Great Southern Foods

Cajun Claws Abbeville,Louisiana

2026-05-10T17:43:00.000-05:00

Cajun Clawsin Abbeville, Louisiana is the gold standard for crawfish in Acadia a or probably anywhere. As a crawfish broker, owner Donni Choate has an intimate understanding of the sources of the largest crawfish, primarily local farms around Forked Island. As a result, he only operates when he can procure the largest specimens, and his commitment to quality is unwavering, as he refuses to serve smaller ones. Patrons frequently praise the crawfish at Cajun Claws, describing them as the largest and best-boiled they have ever had, with perfect cooking, precise seasoning, and full, easily peeled tails. Additionally, the crawfish are purged in fresh water tanks for 20 to 48 hours to ensure cleanliness and sweetness. The fried shrimp is also highly regarded, featuring a secret family batter that is crispy and addictive. From a practical perspective, the bar opens around 4, with seating commencing at 5. It is recommended to arrive early or call ahead for take-out at 337-590-5012 or 337-893-9437, as they frequently sell out quickly. Cajun Claws typically operates from Thursday to Saturday during crawfish season. Although the establishment no longer features an elaborate sign, locals are well aware of its reputation. Patrons should anticipate a wait, but it is well worth the delay, as dining at Cajun Claws sets a new standard for excellence. Don't miss the outstanding local Gulf Fried Shrimp. They will be your gold standard.

Great Oyster Shuckers - New Orleans

2017-10-25T09:56:00.000-05:00

Meet Legendary Pascal's Manale Oyster Shucker

Thomas "Uptown T" Stewart

Whenever I am in New Orleans one of my favorite stops, and usually my first, is to visit Thomas Stewart, Know as "Uptown T" to friends and locals. I have enjoyed may a dozen oysters at this classic, marble topped, stand up oyster bar. It's the first thing you see when you walk into the bar from the side street door on Dryades St. Pascal's Manale is on the corner of Napoleon and Dryades and as you enter go straight to the bar tender, buy a Red Chip or two, good for one or two dozen oysters. I never have purchased the Green Chip, good for 1/2 a dozen.

Usually Diane and I get three dozen to start, then work our way up from there.

Kevin Kemp


Another Dozen "T"

Five Types of Oysters Grown in U.S.

The five types of oysters grown in the U.S. are the Crassostrea gigas, typically a West Coast or Japanees oyster. The Crassostrea sikamen or Kumamoto oyster also a West Coast. Another West Coast beauty is the Ostrea lurida or Olympia Oyster. It is thumb size with a sweet taste and a celery like aftertaste of finish. These oysters are very rare, if you find them on the menu, I suggest you order a dozen. They are a favorite of mine. Ostrea edulis or the European flats and grown on both the East and West Coasts of the U.S. This is the Belon, or the European Flats. Very fragile to ship because they easily loose their liquid. Most of the ones I have eaten have a rubber band holding the two shells closed to prevent them drying out. If on the menu, I will always eat them, but last because of the strong flavor. If eaten first, the other oyster taste will be covered up by the Belon, rich, mineral flavor and a mouthful. Last but not least is the oyster I grew up on, the Crassostrea virginica, or our Gulf Coast Oyster. Having enjoyed and indulged these virginicas all my life, that's my go to oyster and probably favorite.

It's a Social Thing

Oyster bars bring out the best in eating and socializing. I always meet the most interesting people sitting or standing around the bar, usually talking about their favorite spots or memorable food experiences. Next time you feel like having a great oyster moment, visit your local oyster shucker, and have a dozen or two.

Uptown T is the epitome of what I think a great oyster shucker should be, handy with the knife, friendly, engaging and leave you feeling you are his only customer and best friend.


Line them up "T"


Good For Two Dozen Oysters

Eating oysters at a classic oyster bar always makes the experience better when you have friendly, experienced oyster shuckers. They know it's essential for a well shucked oyster to always have the aductor mussel cut clean from both shells and presented nicely on ice. What I enjoy about Pascal's Manale's historic oyster bar, the oysters are ice cold then shucked and presented on a white marble counter right in front of you. No platter, but never more oysters on the counter that you can eat in a minute. This keeps the oyster firm, crisp and cold. Never rush eating oysters, enjoy the flavor of each, chewing and slurping every last drop of liquor. Every oyster has it's distinctive taste, slow down and enjoy the Merroir.

Take Your Time, Enjoy the Oyster Moment!

Thomas "Uptown T" Stewart Showing off Oyster Knives I gave to him

Look what I found in the tool box behind Uptown T's Oyster Bar

Christmas at Pascal's Manale Oyster Bar

This Great Oyster Moment captured a couple of years back, brings such fond memories. It was right before Christmas, Diane and I had made a quick trip to enjoy New Orleans, it's food, the Roosevelt Hotel, and it's Christmas decorations. The Holiday Season has always been a hectic time for us. Being in the restaurant, catering, and wholesale seafood processing and distribution business dictates working 24 hours a day for some of our operations. Going on this little excursion always brings me to the right place, Christmas Spirit. I quickly forget about how hard we have been working and remember the reason for this celebration. This particular year we sat at the bar and enjoyed visiting with locals and tourists, walking back and forth to the oyster bar three times, enjoying a dozen each time. Nothing reminds me of Christmas like raw oysters and oyster dressing. That week we had plenty of each.

Enjoy Oysters and Holiday Season!

Fort Worth Chuck Wagon Supper

2017-10-21T06:10:00.000-05:00

Chuck Wagon Legends, Homer Robertson and J. Arthur Garcia


Homer Robertson


J Arthur Garcia


Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork

Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork

Foodways Texas Throws a Party to Remember

I met these two World Renowned Chuck Wagon cooks at a recent Foodways Texas Symposium on April 27, titled Food Routes. The meal prepared, all done from scratch, cooked outside in dutch ovens with coals and could not have been better if it had come from the best kitchens in the country.

From homemade biscuits to peach cobbler it was one of those experiences you never forget. We were so lucky to have two of the best chuck wagon cooks prepare this epic meal. I saw first hand why the have won numerous World Championships.

Homer making his home made biscuits from scratch, the way they did while working cattle 100 years ago. They were tender, flaky and cooked to perfection.


Homer's Famous Dutch Oven Biscuits


Homer's Dutch Oven Homemade Biscuits

Below J. Arthur Garcia working the Dutch Ovens with their Famous Biscuits, and Fresh Peach Cobblers

Add caption

Below Check out this beautiful and delicious Peach Cobbler tended by J. Arthur, the man with the magic touch.

It' is hard enough to prepare a cobbler in a temperature controlled oven but check this out.

Famous Peach Cobbler Cooked in Dutch Oven

J. Arthur Cooking with Coal


Grilled Prime Rib Eyes Steaks and Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Jalapenos

Texas Ranch Rib Eyes


Ranch Beans

Ranch Rattlers (Stuffed, Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos)


Mac & Cheese

Texas Prime Coal Cooked Rib Eyes

What a terrific weekend in Fort Worth. Foodways Texas has brought together so many nice and interesting people. I would be excited and honored to spend a weekend with any that I have met at any Foodways event.

