Best place to eat crab or salmon

My boys love seafood. I am sure they would love to enjoy crab and salmon while we are in Alaska. I don't like it, and my daughter is allergic to salmon. If there is a restaurant with some nice beef options, that would be great. If not, I am open to splitting up so everyone can eat what they want. So, what would be your first choice for eating crab and/or salmon or even some other type of seafood that a seafood lover would enjoy?

What ports will you be in?

Very good fresh Dungeness at George Inlet lodge in Ketchikan, fresh crab also at the Office in Hoonah (Icy Strait Point), good halibut and chips at the brewery in Skagway. King crab is frozen and the same as you will get at home....

Salmon is superb at the Taku Glacier Lodge (fly out trip in Juneau). Otherwise I don't care much for it so I can't recommend other places.

From other posts I see you're doing a one-way, which makes this a really easy answer: Vancouver.

Not only is it your biggest port, with most restos (thus finding the ideal spot with a menu all can enjoy is much easier) but it's also cheapest (CAD discount) and we're your only option to try fresh King Crab rather than frozen (although unless you can find another few crab eaters to help, that might still be impossible as one crab easily feeds 6+ people).

I'd be happy to make some specific reccos if you give me a ballpark budget and any other dietary issues (and if you are traveling with enough folks to make a King Crab feast feasible for you).

What ports will you be in?

Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Vancouver, and Seward. I should know to post these by now instead of expecting you guys to read my mind.

Very good fresh Dungeness at George Inlet lodge in Ketchikan, fresh crab also at the Office in Hoonah (Icy Strait Point), good halibut and chips at the brewery in Skagway. King crab is frozen and the same as you will get at home....

 

Salmon is superb at the Taku Glacier Lodge (fly out trip in Juneau). Otherwise I don't care much for it so I can't recommend other places.

I am going to book halibut fishing for my stepfather in Icy Strait Point. Since we'll already be splitting up, that sounds like a good spot for the boys to fill up on some seafood.

From other posts I see you're doing a one-way, which makes this a really easy answer: Vancouver.

 

Not only is it your biggest port, with most restos (thus finding the ideal spot with a menu all can enjoy is much easier) but it's also cheapest (CAD discount) and we're your only option to try fresh King Crab rather than frozen (although unless you can find another few crab eaters to help, that might still be impossible as one crab easily feeds 6+ people).

 

I'd be happy to make some specific reccos if you give me a ballpark budget and any other dietary issues (and if you are traveling with enough folks to make a King Crab feast feasible for you).

Both boys are married and their wives will eat seafood. Two of them are very big eaters, so I think it will work out. My stepdad may nibble on a little bit of it too.

My daughter has had a bad allergic reaction to salmon and anchovies. She generally just orders something else and advises the restaurant so that they can keep the fish away from her food.

I prefer nice cuts of beef, but I can be just as satisfied with a delicious salad.

There will also be an almost 4 year old in the group. If there is a restaurant that you know of with an atmosphere appropriate for a 4 year old, that would be great. If not, someone can stay with the little one in the hotel room.

Thanks for all of your help everyone. :)

We loved the Halibut Fish & Chips in ISP.

From other posts I see you're doing a one-way, which makes this a really easy answer: Vancouver.

 

Not only is it your biggest port, with most restos (thus finding the ideal spot with a menu all can enjoy is much easier) but it's also cheapest (CAD discount) and we're your only option to try fresh King Crab rather than frozen (although unless you can find another few crab eaters to help, that might still be impossible as one crab easily feeds 6+ people).

 

I'd be happy to make some specific reccos if you give me a ballpark budget and any other dietary issues (and if you are traveling with enough folks to make a King Crab feast feasible for you).

Could you elaborate on Vancouver being the only option for fresh king crab? Is it caught there? Any recs for fresh king crab?

I've seen only 1 restaurant in all of SoCal with fresh king crab, and they don't have many each day. Fresh king crab is not easy to find.

