Try Them Raw
On my recent excursion to Japan, I came across some things that stuck with me. The grand scale of the Tsukiji market awed me, while the solitude and peacefulness of the temples and culture humbled me....
View ArticleThe Blob
Halloween is over a month away, but October is just around the corner, so if you are like me, that's enough just cause to start talking scary things. Creatures that are spawned from the depths of dark...
View ArticleDon't Give Up On Salmon
Recently, a market patron presented me with an idea he received from his doctor: that there was no nutritional value to eating farmed salmon. Perplexed as to why a doctor would prescribe this...
View ArticleOutstanding In The Field
Outstanding In The Field (OITF) is a traveling feast that organizes farmers, chefs, ranchers, cheese makers, fishermen, winemakers, foragers, and the people they sustain around a communal meal in order...
View ArticleThe Science Of Flavor
Here's a good question to get things going: which tastes better, a saltwater fish you catch and eat on the boat, minutes after it is caught, or one you catch and eat a couple of days later? The answer...
View ArticleThe Best Week Ever?
Nantucket Bay scallop season opened November 1st and, as early as Wednesday November 3rd, we will be seeing our first shipment. Receiving the ocean candy this early is no small feat considering that...
View ArticleThe Bad News Bays
In my last post I waxed poetically about how maybe we were in the middle of the best week of the year, considering that we had both Nantucket Bay scallops and fresh king crab legs available. That week...
View Article"New" Hampshire Bay Scallops
O.K., O.K. I know you foodies who crave great seafood have been severely neglected this year when it comes to bay scallops. Your opportunities to savor the delicious morsels this year have been slim...
View ArticleKing Of The Offseason
Wild King Salmon season is now closed for the next few months and seafood customers who are conscientious of what they eat are scrambling to find a suitable salmon alternative. If you have picked up a...
View ArticleThe Future Is Farmed
Predicting the future is never easy. If it were, many of us would already be Powerball champions. But even though most outlooks are hazy at best, there is one trend that looks to have staying power:...
View ArticleAnother Bay, Another Way
With the winter wrath in full tilt and Nantucket and New Hampshire Bay scallops nowhere to be found, we have yet another player coming through in the bay scallop game. This week, and hopefully going...
View ArticleLobster In A Bowl
Valentine's Day is a day on which we celebrate love and lobsters. They sort of go hand in hand, call it a fashionable tradition. Recent history tells us consumer buying habits prove that on the day...
View ArticleOysters Make Great Lovers
Oysters are for lovers. Lovers are for oysters. Looking to make your Valentine's Day meal something special? I recommend cozying up to the nearest oyster bar and sharing the primal experience of...
View ArticleSpring Is Coming, Roe With It
I know spring, and its promise of better climes, is coming soon. Can you guess how I know? Let's just say the porcupine fish told me so. Long ago, before Columbus sailed the ocean blue, the Micmac,...
View ArticleThe Fish With Our Chips
BlackSalt restaurant recently switched out the tilapia in our fish n'chips for a fish that swims wild and closer to our home, the Atlantic Pollack. Our chefs wanted to utilize an underappreciated wild...
View ArticleMarching In
The river is green in Chicago. Soon, you'll be able to find loose beads from broken, cheaply made necklaces and empty, oversized decorative beer mugs scattered in the gutters of Boston thoroughfares....
View ArticleServing The Snakehead
It has the face of a fearsome python, but with bigger, sharper teeth. It swims and is considered a fish, but it can also breathe out of water. It feeds on frogs, fish, reptiles, crustaceans, and...
View ArticleYour Holiday Tradition
Easter is a holiday with deep religious roots. It's a holiday with many important familial traditions, bringing families together in the name of hope, love, and gratitude. In many families, all of...
View ArticleScaling, Gutting, The Whole Fish Story
Most seafood purchases consist of a nicely wrapped, pre-portioned, de-boned, ready to cook piece of fish. It makes sense to buy this way, as it cuts down prep time and leaves the home chef with much...
View ArticleCongressional Seafood Gets New Digs
Visiting your seafood suppliers is very important to the process of procuring the best product. Meeting the people, checking out the facilities and processes, and understanding the supply chain is key...
View ArticleA Tasty Shade Of Blue
Hand harvested fishI received a call last week from a supplier exclaiming about this brilliant blue fish found only in New Zealand that we "just had to try". They call it blue cod, although it isn't a...
View ArticleI'll Take The Puffer, Hold The Poison
Things are getting pretty interesting at the market this weekend. We aren't necessarily playing Russian roulette, but it is always exciting to take on a poisonous species like the pufferfish and come...
View ArticleFish For Mom
Moms are the best. And I understand many will scoff at "Hallmark" holidays as corporate ploys to get us to spend our hard earned money on sappy cards but, when it comes to special occasions, no group...
View ArticleGet To The Hopper
Summer shrimping is a thing, if you didn't know, because some of the best tasting, sweetest, freshest shrimp can be had during the summer. You've got white, brown, red, and pink shrimp seasons all...
View ArticleSeafood Highlight: The Spot Prawn
We are receiving our first shipment of live Spot Prawns today and are very excited. We don't often offer these delicious sea treats due to their prohibitive cost and extremely volatile shelf-life....
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