Local commercial fishing for Dungeness crab has been indefinitely postponed. As set by California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, the commercial crabbing season for the waters between Mendocino and Monterey was scheduled to kick off on Nov. 15. However, aerial surveys performed by state officials in mid-October suggest that humpback whales and leatherback sea turtles are still migrating through the region, which means they’d be at risk of entanglement in crab pot lines. Officials expect to reassess the situation on November 22, a date that likely means no local crab on Bay Area tables for some time after that, Bodega Bay fisherman Dick Ogg tells the SF Chronicle. “There’s no way we can make Thanksgiving,” he said.
Hot breakfast pop-up Cracked is back in Oakland after a two year hiatus. Tim “Buna” Babilla’s egg sandwich pop-up has hopped around the East Bay since 2016, attracting long lines for items like his five-ingredient sando on a pandesal roll. He put the business on pause a couple years ago, but is back in the game from noon-5 p.m. Saturday at the Unkle Morty’s monthly artist flea market inside the Mosswood Chapel mortuary at 3630 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland.
Pleasanton’s Elegant Brie company just got some love from Oprah. The media mogul typically launches her “Favorite Things” gift guide as the holidays near, and this year Elegant Brie’s brie en croute made the cut, the Bay Area News Group reports. The $59 (or so) appetizer is a pound of brie stuffed with a variety of fillings and covered in pastry, then shipped frozen to its recipient. “The garlic, basil, and pine nut version is great, and the truffle option is beyond fantastic,” Oprah purportedly said of the offering, which can be ordered online via Goldbelly.
Quick bites
- Oakland natives, newcomers and other Bay Area residents tell reporter Tyla Brown what they love about Oakland food culture. [Oakland Voices]
- June’s Pizza might be closed down by Alameda County health officials, but the pop-up businesses it spawned are still trucking. [SF Chronicle]
- Marykate McGoldrick, the founder of new Berkeley bakery Sesame, says she chooses what to make based on “What’s tasting the best — then I go from there.” [East Bay Express]
