Soft-Shell Crab with Bacon, Tomato, and Garlic Aioli on a Brioche Bun

Tradition has it that you should buy soft-shell crabs live and dress them right before you cook them. In reality, it is more convenient to have your fishmonger do it for you. If you decide to do it yourself, however, hold each one down firmly with one hand; then with a pair of scissors in the other, cut about half an inch off their "face," where the eyes and the gills are. That is all there is to dressing a crab.

Soft-shell crab lovers, and there are legions of them, anticipate soft-shell crab season as a very special time of year. If you count yourself among them, plan a gathering of like-minded connoisseurs in spring or early summer; then make a feast of this superb seasonal sandwich. Pile the platter high. Don't even think about trying to make these ahead of time, though. They are "make-and-serve."