Cracked Crab is my seafood fantasy come true.

Many years ago my dad knew the owner of one of those really ghetto seafood places on the Redondo Pier. I'm talking newspaper-spread-out-over-the-wooden-table, sit-at-the-bench-with-a-bib and eat-while-fighting-off-the-seagulls kind of ghetto. And since dad knew the owner, the seafood came like a tsunami and I was spoiled beyond belief. Unfortunately that place closed down years ago and I've been at a loss for a hard core, bang-on-the-crab-with-a-mallet restaurant.

But all it took is a road trip out to Morro Bay to solve my problem! Cracked crab is right off the 101 in the sunny and relaxed town of Pismo Beach, CA. About 180 miles north of Los Angeles.

So, the Cracked Crab is supposedly a lot like seafood places on the East coast. Their speciality is the $68 Big Bucket for Two. You choose three kinds of crab / seafood from the list, and certain upgrades are available, i.e. it's $3 extra for Alaskan Bairdi, $10 to go to a WHOLE Dungeness Crab. The Bairdi is definitely worth it, I also went with the whole dungeness crab and the local rock crab. They cook it in a pot with corn, sausages and potatoes, and it's all dumped onto the clean butcher paper on your table.

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The menu changes and is printed daily depending on what's fresh. The quality is top notch and the service is wonderful. Mike the owner likes to come out and chat and I had the pleasure of speaking with him for a little bit. The meal is exhausting, it took us an hour and a half to eat the three kinds of crab. It takes concentration, creative problem solving skills, manual dexterity and a good amount of determination to pick through the massive amount of crabs. But hey, if you've made it this far out of town, you might as well go for the whole nine yards. This place is quite a find for me and I can't wait to come back.

Photos by Kevin Cheng for LAist.com

Cracked Crab
751 Price St.
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
(805)773-2722