Catch and Release
By Andrew Zimmern
Mike wrote me a note . . .
Well Mike, the answer isn’t so easy. I buy seafood in these markets, including Shuang Hur, on occasion and have definite opinion. Although always a bargain in relation to conventional markets from a cost standpoint, the quality isn’t always there. I get live hard-shell blue crabs in season at Asian markets ( I like United Noodles best of all) when they are lively and in good condition; healthy, active crabs are good crabs. Lobster and Dungeness crabs I only buy if the water is crystal clear; the tank is clean; and the lobster and crabs are healthy, bright looking, and active, with little or no bite marks or shell damage. Shrimp (head-on mostly) need to be clean-smelling and have no signs of melanosis around the feathering of the tails. Dried shells and listless, dangling eyes on fresh shrimp are a sure sign of age. Fin fish should be clean and firm to the touch, with flesh that springs back when you touch it. Gills and blood lines should be red, and there should be no off “aromas.”
Many times these criteria are never met in any supermarket, and I feel just as satisfied when I shop in an Asian market for seafood as I do at Lunds or Byerly's, which is about half the time. Is it just me, or is the frozen fish thing just getting out of hand there? I shop these markets 99 percent of the time for my daily needs, and their meat and produce departments keep improving every year, but the seafood side of the equation almost seems in retrograde motion. I shop almost exclusively for seafood at Coastal, and the quality and satisfaction percentage is above 90 percent.
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Check out this website. What do you think of this one bacon fans!? Speaking of bacon, I am officially saying enough already. Like wasabi before it and just like conventional AM and FM radio, which routinely plays a limited playlist so often that I get bored of songs before I even have a chance to grab it off iTunes, bacon has been so ‘done to death’ that I can barely enjoy it anymore. Everything has bacon on it these days. Enough already, let’s move on to something new!
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Anyone looking to do some good works in disaster zones around the world should check out my pal Jon Ross’s website. He applies real-time fixes to families in need and could use your support. My family is getting involved, and so should you.
****
And check out the season premiere of Bizarre Foods tonight on the Travel Channel. I chow down with the Masai, so you shouldn’t miss this one.
“I have a question about the local oriental markets. I live in Uptown and recently stopped by the Shuang Hur market this weekend. Are the lobster’s and other seafood in the live tank good year-round? Is there any way to tell by looking at them if they are good or not? Or, would you just not recommend getting seafood or meat from these markets?”
Well Mike, the answer isn’t so easy. I buy seafood in these markets, including Shuang Hur, on occasion and have definite opinion. Although always a bargain in relation to conventional markets from a cost standpoint, the quality isn’t always there. I get live hard-shell blue crabs in season at Asian markets ( I like United Noodles best of all) when they are lively and in good condition; healthy, active crabs are good crabs. Lobster and Dungeness crabs I only buy if the water is crystal clear; the tank is clean; and the lobster and crabs are healthy, bright looking, and active, with little or no bite marks or shell damage. Shrimp (head-on mostly) need to be clean-smelling and have no signs of melanosis around the feathering of the tails. Dried shells and listless, dangling eyes on fresh shrimp are a sure sign of age. Fin fish should be clean and firm to the touch, with flesh that springs back when you touch it. Gills and blood lines should be red, and there should be no off “aromas.”
Many times these criteria are never met in any supermarket, and I feel just as satisfied when I shop in an Asian market for seafood as I do at Lunds or Byerly's, which is about half the time. Is it just me, or is the frozen fish thing just getting out of hand there? I shop these markets 99 percent of the time for my daily needs, and their meat and produce departments keep improving every year, but the seafood side of the equation almost seems in retrograde motion. I shop almost exclusively for seafood at Coastal, and the quality and satisfaction percentage is above 90 percent.
****
Check out this website. What do you think of this one bacon fans!? Speaking of bacon, I am officially saying enough already. Like wasabi before it and just like conventional AM and FM radio, which routinely plays a limited playlist so often that I get bored of songs before I even have a chance to grab it off iTunes, bacon has been so ‘done to death’ that I can barely enjoy it anymore. Everything has bacon on it these days. Enough already, let’s move on to something new!
****
Anyone looking to do some good works in disaster zones around the world should check out my pal Jon Ross’s website. He applies real-time fixes to families in need and could use your support. My family is getting involved, and so should you.
****
And check out the season premiere of Bizarre Foods tonight on the Travel Channel. I chow down with the Masai, so you shouldn’t miss this one.
© 2008 MSP Communications, Inc. All rights reserved
Ohhh! Masai, that sounds like a good episode. I'm willing to bet there was some milk and blood based beverages involved? You haven't lived (or truly squirmed) unless you have scene a Masai warrior break down a goat or two. Looking forward to watching it!
Posted by: HungryinSW on April 14, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Agreed re: frozen/iffy seafood at places our high end grocery chains. I just cannot buy stuff that used to swim from those places anymore as the price to satisfaction equation doesn't come close to balancing. I was just at Coastal last Friday, got fresh wild Halibut and it was off the charts.
Posted by: Erik on April 14, 2009 at 11:18 AM
What about chipotle or pomegranate? Those are the flavors I see everywhere nowadays. Everything from fast food to fine dining has to add one of these things in there somewhere.
Posted by: Snath on April 14, 2009 at 11:32 AM
The Lunds/Byerlys fish counters are a problem. At least at the East Bank one, their shrimp is almost always foreign-farmed - Ecuador or Thailand. Monterey Aquarium's Seafood Watch says this is a no-go for sustainability and cleanliness. I have asked several times at the counter whether they would consider including a wild-caught or US-farmed alternative, but can never get a clear answer about how to get that request up to management.
Posted by: maryn on April 14, 2009 at 2:23 PM
The Squeez Bacon was an April Fool's joke, it's not a real product. You apparently fell for it!! And got all up on your high horsie about it.
Posted by: Kelly Red on April 15, 2009 at 10:36 AM
The humor of the squeeze bacon site is that a very similar real product does exist
http://www.baconnaise.com/
I am amused by it but the story of the guys who started Bacon Salt and Baconnaise is actually funny...and involves America's funniest home videos.
Posted by: KateC on April 16, 2009 at 12:14 AM
DUDE! Bored of BACON!!! NEVER!!!!
Posted by: Davecamaro on April 20, 2009 at 3:09 PM
Oh my G-d!!!! I just watched you dining with the Masai. You really did eat the clot, drink the blood, swig down the sour milk and blood. You did respect their culture and drank their drinks without offending anyone in their community. You are quite a guy. I would like to know if you got sick a few hours afterward? You did not look so good with the blood on your chin and shirt and jacket. You are a great sport Andrew. You are really a great sport.
Stu B.
Posted by: Stu Borken on April 28, 2009 at 6:32 PM