WHEN TRAVELING IN THE SOUTH, THERE ARE EXACTLY two no-reservations restaurants where I’m willing to tolerate long waits to eat the food: Galatoire’s in New Orleans and Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach. Joe’s, which has been around since 1913 and is now a historic landmark, still serves succulent stone crab claws with coleslaw, hash-brown potatoes, and this sublime mustard sauce. In my opinion, the only crabmeat as sweet and delicate as that of the huge stone crabs indigenous to Florida is that of the Dungeness crab of the Pacific Northwest. (Since only the claws of stone crabs are eaten, fishermen in Florida twist them off and throw back the crab, which grows new claws in a little over a year.) Until fairly recently, boiled stone crabs were simply not available outside the region, but now the finest fish markets carry them fresh (at a hefty price) during the fall and winter months, and frozen the rest of the year. At Joe’s, the creamy mustard sauce is as important as the crabs, so simply buy the claws precooked (about 5 per person), crack them with a mallet or hammer, and serve them cold with this unique dipping sauce.
MAKES: About 1 1 ⁄2 cups sauce
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 1⁄2 teaspoons dry mustard
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1⁄4 cup half-and-half
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon A.1. steak sauce
- 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients.
- Beat the mixture with an electric mixer for 3 full minutes or until creamy.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
- Chill the mixture well in the refrigerator before serving.