I would love to visit their home towns and explore food through their eyes and eat their favorite meals at restaurants, barbecue joints, cafes, hot dog stands or their of friends homes.

Food enjoyed with family and friends is the glue that holds us together. Today all my great meals revolve around family and friends

"Great Food always attracts Good Friends"

Oysterman Jules Melancon

2017-10-15T13:18:00.000-05:00

Legends of the Industry

Jules Melancon, Fourth Generation Oysterman

I met Jules in 1979 while buying oysters from Capt. Hayman Pitre in Grand Isle, LA. Jules, a bull of a man, known for throwing two 120 pound sacks of oysters, onto the back of a trailer truck at a time. I had also heard of his grannfather, Capt. Beto Eymard, like Capt. Hayman, both legendary fisherman on the Bayous and Bays of South Louisiana. They were both known for their delicious Barataria and Caminada Bay oysters.

When Capt. Hayman introduced me to Jules little did I know a lifelong friendship was born.

I started buying oysters from Jules in 1983 and have been a friend of him and his wife Melanie since. We have eaten and enjoyed more oysters together than I could ever count.

His passion for his trade drew me in and his love of producing a great oyster his loyalty and tenacious spirit has kindled our lifelong friendship.

About eight years ago Jules could see the handwriting on the wall and realized oyster populations would never be like his father, grandfather and great-grandfather's enjoyed and started looking for other choices to focus his passion. He knew that he was not going to see the volume to be able to fully utilize his 65 foot steel hull oyster boat named, My Melanie. A beautiful boat but too expensive to operate with the diminishing stock of wild oysters, crew members and $200 dolllars of diesel a day made it unsustainable.

Motor Vessel " My Melanie" at dock in Grand Isle, LA

It was March 20, 2010 when giving a talk with author Robb Walsh to an Oyster Industry Convention in New Orleans, that I met Dr. Bill Walton that led to the the Caminada Bay Oyster Company.

Me and Bill at State of Grace Oyster Bar

Bill is the Senior Marine Scientist, Associate Professor, School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences at Auburn University.

I had spoken that day of the need to specify the location, reef or bay our oysters are coming from and giving them a distinction rather than a generic Gulf Coast Oyster. This term had been used since the 50's and 60's. Prior the that people knew where their oysters were from on the Gulf Coast. Certain bays and bayous were highly prized for their distinctive taste and flavor and were sold as Bayou Cook, Barataria Bay, Caminada Bay and the such.

Jules on the M/V My Melanie 2010

Bill had mentioned to me that Steve Crockett, in Grand Bay, Alabama was growing oysters from seed, supplied by Auburn's Fisheries lab and was using an off bottom oyster mariculture process. This intrigued me, I asked Bill if I could come down to Bayou LaBatre, AL to see what he and Steve were doing.


Point aux Pins Oyster Farm, Grand Bay, Alabama Steve, Bill & Jules

Knowing that Jules was looking to find another profession, which I know he would never be happy with, I asked him to ride down to see what was going on. I told him if he would be interested, I would help him get started and guarantee sale of all of his production. In return would I have a new hobby and all the oysters I could eat. Little did he know how many oyster I could eat. On the ride home he said " Can you sell them, if so I can grow them".

Caminada Bay Oyster Farm was born and now marketed under the Brands, Beauregard Island, Champagne and Caminada Bay Oysters.

This year Jules started his Barataria Bay Oyster Farm on his grandfather's historic Independence Island. From that farm he will market the Queen Bess , Independence Island and a Barataria Pass oyster.

Below is Jules' grandfather's boat hauling a load of seed oyster to Independance Island in the 1940's
The Barataria Basin yielded an oyster know as the "Aristocrat of the Oyster World", which he hopes to duplicate that taste at his new farm. His Barataria Bay farm has been passed down to him for three generations.

Capt. Beto Eymard's Oyster Lugger Planting Seed in Barataria Bay circa 1040's

These oysters below were grown from seed using off-bottom mariculture to compete in the North American Oyster Showcase in Gulf Shores, AL in 2015 and 2016.


Louisiana Sea Grant Lab, Grand Isle, LA

Deep Cupped Oysters

Beautiful Maricultured Half Shell Oyster


Jules,, Me, Dickie Brennan and Chef Eric Cook at Bourbon House for a Caminada Bay Oyster and Wine Tasting

Rowan Jacobsen, author of The Essential Oyster enjoying a Caminada Bay Oyster on the oyster boat

In Rowan's latest book, The Essential Oyster he talks about Jules' Caminada Bay and Beauregard Island oyster. He says "With cages to protect the flock from marauding oyster drills, he has been able to produce the platonic ideal of a Louisiana oyster: a huge, plump dumpling of an oyster with the biggest adductor I've ever seen on a farmed specimen. The sweet adductor balances the salty belly and gives a lot of chew to the oyster--- just like Louisianans like it".

It takes someone that believes in the product because it cost more to produce than a wild oyster!

Ryan Prewitt

Chef Ryan Prewitt, left, James Beard Award winner 2014, Best Chef: South and his restaurant Peche was honered the same night, Best New Restaurant in America. Ryan was the first chef to help market Jules' oysters and immediately, when asked, said yes, I will proudly sell them at Peche.

Jules has found other visionaries that get it, like Dickie Brennan, of the New Orleans Brennan Family of Fine Restraurants and Dan Causagrove of Seaworthy, that have seen the value of promoting locally grown seafood. Thanks to these three gentlemen and those that have reached out for his oyster and giving this new to Louisiana technique a chance.
It takes chef's with vision to see that even if a fisherman produces a great product, it takes someone to market and make sure that fisherman makes enough money to stay in business.

It takes a successful fisherman to makes sure we continue our Gulf Coast fishing tradition and assures us all access to the best tasting seafood in the world.

Jules works his farm alone, with his wife Melanie, helping with the accounting and reporting necessary to run a business. Having built quite a reputation for their terrific farmed oysters, thankfully his demand has outstripped his supply. This has encouraged him to expand and hopefully all those interested in his oyster will have access.

We are all lucky to have fisherman with foresight to see that sometimes doing what your grandparents and parents did is not enough and needs a little change.

Jules has put down his dredge, hand selecting every oyster he grows!

He has changed how he cultivates and grows oysters but like his ancestors is still striving to produce the best tasting oyster on the Gulf Coast! He like his father and grandfathers before him were trailblazers, he's following his own path that is creating quite a wake on the bayous of South Louisiana.

He was the first fisherman in Louisiana to apply for and obtain an Alternative Oyster Culture license. Jules proudly shows off his #001 in the State of Louisiana.

A true pioneer and visionary for the oyster industry, the way his ancestors were.

