It's Dungeness crab season, guys! The waters opened up for commercial and non-commercial fishermen a few weeks ago, but we just got around to having our first taste of the sweet, sweet crustacean at Swan Oyster Depot yesterday. Served expertly cracked, with the creamiest Louie sauce imaginable (just the right amount of tang) and a half-round of sourdough with butter, it's one of the most classic ways to eat crab this season. But it's not the only one.
See also:
- 'Tis the Season for Dungeness Crab
- A Saturday in Dungeness Season at Swan's
Other S.F. crab classics include Tadich Grill (serving some of the best crab Louis and cioppino around) and Nettie's Crab Shack (for a local version of the East Coast lobster roll, the crab roll). Bar Crudo and Twenty Five Lusk are serving elegant takes on cracked crab. The newish Mission Rock Resort has a whole menu of crabby options, including a decadent-sounding Dungeness crab cake Benedict, as does Woodhouse Fish Company. And Thanh Long's crab-and-garlic noodles and R&G Lounge's salt-and-pepper crab are still local favorites.
And if you're feeling environmentally minded and can bear to wait a few weeks, Good Eggs is hosting a big crab dinner to benefit S.F.-based conservation group Fish Revolution!:
Holy Crab!
When: December 16, 5 p.m.
Where: Good Eggs Headquarters, 530 Hampshire
Cost: $60
The rundown: Sustainable fishmongers Jessica Lattif & Jalal Elhayek from Fair Share Community Supported Fisheries will be throwing a three-course crab meal -- served cioppino style, spice-rubbed & roasted, and neat (steamed with drawn butter). Plus there will be live music, salad, bread, fixins, and dessert. Bring your own beer and wine.
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