According to the New York Times, raw tuna lovers were undeterred by the news that some of their favorite sushi bars were serving tuna containing what some would construe as unhealthy levels of mercury.

As we pointed out yesterday, the story in yesterday's paper raised many more questions than answers. I think consumers are getting hip to the fact that virtually every food can be shown to be harmful if consumed in excess. Common sense will rule the day, I hope.

Apparently it did yesterday. I called the kitchen at Esca, which sells many different kinds of tuna in many forms, and I got this report:

According to chef de cuisine Katie O'Donnell, Esca sold plenty of yellowfin tuna carpaccio, completely sold out of a cooked red albacore tuna entrée, and sold one order of bigeye tuna toro. (It should be noted that mercury levels are not affected by tuna preparation—whether cooked or served raw).

In apparent reaction to the article, the pasta with the tuna bolognese sauce went largely unordered.

Esca is not currently serving bluefin tuna, which some researchers have found to have the highest levels of mercury.

Photograph from r.g+ on Flickr