Crab cravings lead to one place on Sarasota Bay, and you can smell the butter and Old Bay before you see the picnic tables. At Star Fish Company, the dock hums with gulls, working boats, and baskets stacked high with the day’s catch. You order at the window, watch the water, and your platter arrives piled like a small sea-treasure hill. If you want crab done right without fuss, this is where the locals point you.
Stone Crab Claws, Cortez Style
Stone crab season here feels like a holiday, and the claws arrive chilled, sweet, and firm. You crack, dip into the mustard sauce, and taste pure Gulf clarity. The meat snaps clean, with briny perfume that whispers about tidal flats and traps pulled at dawn.
There is nothing fussy, just fresh claws, lemon, and paper-lined trays. Sit by the rail and watch skiffs bump the pilings while gulls gossip overhead. When you finish, fingers sticky, you understand why locals keep this ritual alive.
Prices reflect the season, but value sits in the simplicity. Order medium or large and share. You will plan your next visit before the basket is empty.
Blue Crab Cakes With Dockside Views
These crab cakes lean heavy on crab, light on filler, pan-seared until the edges go lacy and crisp. You get sweet blue crab chunks bound just enough to hold, then a squeeze of lemon and a swipe of tangy sauce. Sit facing the water and let the breeze cool the steam…