johnnyd

Ten years ago, Craig and I were diving for sea urchins off Fort Gorges. That was the big gold rush in the nineties. When it dried up, a lot of guys didn't want to leave the water. When we fished out of Jonesport and Stonington back then we saw the salmon pens about a hundred yards off-shore. I think that was the first stab at aquaculture in these waters. Bennie and Tolof are still manning the mussel rafts. They have wonderful product as you saw in the foodblog. They sell to all the restaurants who care about good seafood.

Some would argue that the guys on the side of the road with a couple totes in the back of their pick-up are the best. I always go to Harbor Fish Market on Hobson's wharf for 99% of my seafood, they just do it right. Here's a shot from last shrimp season: The price that day was $1.59 per pound or $1.29/lb if you bought five or more lbs. Quite the deal. Here they are shelled:

Some people have vision, a restless perspective that says "why can't we do it like this?". Without them (ahem, I mean us!) the world would lack some of our more clever inventions. Hat's off! I would have loved to been in on that Potato Love Fest! The aquaculture raft was hit really hard during the red tides. They didn't sell a single critter during July4 weekend. Do know, however, that the DMR tests key points on the coast twice a week to monitor the situation. My foodblog was around AUG 28th, six weeks from the last alert so I was confident Craig's mussels were up to par. Sadly though, Craig, the fellow in the picture, standing in the boat, has decided to sell his share a month or so ago to the other two owners as it was just too much. He'd put in ten years. PM me on the cachaca connection, it's idiot proof thanks to an eG contact. We'll have to work on the grappa though. There is a thread somewhere about interstate liquor/wine sales somewhere. I am not under the impression that it's illegal, but you are in a far better position to know than I.

Lofts rock. Earlier, you mentioned your budget was not toooo much of a problem. Why not upgrade the gear, dude?

Welcome to eGullet esme. Your boss is a hell of a cook! Nice props in wednesday's new york times this week too, wow. I hope you have time to come around here often. Tell Rob he rocks. johnnyd PS: You said it! I am disappointed every time someone says "tapas bar", it just isn't going to be real. Let's just keep hoping, okay?!

Cool. This is a fascinating perspective - I loved the delivery route. Thanks a million for taking time for us.

Yeah, baby! Nothing gets me hotter than food at it's source. Chardgirl, with all that specialty produce you must be doing some biz with certain restaurants, or is that the job of brokers to whom you sell? Are you tight with the Jamaican and/or Middle Eastern places that serve goat dishes? edited to add: if I just read slower I would know the four reasons why you have goats BEFORE typing embarrassing posts here. Heel, johnnyd, heeeeel!

Lucy, I would happily take on this chore next year so that you can use the extra fifty five minutes in creative bliss, and Loic can monitor our wine glasses uninterrupted. ... if I start swimming now, I'll no doubt make it to Lyon in time.

johnnyd dips his toe in the local food-critic racket: Chopsticks For Sale Or Rent? Mort Peche reviews "King Of The Roll" Japanese restaurant

Outstanding! May foul weather and camera learning curves be well behind you, Lucy. Cheers to Loic and all the denizens of the neighborhood we are sure to meet this week. ... the sales of which will help produce the Vanel foodblog coffee table book I've been pitching for so long. Size LARGE please!

That's pretty cheap for chanterelles, but if I recall, they grow all over the place up there. Do you ever see any of the Matsutake they pick in Oregon or BC for sale there?

Not necessarily applicable, but I found a wholesaler in South Portland called www.sopowine.com today. Originally from Nashville, this couple moved to Maine 18 months ago. They focus on smaller, independent wines. The website has a long list of product and a call to them will yield a retailer. Oregon wines from Eola Hills.

Bruni's Reviews are printed in all editions of NYT. Papers reaching Maine at 6am are printed in Boston.

Your best value and general selection is up Forest Ave at: RSVP Discount Beverage and Redemption Center 887-889 Forest Avenue Portland, Maine 04101 (207)773-8808 Downtown, these guys have been around for a year: Downeast Beverage 79 Commercial Street Portland, Maine (207)828-2337 I see favorable eGullet.org comments on this place but I haven't been in: The Clown 121 Middle Street Portland, Maine 04101 (207)756-7399 Favorites of mine is (in the old port): Green Grocer 211 Commercial Street Portland, Maine 04101 and in the West End: Aurora Provisions 64 Pine Street Portland, Maine 04102 (207_871-9060 I haven't been in: Aubergine Wines 555 Congress Street Portland, Maine 04101-3308 (207)874-0680 -or- Portland Wine & Cheese 57 Exchange Street Portland, Maine 04101-5000 (207)772-4647

Tell me you made several sheetpans of rice krispie treats... you know, to use as a base!

