nasreddin at 2:08 PM on May 8