Steamed Mussels

After an embarrassingly long hiatus from the gym, I finally decided to pay my local New York Sports Club a visit this afternoon. While I admit that it wasn't my best gym performance ever, I still managed to unclog my heart a bit. To reward myself, I wanted to make a low-key, cheap, relatively healthy, and savory snack/meal. Coincidentally, I was talking with B on gchat during this thought and he suggested mussels! Mmmm mussels... I love mussels and can eat a ton of them. They're surprisingly cheap too. We bought 4lb from Citarella for $12. Not bad right? Recipe on the next page.

Restaurant Week: Yerba Buena Perry

NYC Restaurant Week is here again! To celebrate, Sd and I went out to Yerba Buena Perry in the West Village for dinner. To be honest, I had no idea what this place was going to be about... but those situations often make some of the best dining experiences. Sure enough, I returned home happy, satiated, and glowing (mostly due to the two generous pours of chilled Malbec Rose). More amazing pics on the next page!

The Maine Event: Lobster Quest

While B and I had many reasons to visit Acadia National Park in Maine—to be one with nature, enjoy the seaside villages, relax without fuss—our first and foremost intention was to eat fresh, succulent, affordable lobster... and plenty of it! So we set out on our little road trip during the long Fourth of July weekend and happily accomplished our mission: seven lobsters total in three days. Not only did we manage to make a little dent in the lobster population at Bar Harbor, we also came away with some excellent lobster fishing and local eating know-how. More pics, tips and bits of our adventure on the next page!

Oysters 360 Part 3Great NYC Shuck 'N Suck

Water Taxi Beach, South Street Seaport: the perfect scene for a 6,500 all-you-can-eat oyster free-for-all, a tag-team shuck 'n suck contest, and a series of short firms about the beloved bivalve. This was the stage for my third and final oyster adventure. The NYC Food Film Festival's premier event, "The Great NYC Shuck 'N Suck," was a multi-sensory homage to the oyster. However, the last time that such a quantity of oysters were in this location was probably in the late 18th century! An acoustic and strings folk band jived up the atmosphere, while I tried to get my hands on as many Beausoleils, Malpeques and Rhode Island Watch Hills as I could without looking like a massive pig. More pics and a special guest on the next page!

Oyster 360 Part 2Blue Island Shellfish Farm Tour

A few days after the Essex meet up, eight of us (lucky ducks) gathered in front of Penn Station on a Saturday morning with coffee and bags of food. We were bound for Sayville, a small town across from Fire Island, where we were to rendezvous with Chris Quartuccio, owner of Blue Island Shellfish Farm and longtime oyster enthusiast. Chris and his friends were gracious enough to give up a gorgeous Saturday in order to host our little party. Since the farm is stranded in the middle of the Great South Bay, we had to travel by boat. Before the main trek, Chris took us around the office, storage facility, and hatchery. More pics and stories on the next page!

Oyster 360 Part 1New York Oyster Lovers at Essex

Technically, it's not the best oyster-eating season anymore. But does the absence of an "R" in the month and eagerly spawning product stop me? Heck no! Since last fall, I've been charting an exciting edible journey across the world of oysters. A couple weekends ago, I took my obsession to the next level by attending a series of oyster-devoted events. It started innocently enough with a second New York Oyster Lovers meet up at Essex Restaurant. Then, a small cluster of us trekked out to the Great South Bay to tour the Blue Island Shellfish Farms with owner Chris Quartuccio. Finally, I attended the NYC Food Film Festival's Great Oyster Shuck 'N Suck party and met my hero, Liza of food.curated. By now, and thanks in part to Liza, most of you are familiar with my oyster log, but wait until you hear what I'm about to do next! More pics, stories and an exciting announcement on the next page!