Tag Archives: seafood
Le Grand Colbert
If you have a fantasy version of a Parisian restaurant as a warm, inviting place with soaring ceilings, flattering lighting and fin-de-siecle decor, chances are it’s not your imagination at all, but an amalgamation of the many films shot at Le Grand Colbert. This gem of a restaurant served as the backdrop in Something’s Gotta Give, and like the best movie stars, it looks even better in person. (more…)
Puerto Rico Eats: The Luquillo Kiosks
Not far from the El Junque rainforest in Puerto Rico is a mecca of sorts for Puerto Rican street food. On the northeast coast, sun worshippers are drawn to the town of Luquillo and nearby Playa Fortuna for the long stretches of a beautiful public beaches. The only thing missing was a place to feed everyone, and so the kiosks of Luquillo sprang up, forming a ramshackle assortment of sheet metal and concrete structures between highway and beach. Flip flops, drinks in lopped off coconuts, and dozens of fried snacks are all for sale in mom-and-pop stands, some of which have been passed down through the generations.
Navigating the bonanza of treats from the 50-plus stands near the beach can be daunting, but it’s also hard to go wrong. Most of the proprietors speak English as well as Spanish and can tell you what’s inside the various fried shapes under the glass. Choose your kiosk by the number of locals frequenting one or the other and by the house specialty, usually listed prominently on the menu or the wall. Or you could do what we did last weekend, and just go from kiosk to kiosk and eat whatever looks good. (more…)
Posted in food, restaurants
Tagged bars, beef, Puerto Rico, seafood, travel
Comments Off on Puerto Rico Eats: The Luquillo Kiosks
Eataly: A Strategy
If agoraphobia is a fear of crowds, and claustrophobia is a fear of being trapped small places, then what is that particularly New York fear of being trapped in a mob of people, as at Macy’s at Christmastime? Whatever the name, this is exactly the emotion that Eataly elicited during the first few months of its opening, widely touted not just in New York but apparently in every tourist brochure.
If you could make your way through the door when Eataly opened this fall, you would be caught up in a mob of Italian food enthusiasts, swept past a Lavazza espresso station, past aisles of cheeses, olive oil, chocolate and dried pasta, and deposited somewhere in the vortex of this new mega food court by chefs and television stars Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich. The line just to put down your name for a table took 10 minutes the first time we visited – the wait for an actual table was two hours. The four casual restaurants – La Pizza, La Pasta, Il Pesce and Le Verdure – looked promising, but when they’re oversubscribed to this extent, we had to say “basta!” and head out the door. (more…)
Posted in Flatiron District, food, Italian, New York restaurants, restaurants
Tagged Mario Batali, New York, seafood
Comments Off on Eataly: A Strategy
The John Dory Oyster Bar
If April Bloomfield were a fashion icon instead of a chef, she would surely be a maximalist along the lines of Anna Dello Russo or Daphne Guinness. Just as those two specialize in outrageous outfits that elicit stares of utter disbelief, Bloomfield serves up food that makes you want to put down your fork and say: No she didn’t.
A pot full of pigs’ feet? A bowl full of liquified butter? A bag full of fried pork skin? Yes, yes and yes. Her fearlessness in the kitchen makes it surprising to hear a note of vulnerability in a recent profile in the New Yorker, as she wondered if there was too much butter in the fare at the original John Dory on Tenth Avenue, paraphrasing a New York Times review she’d apparently memorized. But fans of her maximalist culinary style will respond: of course it can be over the top – that’s the whole point. (more…)
Posted in British, food, New York restaurants, NoMad, restaurants
Tagged April Bloomfield, New York, seafood, seafood restaurants
Comments Off on The John Dory Oyster Bar
La Société, Paris
Towards the end of our meal at this newish Parisian restaurant across from the church of Saint Germain, flashbulbs started popping nearby. Usually this is an indication that tourists are taking photos of themselves in the restaurant, but not here. The tables of German editors, Swedes, and a handful of French fashion types wouldn’t dare. It was the paparazzi, who had been waiting outside for hours to catch models arriving and leaving the restaurant, ushered into the night by black SUVs.