Oh great! Another thing I must absolutely have! I wonder why the company has stopped making this unit? Compact, efficient, only US$150... what gives? Does it melt it's fittings or gaskets after 100 hours? Not profitable? Seems like it could still make us all happy at $250. I've been waiting for just such a tool. Hat's off to you, infernoo! I suppose to make the installation legal, and therefore insurable, one would need a dedicated exhaust hood array with a dedicated extinguisher line - basically a commercial restaurant apparatus, only in miniature... [quietly adding up remodeling costs]

Great blog, Kathleen. Damn, I miss New York... Thank you for confirming for those not in the know, that "assload" is indeed a measurement.

Bigwino: found your gambas al ajillo recipe from last year... Sounds delicious. A couple questions: - Did you poach your shrimp shells-on? - I assume the garlic stays in the oil until discoloration starts and fragrance is up-front? Longer? - What kind of chilis do you suggest? Thanks!

Okay people! Where are the reports of last night's cachaca tasting??? If your heads are pounding it was obviously a great success. Opinions are welcome. Pics are a bonus!

Que delicioso! K, Tropical looks outstanding. Thanks for the pics. Made me realize how long it's been since I've been to one of these.

Shrimp from the Gulf of Maine are small delicacies, weighing in at about 40-60pcs per pound. Harvested for years in boom and bust cycles, it appears the catch is on an upswing. The season is set annually taking into account rigorous sampling during prior years. Last year, news of fresh Maine shrimp ran on the New England forum, including a visit to the Portland Fish Auction one night when shrimp boats off-loaded their catch. Today there is an article on MaineToday.com (available for a limited time), discussing the need to set seasons for two years vs. just one to allow for adequate investment in processing equipment so that the harvest, almost 5 million pounds last year, can get to market. Purchased fresh, these shrimp are the tastiest I've ever had in North America. As such, the distance they can travel is short before rapid degredation causes spoilage. Frozen, they can extend their market reach as a viable alternative to - at the very least - those tiny, tasteless blobs found in cheap salad bars nation-wide. Check back here during the winter months for news, pix, recipes and sourcing on Fresh Maine Shrimp from the Gulf of Maine. Shrimp season starts December 12! From last season - February 2005:

About 1970, boatmen in the gulf of Maine started noticing that they were not fouling their propellers in the kelp as much any more when puttering around the shallows. Turns out, the sea urchins had eaten vast stretches of shoreline kelp and seaweed. Urchins had few predators, seals and crab mostly but they seemed to out-spawn everything else. This development coincided with frequent appearances of urchins in lobster traps instead of lobsters, and the decline in cod, striper, shrimp and mackeral stocks in the Gulf. The kelp forests were important breeding venues for these species. The urchin population had reached infestation level by the late seventies. Lobstermen were so mad when they found urchin-studded baitbags in their traps they started calling them whore's eggs. In 1986 or so, a japanese diver came to Portland and hired out a lobsterboat for a trip out on Casco Bay. He freighted the deck with sea urchins, much to the captain's dismay. Word got out around town and in a few years the coast was in a full-bore gold rush. The quality of the urchin gonads in Maine were very high, if a bit smaller than their pacific cousins. They are also harvested by individual scuba arrays instead of surface-supplied air hookahs preferred by California divers. Last I checked, California-licensed urchin divers need to supply a quota and are granted to platforms (dive boats) rather than individuals as in Maine. State regulation came too late in Maine and the harvesting reached a point in the millions of pounds, making the fishery the second busiest in the state in '94, '95, '96 and '97, the first being lobstering. In the peak years there were about 2500 licensed divers. Now there are about 250 with no new license availability. Diving is restricted to 10 days in some parts of the coast, about 30 days in others. Urchin "season" used to run from October 1st to mid-april. The landings ain't what they used to be and they aren't everywhere you look anymore, in fact, I hear divers have to really dig around to find the critters. Prices are stable regardless of the establishment of this fishery in Korea, Russia, Chile and possibly China. Lobstermen aren't getting urchins in their traps anymore, just lobsters. An old timer out on Swan's Island told me he's fouling the prop on his skif these days, so the kelp is back. That might explain why the stripers are back in almost commercially viable numbers and the Maine Shrimp catch has improved in recent years as they both spend their juvenile stages in-shore among the kelp and eel-grass. John - the color of that uni is exceptional.... mmm!

Indeed, it is the gonad. I once made an interesting hollandaise with a handful of uni. Nice, rich flavor, orange color, just a bit lumpy.

My first sushi experience included uni with a quail egg. Wonderful. Ten years later I'm jumping into the ocean off the wintery Maine coast in a drysuit and wool sweater, collecting sea urchins into a net bag (see goofy avatar, left). We used to crack a couple open every trip out for good luck. Delicious. Best job I ever had.

An unfortunate family name, surely...