YOU MISSED THE OYSTERS, SOON YOU’LL GET CRABS

In case you missed it, New York Oyster Week was a celebration of the oyster's considerable and extraordinary role in the history, culture, cuisine, economy and ecology of New York.  Each September, New York Oyster Week presents opportunities to gather and enjoy oysters in exciting and engaging events of all sizes and shapes. Events are created to cater to the tastes and geographies of enthusiasts and the curious alike. The Rockaways held its first Oyster Fest on September 18^th on Beach 116^th Street. 

London Lennie’s took part at this fest holding a daily Slurp-off competition culminating in a Slurp-Off All Star Championship during the Oyster Bar Bash.  The other half of the Oyster week experience took place in an impressive collection of distinguished New York City restaurants including London Lennie’s. Located at 66-88 Woodhaven Blvd. in Rego Park this well-known restaurant has been owned by the Barnes family since 1959.   

I popped in there to speak with Mark Connery, who has been their General Manager for the last 11 years.  We first chatted about the oysters of which they normally have 8 different ones daily and changing each day.  They have a fish buyer who goes to the market and chooses the best.  If you sidle up to the bar, you can view each of the group of oysters surrounded by crushed ice.  “I wouldn’t recommend getting oysters that are already shucked”, said Mark.  

Oysters come from both the East and West Coast. On this particular day the raw bar menu had: Conway Royals (PEI); Blackberry Point (PEI); Onset (MA); Rocky Nook (MA); Standish Shore (MA), Wild Wellfleet (MA): and Glidden Bay XL, (ME).   I found the Conway to be briny and salty, but fine.  The only one that I didn’t care for was the Glidden Bay in its brininess.   It’s the waters that the oysters are taken from that determine their taste.  The size of the oyster does not determine the flavor.  

The local Blue Point from Long Island is quite popular. These and ones from Virginia are used for many of their cooked Oyster Specials such as the creamy oyster stew that has a slight kick of cayenne. It is served with the original recipe oyster crackers.  Would you expect anything else?  Then there was the Grilled Oysters with fresh herb, garlic, butter, romano cheese and seasoned bread crumbs.  Chef Jeff told me that he makes use of large and meaty oysters as they hold up better when cooked. 

Enough with the oysters, let’s get to their yearly Crabfest.  You can’t miss knowing when it’s happening as a huge blown up crab sits upon the roof, let alone the displayed banners.  It begins during the middle of October.

 

Alaska tells you when you can go out into their waters to get the famous Alaskan King Crabs.   They control the quota as well.  Mark says that the ones in Dutch Harbor are not as salty as some of the other locations as the processing does not happen in salt water.  You can see view them in a tank located at the retail area.  When purchased, you get the entire crab.  If you want the crab legs, they are pre-cooked and frozen, like any other restaurant.  

My favorite is the Dungeness Crab, also from the West Coast.  They are large and unlike King Crabs, there is much meat in the body.  A similar crab which can be passed off as is the East Coast Jonah Crab.  Florida has its Stone Crabs of which people tend to eat the claws and knuckles. They are also pre-cooked and frozen.  I don’t have much patience for the small Maryland crabs of which the pre-packed meat tends to be used in making crab cakes.  I do love them when they are “soft-shell” as I can eat the whole crab without having to pick out the meat. 

Let’s get back to the retail area.  Here is the place to buy sushi grade fish such as tuna, salmon, and yellowtail.  Buy it when you expect to eat it the same day.  It is not necessarily the same fish used at sushi restaurants of which many are first treated and frozen.  Put it in the frig over ice. Have it sashimi style or create your own maki rolls.  

FEAST ON FISH AT FAIRWAY

Off to Fairway Market in Douglaston to explore the Italian tradition of the Feast of Seven Fishes.  Fugetaoutit!  I'm seeking out fish other than the shellfish ilk starting with the appetizer counter.  I'm not sure if there is a difference in taste from a smoke whitefish chub or the full size white fish.  Already had a chub...in fact I grew up on them.  I tasted some of the fish salads...herring, baked salmon and white fish.  Prefer to make my own with a little mayo and fresh dill.

How about a jar of Taramosalata, a Greek fish roe whipped up with oil?

Challah bread and organic cream cheese is a must with these. 

 I then mosey over to the seafood counter to find that there is a large variety of fresh (not thawed out), whole, the thawed out kind and both wild and farmed. 