We loved the Halibut Fish & Chips in ISP.

 

 

Thank you. I'll let my stepfather know. He loves halibut.

Both boys are married and their wives will eat seafood. Two of them are very big eaters, so I think it will work out. My stepdad may nibble on a little bit of it too.

 

My daughter has had a bad allergic reaction to salmon and anchovies. She generally just orders something else and advises the restaurant so that they can keep the fish away from her food.

 

I prefer nice cuts of beef, but I can be just as satisfied with a delicious salad.

 

There will also be an almost 4 year old in the group. If there is a restaurant that you know of with an atmosphere appropriate for a 4 year old, that would be great. If not, someone can stay with the little one in the hotel room.

 

Thanks for all of your help everyone. :)

So if I'm parsing correctly, that's 7 adults (you, 2 sons + 1 wife each, daughter, stepdad) and a youngster who would all be wiling to eat crab, but just two of them likely to eat lots;-) Possibly also some other unmentioned spouses/parents who wouldn't eat crab too? In that case you could definitely manage a feast at Sun Sui Wah - every time I've been there are families all over (and in general, Vancouver restos all take kids - it's just bars that aren't allowed minors inside, so somewhere that has two licenses may make you sit in the 'resto side' instead of the 'bar side.' The only real downside is that Happy Hour deals are usually only in the bar...)

I'd only get the 'regular' AKC feast, without any extra courses, as even that is really designed for 8+ adults. If you have made a friend or two on your Roll Call who want to join you I'd also recommend adding the roasted Squab course, a house specialty - if you do have other non-crab eaters then adding other non-crab courses to the feast would mean they get some options too! SSW is a cab ride away from downtown - you could also try Kirin, who have a downtown branch, but I personally haven't done a feast there (they do have a very solid and long-standing rep though). Oh, and you definitely want to book in advance for any crab feast dinner - while they should always have crabs in the tanks, I don't believe anywhere takes 'walk-ins' due to the need to schedule all the dishes tightly (your crab will be displayed right at the start, then made into the various dishes right then and there - first course is therefore always a non-crab soup, dumplings or similar while you're waiting for them to dismember and cook the huge beast!)

Good salad is all over Vancouver - lots of health nuts here! For beef, we have plenty of steakhouses at various pricepoints, but as long as nobody is a vegetarian I'd suggest Wildebeest - you have a big enough group to even consider prebooking a very interesting dinner there (they offer several special meals for groups of 4+, with the caveat that of course you all need to want to eat that same main dish) and always available is an enormous well-aged ribeye cut that easily serves two big eaters. The menu isn't child-friendly so this would be a good night to arrange baby-sitting and go for a late adult-only meal.

Could you elaborate on Vancouver being the only option for fresh king crab? Is it caught there? Any recs for fresh king crab?

 

I've seen only 1 restaurant in all of SoCal with fresh king crab, and they don't have many each day. Fresh king crab is not easy to find.

Exactly - unless it's kept live in a tank you are restricted to the very, very short seasonal windows when they get caught. here in Vancouver we started keeping giant tanks of crabs alive so they were more spread out in availability rather than a huge glut when in season and then no fresh AKC at all for months. Sun Sui Wah did it first, now pretty much all the big high end Cantonese restos do it, but the only Western resto I can think of who does is Blue Water Cafe. Either way you basically need enough people to eat a whole crab among your table - at least 6 big eaters, 8-10 normal appetites.

Could you elaborate on Vancouver being the only option for fresh king crab? Is it caught there? Any recs for fresh king crab?

 

I've seen only 1 restaurant in all of SoCal with fresh king crab, and they don't have many each day. Fresh king crab is not easy to find.

You should know what type of crab you’re getting as well as if it is fresh or frozen. Red King Crab is usually known as the best, also the most expensive but it’s our favorite.

In the past Blue Water Café has had Red King Crab for CA$79.50/lb. About 60 bucks US. That’s not bad for fresh Red King Crab at a restaurant during the summer. Take lots of money if you have a big family! Call before you go, it's not always available.

