Where to get your crab fix in New York City

Photo Credit: Meredith Deliso

Get your bibs ready.

Whether you fancy steamed hard shells, legs, cakes or rolls, summer is prime time for crab lovers.

“There are a lot of us here,” says Gwen Niles, co-owner of Brooklyn’s The Crabby Shack, who has family ties in the Chesapeake Bay area and fondly remembers her dad bringing home bushels of steamed blue crabs. “The tradition of eating crab comes from the South and the West Coast, where it’s warmer. That’s the association — spending a nice day outdoors, newspaper on the picnic table, cold beer and cracking crabs.”

There is no shortage of New York City eateries that serve this tasty crustacean in all its incarnations. Here are seven spots to get your crab fix.