johnnyd

The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at 110 Exchange Street will be vacating the premesis soon and be replaced by a food-related enterprise. All I can say at this point is that funding has been realized and a lease has been signed. All those lovely windows...

I "installed" a raw bar on a 33foot lobsterboat a few years ago. Everything was portable. I bought a stainless steel, insulated bar sink and a two-shelf unit from a used restaurant supply place, three rugged coolers and a couple decorative containers for lemons/limes and sauces. It is important for customers to see your shellfish and see how cold they are in a large container w/clean ice. One huge cooler for clean ice, one to store oysters, clams, 21/25 shrimp and the other for miscellaneous things like sushi rolls that a local japanese woman sarted making for me every morning ($5 - came in cute plastic take-outs) and beer for the shucker. I purchased high quality take-out containers for the shellfish and one-ounce cups w/lids fort my three sauces: regular cocktail, mignonette and oriental style. I cooked off the shrimp in the AM and set up the sink and shelving at noon, then motored around the bay selling to the yachting crowd. I hoisted nautical code flags (Oscar, Yankee...) to signal I was in business, and got on the VHF radio public channel when things were slow. Strung some colored bulbs around and played reggae on a small boombox. Depending on business I'd stay open until midnight (surprising amount of biz then... ) then break down the gear and bungie-cord it all to the cabin walls. The important thing about the New England raw bar is keeping to tradition - stay with littlenecks and local oysters (I carried a couple Maine varieties) and go for those five pound bricks of shrimp - about $45 - because not everyone likes raw shellfish. A certain amount of simplicity is needed but cleanliness is mandatory - I was wiping the cutting board clean all the time. Have a trash container right there so you can dump the shell debris immediately - I didn't have to worry too much about my customers trash: they returned the shells to whence they came but gave me or stored their plastics. Also don't be disappointed if the novelty wears off and you don't see customers come back as often as you hoped. You will find that the only one in your crowd who can have oysters, clams and shrimp every day is you.

ajgnet, this is outstanding. We are very lucky to have you post your reports of BA eateries. Terrific pictures and great descriptions. Frozen Honeycomb?! That's a first for me. I'm sure I speak for us all in saying I'm eager for more.

This is a true story. Portland, Maine is a summertime tourist destination on the American Northeast coast. It's 300 year-old, red-brick waterfront has a number of restaurants with decks over the water that are packed with cruiseship passengers and out-of-state families on any given day in-season. One day last week, a server stationed on the outdoor deck picked up the bill tray with a cheery "I'll be right back," and swung toward the register, sending the guests credit card cascading through the air and down between the slats of the deck flooring into the ocean below. The card's owner, needless to say, went beserk. "Well," said the server, "You can cancel the credit card or come back at low tide and we'll probably find it then," "Those are not options!" said the guest, clearly imagining his vacation in ruins. Perturbed but not defeated, the server put her tray on the guest table then went to the far side of the deck and called over to one of the island water taxis that tie up to a dock below the restaurant. "Hey!" she yelled, "Do you have a scuba mask on board?" The pilot replied that indeed he did. She climbed down a ladder off the deck to the dock, pulled her top off, adjusted the scuba mask on her head and in her sports bra and Capri jeans slipped into the 65°F seawater and began searching. After a short while she found the credit card. She emerged, completely soaked, hoisted herself onto the dock, towelled off on the water taxi, put her top back on and shimmied up the ladder back to the restaurant deck. "Your credit card, sir." The customer, nonplussed, took the card and left without a word. So far, the rumor downtown is that he left without tipping, she continued working the shift, and I hear the rest of the customers on deck gave her a rousing ovation, but I can't confirm that yet. She is now, without a doubt, an Old Port Legend. I think this would be a good space to add similar acts of heroism. But they have to be true. Who's next?

The "Healthy Choice" ad at the bottom is slaying me!

I was thinking the same thing. I never mentioned it in my blog but I have a long streak in the music biz so KB is the third musician blogger in a row. I obviously have to start packing and join you lot.The vendor pictures are outstanding, K. The guys are adorable and the products are - just what I said - mostly unavailable states-side. Is there a secret list of eG folk to whom you are smuggling quesos e jamons that I need to pay someone to get on? Last time I was in Madrid I had to leave in a hurry. It was Spain's fifth anniversary sans-Franco and demonstrations popped up hither and yon. Got a little too hot.