Thank you for the suggestions. I will have the boys look at the menu, since I know nothing about seafood.

The ribeye at the Wildebeest seems very tasty. We may just have to stay there for three or four nights to try each one.

Very good fresh Dungeness at George Inlet lodge in Ketchikan, fresh crab also at the Office in Hoonah (Icy Strait Point), good halibut and chips at the brewery in Skagway. King crab is frozen and the same as you will get at home....

 

Salmon is superb at the Taku Glacier Lodge (fly out trip in Juneau). Otherwise I don't care much for it so I can't recommend other places.

OP may change his/her mind about crab once they try Dungeness. It's so much better/sweeter/meatier than those blue and other crabs from the "right" coast.

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You should know what type of crab you’re getting as well as if it is fresh or frozen. Red King Crab is usually known as the best, also the most expensive but it’s our favorite.

 

In the past Blue Water Café has had Red King Crab for CA$79.50/lb. About 60 bucks US. That’s not bad for fresh Red King Crab at a restaurant during the summer. Take lots of money if you have a big family! Call before you go, it's not always available.

Thanks for the specific pricing G. As a comparison OP (NB: woolly, as without exact dates and thus knowing the actual retail price of the crab at first point of sale it's very hard to compare fairly any 'market price' item) the crab prices are usually notably lower in Chinese restos than at BWC. The basic Feast at Sun Sui Wah we enjoyed (5 courses, 3 of them AKC) was only just over $400 incl tax & tip (<$42pp for 10 of us). That was 'peak crab' locally, and also not long after the nadir of the local AKC price wars that saw fishmongers selling whole crabs at <CAD$15 a pound (and CAD was also worth more than USD then). Smallest AKC I've ever seen for sale are at least 8lbs, and for optimal meat/shell ratio means you want a 10+ pounder.

Since the exact weight of each crab varies most restos that advertise feasts give a price per pound of crab including all the additional food, and assuming a split among a specific number of people (usually 10 - if there are only 6 of you eating, they should discount the add-ons since you won't need as much soup, rice, puddings etc). Then they weigh the crab at the start of the meal (this was part of the crab presentation 'ceremony' that we got) and charge accordingly. If you're here early the price might not be too much more than we paid - though I'd still budget at least $500 to play safe - but if you're late in summer and the crabs have had to be kept alive a long time, price just keeps going up!

OP may change his/her mind about crab once they try Dungeness. It's so much better/sweeter/meatier than those blue and other crabs from the "right" coast.

I totally agree - in fact personally I'd rather eat Dungeness than AKC due to that meatier flavour. Even fresh, AKC is such a light meat that I feel the Feasts markedly improve it due to packing in extra flavour - the classic method here is to split the legs, stuff with lots of garlic, then roast them. Done to a pre-steamed frozen leg it overwhelms the flavour of the crab, but with fresh the sweetness is much more prevalent so you get a nice contrast.

Where would you suggest a party of 2 get good seafood in Vancouver July 4-5? In a mid-price range? We're staying at the Best Western on Davie St. if location makes a difference.

Thank you!

Where would you suggest a party of 2 get good seafood in Vancouver July 4-5? In a mid-price range? We're staying at the Best Western on Davie St. if location makes a difference.

 

 

 

Thank you!

Joe Fortes, of course.

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Could you elaborate on Vancouver being the only option for fresh king crab? Is it caught there? Any recs for fresh king crab?

 

 

 

I've seen only 1 restaurant in all of SoCal with fresh king crab, and they don't have many each day. Fresh king crab is not easy to find.

Could be because Californians have Dungeness - no need for King Crab.

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Where would you suggest a party of 2 get good seafood in Vancouver July 4-5? In a mid-price range? We're staying at the Best Western on Davie St. if location makes a difference.

 

Thank you!

What does 'mid-price' mean to you? The only way to guarantee getting an accurate recommendation when cost is an important factor is to provide a $ price range, otherwise you're reliant on what each of us responding think a mid-price resto costs...

