Soft Shell Crabs Crawl Onto Menus Early This Year

It’s almost spring, which means Charleston will soon be seeking frosé, outdoor patios, and soft shell crabs. Thanks to warmer waters though, those softies came in extra early this year. A week ago, Cypress chef Craig Deihl posted a photo of a batch of the squishy crustaceans with the caption, "Earliest I've ever gotten soft crabs. #globalwarmingisreal"

Eater also just got word that chef Kevin Johnson will add the crabs to The Grocery menu in two days. The early arrival of the springtime delicacy had him so surprised that he hasn’t figured out how he wants to serve them yet.

Once the softies start crawling onto more menus, we’ll track them obsessively with a map listing all the locations available to crunch into a few legs. Check out the map from last year to get a good idea of how many places will offer the little guys.

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