Catch of the Day
Five Restaurants where fishermen sell their bounty directly to diners
October 24, 2004, SFGate.com
Olivia Wu

We drive to a picturesque seaside village, pull up to a pretty harbor restaurant and order from a fish- dedicated menu whose catch is fresh from the small boats bobbing in the water right outside the window. The seafood tastes pristine, as pure as the azure ocean before our eyes.

Dream on.

The idea of seafood jumping out of the fisherman's hand and onto our plates has become just that: an idea. Appetites on all sides of the American dinner plate -- from fishermen to restaurateurs to diners -- have exploded far beyond any quaint notions . . .

These days, the dockside restaurant is likely to hand you a menu with as many as 30 seafood items. The fish, however, do not hail from the waters of your idyllic view. Your dinner fare originated in China, South America, the Mediterranean, Australia or perhaps the coast opposite to the one you're on. If you're lucky, 10 percent of the menu might be caught locally.

Early this summer, when I heard about a fisherman on the Central Coast who had opened his own restaurant, I was intrigued. Was an old tradition rising from the ashes? Was the fish truly fresh and well prepared? Were people flocking to the restaurant? . . .

Up the road about 20 minutes from the Hog Island farm, at Bodega Bay's Spud Point Harbor, is the real thing: a tiny crab and salmon retail shop whose fish is caught by the pop, Tony Anello, and whose menu is made by the mom, Carol Anello. Both, says Carol, are "hard-headed Italians."

They grew up in Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Tony Anello learned fish alongside his grandfather and father in law. He fished even as he supported his family as a fireman. His grandfather was a Sicilian fisherman and famed net maker who was brought in during the heyday of commercial fishing in Monterey Bay.

Now, nearing retirement, the Anellos are living a 30-year-old dream of serving the catch from his boat. He also is well supplied in salmon and crab by the catch of his son's and brother's boats.

Two picnic tables and benches are all there is to the seating at Spud Point Crab Co. Locals, especially fishers, gather for coffee throughout the day. A terrific, filler-free, clam-studded chowder is Carol Anello's specialty. Tony cooks the crab out in the open by the tables. They also sell smoked salmon and a few sandwiches. The crab sandwich is sweet with meat that is hand- picked by Tony and Carol, although the bread could improve to meet the standard of the crab.

Spud Point Crab Co. has no printed menu; Anello estimates 80 percent of the food is self-caught or family-caught. Carol Anello also makes a tri-tip sandwich for the local fishermen.

Tony and Carol Anello
Spud Point Crab Company
1860 Westshore Road
Bodega Bay, California 94923
707-875-9472

Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed on Wednesday.

Established 2004
 
 
 
 

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Spud Point Crab Co., Bodega Bay