Personally I'd suggest skipping Joes unless you go at happy hour (while they aren't the priciest seafood joint in town they are definitely in the upper quartile, but their Happy Hour is among the best discounted downtown e.g. buck a shuck oysters). The Fish Shack is the cheapest dedicated seafood spot downtown I can think of - it's my preferred spot to go for fish & chips as they are among the very few that use haddock as one of their normal options. Just about every pub in the city will do you halibut and salmon; tuna, mussels, crab, and prawns are also very prevalent on menus so unless you're keen to sample a wide variety of seafood dishes you don't need to go to a dedicated seafood spot.

If raw works for you, Sushi joints are probably the best bang for your buck - I'm afraid I'm not familiar with sushi spots on Denman (the foodiest street close to your hotel), but since you'll likely be further into the downtown core for various sightseeing options ShuRaku on Granville St provides a wide range (including cooked options in case you aren't both keen on raw).

Cactus Club Cafe has a branch very close to you in English Bay, with arguably the best sunset views of any resto in the vicinity (and unlike many others, they don't jack up their prices at this Seawall location - they're the same as all others branches). To me they do a very consistent, good-value menu (not cheap but you can see every dollar on the plate) with many nice seafood options - their tuna tataki is among the best and the prawn ravioli is one of the rare dishes that I literally always order every single time I visit a resto.

Check the above menus for selection & pricing - if they aren't within an acceptable $ range (NB: CAD discount!) come back with a more detailed budget and I'll be happy to make another recco.

Could be because Californians have Dungeness - no need for King Crab.

 

 

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Yes. True fresh king crab is rare and a treat for a California. As for dungeness, well, we're swimming in it. DW is from SF where they catch it right off the coast. I'm originally from SoCal. However, all over CA, restaurants have tanks and tanks full of them. Asian supermarkets have tanks and tanks of them throughout the year as well. Dungeness is common here.

As for fresh, live king crab, the only restaurant I've ever seen in ALL of California (granted I haven't been in every restaurant ever, but you can tell just on the size of their tanks whether it's even possible), is this one:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/newport-seafood-restaurant-san-gabriel-4

Newport Seafood is a chain, but I've only ever seen live king crab at the San Gabriel location. Crab is my favorite food, so trust me, I keep an eye out wherever I am.

If these crabs are alive, do we see them get cooked? I don't really want to see something die. :loudcry:Maybe this should be my night to babysit the granddaughter.

If these crabs are alive, do we see them get cooked? I don't really want to see something die. :loudcry:Maybe this should be my night to babysit the granddaughter.

Haha no. They usually will pull it out of the tank or bring it the table to show you as part of the presentation (since you're spending so much). But, they'll take it back to the kitchen to prepare. You won't see it again until it comes out hot and delicious.

If these crabs are alive, do we see them get cooked? I don't really want to see something die. :loudcry:Maybe this should be my night to babysit the granddaughter.

Not unless you want to! As Codex says, you'll see them hold it up for you then take it away. If you're a suspicious sort and want to ensure that the actual crab you saw is the one you get served, you can head into the kitchen and watch it be slaughtered (the person organizing our first Sun Sui Wah large group dinner did this as he was getting hassle from a couple of other attendees about the price - apparently it's not uncommon for folks to request it at SSW as wanting to get ones money worth is a common Cantonese trait as well as among us Scots!)

Switzerland recently banned boiling lobster alive since they feel pain.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/switzerland-lobster-boiling-banned/index.html

Switzerland recently banned boiling lobster alive since they feel pain.

 

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/switzerland-lobster-boiling-banned/index.html

It happened just into the new year I believe - I'm waiting for shares in the CrustaStun to go up for sale if it spreads further across Europe!

Switzerland recently banned boiling lobster alive since they feel pain.

 

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/switzerland-lobster-boiling-banned/index.html

They do it alive! O.O