Crab at Crustacean

Update 2022: We went to Crustacean for SF Restaurant Week and were sorely disappointed in the experience. Crustacean now adds a required 20% tip to All checks. This is in addition to the SF "Mandate" percentage that they also pass on to customers (isn't it interesting how the local taqueria just sucks up the mandate, but high end restaurants pass the buck to the customer?!) So that our $65 prie fixe meal turned out to be almost $100 per person. 

Of course part of that was the extra $14 that they charged us for sales tax. Yes, that's right, Crustacean over changed us for sales tax! Why? No clue, there was no excuse (and no apology either!!) given to Tea Time when the error was pointed out. We were given a refund... Eventually.

We both had the shrimp with garlic noodles which was 4 butterflied shrimps with a giant pile of noodles. Certainly you can't say you're still hungry because the mountain of noodles never ends. How about a piece of broccoli?! The appetizers were the best part of the meal. J.K.'s molten lava cake looked like it came from Costco and Angela's Fried Banana had so much batter you couldn't even find the paltry banana! 

Needless to say... We won't be back. 

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J.K.'s favorite neighbor moved out of the building, and left her a parting gift of a very generous gift card to Crustacean. So we headed over there to enjoy the famous Roast Crab. Angela had never been, but J.K. has enjoyed their cooking several times, so she knew exactly what we should order.

Of course, we're still on the hunt for Pokemon and since this dinner happened during the holidays there were a few fun updates to the game in keeping with the spirit of the season. So we kept our phones open and just as we were leaving the apartment building, this guy appeared:

  

 

   Fancy Place Setting, lovely dishware

The restaurant was pretty quiet when we arrived, but that means we didn't have to wait even though we hadn't booked a reservation. There wasn't much need to look at the menu, but we did decide on an appetizer which we ordered with our drinks and the Crab with a side of noodles. Then we were free to look around at the decor which was a mix of modern and rustic. A very welcoming space.

Tea Time was fascinated by this light fixture!

J.K.'s usual tequila gimlet

Angela chose pear cider

Appetizer- seafood cakes with asian veggies

Of course we had to have an order of Garlic Noodles along with our crab. If you order these noodles for lunch from the An The Go truck, there will be meat with them.  

Here's Looking at You Kid.

Roast Crab!

We really enjoyed our meal at Crustacean. The crab was sweet, the noodles a perfect match with the sauce from the crab. We didn't make too much of a mess, and even if we had they gave us bibs to protect our tops. If anyone else wants to pass on some gift cards for local SF restaurants, Tea Time will be happy to take them for a spin. Thank you for the treat ex-neighbor!

Forbes Island

Forbes Island--closed 

I don't usually make a big fuss about my birthday. After all, it isn't really a special occasion–everybody has one. But this year I hit another millstone milestone, and Angela insisted that we had to celebrate. I got a birthday card from everyone in her family except her cat, and then she, Stephanie and Frisco Fred took me out to Forbes Island for dinner.

Forbes Island, a houseboat originally built as a private floating home, is now anchored off of Pier 39. A shuttle boat whisked us over to the restaurant.

Shortly after we were seated, we noticed that the chandelier was moving. We were definitely on a boat! 

 I couldn't add more light to the video. This is what the chandelier looks like.

Portions of the dining room are under water, with porthole windows through which we could see the shadow of the occasional fish swimming by. The mood lighting was supplied by a lighthouse lamp on our table.

 Dinner at Forbes Island is prix fixe, with ample choices for each course. The first course, a scallop, was an amuse bouche. 

The second course is a choice of salad or soup. Stephanie and I chose the Dungeness Crab, Avocado and Bay Scallop Salad with Orange Citrus Fennel Vinaigrette.

Fred had Fresh Baby Green Salad with Belgian Endives, Vine Ripened Tomatoes, Citrus Wedges and Balsamic Vinaigrette.

And Angela chose the Seafood Chowder of the day.

The third course is the entree. Fred chose the Organic Canadian Salmon, served on a bed of Cilantro Pesto Rice, Sautéed Spinach and Ginger Lime Crème Sauce, and asked to substitute mashed potatoes for the rice. The chef was agreeable, but wanted Fred to experience the rice, so he sent out a side order of potatoes.

Angela and Stephanie went with the Classic Filet Mignon, with Truffled Bordelaise Demi‐Glace, Gem Potatoes, Broccoli and Shitake Mushroom Puff.

I had "Lamb Lollipops," half Rack of Lamb, Potato Croquette, served on a bed of Edamame Succotash.

