Where to get your Dungeness fix in a COVID crab season

For a while there, crab feeds looked like a thing of the past in a pandemic. But a few organizations decided to give the “drive-thru” idea a try, much to the delight of both those who grew up eating fresh local Dungeness crab every winter, as well as those who have moved here and adopted this local tradition.

The three current feeds on the calendar include those hosted by Petaluma Riding and Driving Club, St. Vincent’s and Rotary Club of Petaluma. Here is hoping that these are just the first few and that more will wash ashore with the upcoming tides.

First up is Petaluma Riding and Driving Club, this Saturday, Jan. 23, with pickup between 3 and 7 p.m. at the 820 Skillman Lane club location. Dinner includes two crabs, pasta, salad, bread and dessert and is $55 for non-members with a $20 add-on for each extra crab. This could be sold out already, but check with the club to confirm (petalumaridingclub.com).

St. Vincent De Paul High School’s drive-thru feed is slated for Saturday, Feb. 20, with an order deadline of Feb. 10. Dinner is $50 per person and helps support the Mustang Athletics Club (svcrabfeed21.givesmart.com or 763-1032, ext. 113).

Rotary Club of Petaluma’s crab and pasta feed is Friday, Feb. 26, with pick up from 4 to 7 p.m. at AMF Bowling Lanes (1100 Petaluma Blvd. S.). Dinner includes fresh cracked crab, pasta, salad with 1,000 Island dressing, rolls, butter and dessert, all for $50 a person. The Rotary Club of Petaluma crab feed is well known for its Super Raffle and this year will be no different. Tickets are $30 each, with a grand prize of $8,000 and second through sixth prizes of $1,200, $1,000, $600, $400 and $200 cash. (petalumarotary.org)

DIY crab feed

For those looking to get their own crab from the store, the usual suspects include Petaluma Market, Anna’s Seafood and of course, driving out to Bodega Bay to any one of the local shops that buy them fresh from the boats. A little-known secret spot closer to town is Bodega Tackle, at 884 Bodega Avenue. If you see the sign out by the curb announcing fresh crab, hurry in because they run out fast.

Crabby restaurants

With far fewer crab feeds this year than normal, diners are likely to turn to restaurants to help satiate their Dungeness desires. So far, three local Petaluma restaurants have popped up on social media offering to-go special Dungie dishes.

Fantasy Restaurant actually offers both crab and lobster dishes, with crustaceans fresh from the tank. Lobster with garlic noodles is one of their regular specialties however this is Dungeness season, so diners will be zeroing in on the salt and pepper crab. Call ahead to place your orders for curbside pick-up (658-1866, or visit Facebook for the menus).

Chef Joe O’Donnell over at Seared (petalumaseared.com) has a way with both steak and seafood, and right now is flexing his culinary creativity with a whole slew of Dungeness dishes. Although this is the menu from last weekend, keep an eye on Seared’s social media pages because there is surely more to come as the commercial crab seasons unfolds.

Seared has plenty of popular items, but the crab dishes on the small plates menu are really something to behold. This week’s menu included Dungeness Crab Tangoons (crab, whipped potato and cream cheese, with chili and lime dip), Dungeness Crab Eggs (farm eggs, crab salad, chives and pickled jalapeños), Crab Bisque (crab salad, creme fraiche, chives and caviar), Crab Mac ‘n’ Cheese (Cavatappi pasta, hand-picked crab, chives and smoked bacon), Dungeness Crab Pasta (house-made fat noodles, roasted fennel, heirloom tomato, Thai basil, parmesan in smoked crab broth), and Salt & Pepper Dungeness Crab (roasted crab, spring onion, Thai herbs, chili glaze, crab butter and toast for sopping up the leftover juices).

Seafood is the name of the game at The Shuckery (theshuckeryca.com) and sure enough, the menu packs a one-two punch with a Dungeness Cioppino and a California Crab Cheesesteak. The cioppino has a fresh quarter Dungeness crab, plus 4.5-ounces each of clams and mussels, 4 ounces of rock cod and three jumbo shrimp, all simmered into the Shuckery’s house stock.

The California Crab Cheesesteak is the Shuckery’s take on a Philly cheesesteak and looks truly spectacular. This is fresh local crab, with grilled peppers and onions, topped with cheese sauce and then stuffed into a house bun. For $5 each, diners can add a side salad or a basket of some of the best fries in Petaluma to either meal.

Owner Jazmine Lalicker said that the Shuckery is leapfrogging past Valentine’s Day this year and moving straight into Mardi Gras (Feb. 16) and with a crab centric menu in mind. Expect a traditional seafood boil with the option to add half or whole crabs as well as crab gumbo for the first two weeks of February leading up to Fat Tuesday.

Finally, do not forget to order something nice to sip with your seafood centric dinners. Booze has a higher margin than most of a restaurant’s other offerings and so even just a couple of bottles of beer can make a big difference the nightly bottom line. However, with seafood on the table, why not order up a nice bottle of white or bubbly to help cleanse your palette between dishes?

Let us hope that by next year’s Dungeness season we are back to crab feed dining, shoulder to shoulder with old and new friends alike, at one of the two-dozen feeds normally found in Petaluma. Until then, we recommend diners take every opportunity they can to continue to support their favorite charities and restaurants, while devouring as much Dungeness crab as possible.