Check out this link to see short video on Camanada Bay Oyster Farm/ Gulf Seafood Institute

(AOC) Louisiana License # 001

Look for his Famous Oysters at Fine New Orleans Restaurants


Six Caminada and Six Champagne Bay Oysters Peche Restaurant


From my Legends of the Industry Collection

“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.” Ernest Hemingway

Seafood Paella

2012-12-02T09:52:00.010-06:00

Giant Lobster and Shrimp Paella

Charles Poirier Sugar Cane Syrup Maker

2012-11-19T15:34:00.001-06:00

Charles Poirier's

Pure Sugar Cane Syrup

I met Charles Porier last year when Roxanne Breaux gave Diane and I a bottle of his syrup as a gift. He was only making the syrup for friends and family. He had produced only about 36 - 12 oz. bottles last year with no intention of making any to sell. I asked Diane to find out where he lived and how I could get in touch with him. After tasting the syrup I called Charles to ask him to make more so that other people would have the chance to taste his light, pure and wonderful syrup. I suggested to Charles that if he would grow enough sugar cane to produce 10 cases of syrup, I would purchase it all. This is the reason for my blog, finding people that produce delicious Southern products and Charles is certainly one of them.

Now I am the one giving it to family and friends and hopefully you will see Poirier's syrup in stores one day.

Charles tending his sugar cane patch

Charles is growing three varieties of sugar cane this year, an HOCP 000950 a POJ 290 (Product of Java) Purple Variety and the Ribbon or Stripped variety to find out which produce the best tasting

syrup.

Charles Poirier and daughter Kelcia crushing cane for juice

Old 1800's Sugar Mill Charles found that was used to test the juice's brix (sugar content)

This small mill was used when they received a load of cane to find out the sugar level before it was sent to the big mill for crushing.

Crushing Sugar Cane to produce juice

Pure Sugar Cane Juice

Pure Juice in cooking pot
Cooked for 6 to 7 hours slowly

Skimming impurities to keep the syrup light and clear.

Normally it takes about 125 stalks of cane to produce 15 gallons of juice like show above. After slowly cooking the juice down for 6 to 7 hours the yield is about 3 gallons of syrup.

One of the treats of making homemade sugar cane syrup, an ice cold glass of the pure cane juice.

Finished Product

This is a two day process, the cane is cut the evening before and the crushing starts at sun up. The juice is cooked for about 6 to 7 hours to the consistency of maple syrup. This syrup is light enough to be put on pancakes or biscuits.

Charles is in the process of building a Sugar House for next year's production and hopes to produce enough to sell locally. Everyone should have the chance to try home cooked syrup, cooked the old fashion way... Slowly.

I was so excited to see someone revive the process that most sugar cane farmers preformed on their farms in the 18th and 19th century. Most of the sweets in the deep South were made with this syrup in those days and as a child I can remember tasting candy that was a result of cooking the syrup too long.

There is a very fine commercial sugar cane syrup producer in South Louisiana and available in stores but to taste this light honey colored syrup is a real treat for me.

Below is the recipe for Syrup Cake or Gateau De Sirop made with Steen's cane syrup. Charles' syrup could be substituted and would produce a little milder tasting cake.

GATEAU DE SIROP

Servings 10

(Syrup Cake) or Masse Pain (as it is often called) Steen's Recipe
Note: This cake contains no sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ginger
1-1/2 Steen's cane syrup
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 egg,beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups sifted flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup hot water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan a 13 ½ x 8 ½ inch pan or muffin pan(s).

Combine oil, syrup, and beaten egg. Stir until well blended. Mix and re-sift dry ingredients except soda. Add dry ingredients to the oil, syrup, and egg mixture alternately with the hot water in which the soda has been dissolved. Begin and end with flour mixture.

Gerald Wayne Lemoine's Annual Boucherie

2012-08-08T09:57:00.001-05:00

The Meaning of Living in Avoyelles Parish

Gerald Wayne Lemoine

Gerald Wayne called me in February and invited me to his annual boucherie and couchon du lait held at his home in Bordelonville, LA in Avoyelles Parish. . Avoyelles is Louisiana's cultural center for roasting whole suckling pigs. Everyone in the area has at one time roasted a pig or help in the process and most families preform this ritual on a regular basis.

When I arrived I had no idea what to expect, I only knew that if Gerald Wayne was having a party it would be something I shouldn't miss.

Suckling Pig Roasting with Pecan Wood

The array of food all done from the pig was overwhelming. Boudin, cracklings, backbone stew, barbecued pork steaks, and a hole roasted pig. If that wasn't enough, Gerald Wayne fried about 30 chickens as appetizers.

Cracklings

Barbecued Chicken and Pork Steaks

Pork Backbone Stew

Checking temperature of boudin

If this wasn't enough, there was an enormous table filled with potato salad, rice dressing, pickled eggs and cucumbers, cold slaw and so many more sides that I can't recall them all. With that they were making fresh cinnamon rolls all day long.

Gerald Wayne's Legendary Cinnamon Rolls

On any given day you can find Gerald making these for someone. It could be for a fundraiser or feeding children at his petting zoo and most recently at his annual fundraiser in Avoyelles Parish Jail for female prisoners before the school year starts so that the incarcerated women can help buy school supplies for their children that have been left with relatives or friends to raise while they do their time.

Guest taking care of business while enjoying this fabulous meal.

Taking Care of Business with the 2 step

Fais Do Do

Gerald Wayne and I have become good friends over the years and calls from him come from time to time. It always excites me to hear his voice and it is usually to invite me to one of his outrageous parties or fundraisers. Everyone should have the opportunity to attend at least one of Gerald Wayne Lemoine's legendary parties during their lifetime. I only hope that I will get the chance to attend and enjoy many more.

Check out Southern Foodways Alliance's Short Film

By Joe York

"To Live and Die in Avoyelles Parish"

http://southernfoodways.org/documentary/film/avoyelles.html

When Gerald Wayne Calls, I Come Hungry

Louisiana Blue Crabs

2010-05-25T13:34:00.002-05:00

Lake Pontchartrain Blue Crabs

Greg with ice chest of crabs

Picking out the Big Males

Greg showing off our crabs

Blue Crab 9" Tip to Tip

Last week I had to make a trip to South Louisiana to check on product we were buying and to find out the latest on British Petroleum's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

I can always count on Greg Nick when I call and say I need help and today was a day that I would be spending 20 or so hours on the road alone, traveling the Louisiana coast. He immediately volunteered to help and when passing through Lafayette I picked him up. We always make the best out of our trips together and traveling with him is never going to be monotonous or boring and today was no exception.

We were going to see our oyster fisherman, shrimp buyers and crabbers today and knew that somewhere along the way we would find some of Louisiana's finest seafood for Greg to take back home to Peggy, Greg's wife.

On this trip we picked up a number of wonderful Louisiana delicacies and Anthony Liuzza's, Liuzza Farms, produced some of them. Our first stop was to pick up Liuzza's Creole tomato's and the famous Louisiana strawberries at a favorite produce stand along the way. Liuzza Farms are considered one of the premiere local farmers in Louisiana and located in Tickfaw, LA. Greg's favorite tomato's are the Liuzza Creole and I agree with him.

