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This list changes every year and reflects the quality of beaches along USA. 21st year of this rating, in 2011, won Siesta Beach in Florida. Accidently, I was travelling around Florida in 2011. Therefore, I didn’t miss the chance to see the North America's most beautiful beach and one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It was an amazing experience. The beach was fantastic. Texture of the sand resembled powder. It was crunching under my feet and it was white as snow, so I felt as if I walked on an icing sugar. Dr. Beach knew what he was talking about.

Crab & Oyster Bar

People who know me, know that discovering a new country includes for me tasting local specialities in local restaurants. I did a research and found that place where we were supposed to go was “Captain Curt's“ Crab & Oyster Bar. The name suggests that the restaurant focuses on meals of crabs and oysters. Last time I ate crab in New Zealand at my friend Esteban. Esteban catches New Zealand Crabs (Metacarcinus novaezelandiae). At Captain Curt's I expected Alaska crabs. I was looking forward to it. We walked from the beach to the restaurant, which I'd rather call pub. There were massive wooden tables and photographs of famous people who visited this pub. They tap beer and staff was not too obtrusive in here. From the menu I found out that the meals were affordable. Without hesitation I ordered local specialities: “Clam Chowder“ and “Deadliest Catch“. Clam chowder is a dense clam soup, often served with bread or in a loaf of bread. It is a classic fishermen's food. This restaurant is proud to win a worldwide competition at making clam soups. Their “New England Clam Chowder“ won the international contest in Newport, Rhode Island. I am familiar with clam chowders, there I hoped that the cook was in a good shape. Main course “Deadliest Catch“ is called after series from Discovery Channel. In this show one can watch simultaneously a few fishing boats catching crabs in Bering Sea. Picture of a captain of one of these boats hangs in this pub. His signature and hand-written text suggest that he is a fan of this place and recommends local specialities.

Clam Chowder a Deadliest Catch

The chowder was served immediately. Dense and hot soup served in a bowl smelled and tasted nicely. I appreciated decent amount of clams. I imagined fishermen eating chowder that filled and warmed them up after a shift. A year before I tried a clam chowder from several restaurants in San Francisco at Fisherman's Wharf. When I compared it, I had to admit that at Captain Curt's they made it delicious. If I hadn’t had ordered main course, I would have finished the chowder. I had to spare some space for crabs, though.

The local speciality is “Deadliest Catch”, a triple combo, consisting of: legs of Kamchatka Crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus), legs of Snow Crab (Chionoecetes opilio) and tail of Canadian Lobster (Homarus americanus). From zoological point of view these two crabs are not real crabs, but so called spider crabs. This family of crabs lives in cold waters of north seas and grows to remarkable sizes. They have long legs and claws. Some can reach claw-span of 90 to 120 cm. Overall width of this crab can be over three meters. To fill up one person is a few segments of one leg or claw sufficient. They are being caught abundantly, because their meat is praised in gastronomy.

Crabs in pub

We got a big tray of nicely arranged crab and lobster pieces. Everything was cooked fresh. We also got cooked potatoes, fries and different sauces as a side dish. I ordered a pint of local beer, because it fitted the pub-like ambiance. In addition, you eat with bare hands, so it is informal. Lobster was easy to eat. The meat was soft and tasty. I dipped it into sauce that reminded me of our tartar sauce. I washed it down with the beer. It had no foam and was extremely cold, so the taste was not pronounced. I had to use tools for eating crabs, a claw cracker and a needle to gouge out the meet. To break the shell was not easy at all. But the tasty meat was a big reward. I expected that one cannot be full out of a crab. I found out that there is plenty of meat in legs of big spider crabs. You have to break the shell patiently, though. The beer warmed up to the temperature I could enjoy and fitted with the crab very well. In about 45 minutes I was finished with all legs. Tray was covered with empty shell pieces. Leaning against my seat I summarized. I ate well. I appreciated that crabs were prepared naturally. They were cooked in water with vegetables and spiced merely. Cook let the taste of these unusual creatures step up. I paid the bill. We paid much less than what we got. I bought a glass with logo as a souvenir. After a nice dinner we walked by a moonlight along one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I knew it was worth the detour!

My rating:

The author does not visit rated restaurants at the invitation, but chooses them himself. Impressions and evaluation are based on single one visit. All expenses are covered by the author.

Text and photos: Dodi Fodor