Stone Crab Heaven

I don’t remember where or when I first heard about Joe's Stone Crab, a Miami Beach institution since 1913, but after seeing pictures of those shiny, jewel like claws, I knew I had to have me some. This was back in the day when time and money didn’t allow us to travel much, let alone eat at places where you couldn’t park a semi.

     Didn’t matter…I put Joe’s Stone Crab on what I call my “To Do Before I Die” list.  It was right there—sandwiched between “read the ENTIRE Bible" and “de-claw the damn cat”, both of which by the way, I have never gotten around to doing.

       So probably a good 15-20 years pass. The Big Guy and I get this wild hair about some day owning a yacht so we take the kids' college money and go to Miami to the Yacht Show.  Our yacht broker, bless his heart, takes us to Joe’s for lunch.  It was everything that I had dreamed it would be and was worth the wait! Valet parking, tuxedoed waiters, bustling dining room, and of course Stone crab.  Not just any stone crab, but Joe’s stone crab and it is out of this world! Their garlic creamed spinach and Lyonnaise potatoes are amazing side dishes that you just can't pass up. (Click here to see their menu) I could have died right then and there and not cared that I hadn’t read the ENTIRE Bible or de-clawed the damn cat.

  
     About a week passed and since I couldn't stop thinking about it, I added Joe's back on to my "To Do Before I Die" list, just below “spoil grandbabies” and “lower my living room curtains-they drive me nuts”.  

     A couple of more years pass…the yacht show is coming up…Valentine's Day, same weekend. Big and I decide to take the kids' medical emergency fund and go back to Joe's. 

    We get to the airport and my flying anxiety kicks into high gear and at the last minute I don’t get on the plane.  Big goes without me because I was twisting his arm as he was reaching for his carry-on bag.  Delta made another miraculous flight without losing a single passenger and I beat myself up and boobed all the way home, my Valium stupor making the 100+ mile drive a slow motion hell. But that’s a story for another time…

     Some more years pass, I get on the plane and get me some stone crab.  Check it off the list, put it back on! Lowered the living room curtains, spoiled grandbabies. Life is good again.

The First Mate and the Captain at Joe's.

      So this week when Big and I were on our way to Puerto Rico to put our yacht back in the water, we took the kids' inheritance, grabbed our first mate, his girl and we were sitting in Joe's less than an hour after touching down in Miami.  It was every bit as wonderful as it was the first time...and the last time! So I checked it off the list again, then put it back on—right above “read the ENTIRE Bible and “declaw the damn cat.”

   
Joe's is almost as famous for their key lime pie as they are for their stone crab. Click here for their super easy, super delish recipe.