01/15/2026
With the lights of Ghiradelli Square illuminating their way to Pier 45, the Chasin’ Crustacean heads in to meet with 5,000 pounds of Dungeness crab. Christian and three of his crew have been out on the waters since 3:00 am diligently dropping and retrieving crab pots between the Farallon Islands and Point Reyes. Last night, they arrived at 7:00 pm, quietly and efficiently offloading Husky tubs full of crab. Christian is working the forklift. Kenny is operating the hydraulic hoist. And Reese is receiving the pots from the two crewmembers on the boat. Kenny is receiving these 2,500 crabs for by himself - working incredibly hard to balance the 250 crabs that will be heading to your favorite restaurants around the city the next day, with the remaining 2,250 heading to a single buyer who pulls up with live tanks on a semi-truck ready to distribute to their customers. Every movement matters. Every loss prevention procedure is important. Every crab counts.
This year’s crab season was delayed, in an important effort to protect the migration of humpback whales from gear entanglement. And like many Chefs in the Bay Area, has been waiting patiently for what he considers to be a true San Francisco delicacy. As with most delicacies, this one is worth waiting for - if for no other reason than to protect and support industrious and hardworking people like Kenny and Christian, who work tirelessly to bring one of the most delicious sea creatures to your table.