Next we went to visit a crabber friend of mine to talk to some of his friends about frogging for me this summer when the season opens. Louisiana has some of the tastiest and tenderest frogs I have eaten. I want to introduce these frog legs to some of our chefs in Texas and in turn have their customers find out what they have been missing.

While we were there, crabbers were coming in from Lake Pontchartrain with some of the prettiest crabs I had seen this month. Seeing these beauties, we could not pass picking up a couple of dozen. A crab feast was in the making and with these giants you did not need more than three crabs per person. Most of the crabs were 9 inches across from tip to tip, which I consider giant.

Greg and I both love boiled crabs and the way he cooks them is my favorite way. He is of the old school New Orleans style, boiling then soaking. He seasons the water to the taste he likes then adds the crabs, back side up. After they are cooked he allows them to soak in the liquid that they were boiled in while adding a bag of ice to the boiling pot. This change in temperature allows the crab to suck in the seasoned water, seasoning the blue crab's succulent sweet meat throughout. He is one of the best crab cooks I know and could not wait to have him throw these beauties in his boiling pot.

We had a great trip that day, seeing crabbers, oyster-men, shrimpers and farmers but the highlight of this day was not the wonderful bounty that we were able to find throughout South Louisiana, it was the quality time I got to spend with Greg, one of my oldest and most trusted friends.

Mansura Cochon de Lait

2010-05-11T15:36:00.328-05:00

"Pit Boss" Gerald Wayne Lemoine

Cochon de Lait

Cords of Pecan and Oak wood for the all night cook

Whole Hogs hanging in the Barbecue Barn

Gerald Wayne with his pig sticker sampling the homemade links

Hogs and Shoulders hanging in the Barbecue Barn

Last week while in Grand Isle, Louisiana I noticed on my calendar that the Mansura Cochon de Lait was coming up on Mother's Day weekend. I had missed it last year and made a note to make sure I made time to make the drive to Avoyelles Parish in East Central Louisiana.

Everyone from Avoyelles Parish knows how to have a Cochon de Lait (Suckling-Pig) and people in that neck of the woods have one of the largest and best pig roast in the state.

Avoyelles Parish is where the Red, Atchafalaya and Mississippi Rivers meet which produce some of the most beautiful and one of the largest area of swamp land in Louisiana.

I wanted to arrive in Mansura at around 4:00 p.m. to watch the "Pit Crew" light the fires and hang the whole hogs in the cochon de lait roasting barn, built just for roasting pigs. I arrived at around 6:00 p.m. to meet legendary cook and "Pit Boss" Gerald Wayne Lamoine.

The first thing that I noticed was Gerald Wayne all in black, wearing a large black western hat and sporting a 45 caliber automatic on his hip. I immediately thought surely he must be the Sheriff or a Deputy and later found out that he was neither.

Gerald Wayne told me that " I grew up working livestock in the swamps of Avoyelles and when I was seven years old my Uncle gave me a hat, a sidearm, put him on a horse and told me to round up these animals."

"I never take this gun off, I spent eleven years in the Army as a Ranger and when I came home saw no reason to go anywhere without it."

Yes, I would call Gerald Wayne a man's man!

After hearing that story I immediately made plans to meet Gerald Wayne in Bourdelonville, his home town, and spend a Saturday with him at his farm. He told me they make butter, cheese and milk about 60 gallons of milk a day from his animals. I also want to talk to him about doing a cochon de lait for me but not quite as big as the one he was doing today.

Gerald Wayne is legendary in these parts for his cooking and baking, cochon de lait and cinnamon rolls are his specialty, and in fact the next day was going to do a benefit pancake breakfast, serving crawfish etouffee on top of them instead of syrup. Gerald Wayne is the go-to man when wanting to throw a big party and today he was in his glory.

Getting back to why I was in Mansura, "The Cochon de Lait". I found out that they were cooking about 4,000 pounds of pork and and were going to serve a pork dinner for Mother's Day lunch between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. the next day. The proceeds were to benefit the Mansura volunteer fire department.

The hogs were split open from the stomach and laid flat between two pieces of heavy wire tied together and hung to roast rib side first. Exposed to a roaring fire comprised of piles of oak and pecan wood, these hogs were turned after about two and a half hours. After turning the skin side facing the fire they were moved a foot or so back so not to cook the skin side too fast. The hogs began to drip after about 3 hours and the "Pit Boss" slowed the fire and slowly let them cook for twelve more hours turning every couple of hours throughout the rest of the night.

Originally, long before the Civil War, cooking was done outside with an open fire so that the pigs could be tended and watched while working in the fields.

Gerald Wayne explained to me that the cochon de lait was done out of necessity in the early days. A sow (female) can start having babies after about eight months old and can produce 8 to 12 and many times as much as 20 piglets in four months and can have babies twice a year. He said that a sow could only feed so many piglets a day and the suckling pigs that could not get enough milk had to be killed and cooked so that the mother would have enough milk to feed the remaining piglets. That is how the cochon de lait was born, making the hog responsible for many great parties in Louisiana. He told me that before refrigeration having cochon de laits were a common occurrence, you could always find someone having a pig roast. Today the cochon de lait is reserved for special occasions or outdoor parties.

I would recommend a trip next year to Mansura and the Cochon de Lait Festival . Make a weekend out of it and tour the beautiful and scenic roads through this beautiful parish. I put it on my calendar for next year, but will be going very soon to spend a day with Gerald Wayne Lamoine to see the real Avoyelles and hopefully find someone having a cochon de lait in their yard.

Breton Island Salts

2010-04-30T11:42:00.007-05:00

6' Gulf Oyster from Breton Island, LA

Large "Breton Island Salt"

Brandy of Reef Restaurant with "Breton Island Salt"

1/2 Dozen Breton Island Oysters

Bryan Caswell - Reef Restaurant

One of the advantages of my job is finding and having the opportunity to try many wonderful and interesting food products whether it be crabs, crawfish, shrimp, oysters or whatever fin-fish is in season. Today happen to be oysters, which in fact is one of my favorite foods. I never turn down a chance to eat oysters.

Last week fourth generation oyster farmer John Tesvich, with Port Sulphur Fisheries Co., called me and said "a couple of weeks ago I put out 600 oysters in 12 cages off of Breton Island to begin testing salt-water relaying as a treatment for cleansing and enhancing Gulf oysters. We harvested the oysters yesterday, after a 15 day soak, and I was impressed how the oysters looked and tasted."

John sent me 3 boxes of his Breton Island Salts to test. I was having a lunch meeting the day they came in with Chef Bryan Caswell, author and food critic Robb Walsh and Dr. Jeff Savell from the Department of Animal Science at Texas A&M University and figured who better to help taste these Breton Island Salts than these guys.

