Sam Spade's San Francisco

Dungeness Crab season in San Francisco 2010 has begun!

Alioto-Lazio is one of the last of the original San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf family-owned wholesale and retail fish companies. Tom Lazio started the business more than 50 years ago. Today the company is a uniquely woman-owned and woman-operated wholesale fish company -- one of very few in the world. Tom Lazio's wife, daughter and granddaughter run the business.

I have been enjoying crab, as well as whatever else is fresh and available, from the Alioto-Lazio Fish Company since their beginning fifty years ago. And yes, I am that old -- I'm in my mid sixties.

My family first arrived in San Francisco in the Gold Rush year of 1849 and I want to assure you that Alioto-Lazio is as close as you can possibly get to the real, original San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf experience. Their crab is consistently among the best available to anyone at any price.Alioto-Lazio Fish Company still operates out of the original address at -- right at Fisherman's Wharf   -- and they have a backdoor that opens to accept daily catches direct from the fishing boats. This is as close to the ocean source as you can possibly get without going out to sea yourself.

If you cannot come to Fisherman's Wharf to buy your holiday Dungeness crab, then your second best bet is to buy directly from Alioto-Lazio and have them ship it to you. Call them toll-free and Alioto-Lazio will send your order UPS or Fed-Ex overnight in special containers that keep your purchase on ice until you're ready to pop the crab into the pot.

The Open Road TV show with Doug McConnell produced a segment about Fisherman's Wharf and McConnell featured Alioto-Lazio Fish Company. You can watch the segment here.

Ordering Fresh Crab:
1) Order fresh Dungeness crab with overnight delivery: Call 1-. Remember, this is their busy season and the best way to get your order delivered fast is to call them.
2) Visit the wholesale/retail store in person: 440 Jeferson Street, San Francisco - ()
3) You can also contact them through: , but use this only for specific inquiries for larger orders. Otherwise placing a phone order will be faster.
4) Alioto-Lazio is also currently offering fresh petrale, halibut, salmon, English sole, sand sole and sand dabs in addition to Dungeness crab. This list, of course, can and often does change daily depending on the catch that is coming in to them.

Other sources for Dungeness crab and SF seafood dinner restaurants: 
- Boudin Bakery, Bistro Boudin, Dungeness Crab and San Francisco Sourdough French Bread
(this is the true original San Francisco sourdough Fench bread bakery)
- SF dinner restaurants specializing in seafood and local crab / from menupages (see the actual menus online before you decide where to go)
- Dungeness crab: pride of the West Coast Fleet (from Sally's Place)
- Operation Safe Crab  (from U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary)
- San Francisco's sport fishing fleet (list provided by Port of San Francisco)
- The Life, History, Environment and Mariculture Studies of the Dungeness Crab (from CA Dept of Fish and Game)

San Francisco style holiday dinner:
The origin of the SF style holiday dinner goes back to the peak of the original Fisherman's Wharf when most of the fishermen were Sicilian immigrants. They favored a unique style of boat that has become known today as the Monterey Clipper and they developed their own uniquely San Francisco holiday dinner menu that was based on all local ingredients. It was and remains very simple: A platter loaded with fresh-caught Dungeness crab, fresh-baked original San Francisco sourdough French bread (the "real deal" original comes from from Boudin Bakery) and a bottle (or two or three) of California wine. Try California Wine Advisor or Discover California Wine for suggestions and reviews. The rest of the menu is completely up to you.

Dungeness Crab fishing (crabbing):
The recreational fishery for Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) is open from November 6, 2010 through June 30, 2011. The daily bag limit is 10 crab, and the minimum size limit is 5 3/4 inches. Both male and female crab may be taken in the recreational fishery. Recreational crabbing for Dungeness crab is not allowed from vessels licensed for commercial Dungeness crab fishing. Review crab measurement methods and the current Ocean Sport Fishing regulations booklet for more Dungeness crab fishing information. View additional information about Dungeness crab and other species of crab from the CA Dept of Fish and Game.

Crab pots on San Francisco public piers:
The CA Dept of Fish and Game want you to know that Dungeness crabs (Cancer magister) may not be taken from, or possessed if taken from, San Francisco and San Pablo bays at any time. That being said, it is common to see people crabbing from almost all our SF public piers. The SFPD is not very interested in peaceful citizens sitting quietly on a public pier with crab pots dangling over the side. The San Francisco Police Department has much bigger fish to fry.

Crab Pot? 
The crab pot is made of wire mesh (older designs of wood and wire also exist, as well as all metal varieties). The crab pot usually contains two "entrances" for the crabs that prohibit exit.

State Fish and Game:
As for state law enforcement, I've been around San Francisco for a long time and I cannot recall a single time I've seen state fish and game wardens on our municipal piers. It doesn't mean they have not been checking the piers from time to time and I just missed seeing them, and it doesn't mean it won't happen in the future, but your chances are better than average that nobody will come along to bother you on a San Francisco city pier. Your biggest problem will be finding a place to squeeze in among all the other folks with their crab pots. But, before you go, be officially forewarned: taking crab from San Francisco Bay is against the law.

Just one more thing: 
Please clean-up your mess, including nasty fish parts, pieces of netting, wire from your pot or any other residue you may end up with at the end of your adventure. Please bring an empty garbage bag with you and take a full bag of garbage home. Please and thank you.