Anyone who has grown up on the coast and knows good seafood will know the difference between fresh and frozen. To the discriminating palate, fresh seafood is the only way to enjoy dishes like boiled crawfish, fried catfish, shrimp boil and crabcakes. If you want to buy fresh seafood here is a good place to do your shopping: Authentic Louisiana Seafood (www.alseafood.com).

I especially like crab and spent many days and nights crabbing the waters of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay, then picking fresh crabs for hours to create a huge pile of the sweetest crab meat from the Bay.

There are other really good crabs besides the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab. While in San Francisco a few years ago I was there for the start of the Dungeness Crab season and watched the fleet head out one morning. The very next day, Dungeness Crabs were in all the market stalls for as little as $5 a piece.

The Alaskan King Crabs are the big crab legs you see on all the Chinese restaurant buffets. They are good, but not really all that meaty for all the work you have to do cracking those huge claws. If you like crab claw meat, you might be better off getting Stone Crab claws. Now, those are well worth the effort.

If that’s what you want ,you are in luck, because Stone Crab is just now in season and you can order fresh Stone Crab claws from Authentic Louisiana Seafood. Order online or call their toll free number today and you have have your crab boil this weekend!