These were beautiful thick shelled mature oysters that were plump and both salty and sweet at the same time.
The taste got better as I chewed and after eating left a wonderful taste at the back of my tongue. These oysters if given the chance could rival any that I have eaten and would be a prize for any oyster bar anywhere to serve on the half-shell. We checked the salinity with a refractometor that showed the salt level of 45 parts per thousand. I think that oysters with a salinity of between 35 ppt and 45 ppt taste best.

Here were some of the comments from some of our tasting panel:

Dr. Jeff Sabell "Wow, they can't get better than this!"

Robb Walsh "Your Breton Island Salts are phenomenal! Love the jumbo size, sweetness and the high salt!"

Bryan Caswell "I would like to echo Robb's remarks, your Breton Island Salts are one of the sweetest, briniest I've ever experienced. Jim gave us a box to test out on our oyster-loving clientele and the response has been phenomenal. It makes me beam with pride to serve a Gulf oyster of that caliber. My only question is how can I get more?"

I have been a proponent for many years of the oyster men pulling out their best tasting oysters from their best reefs and trying to market them with specific names as the East and West Coast oyster dealers have been doing. Every oyster man has his favorite reef and oysters and the time has come for them to separate them on the boat before they are mixed with the sacks going to the shucking shops.

People now more than ever are wanting to eat local products and know where their foods come from. With the renaissance of the oyster bar it just makes sense for our fishermen to harvest their best tasting half shell oysters, name the reef they come from and market them at a price they deserve. After all we have some of the best tasting oysters in the world and everyone in the United States should have the chance to eat a Breton Island Salt, Diamond Reef, Galveston Point or Apalachicola oyster.

I personally feel that the offshore suspension relay system if approved by the FDA would be great for the Gulf Coast oyster and may give them the chance to be enjoyed again in all the oyster bars across America as they once were.

A study was done by Miles L. Motes and Angelo Depaola some years ago titled "Offshore Suspension Relaying To Reduce Levels of Vibrio vulnificus in Oysters" (Crassostrea virginica) ( This was the process that John Tesvich used to treat these oysters.)

Their findings were the following "Relaying of oysters into high-salinity offshore waters during the warm months reduces V. vulnificus to levels typically observed during January and February, two months in which food-born V. vulnificus illness has never been reported. Thus, offshore relaying is a relatively simple process that the shellfish industry may employ to reduce V. vulnificus levels in raw Gulf Coast oysters.

Give Gulf oysters a chance!

Karanchos Tacos Al Pastor

2010-04-22T15:32:00.008-05:00

Parking lot at Karanchos

Karanchos Kitchen

Trompo Tacos Al Pastor

Tacos al pastor

Grilling Whole Chickens

Saturday and Sundays outside pit

Grilled Chicken Dinner

Having been in the restaurant and wholesale seafood business for over 40 years has given me the opportunity to experience so many fine and interesting places. I have so many wonderful food and restaurant memories but I am always looking for the next place that excites me. Tonight Karanchos was one of those places.

Diane and I decided to have supper at Karanchos on Sheldon road last night and the minute we drove up we both looked at each other and knew that we had come to the right place.

The place has two trailers for kitchens and the dining room is located on top of a concrete parking lot with tables, umbrellas and an open metal covered area with ceiling fans. There are planters all around with agave plants and queen palms planted out front giving the place a very comfortable feeling. The employees were wearing bright orange uniform shirts and were accommodating, helpful and friendly. They even let me go into the kitchen to take pictures of the trumpo al pastor. I asked to take photos of them grilling and seasoning the chickens and was invited into the trailer to capture images of their wonderful grilled chicken.

We ordered tacos al pastor, a whole grilled chicken, charro beans, grilled onions, jalapenos, sliced avocados and tomatoes, sat back and enjoyed the festive atmosphere.

All the food arrived at once, tacos were freshly carved off of the trompo (spinning top), crispy ends, chickens were hot off the pit, crispy and juicy . We filled our corn tortillas with all the trimmings and added a fresh squeeze of lime juice and hot sauce. As we both bit into our first taco al pastor we glanced at each other with our eyes sparkling, mouths full, bobbing our heads up and down thinking yes, yes, we have hit taco gold.

The grilled chicken was just as good, smokey from the charcoal succulent and crispy. This chicken I thought to myself is better than I could ever do at home and I think of myself as a pretty decent home grill man.

I started this blog so that I could journal my favorite food finds and memorable meals with family and friends and this was indeed one of the remarkable ones. Eating at a taco stand you always run the risk of being unimpressed, last night left me very impressed and longing to return.

I want to thank Jay Roscoe @gunsandtacos (twitter account) for his guidance and you would do yourself a favor by going to his blog at www.gunsandtacos.com

Cookin' With Velma Duhon

2010-03-12T13:05:00.020-06:00

Cookin' Crab Stew with Velma in Grand Isle, LA

Velma cooking her famous crab stew

Charlene and Velma

Diane and Velma making potato salad

Velma enjoying her crab stew!

Velma's 90th Birthday Party
December 20, 2009

I first met Velma when my brother Jeff married Charlene, Velma was Charleen's mother.

There are people you meet in life that you have an instant connection to, Velma Duhon was one of those people. Velma was 30 years my senior but that was never a barrier to our friendship. I liked her the minute I met her and from that day it was always a treat for Diane and I when Velma was around.

She was one of my oyster eating buddies and I could not think of her without thinking of oysters. Velma loved them so much that she would often get up in the middle of the night, go to the refrigerator, pull out a few oysters, mix up a little sauce and enjoy a midnight snack. She would regularly eat raw oysters for breakfast and if she would have had a regular supply, I have no doubt, would have eaten them daily.

Did I say that Velma loved oysters?

Velma was also a great cook and in her later years I had several opportunities to cook with her. She would always let you know what she was hungry for and the conversation would go something like this.

"A crab stew would sure be good today. Do you think you can find some crabs? How are the oysters running, are they salty? I bet you can find some crabs, I really feel like cooking a stew. We should eat a few dozen oysters while that stew is cooking".

Velma also loved sweets, but was diabetic. She loved Diane's Italian cream cake and on one occasion I was explaining to her that Diane could use splenda instead of sugar like she does for me. She quickly instructed me to mind my own business and told me to let Diane make her cake the way Diane likes to make it. I knew it right after I said it, that was none of my business and who was I trying to suggest anything but the real thing!

Velma Duhon had her 90th birthday on December 20 last year and on Friday, February 26th this year was admitted into the hospital with double pneumonia.

Velma died in her sleep on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at the young age of 90.

Velma, I think Diane and I will go out this afternoon and will each eat a dozen oysters for you. The next time we are in Grand Isle, Jeff, Charlene, Diane and I will cook a big crab stew, eat a nice slice of cake and think of you.

We loved you so much Velma and will miss you dearly.

