Crab and Wine Taste-off Leaves Local Taste Buds Tingling

Chefs around Capitola and Soquel tantalized diners on Sunday with their variations on Dungeness crab.

Not content with boiling and cracking the Central Coast's popular crustacean, four local restaurants and nine Santa Cruz Mountain Wineries participated Sunday in the 8th Annual Crab and Wine Taste-Off.  Each chef served two crab appetizers, and patrons paired the crab creations with local wines of their choice.

Ballots were cast by consumers as well as professional judges in four different categories: “Best Dish Overall,” “Most Creative Dish,” “Best Presentation” and “Best Experience.” The winners will be named when all of the ballots are counted, sometime in the next two weeks. At this time, one of the four chefs will also win the title of “Crab Chef 2011.”

Capitola Patch stopped by three of the four restaurants to see what the chefs came up with.

Paradise Beach Grille

Paradise Beach Grille participated in the taste-off for the first time this year. One of Executive Chef Stephen Hanecak’s dishes transcended its “appetizer” status and turned the other dishes I tasted during the day into distant memories. 

Atop a bed of butter lettuce sat a lattice of grilled hearts of palm, supporting a generous tower of crab meat and a pinch of rainbow microgreens. It was garnished with an edible fuscia orchid.

The microgreens gave a peppery and welcome green kick to the dish, but the most pleasurable—and abundant—flavor of the dish was the sweet, delicate crab meat. Visually stunning and innovative, the dish’s exquisite main flavor was not overpowered by any one of the other ingredients, and certainly wasn't doused in mayonnaise as many crab “salads” tend to be. The mango-lime vinaigrette offered just a subtle tang.

“I sat down and was really touched with the crabs, the meat was so light and sweet,” said Hanecak, who wanted to create unique dishes that showcased the flavor of the crab.

Hearts of Palm are a traditional ingredient in French salads, but they are not usually grilled. 

“Once I grilled a piece, I couldn’t believe the flavor!” said Hanecak.

The butter lettuce was a nice reprieve from the baby green salad we all know so well. “I’m sick of the bitter field greens you have to douse in dressing to make them taste good,” said Hanecak.

Hanecak’s second appetizer, Crab and Sea Scallop Quenelles in a warm puddle of Crab and Lobster Veloute, were rich. Quenelles are a croquette-shaped 1950s appetizer.

“I wanted to bring it up to date and added lobster and scallops to the crab, which are both extremely flavorful and texture-driven seafoods that went well with the crab,” said Hanecak. 

Ma Maison

Over at Ma Maison  in Aptos, Chef Lionel Le Morvan served a traditional French Bisque with Mille-Fueille tout Vert, a salad of fresh Dungeness in wasabi dressing over sliced green apple and avocado, topped with a pinch of caviar. Fresh baked bread and herbed butter was delicious dipped in the bisque, especially while waiting for it to cool. Although the bisque did not contain any actual chunks of crab meat, it was rich and briny with a strong flavor of crab, and not over-laden with cream.

Lionel’s bisque was back by popular demand. “I made the bisque last year, and too many people called me to make it again,” said Lionel. The crab salad was inspired by a wasabi-crab combination Lionel tasted in Paris, where he owns a seafood restaurant, Le Divellec.

“I tried the crab alone, and wasn’t that impressed," said Jennifer Johnston, participating in the taste-off for the first time. "But when I took a taste of the crab with the apple and avocado, all together it was the perfect bite."

Cafe Cruz

Meanwhile Cafe Cruz chef and owner Steve Wilson served up his own version of Crab Bisque with a dollop of basil oil and Crab Guacamole, both containing generous amounts of crab.

“I’m a big guacamole fan, but I’ve never thought to put crab in it," said patron Delicia Bloyer as she enjoyed her appetizer and wine at the Cafe Cruz Bar. "There are big chunks of crab in here, which makes it so flavorful.”

The guacamole was served with house-made tortilla chips coated in paprika. 

Patrons who tasted the bisque at Ma Maison and Cafe Cruz were divided by which one was better—although the chunks of crab meat in the Cafe Cruz soup won over several tasters. 

The brainchild of Shannon Flynn, the taste-off is sponsored by the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association, which includes 74 wineries between Half Moon Bay and Watsonville.

“The idea was to combine local fisherman with restaurants in the area so they are both helping each other out, while promoting our local wineries,” said Flynn. “Restaurants are kind of dead this time of year, too, and it happens to be crab season, so it seemed appropriate.”

While Capitola-Soquel Patch didn't make it to Sanderlings at the Seascape Resort, tasters there raved about the open-faced bruschetta with Dungeness crab.

The event is gaining momentum each year. All four restaurants sold out early on Sunday.

“It’s really exciting to sell out, especially in this economy," Flynn said. "Our local wineries are exceptional, and I think people are starting to realize it.”