Seafood Cuisines
Le Dome Cafe
If you’re looking for an old school brasserie to sup on oysters and Chablis, Le Dome in Montparnasse is a fine idea. (Ernest Hemingway and Henry Miller made a regular habit of Le Dome.) With bragging rights to a Michelin star and its own seafood shop just around the corner, the kitchen’s got today’s catch at its fingertips. As is often the case in seafood brasseries in Paris, the shellfish is on jewelry-like display at the entrance of the eatery, everything from Gillardeau and Fines De Claires oysters to Clams, Mussels and Langoustines. The space is a warm, cozy spot (especially good for a chilly night), outfitted in red-and-gold velvet banquettes, wood paneling along the walls and dangling light fixtures shrouded in lampshades. This is a fruits de mer platter kind of spot, so you’ll want to try whatever’s...
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New York’s Most Succulent Summer Seafood – 2014
What’s better than ditching your puffy jackets and snow hats and eating ice cream in shorts and flip flops? Lobster Rolls, piles of Crabs dusted with Old Bay, icy raw Oysters, and Fried Clams, that’s what. While New York City may not have an ocean view, you can still joyfully overdose on shellfish this summer, with seafaring dishes from some of the country’s best chefs, such as David Pasternack’s Scallop Crudo at Chelsea newcomer…
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Hog Island Oyster
It ain’t easy to find a great oyster house… never mind one with a view, so you’ll want to savor not only the terrific variety of bivalves at Hog Island Oyster Co., but also the outdoor dining overlooking San Francisco Bay. Tourists and locals alike descend on this no-reservations spot for lunch or dinner so you may have to wait a bit, but it’s entirely worth it. Especially after you sample the Hog Island Sweetwater Pacific and Atlantic oysters as well as whatever other West Coast oysters they’re shucking that day. There’s plenty more reasons to visit, like the Steamers, a mix of fresh from the water Manila Clams, Beans, Fennel Sausage, and Leeks in an addictive Wheat Beer Broth that you’ll want to mop up with the bread. And while I’m typically a Manhattan Clam Chowder kind...
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Q & A with The Clam’s Mike Price
Mike Price is giving Clams their day so to speak. Price and co-owner Joey Campanaro just recently opened New York’s very first, clam-centric eatery in the West Village. But don’t even think about calling The Clam — a shellfish-centric restaurant recently opened by Market Table’s Mike Price & Joey Campanaro — a seafood shack. In theory, it may seem to have a lot in common with West Village neighbors, like Pearl Oyster Bar and Mary’s Fish Camp, but Price insists the only unifying factor between the three is a love of seafood…
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The Best Seafood Shacks for Summer
There’s little we associate with summer as much as shellfish… from whole steamed lobsters served with corn on the cob and drawn butter, to toasted rolls piled high with full belly clams, and iced platters lined with freshly shucked raw oysters, cocktail sauce, and lemon wedges. Can’t make it to Nantucket, Newport, or Puget Sound this year? There are plenty of seaworthy spots in New York that are no more than a subway ride away, from The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market to the recently opened Kittery in Brooklyn. So treat yourself to a crustacean staycation this summer, by chowing down at some of the city’s best seafood shacks.
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Seasonal Eats: Soft Shell Crabs
Most people think vegetables when they consider all of the culinary delights associated with the spring. But there’s an under-the-sea treat that’s equally delicious, with a season every bit as fleeting, as morel mushrooms, ramps and fiddlehead ferns. Soft-shell crab season is traditionally marked with the first full moon in May. At that time, the blue crab begins molting its shell, in order to accommodate summer growth.
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Sexy Steamed Mussels with Citrus & Prosecco
It’s a funny thing about mussels. They’re delicious, healthy, easy to prepare and cheap (generally five dollars a pound, which is pretty damn good for shellfish!). But people rarely think to make them at home. Sure, they’ll order them out… who hasn’t had a good Zuppa de Mussels served with hunks of crusty Italian bread or a bowl of tender mollusks steamed in beer and sided with a pile of crusty fries? We’ve seen them dotting saffron rice in Spanish Paella, served A la Plancha (most recently at Willow Road in Chelsea), and done up Southeast Asian style, loaded with Lime, Chili, Coconut Milk and Kaffir leaves.
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Le Bernardin
There are some great restaurants in New York, and then, there’s Le Bernardin. It’s the kind of place people from all over the world travel just to sample Eric Ripert’s masterful (nearly magical) way with seafood. It’s that good. Ripert manages to tease out every subtle nuance of fish with his preparations and flavor combinations. I’ll never forget the just barely Sauteed Langoustines I had recently at Le Bernardin and I’ve had quite a few.