Oh, cool Chufi! I actually have Abra to partially thank - for a while we were dueling on the Carnitas topic in the Cooking forum. One day, I stopped short of the final broil-to-crisp step and served them in all it's gooey glory and we've been having them that way ever since. So far as I see on Wikipedia, Moxie is presently owned by Cornucopia Beverages Inc. of Bedford, New Hampshire. If something goes down, I'll post in the Beverages forum. That took a lot of moxie, Mr. Myers! No wonder you were the go-to guy for Maine Cocktail Quest! Definitely for show - It seems lacquered or something. I had my first heirloom tomato in Vermont 25yrs ago, a Cherokee "chocolate", or "purple". It was a revelation. I look forward to the little New England harvest window when they come to market. But in the past few years, they haven't had that magical taste. Maybe the Maine growers I get them from have different conditions or levels of attention. They still blow away "normal" tomatoes, to be sure. We are also just opening that harvest window now so the ones I bought this weekend are the first. We're having them this week so I'll see how this season is shaping up. Karen you are slaying me here! Let us know! I would highly recommend the extraordinary savvy of Mr. Myers at whatever venue he may be when you visit. It'll be great to meet one and all. Accepting letters of Financial Support prior to script approval... uh, screenplay completion... um, well, I ain't turning down the use of a high-capacity underwater filming unit should one become available!

Thank you all, very, very much for your kind words of appreciation. I had a great time too. I will try to clear the deck of missed questions and musings so we can all go party in Madrid. I hear you can buy scallops in the shell with roe-sac in Chinatown, but it's illegal to land scallops like that here in Maine. I can't find any licensing or notes on periwinkle harvesting on the Marine Resources of Maine website. I think local people totally ignore them. Whelks, however, are harvested and pickled in huge jars downeast. They sit on convenience store shelves next to the beef jerky. Sounds revolting. I hate frozen things that I don't freeze myself. I'm a huge fan of periwinkles now, and will continue to experiment with them, thanks to an idea brought on by a walk on the beach at low tide. Changes of water? Hmmm. Steaming? Hmm, Hmmmm. I'll try it that way. Might de-grit them better. Thanks for the name of the little "door", operculum. My collander was littered with them. Glad for the elimination of a step in prep.I swear the little snots tasted sooo much like escargots I think we have a viable fishery in it's nascent state. And you know what happens when I get hot about an underserved fishery! I'll be back to finish in just a wee bit...

Tapas! Tapas!! Tapas!!! I'm ready to suffer seeing all the wonderful food we lowly americans are not allowed to have here. Blog on! PS: If you happen to meet anyone who is musing starting a percebes aquaculture farm, I got the connections!

You know, Gilbert's isn't bad - it's the bloody parking. There are handy garages nearby however. If you go there, try for a table outside. Just down the block is J's Oyster, a local favorite - some parking spaces right there, too. Then down another block is Portland Lobster Company right next to DiMillo's Wharf. PM me if you are in trouble, and post your opinions of your choice of fried clam venue on the New England Forum when you can!

Many members have asked me about diving for sea urchins. I moved to Maine from Vermont in 1994 to do it. It was the best job I ever had. Since I didn't get to dive this week as I hoped, I thought I would share a few memories of urchin diving. These are digital photos of prints I made during dozens of dives up and down the coast of Maine. I jiggied them a bit. A small dive operation can drop divers tight in shore. They swim in to a shallow water where the kelp grows thick and harvest urchins that feed off the kelp. The big boats use chase boats that drop divers in shore, keep an eye on them, then pick up full net-bags that are marked with a bouy. If anyone needs help they are there - usually If a boat is exploring a new reef or shore, we send out a "spec" diver who collects samples. We learned early on that the best sea urchins came from shallow water with a lot of turbulence. In the early '90s, there were so many down there it seemed like an infestation. It was just a matter of picking up as many as possible. Sometimes we didn't have enough room on the boat for them all. After a while, the easy ones were gone and divers had to swim a little further and work a little harder to find them. All this time, there were (are) zillions of the critters in deeper water - their market value, however, is zero, as there is not the same nutritious bounty down deep to feed upon as there are up in the shallows. Sometimes we found a sea monster... Often we were the sea monster... In 1994 there were over 2000 licensed sea urchin divers. The fishery was the 2nd largest seafood product in Maine that year. Ten years later there are 200. They are still diving and finding a few - just not the quantities we found back then, There is competition now from Korea, Russia, Chile and other areas that keep the price low. It's not the Wild West dealio it used to be. That's good because we lost a few good boys in those days. This is johnnyd: I have been your designated foodblog pilot for the last seven days. Thank you for your time.

Well, I got most of the little bastards out of their shells (which wasn't too bad after a flashing in a salted rolling boil - 6 minutes) and found, to my delight, that the little hard disc on the foot that seals the shell aperture when they find themselves above tidal waters just, plain fell the hell off. I was informed that one takes each tiny bugger and cuts this item away. Not the case. This makes these critters more possible to consider as a Thursday night special in an adventurous restaurant... maybe. I sauteed them quickly in butter, garlic and parsley - I was afraid of overcooking these tiny gizmos. Casco Bay Wrinkle Crostini! MMMM!! Turned out GREAT!!! A touch of grit, but steamers have grit too, right? RIGHT?? We also had those Damariscotta Oysters, I set 'em a-top some seaweed, of course. The middle vessel has a killer mignonette I've been working on. I made a rib-eye we bought from Whole Foods and some of our Market veg for the main, Could have used a cherry tomato for color but they're not ripe yet (we have a few growing outside). One more post to go...