And then there was dessert. Angela chose the Crème Brûlée.

Fred and Stephanie opted for the Berry Napoleon–Mixed Berries with Raspberry Sauce, Hazelnut Tuiles and Mascarpone Crème.

I, of course, chose the Chocolate Mousse with Hazelnut and Pecan Crust Cake with a Chantilly of Whipped Crème. My friends made sure our waiter knew it was my birthday celebration, and there was a candle on my plate.

For a final treat, we each had a chocolate sent along by TasteTV, our Chocolate Meetup sponsor. The mood lighting did not do the chocolate justice.

View of Alcatraz from Forbes Island

Lunch with Beth–San Francisco Fish Company

The San Francisco Fish Company, in the Ferry Building Marketplace, has an extensive selection of seafood, both prepared and raw. The sandwich selection is equally extensive, and made to order. But somehow, we always opt for the soft-shell crab, which is available year-round. That means they're using frozen  crab, but that's actually an advantage. Crabs start growing their new shells immediately after shedding the old ones, so in-season "soft" crab can sometimes be a little tough. If they're frozen immediately after shedding, they retain their "velvet" texture.

There's plenty of seating in back of the building, with scenic views. It was very sunny at lunchtime, so we went upstairs to get some shade. This character immediately joined us on our bench and serenaded us, in hope of a handout. He appears to be a Hermit Thrush, but obviously he's a little unclear on the concept of being a hermit!

Feathered freeloader singing for his supper.

The sandwich is served on a soft, but not squishy, roll, with lettuce, remoulade sauce and a separate garnish of coleslaw. A few salads are also available as sides. 

We didn't encourage our visitor, but he was very bold, landing on us and snatching crumbs from my sandwich. He seems to have learned a lot from the seagulls. Fortunately, he isn't big enough to fly off with the whole sandwich.

Aggressive beggar about to steal a crumb

How do you feel about feathered beggars? Are you more likely to feed the cute ones?

Anchor Oyster Bar

Today the hardy Tea Time Adventurers decided to brave the misty weather and visit the Castro. We were hungry, but none of the many restaurants seemed quite right, until we reached Anchor Oyster Bar. There wasn't a menu in the window, so we went to the Internet. After Anchor's site started to load very slowly on J.K.'s phone, we checked Yelp, which gave Anchor two dollar signs and a bunch of rave reviews. So we decided to splurge, and we're very glad we did.

The space is tiny, but it comes across as cozy, and the staff let us take a four-top, even though we got there just before the lunch rush. That gave us space to stash J.K.'s giant tote bag and Angela's backpack and bike helmet. There's a printed menu, but we didn't get any further than the specials board above the bar.

We started with oysters. Today's selection was Kusshi, BeauSoleil and St. Simone. We couldn't decide, so we ordered two of each.

Happy little oysters. And happy Adventurers!

We couldn't resist the crab "burger," a large pile of crab meat on an excellent roll. (Maybe we should blame imotiv and Scoma that we've got crab on the brain.) The staff at Anchor were nice enough to put the house made tartar sauce on the side so Angela could hoard it all.

This sandwich was definitely ready for its close-up.

The burger came with a bowl of clam chowder, which the staff split for us into two bowls. This special was a great choice, giving us the chance to try a little bit of everything in the Anchor seafood world.

You don't have to worry about running out of oyster crackers!

We needed a salad to go with all this seafood, so we chose the dinner salad with shrimp from the menu. The olives were Giant. Angela hasn't had olives like that in a long time, in fact she should ask where they come from next time we stop in for an oyster fix.

Fresh lettuce, Giant olives, perfectly ripe tomatoes and plenty of shrimp.

Altogether a delightful experience. The staff was attentive, pleasant and caring, and the food was delicious. The bill was a shock, but only because it was Less than we had anticipated after deciding we should splurge. Check out this gem to enjoy their generous portions and reasonable prices! Tea Time managed to hit it when there wasn't a line, so we suggest a weekday lunch unless you want to make plans to people watch in the Castro before you eat.  (Which could be an adventure in itself!) There's a long, padded bench in front for the wait line, so your people-watching will be very comfortable. If the weather cooperates, that is.

The Feast of Scoma

imotiv, an amazing iPhone app (formerly known as NuffnangX) that works like an RSS feed (only better and with more features, collecting all your blogs in one app to read on your iPhone), invited a group of us food bloggers to Scoma's for a Seafood Extravaganza on March 23. It was the night before a busy day at the San Francisco International Chocolate Salon, but we just couldn't turn down such a generous invitation from such wonderful people! Angela and J.K. signed up for this event  and wrangled our new blog partner Mel into attending as well.

