Under normal circumstances, I would never advise you to head down to a chain restaurant and spend $59 for a pound of crab legs. But these are not ordinary circumstances. If you are lucky enough to carry a fat bankroll, I highly advise a trip down to the swanky Oceanaire Seafood Room, home for a limited time to Florida stone crab claws. These handsome pinkish-red claws, with perfect shiny black pincers that look freshly manicured, hold the sweetest, firmest, most succulent crabmeat I've ever tasted. A slightly creepy but heartwarming fact about the stone crab and sustainability: Only the claws of the stone crab are harvested because after they are ripped off, they grow back.
Those with smaller wallets but equally demanding appetites should head to Ballard's Leif Erikson Lodge on Saturday, January 26, for their benefit crab feed. For $30, you get a veritable feast: a whole Dungeness crab, baked potato, coleslaw, garlic bread, and ice cream. There will also be a silent auction and live jazz music for dancing. How can you not love a community crab feed that advises people to bring their own picks, pliers, and nutcrackers? 
Florida stone crab is available until mid-February at the Oceanaire, 1700 Seventh Ave, 267-2277; Crab feed is Sat Jan 26 at Leif Erikson Lodge, 2245 NW 57th St, 783-1274, 6 pm, $12/$30.