And here is the sign about the Feast of the 7 Fishes.

So what did I get?  A whole bronzino that I had them filet.  Already fileted: Grey sole, Flounder, and  Striped Bass.  Not sure how I'll be cooking it all.  Pan fry...broil.  Fish and chips?

Are there any special potatoes to use?  I saw a couple of packages of Vinny's. There seems to be a lot of produce from Vinny.  One was a small creamy Yukon potato, the other a small creamy white potato.  Does fish and potato salad count?  Mashed potatoes?  Hmmm...roasted potatoes.

Got a few organic lemons (I used some zest for a fish dish), organic cilantro, dill, horseradish, and Roland Panko bread crumbs. The bread crumbs come in three "flavors": plain, whole wheat and Italian style.  What's in the Italian style: white pepper, parsley leaves, Italian Seasoning (whatever that means), salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.

 Roland brand had a few other products that I wanted to try out.  Spreads.  Dulce de leche and a lingonberry jam. 

Fairway has their ready made coleslaw fixings.  I combine that with mayo, some salt to bring out the moisture of the cabbage, and sugar.  Let it stay in the frig for about 12 hours. That's it! 

Since I purchased the fresh fish, I wanted to make sure that I froze the portions properly.  I found a roll of Reynolds Freezer Paper and a box of zip lock freezer bags.  Yes, they even sell light bulbs!

Well, I did buy shrimp....frozen.  Taste test between two companies that each have frozen shrimp with no chemicals.  More about this another time.  Fairway has their own brand...cooked, shelled with the tail attached and with shell and deveined.  Does contain salt. The other brand is called Sea Touch Seafood which is packed in a block of ice and contains no salt. 

I finally tried the Apple Vinegar Drink.  OMG!  The apple part makes it sweet so it doesn't taste like apple cider vinegar.

Speaking of sweet, I looked for some dessert items. Fairway has a new item called Belberry Chocolate Sauce...other Belberry sauces as well.  Got one with fig and one with clementines.  They taste delicious but much too sweet for me.  I know I'm most likely supposed to put in on bread, considering that they are billed as "spreads".

I thought....how about ice cream?  I usually get Graeter's but I wanted to try out a few other brands none of which were chocolate.  Mr. Green Tea Ginger. Definite pieces of ginger. Would probably compliment a fish dish. "Hello grey sole. You are looking mighty tasty. Love your color."   Steve's Coffee with cinnamon...coconut milk instead of regular milk.  Gelato Fiasco Madagascar Vanilla Bean.  Of the three I enjoyed Mr. Green Tea Ginger the most.  I even experimented with placing drizzles of the new Fairway ginger flavored Vinegar Drink atop.   For not being something chocolate I applaud the combination!!

Another challenge.  Fairway brownie vs Fairytale brownie. Fudge-y.  But doesn't hold a chocolate covered candle to Fairytale.  I guess that is why the Fairytale website is  www.brownies.com  

VIRGINIA BEACH: AQUARIUM

After the Dolphin cruise, we headed for the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, who actually sponsored the cruise. The aquarium is ranked among the top 10 marine science and aquarium facilities in the US offering 800,000 gallons of aquarium and over 300 hands on exhibits. There are two buildings to view of which we only had time to view the main one. Although I was able to see sharks, they were not the New York Sharks. There were lots of turtles and a new cuttlefish that was just getting used to people watching it. I got to pet some stingray. I wish I did have time to go to the other building just to see the otters as well as checking out the IMAX movie. You can check it all out on www.virginiaaquarium.com

Nancy, Barb and I all took photos.

McCormick & Schmick's revisited

I went back to McCormick & Schmick's in Manhattan to talk with Executive Chef Chris Sellati about fish preparation. He first displayed some of the fresh fish of the day as the menu changes for each meal, to make sure that the fish is always fresh. Here are some photos of the Mediterranean Sea Bronzini that arrives already gutted and ready to "stuff" for preparation. Here is what little is needed to stuff it and here is a photo of how it is served, with this delicious sauce, rice and vegetables. The fish is broiled and thus the skin, already edible, gives just a bit of a crunch. Bronzini has been deboned as well, thus other than the tail and head, the whole fish goes down just fine. Mediterranean Sea Bronzino, by the way, is in the sea bass family. It does not have a "fishy" taste and is more on the flaky side vs tuna or swordfish.