Louisiana Bow Fin Caviar AKA (Choupique Caviar)

2010-01-06T10:21:00.020-06:00

Louisiana's Cajun Caviar

John Burke with Cajun Caviar Company

Bow Fin (Choupique)

Choupique or Bow Fin Caviar

Louisiana Caviar with Grand Isle Oyster

Diane trying John's Louisiana Bow Fin Caviar

The week between Christmas and New Years Diane and I went to visit John Burke, owner and founder of Louisiana Caviar Co. We went to John's home on St. Charles Avenue, in New Orleans, to meet him and try his famous Choupique caviar. While we were there tasting this Louisiana delicacy, John introduced us to his newest product, Ghost Pepper Caviar.
This caviar is processed the same way as his traditional product with the addition of a small amount of Bhut Jolokia peppers (Ghost Pepper) . Diane and I thought that the caviar with the addition of this Northeastern Indian pepper was a wonderful new addition to his line. We both agreed that we preferred the spicy pop this new caviar gave to our taste buds. We left John's house with a 5 ounce jar to help us ring in the new year and twenty seven more for our Louisiana Foods customers.

The Bhut Jolokia pepper gives this caviar a very unique taste and after the first bite you can't help but want another and another of this fabulous Louisiana caviar .

We ate the caviar on blinis, toast points and oysters and came to the conclusion that there was no better way to enjoy caviar than to pile it up and eat it off of the back of our hands.

So I say dispense with the formalities, caviar never tasted better than eaten alone without anything to dilute it's wonderful taste.

Caviar off the back of our hand

Capt. Wilbert Collins eating his first caviar aboard the the oyster boat "Capt. Wilbert"

Don Usie's Crab Etouffee and Corn Maque Choux

2009-08-26T13:01:00.014-05:00

Diane and Mavis eating boiled blue crabs

Don Usie's Crab Etouffee

Don making Corn Maque Choux

Cutting the corn twice

Don scraping milk from corn cob

Every time that Don Usie invites us to supper Diane and I wish we could drop everything and head over to Don's house. Don lives in Lafayette and is among my favorite people to cook and sit down and eat with.

Don is originally from Breaux Bridge, LA and learned to cook from his parents who taught him traditional French Acadian cooking at it's best. Don does not do anything easy and never would think of taking a short cut, from peeling his own crabs for crab meat to cleaning the crab's shells with a tooth brush before adding them to his sauce.

A few week ago Don and his wife Mavis were in Grand Isle, LA spending the week with my brother Jeff and his wife Charlene. Before Don arrives in Grand Isle he has already visited his favorite farmers, fishermen and butchers gathering all his favorite ingredients needed for the next few days.

Knowing Don was headed to the Island I notified my favorite crabbers to hand pick the best crabs from their catch that day. I had them pick 6 dozen of the largest and heaviest freshwater male crabs from the catch. The day I called they caught about 5,000 pounds of crabs. I knew that I could impress Don with the best crabs culled from that catch. When Don arrived my brother Jeff, Don and I headed up the bayou to pick up our crabs and yes I think Don was impressed with what our fisherman Jeffrey had chosen for us. Don kept saying I can't believe these crabs, man look at these crabs!

The trip up the bayou yielded a couple of other good things from soft shell crabs to jumbo 9 - 12 count white shrimp but that is a story for another time.

Don starts cooking not long after he wakes up in Grand Isle. A big breakfast first then he starts the evening meal. Today it was going to be his famous crab etouffee and corn maque choux. He started with four chopped onions and a couple of diced green bell peppers, two large home grown tomatoes and a can of rotel (tomatoes with green chilies) and about a cup of vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pot. He simmers and stirs this all day making a red paste after simmering for eight hours. The sauce is ready to add the raw crabs which he has cleaned with his crab tooth brush after he had chilled them with ice so that they became dormant. He pulled the top shell off of the crab, trimmed the swimmer legs with scissors and broke off the claws. Don boiled the claws and picked the meat so that he could add the meat to the etouffee right before it is ready to serve.

It's time to add the whole cleaned raw crabs to the sauce, he stirs in the crabs very good, covers the pot and cooks on medium fire for about an hour stirring again three more times . He checks for salt and pepper and adds a little more pepper and chops a fresh cayenne pepper over the sauce then adds the claw meat and covers for about 20 more minutes. He had a large pot of Maque Choux that he had cooked on the side. Don called out it's time to start the rice as he heated garlic butter to spread between a loaf of crusty French bread.

As soon as the rice was ready the smell of the garlic bread spread throughout the camp I knew it was almost time to eat. It had been 10 hours from the time Don started preparing supper that morning until the time we ate. As we sat down to this glorious meal Don and Jeff were trying to decide what they were going to cook tomorrow for lunch.

Caesar's Salad with Carla Cardini

2009-08-25T12:08:00.017-05:00

Original Caesar's Salad

Carla Cardini demonstrating her grandfather's Caesar Salad

Whole Romain lettuce hearts and leaves with coddled eggs

Diane making Caesar's Salad for two!

Ready to Serve

Caesar Salad (SEE-zer) - The salad consists of greens (classically romaine lettuce) with a garlic vinaigrette dressing. In the 1930s, Caesar Salad was voted by the master chefs of the International Society of Epicures in Paris as the "greatest recipe to originate from the Americas in fifty years." Linda Stradley From What's Cooking America

Monday night we were invited to the old Judge Roy Hofheinz home, the builder of the Astrodome and Astroworld, and the current location of Catering by Culinaire by the Houston Chow Hounds to attend a demonstration by Carla Cardini. Carla is the granddaughter or Alex Cardini, the creator of the Caesar Salad in Tijuana, Mexico in 1927.

There are many accounts of how and who invented the salad, but it is believed that Alex first added anchovies and first served it to a group of aviators visiting Tijuana from Rockwell field in San Diego. Alex, an ace pilot himself in the Italian Air Force during World War I, made the salad intending whole lettuce leaves to be eaten with your hands.

Carla started off with whole romaine lettuce leaves and hearts, enough for two people, and drizzled a little vegetable oil enabling the salt and pepper to stick to the leaves. She then broke two coddled eggs over the leaves and squeezed two key limes or one whole regular lime over each egg yolk and about four or five shakes of a bottle of Worcestershire sauce over the leaves.

The croutons were French bread rounds, toasted, rubbed with anchovy paste on both sides then each side dipped in vegetable oil that had minced garlic marinating in it.

At that time the croutons were added to the salad along with Parmigiana Reggiano and a little more of the oil and garlic. The leaves were gently rolled with salad tongs until thoroughly coated making sure croutons were not broken. Taste for seasoning and more cheese can be added if dressing is too wet.

Everyone stood around their respective salad bowls and ate their salads with their fingers which of course made it even taste better.

This is as close to the recipe as I can remember Carla making. Out of the 10 or 12 salads made last night, every one had a slightly different taste. Some liked more cheese, salt, pepper,Worcestershire or garlic, but all in all every salad was very good.

This is a very simple and delicious dressing to make. A Caesar Salad should never be made ahead of time.