Picture perfect weather!

Their mural on the fish processing building. That's right, they own a boat!

Valet available.

Your portal to seafood heaven!

The Tea Time Adventurers (nickname coined by Ezen of imotiv) arrived early and decided to walk around the area behind the restaurant. It was a good decision. The sun was out, the bay was beautiful and we witnessed a marriage proposal, which was accepted. Attending the dinner with us were Jo of mahal to the macs, Ngoc of San Jose Food Blog,  and Melissa of Serving Seconds. Jerome, who blogs over at A Spy in the House of Food and is the organizer of the Bay Area Food Bloggers group, had a previous engagement, but made time to drop by and have a glass of wine with us before dinner.

Scoma's provided us with bottomless glasses of  a light, crisp chardonnay that paired well with all of our food from seafood dishes to dessert. While our dinner was being prepared, we sipped our wine and nibbled on breadsticks and sourdough bread. Scoma picked our appetizers, while Ezen and Gabriel from Nuffnangx conferred with the restaurant staff to decide upon our main courses and sides. We shared everything family style which was perfect since we could eat more! The portions (as you'll see) are ample for one person as a main course, so try to get a group together in order to taste as much as possible. Of course once you sample some items on the menu you'll have to go to Scoma again and bring Different friends.

Sticks of bread, butter.

Good wine, great company.

Our first appetizer was scallops, sauteed in a saffron cream sauce, with fried leeks on top.Our introduction to the seafood at this resto was a perfect example of the delights to come out during our meal. Verdict? Delicious. Next we had  two platters full of crab cakes and fried calamari with plenty of lemons to squeeze over our seafood. Plus three dipping sauces including remoulade, tartar and seafood sauce. The calamari was sweet and well-cooked, while the crab cakes were all crab baby!

You like scallops? Order this one.

Tender calamari and no-filler crab cakes, yum!

This was the tip of the seafood iceberg. But this group is full of professional eaters, some even tackling the 7x7 top 100 restos (and completing it, wow Melissa!) Scoma's brought out the bibs and we were ready to crack the crab. Our group was blessed with two kinds, sweet fresh crab (amazing with lemon squeezed on it!) and a garlicky, buttery crab. Silence descended. Perhaps we heard the bells of the boat that brought the crabs in from the bay, but either way the whole table was too busy savoring the crab to make idle chit chat.

So happy with our bibs!

Fresh Sweet Crab!

Garlic Crab, ah memories.

Ready to dig in!

After the triumph of fresh crab, how could it be topped by any other seafood dish? Bring out the lobster and scallops and shrimps and maybe we're even missing some other fishy goodness...because this was all in one dish. In fact we'll give two views of these tempting morsels, just so you can see the variety. Scoma's famous mixed shellfish saute, served with penne pasta, rice and tasty veggies has an amazing sauce as well. What's the secret, chef?

Starchy goodness to soak up the sauce.

More seafood and more lemons please.

We also got in some more veg and pasta before dessert. Of course we couldn't do it all justice. The grumblings of, "I'm getting full," started turning into, "I can just take one bite, sorry." One more reason we love Nuffnangx and their blogger outreach is that they aren't shy about taking home leftovers. (All the bloggers declined, most saying they were too full to carry anything home.)

Pasta Pesto

Pasta Pomodoro

Steamed spinach "action" shot.

Overall this meal lived up to its name of 'Feast'! Especially the camaraderie of new friends around the table. Tea Time is doubly excited about how this event turned out because not only do we now have a local "know" on where to go to eat local fresh crab, but we have a new group of bloggers to share resources and conversation with, possibly even blog collaborations for future posts.

We were all convinced that we were far too full to eat dessert, but one look at the platters changed our minds. Each group of four shared a plate that showed off the 'best of' Scoma's desserts, including Raspberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Torte, Spumoni Ice Cream and Black Cherry Sorbet. This many days later, we're all still chattering about the house made Black Cherry Sorbet. Angela thinks she'll just go sit at the bar, order some wine and a huge helping of this scrumptious flavorful dessert.

Dessert Platter

Scoma's was rocking with diners by the time our feast was winding down, but the wait staff was attentive and thorough, cleaning our detritus and refilling wine and water glasses almost as soon as you set them back down on the table. If you're looking for a local resto with fresh seafood and great service, Scoma's is it!

Crab shells were flying!

No leftovers here!

Plus! After all that, there were mints. Angela did take one to go.

After-Dinner Mints