Oregon Crab Louie

Crab Louie, the word "Louie" is a whisper from a bygone era that holds more of a place for the sauce and even more to the origins of the dish "Crab a la Louie" that is well known for being a West Coast Salad of the Sea. There are three places with three different types of Crab Louie and they are San Francisco California, Portland Oregon, and Seattle Washington. For the traditionalists, the "Louis Dressing" remains the defining characteristic of what makes something an "A la Louie". There are those who specialize in variations of Louie Dressing, but Oregon had gone on to develop the dish in a way that had the seafood not interfere in its flavor from the strong louis sauce. The mid-century Classic Crab Louie at Portland's own "The Bohemian" had: lettuce, egg, tomato, crab, and pink Louis Dressing. Places that serve the classic dish are Jake’s Famous Crawfish (Portland, 1892), Gracie's Sea Hag (Depoe Bay, 1963), and Kyllo's Seafood Grill (Lincoln City).

The Oregon Claim, The Louis Dressing, and James Beard

The dish is the definition of a classic—a salad arranged on lettuce with eggs, tomatoes, and asparagus, with "Louis Dressing". James Beard believed the dressing was the holy text, and Portland, the city of his youth 1910s-1920s, held the definitive recipe. Beard, who would become the 'Dean of American Cookery,' grew up in Portland savoring this dish, establishing an emotional and historical link that no other city could truly claim. His later endorsements and recreation were an act of preservation, effectively crowning Portland’s version as the gold standard of a Crab Salad. The Bohemian frequently placed advertisements in the newspaper in the 1920s and 1930s, boasting about its "famous Crab Louis." The constant, repeated publication of this claim in the city’s major paper ensured that the dish became irrevocably synonymous with Portland's high-end dining scene.

The Bohemian

The Bohemian was Continental Classics that catered to a broader, post-war American palate — French technique applied to Pacific Northwest ingredients. The Crab Louie was a luxury item, but what it has been overshadowed by competing San Francisco claims. The Bohemian Louis Dressing was an emulsion of homemade mayonnaise, blended with an equal part plain yogurt for tang, chili sauce or ketchup for that signature pink hue, grated onion, a fiery dash of Tabasco sauce, and crucially, a stabilizing dose of whipped cream defined the Portland standard. 

An Ambiguous Old Fashioned Dish

San Francisco: The Early, Tainted Claim, is the most aggressive claimant, San Francisco’s origin story relies on operatic celebrity where the claim was that the dish was invented for opera star Enrico Caruso when he visited in 1904 or 1907 (Solari's Restaurant). Another claim involves a restaurant called "French Poodle Dog restaurant" where it is alleged Chef Louis Coutard invented the dressing. For Seattle, the Crab Louie is simply the necessary consequence of having the best crab right outside their door. The Portland Retort (via Beard) were that these claims, while older on paper, lack the emotional weight and gastronomic authority of James Beard. Due to the dressing becoming cheaper and the dish being seemingly outdated to youth the dish is not a household dish, but an old relic.

Modern Upgrades in Oregon