McDonald’s Latest Local Play Is New Crab Sandwich From SF Chef

Patricia Chang

Following the success of its Gilroy garlic fries, McDonald’s is trying to woo Bay Area local food lovers with a new regional item, something the chain has increasingly been doing lately. It’s a crab sandwich, and it was developed by none other than Finn Town chef/owner and Today Show regular Ryan Scott.

The final product, now being tested in San Jose, is made with snow crab meat salad mixed with diced celery and seasoned mayonnaise, romaine lettuce and tomato, and served on a toasted sourdough bun that’s been brushed with herbed butter.

We first heard that Scott was working on this local delicacy for the chain giant back in December, when he justified what could be perceived as a sell out to Eater:

This particular menu item is designed to capitalize on people’s love of a regional specialty by mass producing it for drive-through consumption — a play that will hopefully boost the Ryan Scott brand in the process, of course. A cynic might see it as a cheap marketing ploy, but Scott justifies it as a way to support the purveyors who will be getting an undeniably massive order.

“I’m from farm country, you know?” He says of his Central Valley hometown, where he cut his teeth cooking eggs at a franchise diner. “Ag [agriculture] was really big in my high school,” he continues, letting his blue collar work ethic shine through under the slick TV chef haircut. “My buddies couldn’t come to football practice because they had to milk cows with their dad.” And that connection is all he needs to defend a project that a more self-conscious chef might call selling out. “There’s a farmer out there that’s really happy about this sandwich.”

So for all those “crab farmers” out there, try this sandwich — though we’re not sure which locals this sandwich is helping, since it uses East Coast snow crab instead of a local variety.

The sandwich is available for now at four locations in San Jose (2191 Monterey Rd., 2699 Union Ave., 4838 San Felipe Rd., 3509 Homestead Rd.). And, there are almost 250 McDonald's in the Bay Area, so if the crab sandwich succeeds, expect to see it scuttling into every one of them later this year.

• Bay Area McDonald's Are Testing Gilroy Garlic Fries [ESF]
• Welcome to the Ryan Scott Show [ESF]