There aren't too many things to get excited about in the bleak early months of the year, especially in terms of food. In fact there are only two: tangerines, and crab. I don't think a tangerine feed would be particularly interesting, but I can tell you that a crab feed certainly is!
Saturday we headed back to Hollister for the annual crab feed at the Portuguese hall, where my godfather and cousin, along with several other brave souls, served crab to the obnoxious, easily-excitable masses. We all gathered in the basement of the hall, clad in our couture CRAB bibs, each talking louder than the next in an effort to be heard over the din of animated Portagees.
It was the first year for Brittany, Nathan, and Nathan's friend Scott, and they were perhaps the most enthralled, their anticipation embodying a mixture of terrible excitement and maniacal commitment.
We dug in like fiends that had eaten nothing but socks for weeks, competitions were had for who could pull the biggest hunk of meat, and Nathan even cracked the occasional claw with his teeth. It was a veritable feast, and a damn good time.
Upstairs, back in the somewhat real world where one's fingers only faintly smell like shellfish, there was still more entertainment to enjoy. The evening had started with an adorable doo-wop band, led by a man who grew up next to my mom's family in Gilroy. If I have half the amount of pizazz and life-affirming energy as he when I'm in my seventies, I will consider mine a life well-lived.
Later in the evening, the DJ came on and played fun favorites like YMCA and Gangnam Style, as well as a few country tunes, which got some serious Electric Slide going. When the pop music came on, I somehow managed to get the whole gang on the dancefloor (including my mom-what?!), and we spawned a dance circle that the whole hall seemed to join into (was that my dad getting low in the middle of the circle? Did Mrs. Henry just request Pitbull?). It was hilarious, unadulterated fun.
Thanks again to the Gomes for having us!
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