We like to have informal meals with our friends and this salad would be perfect to serve at these dinners. Give each couple their own salad bowl and ingredients. Let everyone make their own salad and see for yourself that each one will be slightly different. Salad can be eaten directly out of the bowl or leaves arranged in a circle around a plate.

Texas Peaches from Bayou City Farmer's Market

2009-06-08T12:00:00.005-05:00

Strawberry Patch's Texas Peaches

A couple of months ago while at the Bayou City Farmer's Market I noticed a line of people waiting for peaches from the Strawberry Patch . The line was long and seemed to last for several hours. All the times that I have gone to the farmer's market, I had never seen a line like this. The line lasted until all of the peaches were gone and probably would have lasted until the

market closed if they had not run out.

We purchased a flat of peaches knowing that they must be extraordinary and indeed they were. They were the best peaches that I have had this year, juicy and very sweet. When I bit into my first peach the juice ran down my cheeks and I could hardly stop eating them.

Diane and I both enjoyed this flat of peaches eating all of them over the next week and not getting a chance to freeze any, which was our original intention.

Next year when you see peaches from the Strawberry Patch don't pass them up.

Soft Shell Crab Sandwich

2009-04-21T08:33:00.003-05:00

Crisp Fried Soft Shell Sandwich

Soft Shell Crab w/over ripe tomato.

One of my favorites -- Soft Shell Crab Sandwich

April is the beginning of soft shell crab season on the Gulf Coast and boy did I start off with a bang. Last week I stopped by one of my soft shell suppliers and picked up a dozen large crabs classified as whalers. I love making fried soft shell crab sandwiches with my first crabs of the season. I picked up a couple of ripe hot house tomatoes and a loaf of soft sliced bread and headed to my office to fix lunch. Soft shell crab sandwiches are a seasonal treat and everyone should eat at least one. I like a crispy fried crab with a little mayonnaise, ketchup, hot sauce topped with an over ripe tomato and served on white or wheat sliced bread. Try one with a fresh soft shell crab and you will be a fan for life.

Strawberry Shortcake

2009-04-20T07:00:00.003-05:00

Strawberry Shortcake

Birthday Cake

Every year for my birthday, Diane asks what kind of cake I want and every year I say the same thing, strawberry shortcake. Fresh strawberries are always in season in April and adding whipped cream and shortcake together makes my favorite cake.

Diane's shortcake, a giant slightly sweet biscuit holds up well to the juicy strawberries and whipped cream that she generously adds to it. A very simple cake but one that I will take over any other.

We celebrated three birthdays with this cake, Jamie my stepdaughter's, Jay my brother-in-law's and mine, that's what the three candles were for.

Little Eagle's Boiled Crawfish

2009-04-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

Little Eagle's Boiling Room

Washing Crawfish

Boiling Pots

Dining Room

Boiled Crawfish

Platter of Crawfish

Kurt LeBoeuf's Little Eagle in Golden Meadow, LA is a favorite stop during crawfish season. I have been stopping at the Little Eagle for more than 40 years and until about 1o years ago I could fill up with gas, get a drink and eat boiled crawfish. Kurt and his wife Jackie decided to stop selling gas and open only for live and boiled crawfish. During the off season Kurt is a fishing guide and manages a fishing camp with his wife Jackie in the marsh south of Golden Meadow. Both Kurt and Jackie are great cooks and have terrific crawfish. Whenever I'm working in the area I always look forward to visiting, having a few platters of crawfish and catching up with the locals.

The Little Eagle is a converted service station with two long communal tables and hundreds of old fishing and maritime relics collected by Kurt's father and mother over the last 60 years. This is the type of place that I grew up eating boiled seafood and find vanishing all over South Louisiana.

Every crawfish season when headed down the bayou, I go through Golden Meadow , I keep my fingers crossed and hope that Kurt and Jackie have opened this little jewel one more year. I know that some day because of rising property cost, increased regulations and "progress", the Little Eagle will be a replaced with a shopping center or maybe a nail salon and sushi bar.

Crawfish Bisque

2009-04-16T11:23:00.000-05:00

Diane and Carolyn in kitchen

Audrey "Toots" peeling crawfish and saving the fat.

Jamie and Will stuffing heads

Carolyn and Diane stuffing heads

Stuffing heads

Tray of stuffed crawfish heads

Butter Roux

Crawfish Bisque w/ stuffed heads

Making and eating crawfish bisque, when I was growing up, has always been a special event for our family. Because of the work involved in preparing and stuffing the heads, eating crawfish bisque was reserved for restaurants. When I was growing up there were plenty of restaurants that served great crawfish bisque. Today due to the inability to buy crawfish fat and heads some restaurants have taken this traditional dish off of the menu or have eliminated the stuffed heads.

During Holy Week, the peek of the crawfish season, I decided that I would get the family together and cook crawfish. My grandson Will, on his way to visit with us in Grand Isle for the week and knowing that we were cooking crawfish, asked his mother a question that really made me feel bad. He asked Jamie, "Mom what is crawfish bisque?" When Jamie told me that I was ashamed I had not cooked this traditional crawfish favorite for him.

I knew this week would be the perfect time to make crawfish bisque. Diane's mother, Audrey and sister, Carolyn were going to be here. With the children and grandchildren also here it would be a perfect time to make an old fashioned crawfish bisque and everyone could help.

We started early Friday morning, first boiling and peeling the crawfish. We cleaned heads and saved the fat buried deep in the head. Without that fat our bisque would not have tasted like we all remembered it. We spent all day, making roux, chopping vegetables, cooking the bisque, preparing stuffing and cleaning and stuffing the crawfish heads. We were six people working on this family meal. This was a real labor of love, after all we were cooking for the family and we would be serving at least 14 of them that night.

After supper was served and everyone said that this was the best crawfish bisque they had ever eaten (our last bisque is always the best) we realized why Will had never eaten bisque. To make great crawfish bisque takes much labor and time but all of us vowed to at least cook one large bisque a year and to make it a family event.

Crawfish Peeling Plant

2009-04-16T09:54:00.000-05:00

Hand Peeled Crawfish

Crawfish Peeler

Pile of Crawfish on Peeling Table

Peeled Crawfish Meat

Premium Hand Picked Crawfish Meat

Last week while working in Louisiana I had a chance to visit an old friend's crawfish peeling plant which is now being run by his daughter Rose and nephew Greg.

Lionel Hayes was the first person to start peeling crawfish commercially. He told me that while selling live crawfish for Joe Amy in Henderson, Louisiana he had 7 sacks of crawfish left over one afternoon. He dropped a few sacks off at each of his sister's homes to peel so that he wouldn't loose the crawfish. After they cooked and peeled the crawfish he asked one of his large customers, which was Don's Seafood & Steakhouse restaurant in Lafayette if they were interested in buying the crawfish tails. Don, Ashby and Willie Landry said that they would and thus an industry was born. During the early 50's restaurants that served crawfish etouffee, bisque and stew had to peel them which required extra labor during crawfish season.

