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Eat this: Local Dungeness crab
Dungeness crab is a big deal in my family. Growing up, it was the focal point of our Christmas Eve dinner, along with sourdough bread and Caesar salad. We always ate them whole. Each of us was designated our own crab and we committed ourselves to the laborious and visceral task of cracking the hard shells, digging out the sweet meat with special tools, an extra crab claw or our fingers. The prize of tender crab, dragged through drawn butter or a simple aioli, was something to be celebrated.
It’s been a few years since I’ve had Dungeness crab during the holidays. The opening of the season normally stretches from November through May, but the past two years it hasn’t opened locally until January, due to the presence of migrating humpback whales off the coast of California. Crab fishers and distributors make the lion’s share of their income during the holiday season; without it, they’re struggling. Although the season is open, local fishers are allowed to use only 50% of their gear, a restriction that will extend at least until mid-March. And there’s discussion within the industry that the season might close early this year, although no announcements have been made.
Now is the time to enjoy fresh crab. Locally caught cooked crab is widely available at local markets like Stagnaro Bros. on the Santa Cruz Wharf, The Fish Lady in Capitola and Shopper’s Corner in Santa Cruz, for around $13 per pound. In my family, one person can easily devour a 1½- to 2-pound crab.
I prefer to purchase live crabs ($10/pound) from H&H Fresh Fish Co. in the Santa Cruz Harbor, because the flavor is fresher when I cook it at home, but already-cooked crab is much easier to work with.
The simplest preparation is to just serve it chilled with drawn butter, lemon or aioli on the side, and have guests pull the crab meat from the shell. I also like to toss crab in the shell in melted butter infused with garlic, Old Bay seasoning and chili for a Cajun seafood boil vibe, served with andouille sausages and whole potatoes. Or, serve it San Francisco-style with Vietnamese garlic noodles, with a pile of shelled crab on top.
I hear leftover crab can be thrown into omelets, crab cakes or crab roll sandwiches, but I can’t speak from experience; in our house, there’s never anything left but shells.
New merch!
I have an exciting announcement: New Lookout Santa Cruz merch just dropped, perfect for you or the foodie in your life. Introducing the Lily Belli Apron!
Yes, that’s me. The hottest new kitchen essential is available free to new annual members, signing up at our special Valentine’s (or Galentine’s) price – $114 for the first year of Lookout – and offered to all our current members, for $30. Members, click here to buy an apron.
I’m not sure I’m allowed to call something with my likeness on it “cool.” But if you’ve read my food and drink coverage over the past 2½ years at Lookout, clearly we have something in common: We love good food. The idea that some part of me is there with you in your kitchen while you prepare a meal for family and friends warms my apron — I mean, heart — strings.
You’ll be able to pick up your apron at Lookout HQ, our new office right across the street from Bookshop Santa Cruz and above Toque Blanche on Pacific Avenue. Email membership@lookoutlocal.com to set up a time.
Happy cooking, and thank you to Lookout’s members – new and continuing – for your support!
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Best of the Week Ahead
Below, find a curated list of the best food and drink events in Santa Cruz County for the coming week. At the top, I share my picks of unmissable local happenings.
News of the week
ICYMI – Here are the food news stories from Lookout that you might have missed, plus important news from beyond our borders picked by yours truly.
- Growing like fungus: Inside Santa Cruz’s wild mushroom culinary community (Lookout)
- Pretty Good Advice brings farm-to-table vegetarian cuisine to downtown Santa Cruz (Lookout)
- Inflation is cooling. So why are food prices, from steak to fast-food meals, still rising? (CBS News)
- The San Francisco Chronicle’s new restaurant critic dines among us (Eater SF)