The Food at SANDABS
Sandabs can “bring home the fish and cook it up in a pan” ...
Sandabs mission is bring to its patrons the very best fresh, seasonal, sustainable seafood from local and not so local sources. The menu features Davenport, ocean raised Abalone, Sandabs, Fresh Oysters, Mussels, Lobster (try the Lobster or Shrimp 3 cheese macaroni and cheese), seasonal Halibut and Salmon as well as White Sea Bass. Or savor the sweet white and pink Caribbean Shrimp or a Seafood Sauté that mixes it all up. In the late Fall, live Alaskan King Crab is flown in straight from the FV/North sea in Alaska. Later in the season, the oh-so-addictive Nantucket Bay Scallops (the sweetest and most tender you ever ate) are flown in directly from the Nantucket fisherman. Live, Chesapeake Bay Soft Shell Crabs come later in the Spring. Sign up on our e-blast list to learn what the seasonal best is (email us for our e-blast newsletter).
Sandabs was the long time vision of Greg Young. Greg was a commercial fisherman and previous wine broker for the Monterey County area. He envisioned a vertical market where fresh fish caught by him or his fellow fisherman could be eaten in the restaurant, or taken home to cook. He also envisioned retail outlets for fresh fish through Farmer’s markets and more recently the Community Supported Fisheries.
Greg and Larry Beiman
Captain Greg going fishing
It is a familiar scene to see Greg bringing in iced coolers of fresh fish to be cut and portioned or to hear him on the phone with an incoming fisherman discussing the purchase of 20 pounds of Sandabs. You can also catch him in the very early morning on the docks in the Santa Cruz harbor buying fresh caught fish or selecting 3-4 hundred pounds of angry, pinching Dungeness crab for the live tanks at the restaurant. Sandabs is one of the few places you can buy LIVE Crab. Or try the “All You Can Eat Crab” when the season is in full swing.
Captain Greg catches Monterey Bay Sardines and Herring to home-can and pickle. During Salmon season, when these now elusive fish can be caught, he makes home cured Lox. In Albacore season, he catches and creates smoked Albacore dip. Other times he catches Sea Bass and Black and Lingcod. Sometimes the offering is rare and unique. If it lives in the sea, Greg will conjure up some delicious dish from it.