Entries tagged with 'seafood'
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Photograph courtesy of Phillip Foss Anya Von Bremzen recently wrote a piece in Food & Wine inquiring whether, with all the high end chefs slumming at the low end these days, we really need the pomp and circumstance of jacket-required, high-end fine dining anymore. She’d started thinking that we didn’t, but then a meal at Laurent Gras’ super sleek seafood boutique L20 threw her in a tailspin. I can’t say I haven’t pondered the same thing many a time after a gross of cider glazed pork rinds and fish stew at Paul Kahan’s Publican or a perfectly roast chicken at Rob and Allison Levitt’s Mado here in Chicago. After all, after getting full on fabulous, though rustically prepared, tasty...
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Society for the Appreciation of the Lowly Tinned Sardine No longer will you roam the vast world of sardines unaware of each can's potential deliciousness. Society for the Appreciation of the Lowly Tinned Sardine (or S.A.L.T.S.) is a blog dedicated to reviewing canned sardines, with the occasional wine or beer pairing. Ratings are given on a zero- to five- tin scale with comments on texture and flavor. Related Where's Our Wall of Sardines? Eating for Two: How Do You Love Sardines, Tell Me All the Ways Dinner Tonight: Deviled Sardines...
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Dim sum in these parts has basically jumped the shark. While we’re no Vancouver or San Francisco, we have a couple of really solid options, Phoenix and Shui Wah. Problem is like every brunch spot in the city, they’re so popular, you usually spend more time getting jostled by other fanny pack clad patrons waiting for a seat in the lobby than you do eating. As a result, my dim sum consumption is pretty much in line with my green leafy vegetable consumption, which is to say, pretty much zero. Last Sunday, though, I pulled myself out of bed, won the culinary lotto, and found myself with only a five-minute wait at Shui Wah. Shui Wah is home to...
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While we're all very familiar with the sustainable agriculture and farm-to-table movements, sustainable seafood has gotten lost in the shuffle. With all the sushi Americans consume each year, you'd think there would be more concern for the history of how sashimi gets to your table and what's done to the environment in the process. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, "Sustainable seafood is from sources, either fished or farmed, that can maintain or increase production into the long-term without jeopardizing the affected ecosystems." It's easy to go uninformed about your fish if you don't ask questions. Most sushi restaurants don't provide specific origins, and asking a chef can be intimidating but might be the only way...
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Fish is a big deal in Asia. The older generations can tell, at a taste, if the fish presented to them was wild caught or farm-raised. More remarkably, they can tell if the fish had been gaily swimming just prior to being cooked, or if it had been bottom-up for hours. This super palate can be quite the annoyance, especially when everyone else around the table is starving. A highly exacting uncle of mine has a reputation for sending fish that’s not screamingly fresh back to the kitchen with a caustic “Please, have some.” I love him dearly, but I make it a point of having a pre-meal meal before dining with him. My stomach has rumbled through one...
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Photograph from clgregor on Flickr The French seafood industry just can't get a break. First a violent herpes outbreak killed an estimated 80 percent of France's baby oysters, and now authorities fearing contamination by a poisonous microalgae have banned the sale and consumption of Arcachon Bay's oysters. Oyster producers, up in arms, are threatening to sue the government for permitting the bay to become polluted, reports the Independent. But after several French beaches were invaded by poisonous algae and jellyfish this summer, scientists have suggested that a rise in water temperature due to global warming may be the culprit. The Independent suggests an easy test for raw oysters: "If an oyster is open, tap the shell. It should close right...
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Cinco de Mayo is a day of national pride for Mexicans around the world, commemorating Mexico’s victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. We join in the celebration with our favorite Mexican food and drink. Photographs by blair christensen and Nick Kindelsperger Essentials: Fish Tacos: A dish a competent and intuitive cook can put together without a recipe. Dinner Tonight: Seafood Salad Tacos: The easiest taco recipe this side of opening up a packet of “Mexican” seasoning, but healthier and tastier. Southern California Fish Taco Crawl: When in Rome, eat spaghetti, and when in SoCal, inhale the fish tacos. Best Fish Tacos in San Diego: Part two of the Southern California fish taco crawl,...
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Oahu's North Shore is known for its big waves, but I went there for its big shrimp. After spending the morning frolicking in a Lost filming location, we found just what were looking for at the legendary Giovanni's White Shrimp Truck: shrimp. Lots of it. Drowned in garlic and butter....
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The Grocery Ninja leaves no aisle unexplored, no jar unopened, no produce untasted. Creep along with her below, and read her past market missions here. I know it’s only April, but this may be my food find of the year. Tiny, freshwater crabs—each barely two inches across—are soused with water, sprinkled with Kosher salt, and stuck live in the fridge. Hours later, they’re skillfully pressed and prodded to extract a grainy, coral paste that Pinoys like to mix with freshly steamed white rice, its richness cut through with a generous squirt of calamansi juice—a poor (or busy) man’s paella, if you will. The thing is, I’m not positive what the gorgeously creamy, salty, slightly tangy stuff is. My bottle says...
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The first time I spotted the enormous and bloated-looking phallic clam geoduck (pronounced "gooey duck") in a supermarket in Chinatown, I thought, "How the hell do people eat that thing?" After watching Mike Rowe on the Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs prepare geoduck sashimi, I now know. And will have nightmares of the elongated skin being pulled off the meat. Join the fun! After the jump!...
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