Every year for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, I make a big crab Louie with fresh, sweet Dungeness crab. As a native, I took crab season for granted until it opened later and later each year. The reason is entirely understandable — California has delayed the 2025–26 commercial Dungeness crab season statewide until at least Jan. 6, 2026, after confirmed humpback whale entanglements exceeded the emergency threshold.
That doesn’t mean you can’t still get fresh, even live, Dungeness crab; you just have to know where to find it. You can’t beat crab fresh off the boats, but this year (like anywhere that has Dungeness crab), it will be coming from Washington State.
Without a doubt, the best place to score the tasty crustacean in San Francisco is Alioto-Lazio Fish Company (440 Jefferson Street at Hyde, 888-673-5868, crabonline.com), one of the last family-operated fishing companies in San Francisco. Sisters Annette Traverso and Angela Cincotta are the third generation operating the Alioto-Lazio Fish Company, a woman-owned business located on Fisherman’s Wharf for more than 80 years.
If you haven’t had crab from the first ladies of the wharf, you’re missing one of San Francisco’s greatest gastronomic gifts, as well as part of its rich fishing history (that is sadly disappearing). The crabs are kept live in their pristine tanks, and you can buy them live, cooked, cooked and cracked; or “lazy man style,” meaning just the meat. I have it cooked and kept whole because I like the “butter” in the top shell. I’ve been cracking and cleaning crab since I was a child, but if you’re not familiar and don’t have the tools, ask the ladies to cook, crack, and clean it for you.
One of my all-time favorite Dungeness dishes was the crab angel hair lasagna at the Crab House on Pier 39 (now under new ownership). When it disappeared from the menu, I created my own version to satisfy my craving, which I’ve shared below.
The second recipe is a classic crab Louie based on my favorite one at the Wharf’s oldest sit-down restaurant, Fishermen’s Grotto No. 9. My family and the Geraldi family, who owned the Grotto since its opening in 1935, were longtime friends, and I have fond childhood memories running around the colorful Venetian poles that marked the downstairs tables. After a dispute among the heirs, the restaurant was sold to Chris Henry, but sadly, it went dark during the pandemic and never reopened.
The origin of the Louie is a subject of great debate, but Helen Brown said in her West Coast Cookbook, “It was served at Solari’s in San Francisco in 1914.”
Crab Angel Hair Lasagna
Serves 8
1 cooked Dungeness crab, cracked and cleaned (about 2 cups of crab) with reserved “crab butter” from top shell (optional)*
Béchamel Sauce:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups whole milk
¼ teaspoon Kosher sea salt
¼ teaspoon or so white pepper (use black if you don’t have it)
Lasagna:
1 pound angel hair pasta, cooked very al dente
2 tablespoons chopped pimentos (optional)
¼ cup fresh Italian parsley, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon cold butter, cut into chunks
*Crab butter is the fatty mustard-yellow tomalley, or roe, in the top shell. It’s the foie gras of the crab with sweet, briny, and mineral overtones.
Set aside two cups of crab meat and reserve the crab butter in a separate small prep bowl for the sauce.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and set a large pot with 4-6 quarts of water over medium-high heat.
Make the béchamel sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt four tablespoons of unsalted butter. Whisk in 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour until well combined, and the “floury” taste is cooked out, about 7–8 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and slowly whisk in milk. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and stir constantly until the sauce is thickened and smooth, about 15 minutes. Mix in the crab butter (if using) and salt, turn off the heat, and set aside.
Add one tablespoon of salt to the boiling water, and once it returns to a full rolling boil, add the angel hair and cook for half the time recommended on the package, so it remains very al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
Butter a 9×13 baking dish on the bottom and sides. Rub a little olive oil on the bottom, then add a layer of pasta. Spread a thin layer of sauce and add some crab. Sprinkle with parsley and grated cheese. Repeat layers, ending with a layer of angel hair. Dot the top with pieces of butter, sprinkle on a little coarse sea salt, and more cheese.
Bake in the middle of the oven about 20–30 minutes, or until the top is brown and bubbly. Allow to set for about 10 minutes before cutting into individual squares for serving. Serve with extra cheese for passing at the table.
Classic Crab Louie
Serves 4
Louie Dressing:
2 cups Best Foods mayonnaise
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
Dash of hot sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Salad:
One head of iceberg lettuce
Fresh meat of two Dungeness crabs
Two medium tomatoes cut into wedges, or cherry tomatoes
1 small can whole black olives
½ cup purple cabbage, shredded
Canned pickled beets, shredded or sliced
2 to 4 pastured eggs, cooked for exactly six minutes and plunged in an ice bath (the yolk will be “jammy” — if you want it hard-cooked, turn off the heat and let eggs rest on the stove for five additional minutes; cut into wedges)
Pepperoncini (optional)
Avocado slices (optional)
Lemon wedges
Whisk dressing ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tear apart the head of lettuce, wash, and thoroughly dry the leaves. Refrigerate until lettuce is crisp cold. Make a bed of lettuce on a large serving platter. Top with a mound of crab. Place tomato wedges, olives, beets, eggs, and, if using, pepperoncini and avocado slices, around the platter. Serve with dressing and lemon wedges on the side.