Messy crab feast and how to spend an afternoon or evening in San Francisco

One of my favorite places in San Francisco is now Ocean Beach and the Sunset district. Surfer buddy Shawn Stussy from  S Double says it is the little Brooklyn of SF.

It is the area right under the Golden Gate Park , the West side, facing the very long and very wide Ocean beach.

A fun way to spend your very chilly summer afternoon is to go for a long walk on the beach , bend down to collect a thousand sand dollars and burn off some calories, carry them all for 5 miles , burn more calories and get nice toned arms,watch the surfers on the huge breakers freezing their bums off,watch lots of dogs having fun, watch their owners having fun watching their dogs biting and sniffing other dogs ,watch lots of couples having fun watching each other, watch children having fun collecting sandy sand dollars for you to carry with love for 5 miles, walk some more to burn thousands of calories (you are gonna need that big time ) and  watch the sunset which is just gloriously happening on the ocean in front of you .

After that go you can walk around the area and look at a couple of fun places….. have a drink at Java Beach coffee click  on la Playa Street (between Irving and Judah ) ,browse  the soulful surf shop Mollusk click  and also check out the cute General Store click on 4035 judah street (and 46 street).Next to it is a small but delicious and fun hangout coffee shop called Trouble Coffee.

and THEN ( big loud sound effects  )  go to Thahn Long  click  on Judah and 46 th  to have a huge roasted garlic crab the size of a small mini van and a plate of garlic noodles. Actually my cousin Marga from Manila sent me here : THANK YOU MARGA ! i kiss the ground you walk on.

Place is always packed, make sure you reserve…and yes, you get to wear a plastic bib ! always wanted to wear one of those…and yes, you get to eat with your hands and get the stuff all over you face but for once and since every single one of the 400 diners there is having the same messy experience , you just don’t give a damn .

Another way to have a crab experience of the eating kind is if you drive down South from there to Half Moon Bay…45 minute drive down the PCH and past some amazing ocean views . Go to where the fishing boats are on the bay and buy the crabs fresh and wild ( and kicking around a lot ) straight from the boats

Unfortunately this is something that i could not bring myself to do because then you have to throw them alive into a pan of boiling water , but for some crab and lobster lovers it is not a problem….

enjoy ! ( can’t say the same for the crabs )