Joe Amy owned a grocery store in Henderson and decided to open a peeling plant and have Lionel run it for him. Demand for peeled crawfish began to grow as more restaurants and supermarkets needed the meat

Lionel later opened his own plant and during the early 70's I began buying from him for my own first restaurant. We opened more restaurants and a wholesale company and eventually bought most of his production. He had the best peeled crawfish in those days and his reputation for top quality remains today.

Lionel died last year, but his daughter and nephew have kept his high standards and still produce one of the best peeled crawfish in Louisiana.

I knew Lionel for over 40 years and had the opportunity to spend many hours with him during crawfish season. When I hear the word crawfish I can't help thinking of Lionel Hayes, he was a pioneer and great friend I truly miss.

Boston's Neptune Oyster Bar

2009-03-26T11:21:00.000-05:00

Neptune Oyster Bar

Oysters on half shell

Mussel's

Crab Louie

Neptune Oyster Bar, a tiny match box sized restaurant in Boston's Italian North End, owned by Jeff Nace, is my favorite oyster bar in Boston.
The last time I was in Boston I had eaten here and knew that this trip, Neptune would be my first stop. We ended up eating there twice during my stay and would have gone back a third time if we would have had the time.

The 16 stools at the oyster bar and 26 banquette seats are always occupied and waiting for a seat at one of them is very common. No reservations! We like to give our name and cell number to the hostess, then walk the neighborhood for the next hour. The walk is most interesting and dining at Neptune is well worth the wait. About 45 minutes later my cell rang, our table was ready and we head back.

When seated we ordered several dozen oysters, fried whole belly clams and lobster rolls with butter. The selection of oysters were great the whole belly clams were light and tender and the lobster roll is second only to Red's Eat in Wiscasset, ME.

The next visit we ordered oysters on the half shell, whole belly clams, Crab Louie and lobster spaghettini. The owner Jeff told me to come back for the lobster spaghettini on Monday and boy am I glad I did. This was worth the trip in itself.

Neptune is an all around jewel, a great bistro, oyster bar and neighborhood hang out. I can't wait to have an excuse to go back to Boston just to eat here. I already miss the whole belly clams.

I think I will try to get a few restaurants to handle them here so that I won't have to take those 4 hour flights but until then Boston here I come.

Grand Central Oyster Bar

2009-03-23T13:18:00.000-05:00

One Dozen Please

Grand Central Oyster Bar prior to opening

Executive Chef Sandy Ingber

Carlos Arenas

Oyster Pan Roast

Kettles in kitchen

Having lunch with Sandy Ingber at Grand Central Oyster Bar, one of the greatest oyster bars in the world, was one hell of a treat and one that I will not forget.

We arrived early before opening and got to walk through the place before the crowds came. We picked the best seats at the oyster bar and got Carlos Arenas working on a list of things that we wanted to eat that day.

Before the rush started Sandy took us on a tour of the facility going through the kitchen down below the restaurant through all of the prep rooms, bakery and numerous coolers for each different protein. Walking through the bowels of this 96 year old restaurant brought to mind how things must have been done 100 years ago. Everything was made on premise and to run a restaurant of this magnitude took a huge kitchen. Keeping up with the current $16,000,000.00 a year sales takes every inch of this enormous place.

Grand Central Oyster Bar is stunning with its famous tiled, vaulted ceilings, making it one of New York's most spectacular restaurants even today.

We arrived back at our stools when we finished our tour and got ready to sample what Carlos had put together for us, oyster pan roast, fried whole belly clams, Nantucket Bay scallops and more oysters than we could shake a stick at. Thanks Carlos for taking such good care of us and special thanks to Sandy for giving us the royal treatment while in New York last week, we will never forget this trip.

New York's Fulton Fish Market

2009-03-22T19:52:00.000-05:00

Executive Chef Sandy Ingber ~ Grand Central Oyster Bar~

Fulton Market

Swordfish

The Fulton Fish Market's hours of operation are from 1:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. Monday thru Friday. Last week I had arranged to meet Sandy Ingber, the Executive chef of the Grand Central Oyster Bar at 4:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. We left in a cab from Manhattan at about 3:15 in a cab for the 30 minuter ride to Hunt's Point in the Bronx. We arrived early and made our way to the arranged meeting spot with Sandy. The place is one of the largest coolers that I have ever walked into all 400,000 sf of it. We were to meet at Blue Ribbon Fish Company. They are the company that consolidate and put his orders together that he purchases throughout the market. After meeting Sandy and getting the run down of the market we began to walk and check out each stall. Sandy knew everyone around the market and as we walked and made purchases his friends would come up and let him know what was their freshest fish today and what he should expect to see coming the rest of the week. The market was bustling at that hour with forlifts running around like cars on the streets of Manhattan and people picking the fish seafood that was going to be served in the city's restaurants that day.

The market first opened in 1807 on land donated to New York City, and at first was a general market for both fish and other goods. In 1822 the fish merchants occupied a new Fulton Fish Market building, located on South Street between Fulton and Beekman Streets.

For more then 180 years the Fulton Fish Market has been America's oldest fish market. The New Fulton Fish Market at Hunt's Point in the Bronx, is second in size worldwide only to Tokyo’s Tsukiji wholesale seafood market. The New Fulton Fish Market handles millions of pounds of seafood daily and annual sales exceed one billion dollars.

We left the market about 7:30 was picked up by by a friend and headed to his lobster warehouse about 1o minutes away.

I had been up since 2:30 am, probably should not have gone to sleep, but knew that if I had not I would be sorry that afternoon. It was time for lunch and Mary Fish Camp in the West Village was where my next meeting was with another supplier, I could hardly wait for the whole belly clams and lobster rolls.

Peter Luger

2009-03-20T11:31:00.000-05:00

Peter Luger's Bacon Appetizer

Porterhouse For Two

Porterhouse, German Fried Potatoes and Creamed Spinach

Prime Short Loin

About every three or four times we visit New York I am lucky enough to get reservations at Peter Luger's Steak House in Brooklyn. This was one of those lucky trips that I was able to get reservations for five people. Having been named by Zagat "Best Steakhouse in New York" 24 years in a row just makes it more difficult to get a chance to eat here.

We arrived about 6:45 pm and had time to order a drink at the bar before we were promptly seated. Peter Luger has been serving prime steaks since 1887 and only family members are part of the meat selection process. I did not need a menu on this recent visit, knowing exactly what I was going to order. Beefsteak tomatoes with onions, thick sliced bacon, creamed spinach, German fried potatoes and a Porterhouse medium rare for five people, was on our agenda tonight. There is no better way to start you trip to New York than to dine at Peter Luger's on the first night you arrive in the city.

We had a great waiter that night and when I told him that I wanted him to take care of us, he gave me a nod and that is what he did.

After this terrific meal we ordered New York Cheese Cake, Apple Strudel and black coffee then headed back to NYC so that we could get to bed early. We were rising the next morning at 2:30 am so that we could get to the Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx before 4:00 am.