Joe's Stone Crab: Serving Stone Crabs for Nearly a Century

In 1913, Hungarian-born waiter Joe Weiss left New York for Miami Beach after his doctors suggested the climate would be better for his asthma. He and his wife, Jennie, opened a small lunch counter at a local bathing casino when Miami Beach was a sleepy backwater town. During its earliest years, people were not yet eating stone crabs--the local crustacean wasn't yet considered edible. Joe's Stone Crab changed that.

Anyone who's anyone visiting Miami Beach eats at Joe's Stone Crab. Indeed, the restaurant's clientelle includes some of the most famous names in America throughout the 20th century, from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to Al Capone, Gloria Swanson, J. Edgar Hoover, and Amelia Earhart. The restaurant is now run by the third and fourth generations of the Weiss family.
Some of the restaurant's signature dishes include its stone crabs served with its famous mustard sauce, creamed spinach, hash brown potatoes and cole slaw. Be sure to order Joe's famous Key lime pie and its delicious bread pudding. Fortunately, the restaurant has a website that enables its many fans to order its offerings. Joe's stone crab claws and other goodies can be ordered and shipped overnight throughout the continental United States, ice cold and ready for cracking. Complete package meals include a mallet, a cracking board, cocktail forks, bibs and instructions. Orders can be placedonline or by calling Joe's toll-free number at (800) 780-CRAB (2722).

The restaurant is located at 11 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach. Joe's does not accept reservations; customers are served on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, call the restaurant at (305) 673-0365. Hours of operation depends on the season. The regular season begins on Thursday, October 15, 2010.