An Arm and a Leg for a Scallop.

Did somebody say SEA SCALLOPS? 

In this day and age prices are at RECORD HIGHS.

She loves her scallops, and she's got a BAD CASE of the GOUT.

Various factors have contributed to this gnarly price spike which will be passed along allllll the way to YOU the consumer. Limited supply of local sea scallops have pushed the price skyward and interestingly enough, the lasting effects of the tsunami and earthquake in Japan have made them a less aggressive contributor to the US Market.

By now you must be really tired of me bitchin' and carryin' on about high prices, natural disasters, climate change and saving the most endangered species of all, the fishermen. I don't blame you, I can be a real pain in the ass.

Just don't let this itty-bitty price-y thing-y get you down. The scallop cloud has a huge silver lining: local scallop fishermen are getting paid well for their harvest and WE LIKE THAT because we want them to stay in business.

Local Homeless gets paid in Sea Scallops.

If you find yourself in the shits, buy lobsters instead! Lobbie-Lobs are cheap right now, but remember Scallops Are Great and you should continue to eat them too.

Má Pêche

Last night was my 27th birthday. Since I am getting old and crusty, I wanted liven up the program by eating outside of my usual downtown routine. Sometimes uptown restaurants are too proper for my wild demeanor, white tablecloths and constant changing of silverware feel foreign. I wanted a sophisticated culinary experience with a twist of wackiness so I decided on David Chang's Má Pêche.

Má Pêche means "mother peach"in French and its concept is probably best described as Vietnamese-French fusion by way of local ingredients. The staff is cool and sweet, no uniforms in sight. 

I was warned that they had an impressive raw bar: 

Best Looking prize goes to the Hama Hama Oysters from Northern California

These New Jersey sea scallops are laced with coffee and some weird home-made nougatine encrustation. They were flamed-up by a young man wielding a torch behind the raw-bar:

A fresh, salad-y twist on Long Island Fluke:

Crispy vegetation and pickled fluke with driblets of Green Goddess Dressing.

Bev Eggleston's Pork in a spring roll with peanut sauce:

Lamb Tangine Corn Dawg: 

Les Famous Peconic Bay Scallops with Chili, Yuzu, Seaweed and some crispy sesame toppings that gave the plate a mind of it's own: 

Modern Edible Art

DESSERT FROM MILK BAR...

I recommend that you save some room because  Milk Bar desserts are irresistible. Crack Pie, as you can imagine, is highly addictive. The incredible Candy Bar Cake will kill you before you stop eating it. My new favorite dessert in the world is the B'Day Cake Ball.  I have no idea how they make this sh*t taste as good as it does, but god bless them.

BTW: They opened a Milk Bar in Williamsburg on Metropolitan @ Havemeyer

Nantuket Bays are back in town. Bouchot Mussles.

The bays are back in town.
Conveniently, the week after the holidays are over, the weather has decided to clear up.  Temperatures in the North East have risen and the bay scallops are back. Sans shrinkage and ready for consumption, get them now or forever hold your peace.
About Rain Closures:
Sometimes we have no Bouchot mussles, other times we have no New Zealand cockles. Why, you ask? Rain Closures. There is nothing we can do about this except stay strong and steadfast as we wait for the closure to end. When it rains a lot, a shellfish area may be contaminated by effluence (waste run-off from the land). In order to avoid the distribution of contaminated shellfish, such an area must be closed long enough for the animals to purge whatever they may have ingested during this time. Hang in there, you will get your beloved cockles soon enough. 
As former vice -president Hubert H. Humphery once said:
"Unfortunately, our affluent society has also been an effluent society."

Nantucket Bay Scallops, Hama Hama Oysters, Monkfish 11/09/10

Nantucket Bay Scallops in House.

Harvest season has officially begun for this native delicacy. Don't wait until it's too cold out to get your fill. Once air temperatures hit freezing the animals go into shock when they are removed from the sea. I love the Cape and Islands so much I might shed a tear, or try to memorize the first 20 pages of Moby Dick tonight when I get home. Read my poem:

The King of Nantucket

By Gabe Stommel

Friends he has a plenty;
Yacht club privileges are many.
Won't find him at the Chicken Box.
Knows where to dig for clam crops.
Accounts for every flower and fauna
Making his patronage to the Pacha Mama.
Bobbing and diving amidst the surf
Reigning over his sovereign turf.
From Madaket to Third Point, hear his roar
A sky of phosphorescence to explore.
Humanity perched atop his shoulder
Every day its cries sound bolder.
Seemingly his greatest dread
Fulfilling legends of the dead.
And he can't help but stop and think
Just in time to lift his drink
And raise his glass to history told
From the darkest corners of the ship's strong hold.
His ancestors whispering in his ear
Reminding him of prophecies near.
They tell him "Don't forget your roots!"
You still have time to fill those boots.
Now take a breath and watch the waves
Say a prayer for the good old days.
From the finest island in the sea,
He's real Nantucket Royalty.




Either way your customers know it's that time of year. Go to the market or go get a rake, some waders and a plane ticket to Nantucket.
http://www.flycapeair.com/ -> flights JFK to ACK
http://www.cabelas.com/ -> scalloping gear
Also, let's not forget the simple pleasures of the Holiday season: Nantay Bays are the best kind of scallops ever to wrap in bacon. 


In Other News: 

Although I like to consider myself a staunch North Easterner I will curmudgeonly admit that a couple of west coast oysters have caught my attention recently.

Barron Points: These oysters are sweet enough to make the remaining Kennedys want to try thier luck out west. Just Kidding! Who would ever leave this?

The Barron Point Oyster hails from Little Skookum Inlet, Washington State. The water here is not too salty, resulting in a mildly salty and sweet fatty oyster to be enjoyed by all! They are "Intertidally Grown" oysters raised in a low density environment both in grow out bags and in the sand on the beach. When you purchase these hearty bi-valves you are supporting a small family run operation.

Hama Hama: I once ate a raw, foot-long Hama Hama in one gulp. It was crazy but so worth it because now I have a segway into my Hama Hama spiel. Lucky for you and your customers, the ones we send you are not that big.
Hama Hama's are thick shelled, beach-grown oysters raised at the mouth of the Hama Hama River in Hood Canal, Washington State. They are grown from a mixture of hatchery raised and naturally collected spat that is seeded on the farm's beds. They take about two years to reach market size.  The slow growth factor adds to their amazing flavor: delicate with a mild, fruity aftertaste and only mildly salty.

CORRECTION: 

If I managed to befuddle you on the sustainability of Monkfish during last week's email, I apologize. The Monk is NOT being overfished.  Click on this link for proof:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/fishwatch/species/monkfish.htm
Also, FYI this is a great website to procure information regarding the sustainability of different fish species. Over and Out.