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Q & A with Maison Premiere’s Chef Jared Stafford-Hill
What a difference five years have made in the life of Jared Stafford-Hill. When we last checked in with him back in 2008, he had just come on as the executive chef at Bobo in the West Village, charged with revitalizing a floundering menu of seasonal French classics. When he was let go shortly afterwards, however, Stafford-Hill was devastated. “It was pretty hard. It was all very surprising,” he said. “I was really cautious afterwards, because that experience was kind of demoralizing.” So much so, that the mild-mannered chef elected to stay off-the-radar and out of kitchens until just four months ago. Happily, he’s currently finding his mojo again as chef at the stylish Maison Premiere in Brooklyn, helping it evolve beyond oysters and absinthe into a full-blown, high-end eatery. His series of seafood small plates, which includes Sea Urchin...
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The John Dory Oyster Bar
Can Brits really handle the Feast of the Seven Fishes? Absolutely, if you’re talking about April Bloomfield and The John Dory Oyster Bar, her hip seafood mecca in the elegant Ace Hotel. Chef de cuisine Josh Even plans to go global with traditional feast ingredients, offering up a creamy Salt Cod Brandade, Chorizo-Stuffed Squid with Smoked Tomato, and (this is an oyster bar after all) Hog Island Sweetwater Oysters topped with Sea Urchin...
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Oceana
Where better to celebrate the glory of shellfish than at the glittering midtown hotspot, Oceana? Chef Ben Pollinger’s five-course feast promises to be a seriously high-end affair, featuring Hiramasa Tartare with persimmon and sicilian pistachio, Octopus, Cuttlefish and Calamari Salad with cranberry beans and preserved lemon, and Roast Maine Lobster and Caviar, served with black trumpet mushrooms and caviar...
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Gotham Bar and Grill
Talk about a classic New York dish: The tuna tartare at Gotham Bar and Grill has been around since the late 80’s and it’s still going strong. (Eater recently featured it as one of it Untouchables.) Chef Alfred Portale dreamed up the dish while sitting at a sushi bar, which is why he uses sushi-grade yellowfin tuna (his purveyor is the same as the guy who use to deliver fish to his favorite sushi spot, the late Sushi Hatsu). Portale likes to build food vertically and his tower of tuna is visually captivating. He makes his tartare with finely diced tuna mixed with shallots, salt, pepper, and some fresh herbs. The tower itself rests on a bed of Japanese cucumbers and comes topped with three baguette spears and a tangle of frisee. It’s an architectural masterpiece that sits about six...
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Balthazar
Balthazar is one of New York’s great French restaurants. People come here for the scene and to eat classic French dishes, like Steak Au Poivre, French Onion Soup, and Apple Tarte Tatin. So where else would you go for a classic French-style Steak Tartare than to Keith McNally’s Paris bistro-inspired masterpiece?
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The Roebling Tea Room
The Roebling Tea Room is not a quiet tearoom as its name might suggest. In fact, it’s not a tearoom at all. It’s a bustling restaurant with high quality comfort food. They’ve got everything from Beef Brisket to Macaroni and Cheese and Cheeseburgers. And then, there’s the Steak Tartare, made with lean top round meat, capers, chives, and leafy greens. It’s different, taking just enough creative license to enhance the already delicious dish.
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Do or Dine
The guys over at Do or Dine don’t do normal. That’s just not their thing. But while the vibe here is playful, the guys at Do or Dine don’t mess around in the kitchen…especially when it comes to their steak tartare.
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Morimoto
There’s tuna tartare and then there’s Morimoto’s version. Considering his love for luxury ingredients, we should’ve expected something decadent, but this Toro Tuna Tartare takes the cake. It’s extravagant, expensive, and worth every penny.
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Desnuda
It wouldn’t be right to mention ceviche in Manhattan without a nod to teeny spot in the East Village called Desnuda It is a cevicheria afterall and a fine one at that. Other than wine, they have little else, so settle in for a ceviche tasting. There’s no kitchen, just a sushi fridge and a toaster oven.
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Q&A with Crave Fishbar’s Todd Mitgang
Not many chefs get the opportunity to be a Chef De Cuisine at just 22 years old. Todd Mitgang managed to graduate from the French Culinary Institute and land himself in the modern Thai kitchen at Kittichai, inside the stylish, Thompson Hotel. Mitgang has seen it all over his ten year career. His breakout success, Crave Ceviche Bar, was destroyed by a freak crane accident in 2008, forcing him to close his restaurant and start virtually from scratch. His next move was an unexpected one, turning up at Cascabel Taqueria where he tried his hand at casual Mexican cooking, then out east in Montauk at South Edison. But after three years, Mitgang has finally revived the Crave brand with Crave Fishbar as inspired by flavors from all over the globe as ever. He’s bringing back old classics and taking risks...
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Dishspotting – Crave’s Razor Clams
What took so long? That’s what I asked when I stepped foot into the revival of Crave Fishbar. If you’ll recall (or maybe it was so long ago you’ve forgotten already), Crave opened in midtown east in the summer of 2008.
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New York’s Best Lobster Rolls
For us, summer isn’t really summer until we’ve had our first taste of lobster. And while we love the challenge of cracking open a whole lobster, there are less exhausting ways to enjoy lobsters’ sweet meat. That’s right, that iconic summer sandwich known as the Lobster Roll…
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