I have no idea how we got a table here. Perhaps it helps to show up the night before, reasonably well-dressed and speaking French, and ask for a reservation in person, as we did. But on a quiet Sunday night, when most of Paris was shuttered, La Société was the place to be. (more…)
The Hurricane Club
CLOSED
New York is having a Polynesian moment. New places like Painkiller, Lani Kai, and the Hurricane Club are channeling Hawaii and Bora Bora with exotic rum drinks that should keep summer going long into the dark days of winter. But don’t say “tiki”: The Hurricane Club is more like the tiki bar and restaurant as viewed through the sophisticated retro lens of Mad Men, with a wink and a nod, drinks in coconuts sipped under a crystal chandelier.
On a recent night there, Marie Fromage and I eyed the elaborate mise just for cocktails: fresh flowers, parasols, pineapple wedges and all sorts of other tropical accoutrements were lined up on the bar. The drinks that resulted were deftly mixed and not too sweet. The #12, Chef Richard Leach’s MF Mai Tai ($12), had a distinctly Asian twist with lychee and mandarin with Hurricane Rum as the base. (more…)
The Net Result, Martha’s Vineyard
Still reeling from the $23 price tag of a pint of clams at the Bite, we approached seafood shack the Net Result in Vineyard Haven, Martha’s Vineyard with caution. This combination take-out joint and fish market gets their catch daily from Larsen’s in Menemsha, so they could charge a lot for the fresh quality. But we were pleasantly surprised to find some of the best prices on the island at this casual picnic spot with views of the harbor.
Don’t expect a lot of frills here; just get in line and follow the various instructions on hand-written signs around the room. (more…)
Posted in food, Martha's Vineyard, restaurants
Tagged lobster rolls, Martha's Vineyard, seafood, travel
Comments Off on The Net Result, Martha’s Vineyard
On-Island Vs. Off-Island: Keeping It Local on Martha’s Vineyard
One look inside the market at Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard and you’ll see the crux of a food movement gaining ground here. Beets, baby squash, wax beans, corn and many more vegetables and fruit that come from this large working farm are labeled with a yellow “on-island” sign; anything shipped in from “off-island” gets a generic-looking white sign.
The local, sustainable food movement is nothing new, but on this vacation destination off the Cape it takes on a particularly political spin. As chain stores like the Super Stop & Shop on Main Street land on the island and suck in summer people and locals alike, farmers markets and local specialty food shops have lobbied to keep money on-island, not moving offshore towards some far-flung corporate entity. But can even the most well-intentioned consumer ever buy mostly local? (more…)
The Bite, Martha’s Vineyard
It may look pretty basic, but this famous seafood shack on the road down to Menemsha draws people from near and far. One one side of us, a family chatted in Italian, and on the other, a couple of summer people despaired the outage of fried scallops so early in the afternoon. What you see is what you get: a shack, sodas from a machine, fried seafood and some picnic tables, but there’s nothing ordinary about the quality of the Bite’s fried clams.
This seemingly simple dish is actually easy to mess up, and therefore I usually avoid it. More often than not, fried clams come out listless, dry and tasteless, with a leaden, greasy crust. But lesser fry cooks everywhere could learn from the Bite, where the batter is light and slightly spicy with a hint of cayenne and the finest grinding of sea salt, the crunch satisfying but not overwhelming, and the clams themselves still plump, bursting with juiciness and served whole. (more…)
Posted in food, Martha's Vineyard, restaurants
Tagged Martha's Vineyard, seafood, travel
Comments Off on The Bite, Martha’s Vineyard
Larsen’s Fish Market, Martha’s Vineyard
You could plunk down a good deal of money for dinner at the fancy Home Port restaurant in Menemsha, Martha’s Vineyard, a tiny fishing town known for its beautiful sunsets. Or you could enjoy the sunset as the families who have been coming here for years do: bring your beach chairs and wine and make it a picnic.
About that wine: don’t forget to buy it from Edgartown or Oak Bluffs, since they don’t sell it “up island,” which is completely dry due to some rather antiquated blue laws. But wait until you get to Menemsha to buy your dinner, or you’ll be missing out on one of the town’s main attractions. Larsen’s, half seafood store, half take-out shop, dishes out lobsters, clams and oysters just hours after they’ve been plucked from the sea. This market also acts as the wholesaler supplier to many of the seafood places on the island, so when you come here, you’re getting it at the source. (more…)
Shrimp Remoulade
This traditional New Orleans dish is great during a heat wave – or an average 95-degree summer day in Louisiana. Almost all the work is done by the food processor. It’s a favorite at Galatoire’s, where locals come in from the noonday heat to feast on cold seafood salad.
This recipe has been slightly northern-ized and modernized to incorporate more widely available ingredients (country Dijon instead of Creole mustard) – as well as my own preference for nice seasonal lettuce, not the shredded iceberg of yore.
