Well, all week I envisioned that this morning I would be able to write you a glowing review of the opening night of San Francisco Dungeness Crab Week, highlighting all the different ways in which crab was offered and the delicious creations I was able to sample and that we might some day replicate at a Crabfest. Alas, it appears San Francisco has a substantially different idea of how to run a “Crab Week” than we would. Continue reading at your own crab-loving risk…
So just to set the stage, when I first read about SFDCW, I was of course ecstatic. Finally, the restaurants in the city were going to formally celebrate something that we had been celebrating for quite some time. What a great idea. The print, in bold, on Opentable.com, where I first read about the event, was “Enjoy Dungeness Crab in signature dishes or special tasting menus at restaurants across the Bay Area.” Signature dishes! Special Tasting Menus!! In bold!!! Hooray!!!!! And, what’s more, if you paid with your Visa Signature Card, you got a “commemorative cookbook featuring Dungeness Crab signature recipes from San Francisco ’s leading chefs, while supplies last.” A whole cookbook devoted exclusively to Dungeness Crab??? Wow, God really does listen.
Now some may argue that my expectations and enthusiasm were a little too high but this is crab we’re talking about. I didn’t expect them to understand. But you understood. I understood. It was going to be awesome. I looked at the restaurants listed, searched for the one I thought had the best food along with a history of embracing local ingredients, and chose Jardinere. Not exactly your bargain choice but hey, when it comes to crab, I’m not going small. I’m going big. Thursday night, February 19, opening night of SFDCW. Table for 2. Book it. I am ready. I might even wear my crabfest t-shirt underneath.
The first hint of trouble came when I got the call from Jardinere confirming my reservation. I told them yes, I would be there, and then asked them to confirm that they would have the Crab Week cookbooks available, since it was to be the first night of the event and I was concerned they might not have arrived yet. “Cookbooks? Crab Week? What are you talking about?” said the reservationist. Hmmmm. There must be something wrong here. I asked, “You aren’t participating in San Francisco Dungeness Crab Week?” “No, we aren’t,” she said. Hmmmm again. I kept the reservation, hoping she was just unaware, but was disappointed that the restaurant clearly hadn’t made the effort to educate those on the front lines. Somehow I think I also imagined some decoration and fan fare adorning the restaurant. Dishes with crabs on them. Red streamers from the ceilings. But clearly they weren’t around if this person was so oblivious.
Undaunted, I started calling the other restaurants listed. La Folie. 1300 on Fillmore. Grand Café. Bix. Betelnut. Sadly, Jardinere was not alone in its clueless response. Even those aware of the event didn’t appear to be doing anything special for it. Waterbar, for instance, said that, yes, they would have cracked Dungeness Crab available. “Don’t you always have cracked Dungeness Crab on the menu?” I asked. “Yes.” “So, it’s no different than usual, there isn’t a special on the menu featuring crab?” “No.” Where were the signature dishes?!? Where were the special tasting menus?!? Where was the bold font?!?
I finally stumbled upon one place that was not only aware of SFDCW, but enthusiastic about it: Fifth Floor. Also not exactly your bargain choice but at this point, I was just thrilled to get a positive response. She told me they would have “several dishes” featuring crab. She didn’t know exactly what the tasting menu would entail, and didn’t think it would be all crab, but guessed it would have one or two crab-themed dishes in it. Ok, no special tasting menu, but “several” signature dishes. Now we’re talking. Fifth Floor it is. I canceled Jardinere. I’m going big. Thursday night, February 19, opening night of SFDCW. Table for 2. Book it. I am ready!
In everybody’s life a little rain must fall, my dad always said. And ladies, rain fell on table 14 at the Fifth Floor restaurant last night. Abbey and I sat down, opened our menus, and found one dish that had crab. One dish. The tasting menu had zero. I had been duped. Crab lovers everywhere had been duped. Dungeness Crab Week? They didn’t even have Dungeness Crab Night! I wanted to get up and leave in protest.
But where else would I go? I hadn’t found anywhere else with signature dishes or special tasting menus. And the one dish did look pretty good. I decided one answer would determine if I were to stay or go. When our server returned to take our drink order, I asked, “Do you have the commemorative crab cookbook? Will I get one if I pay with my Visa Signature card?” “Yes. It has 44 recipes in it, each from a different restaurant in San Francisco and each featuring Dungeness Crab” Ok. I’ll stay. Forty-four crab recipes is worth it.
So we stayed. We both started with the lone crab dish, the Cappucino de Crabe. It was excellent. The bottom of the dish was filled with fresh crab meat, though remained unseen and covered in a truffle foam. Then, poured into the foam at the table, was a crab bisque, which we each paired with a glass of sherry (per the sommelier’s recommendation). The dish overall was a tad too salty but that’s really splitting hairs. Overall, it was outstanding, and the combination of the crab meat, bisque and foam in one spoonful was a textural nirvana in your mouth. The sherry also made for a very nice pairing and helped cut some of the richness of the bisque.
While that dish alone didn’t entirely quell my disappointment in the meal, I will say that the recipe book alone appears to make the entire ordeal and disappointment worth it. It isn’t some well presented leather-bound hardcover tome, but the recipes contained within are plentiful and varied, and there are several I anticipate entering future Crabfests. They all look amazing and don’t just list crab as an ingredient, they feature it. And not just any crab, but Dungeness Crab. I plan to take it to Kinko’s this weekend and make copies to send, if they’ll let me. If not I’ll try and scan it next week and email you the .pdf so you can peruse them yourselves.
Anyway, while SFDCW was less than my original expectations it was at least a step in the right direction and hopefully the cook book will serve us well for many Crabfests to come. Despite all the fan fare, I realized that even in a city such as San Francisco , Crabfest Martinez is unparalleled in its enthusiasm and commitment to the Dungeness Crab, and it made me appreciate my fellow Crabfestians even more.
In Crabhood,
Paul
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