Blowfish Tails - THE NON-POISONOUS KIND!

Non -poisonous Long Island blowfish vagabond slowly and sweetly around Montauk when it the water is warm enough for their little tiny bodies to avoid a chill. They are the cutest little bubbles of love until BAM they puff up full of water in a savage display of colors and spikes! Predators unlucky enough to swallow them before they expand can choke on their quills. Blowfish tails are also known as the "chicken of the sea" because they are super easy to prepare and super mild tasting. I recommend frying the tails lightly and serving them as an adorable, seasonal appetizer!

100 % yield and reasonably priced

Aposematism is a secondary defense mechanism warning predators that their brightly colored, foul tasting or stinkypotential prey is poisonous or nasty to eat (think: skunks and poisonous dart frogs). Certain species of the Tertradontidae family, a.k.a. blowfishare indeed deadly and brightly colored examples of aposematism. The Japanese Fugublowfish which literally translates to "River Pig" is second in toxicity only to the Golden Poison Dart Frog. The cleaning and serving of the notorious "River Pig" is only attempted by Japanese sushi-masters who know how to remove with expert care the main poison glands of the animal including the liver and ovaries. Fuguis sold exclusively to master fugu chefs in the Tsukiji Fish Market and is the only food the Emperor of Japan is forbidden to consume. Safety first!

Tetrodotoxin is the deadly chemical found in fuguas well as various different worms, insects and even the infamous blue ringed octopus of Japanese tidal pools. If you happen to come into contact with said toxin you can expect to experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, paralysis, lack of speech and ultimately death by asphyxiation. Currently the only treatment available to victims of TTX (street abbreviation for tetrodotoxin) is life support until the fit has passed and later a strict diet of charcoal to absorb and pass the remaining particles. Scientists are working on an antidote to TTX as we speak so that we can all consume fuguwith the Emporer of Japan and live happily ever.

Long Island Swordfish

Quick shout-out to our Long Island Swordfish lovers:

Summer is almost over so ride it out like a wave in Ditch Plains.

Swordfish keeps the Booty-licious.

Golden Tilefish 2/22/11

Golden Tilefish: The Golden Child

Did you miss me last week? You did!?! Awwww, I missed you too. Now STOP the tear-fest already because I am back with a whole new fish species to talk about, and a whole new 'tude.
This week we will explore the benefits of purchasing Golden Tilefish from Long Island.
The Golden Tilefish is a long and sexy gold-flecked aquatic beast. It haunts the waters of the North American Eastern Seaboard from as far north as New England all the way down to the Gulf of Mex. Consider it the Goldschlagger of fish (unless, of course, that particular firewater repulses you due to an unpleasant night from hell back in high school)!

Golden Tile has acquired a shameful rep over the years for having too much mercury. Honestly I don't know what the big deal is about a little temporary insanity. Angry fits, memory loss, low self esteem, loss of self control; doesn't this just sound like another day behind the grill? Anyway, if the whole "heavy metal" thing was freakin' your deak, just relax. Unlike its southern fratelli, Long Island Tile has UNTRACEABLE levels of mercury.

Razor Clams to the Rescue 1/04/11

RAZOR CLAMS TO THE RESCUE

Hoping to add some punch to your January menu? I don't blame you. Things can get dreary and bleak after the holiday craze comes to an end. I'm talking about the short days and long cold nights all alone in your frigid apartment (stop being a miser and turn the heat up already). There you are frozen, stiff as a popsicle, crying to your long distance girlfriend via "Face-time" on your new iphone-4 she bought you as a belated-Hanukkah / sorry-I-couldn't-help-myself-but-cheat-on-you-with-the-sexy-new-upstairs-neighbor-from-Italy present:

"WAHHHHHHH!! How could you!?!, I thought I could get over this, but I SOOOOOO CAN'T you heathen wench!! I don't care how many ipods you buy me, nothing will make up for you being an icy, mean and heartless devil-woman!"

Then you hit the street and decide that in order to punish that beastly knave for her wrong doings you will drink yourself into a frenzy. You look to the right and see Joe's Saloon. "Perfecto" you say to yourself, this will do. You order 18 shots of whiskey and 18 Pabst Blue Ribbons. You order 18 rounds for everyone in the bar. You max out your credit card and they kick you out onto the frozen sidewalk. You are drunk, sobbing and weak as a woodchuck. Although you know you should go home and sleep until April, you utilize your Iphone to buy a one-way ticket to your girlfriend's apartment in L.A (Brilliant idea, by the way). You hitch-hike to JFK airport and somehow make it there without getting mugged or killed. You board the aircraft, promptly barf on the red-head in the next seat over, and pass out. When you wake up you have landed in L.A. and you have no idea why or how you got there. Still behaving like an alcohol induced zombie, you cab it to your soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend's place and start ringing her doorbell incessantly. When she doesn't respond, you climb the fire-escape, perch on the awning of the small eco-friendly laundry-mat below her second floor apartment window and scare the living daylights out of her. The cops come, you get arrested, bada-bing-bada-boom, you are in jail.  Don't let this happen to you. Buy some razor clams and don't lose your mind to the "winter-blahs".

Actual Important Facts Below:

Razor clams are from Long Island. They are hand dug from the sand by clam-diggers. This must be done when the tide is very low; hence an abundance of razor clams around the full moon. The speed at which a razor clam reburies itself is very important to the clam digger because the faster it burrowS, the faster the digger must dig. Razor clams are "cold-blooded" organisms. Low temperatures make the clam sluggish and slow, that's why clam diggers love months that end in "R".

Clam Digging Nuns in Long Island