Remember: support the American shrimping industry! Use wild-caught, domestic shrimp, which is strictly regulated compared to imported shrimp. (more…)
Posted in food, recipes
Tagged appetizer recipes, entree recipes, seafood, seafood recipes, the copycat chef
Comments Off on Shrimp Remoulade
Eat Louisiana Shrimp
To answer the question that’s on everyone’s mind: yes, there is still excellent seafood to be had in New Orleans. Much of it is top quality shrimp, crawfish, blue crab, and much of it is local. Though National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has closed 60,000 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico to commercial fishing to date, 75 percent of federal waters are still safe for the shrimp and shrimpers that make their livelihood on the Gulf. As Food Safety News reports, all of the waters directly affected by the spill remained closed to commercial and recreational fishing, so no seafood from the region is at risk of oil contamination.
In other words, don’t add insult to injury by postponing or canceling a trip to Louisiana because of the oil spill. The kind folks down there will make sure you are extremely well fed during your visit. Shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, shrimp etouffee, shrimp remoulade and shrimp sandwiches are still on the menu. If there is excellent wild shrimp anywhere in the area (including Lake Pontchartrain), Louisianans will find it.
Americans also shouldn’t assume the impact of this disaster is limited to Gulf states. Nearly half the nation’s domestic seafood comes from the Gulf area, and every time BP fails to seal off the oil spill, the area of federal waters closed to commercial fishing increases. The longer-term impact on shrimp and fish lifecycles in the region is still unknown.
In the meantime, do what you can to support Gulf fishermen by buying wild-caught domestic shrimp – which have far less pollutants and do far less environmental damage than unregulated farmed or wild-caught shrimp from China, Mexico and other developing nations.
Buy wild domestic shrimp at Fresh Direct.
Future updates about the safety of Gulf seafood can be found here:
Posted in food, restaurants
Tagged New Orleans, seafood, travel
Comments Off on Eat Louisiana Shrimp
Galatoire’s, New Orleans
Life is grand at Galatoire’s, the century-old restaurant in the French Quarter, where ladies in hats and men in white linen jackets gather under the ceiling fans in the sunny, tile-floored interior for a lunch that stretches into the afternoon. An oasis of air-conditioned civility on rowdy Bourbon Street, Galatoire’s still requires men to wear jackets, even if the mercury’s pushing 95. It’s one of many ways that Galatoire’s hews to tradition, even as the rest of the world constantly changes.
One of the best windows into New Orleans food, Galatoire’s specializes in the remoulades and etouffees that give Creole cuisine its particular French-Southern twist. The crowd is largely local, and there’s lots of table hopping on the main floor. Service is genteel, efficient but unhurried. A recent lunch here began with a cocktail proffered up on a silver tray. Cocktail hour seemingly never ends in New Orleans: the bar here was full by 2 in the afternoon. (more…)
MiLA, New Orleans
Considering its proximity to vast swaths of upriver farmland, it may come as a surprise that there’s not much emphasis on locally-sourced produce in New Orleans. Seafood here may be as local as it gets, but southern techniques of boiling and frying vegetables and French techniques of butter, butter and yet more butter still rule at most restaurants. Fortunately, a handful of new spots are beginning to bring fresh, seasonal produce to the forefront of the menu.
One such place is MiLA in the Central Business District. Husband-and-wife chef team Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing acquire many of their ingredients from a nearby farm, Lujele, which is described in detail on the restaurant’s website. This all sounded vaguely Dan Barber-ish at first, but then came the clue: this duo, originally from Mississippi (“Mi”) and Louisiana (“LA”), logged several well-regarded years at Jack’s Luxury Oyster Bar (Vines) and Fleur de Sel in New York (Rushing) before heading back south. An appetite for green market produce came back with them. (more…)
Posted in food, New Orleans, restaurants
Tagged duck, New Orleans, seafood, travel
Comments Off on MiLA, New Orleans
More Chatham Eats
For such a small town (pop. about 6,500), Chatham, Cape Cod has a lot going for it food-wise. Not only are there good restaurants, but there are excellent take-out shops, from the humble to the gourmet, that will free you from the kitchen on vacation.
Chatham Cheese Company * Wequaussett Outer Bar & Grille * The Cape Sea Grille * Nantucket Wild Gourmet & Smokehouse * Marion’s Pie Shop * Marine Cuisine