Coming from out of Town - Best Sitdown Restaraunt for Dungeness Crab

[chilltraveler]

Hi,

I'm heading to SF in three weeks. In previous years I always managed to miss dungeness crab season.

I'd like to ask you fellow hounds for help in finding a sit down restaurant that's currently serving dungeness crab on their daily menu while in season. I'm not sure that I'll have a car, so a restaurant in SF proper is preferred.

Thanks for your expertise!

[c oliver]

Scoma's is always popular.

http://www.scomas.com/?

[c oliver]

link

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Scoma's Fisherman's Wharf
47 Pier 45, San Francisco, CA 94133

[SteveG]

Where will you be? What type of prep? Prices have crept up, and due to the rough winter seas you aren't guaranteed that the crab will be local, but certain places we could recommend would have a good chance of serving you local stuff if it was available. If it isn't local, the better places will have very fresh crab from parts north that is still better than you'd get if you live away from the west coast.

For a nice sit down experience with a great bar and a good wine list, Absinthe Brasserie in Hayes Valley is a good bet. The menu is showing a crab sandwich at lunch, and at dinner half or whole cracked crabs.

Woodhouse fish company is a california-ized new england lobster roll shack, but the new Fillmore street branch is more of a restaurant and they're doing a better job on the food, in part probably due to having a better kitchen at their disposal.

Swan oyster depot is an old old San Francisco classic with a long counter, simple preps of seafood, and not much else. Bring cash.

Anchor Oyster Bar is in the Castro, is maybe a little more polished than Swan, and I think roughly at the same good level of quality. I think either place has good days and bad days, but they're both usually charming.

There will be lots of overcooked stringy crab of dubious pedigree down at Fisherman's Wharf, which you should avoid. Places that serve crab in town that aren't at the wharf tend to do a much better job of not overcooking it, and while crab is never a budget food, they don't gouge as much.

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Swan Oyster Depot
1517 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Absinthe Brasserie & Bar
398 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

Anchor Oyster Bar
579 Castro St, San Francisco, CA 94114

Woodhouse Fish Company
1914 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA

[chilltraveler]

Thanks for the recs!

My DH is keeping our accomodations a surpise, so I'm not sure which neighborhood will serve as our base. We'll definitely be in the city.

I'm originally a Marylander and we like our crabs naked, so I guess I'd prefer a simlple, straightforward prep for DC. I currently live in Chicago and dungeness crab isn't available here and I never saw it when I lived back east.

[SteveG]

You should be able to get a simple cracked crab with drawn butter at any of the last 3 on my list any time within their business hours. Absinthe is the only one that sometimes gets more creative, but I did specifically see plain crab on their dinner menu. Even if it isn't on the lunch menu, they'd probably accommodate you.

[bbulkow]

Hi,

These recs are good.

Since you said "maryland" I'll share one secret. If you make the mistake of going to fisherman's wharf, they do sell whole steamed crabs street-side outside the resturants. I'd take a picnic of that crab down at waterfront park over Scoma's any day. They'll have sad, pre-cracked crabs under cellophane with a little slice of lemon. Scoff at that, walk over to the guy with a pile of crabs and a steamer, and gesture at a particular crab. They may look at you like you're crazy, but hold your ground - if he refuses, walk to the next place. He'll toss it in the steamer while you pay, and give it a light cracking (claws and one along the body). You can also smell fresh crab, allowing you to choose among the multiple places.

They'll wrap it in paper, and you'll have to find a place to perch and get down and dirty with cleaning it yourself. Along the rail of a wharf, sitting on the steps near the olympia club, whatever. But, if you're a marylander, opening and cleaning should be second nature.

I know you asked for sit-down --- but doing "stand up" is *really good*.

The dungeness is *different* from the blue, so please be open to a difference in taste. As a die-hard blue crab eater, I've slowly come to enjoy the dungeness - a good dungeness can be sweeter than a blue. Getting a fresh-steamed was the first step on the road to loving the big D.

[Scott M]

There is always PPQ Dungeness Island

[Civil Bear]

...for another Vietnamese style preparation. The black pepper crab over garlic noodles is especially good!

[jlfoodie]

If you like the Vietnamese style preparation - Thanh Long

[c oliver]

Do you think it's better than their sister location, Crustacean, on Polk which is certainly more convenient.

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Crustacean Restaurant
1475 Polk St Ste 3, San Francisco, CA 94109

[vulber]

In the literal sense of a restaurant where you sit down, there's Swan Oyster Depot, but probably not what you're looking for

[PeterL]

R&G Lounge is a reliable Chinese style salt and pepper prep, plus a couple of other Cantonese styles.

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R & G Lounge
631 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94108