Soon You’ll Be Able to Buy Live Dungeness Crab Fresh Off the Boat at Fisherman’s Wharf

Excellent news for Dungeness crab fans: On Tuesday, the city’s Port Commission voted to allow the sale of whole live crabs from boats at Fisherman’s Wharf, per the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s a one-year pilot program that wholesalers aren’t thrilled about — but marks the end of San Francisco’s port being the only one in California that didn’t allow fishermen to sell their crabs directly to consumers. John Barnett, president of the San Francisco Crab Boat Owners Association, said at least one fisherman was previously taking his boat to Half Moon Bay to sell his crab directly to customers, but also says he expects less than a half dozen boats to participate in the San Francisco program at launch.

The change will start with the upcoming commercial crabbing season, which was supposed to kick off on November 15 but is on hold to protect endangered whales and sea turtles from getting entangled in crab pot lines. The local season has been pushed back until at least November 22, when that risk will be evaluated again, so it’s not looking good for crab for Thanksgiving. [SF Chronicle]

East Bay barbecue matriarch Mary Everett dies at at 65

Mary Everett, the force behind 47-year-old restaurant Everett & Jones BBQ in Berkeley, died on September 25 due to complications related to COVID-19, according to SFGate. Berkeleyside reported the death first. Beyond being the proprietor of a well-loved family-run barbecue business, Everett was also known for being generous (she hosted an annual toy drive, for example) and “like a second mother to everybody that knew her,” her son Terrell Cotton told Berkeleyside. Everett was unvaccinated, according to reporting from the Chronicle. [Berkeleyside]

There’s a Horn Barbecue cookbook coming in April

Award-winning pitmaster Matt Horn is releasing his first cookbook in April 2022. Called Horn Barbecue: Recipes and Techniques from a Master of the Art of BBQ, it’s available for presale now via Amazon and will offer both home-cook friendly versions of restaurant recipes and some personal recipes from the chef.

Oprah (still) loves Bay Area food products

Oprah’s annual gift guide dropped last week and, once again, features a few Bay Area food products — for example, Pleasanton’s Elegant Brie company and English muffins from Napa Valley’s Model Bakery, as the Mercury News points out. And listen, we know we’re biased but if you’re going to shop local, Eater SF’s holiday gift guide has some pretty excellent suggestions too.

Update: November 11, 2021, 12:20 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect that Mary Everett died on September 25, 2021.