So the wrinkle prep is going well - although, if I were a chef, I'd definitely get the new guy to do these... Itinerant beastie found among the harvest... stay tuned.

Hey Peter! Keifer Sutherland was in town a few weeks ago - haven't a clue why. He played a few games of pool at my pal Bruce's place, Amigos, a mexican restaurant and bar, #5 Dana street, right in the Old Port. Just got back from periwinkle (called wrinkles by some) harvesting. I'm going to cook those suckers up and see what they're like. I went out to the end of the rocks... They weren't exactly hard to find! Studded all over the rocks, they were... I scooped up a few handfulls and a bit of rockweed to keep them company on the ride home.

I confess: they were pretty good! Yes! it's time for a visit! That goes for all of you!

This bronze statue of a lobsterman is a tribute to those who ply the Gulf of Maine in search of the World's Favorite Crustacean. I have a few more things to share and then I will pass the baton to the next eGullet foodblogger

We went to Whole Foods intending to take a picture of their lobster electric chair, or whatever it is, but were politely told that the WF police needs substantial notice in copious detail. So no deal. I did notice that the lobster tank (FYI: $10.99/lb) was completely empty. I was pleased to be able to find Zataar since Hanneford supermarket has not re-stocked theirs in six months. So many tasty, exotic and expensive things there... Then we went to the Hong Kong Market to check out the five spice pork and Peking Duck that arrives by bus from Boston every Sunday morning. Thanks to eG member Ellie for the heads-up on that. It smelled terrific so we bought a slice of pork. The store has been open a few months. We also got some long-stem cilantro (it lasts longer - and I use the stems in my spring rolls) and bean sprouts. I was amazed to find frozen, whole durian there! I've heard enough about it but never seen it before. This place is really well stocked with items from all over Asia. Good thing too as there is a growing population of Asian people here in Portland.

This morning we raced over to Scratch Bakery on Willard Square in SoPo (South Portland) before they closed, These are Necterine/Plum Sparkle muffins. They were out of bread but we picked up some nitrate-free, applewood smoked bacon that we love and drooled over their cheese selection for a while. Bought a baguette from 158 and made a BLT with our heirloom tomatos:

Our haul from yesterday's Deering Oaks Park Farmer's Market, From top: Local haricots verts, snap-cracklin' carrots, tiny blueberries, fingerling potatoes, mixed red & orange beet greens, three-inch long summer squash and baby peppers, four varieties of tomatos (two heirlooms - Brandywine and Cherokee Purple), and four ears of sweet corn. We also got Thomas, our neighbor's cat, a bag of fresh (organic!) catnip. He turns into such a whore on that stuff!

One pier down from Gilbert's is Portland's premier fish market, Harbor Fish Market. We popped in to see if anything looked good. I always check the lobster prices - 1&1/4lb soft-shell lobsters are going for $5.75/lb... Those are Damariscotta oysters in the foreground. Hmmmm...... We bought four at $1.30 each. They'll be a nice snack to end the weekend... especially in case I wimp out on my grand periwinkle project. This is a sturgeon skin that's hanging at Harbor Fish. It's weird. It's scales are like armor.

That can't be truer! Guess why we decided on a heaping plate of fried clams?

Hey there, maggie! The term is used in Downeast Maine far more than around here (the "Other Maine", some call us) so we're in the same territory - Acadian roots that never were completely wiped out by The Purge, and have happily begun to re-emerge. I hear Hurricane Katrina re-settlement actually caused a few Louisianians to move (back) up to the area once called Acadia in the Canadian Maritimes.Coincidentally, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in the middle of my last blog. So far, nothing drastic has happened yet...

There are indeed, but only on three or so boulevards (I think). Portland is geographically constrained by the peninsula it sits upon. Larger numbered addresses are consigned to the harbor and river bottom.

I can't figure that out either, MarketStEl. But the story goes that the mayors of Boston and Portland at the time were pushing for their city to take the name of the new settlement in Oregon. A coin was tossed and Portland won. On a recent visit there, I didn't see any resemblance to Boston either, so it was all an exercise in 19th century chutzpah... or it could be the trees.

Seeing how Tak is more energetic than most 60+ year-old people I know, every day is boys day for him. And many thanks for informing me of the origin of "Yosaku", I appreciate that. Domo!