HUNGRY GERALD

So far, this summer in Prince Edward Island has not been the most summery — weather has featured rain, wind, grey skies and quite cool temperatures. The sun appears for only a few furtive moments each day. However, the Prince Edward Island air is full of the scent of salt and flowers and the simple beauty of the island provides enormous pleasure. Walks on the bluff overlooking the sea or on the beach in front of the HG//BSK home are invigorating. Happy family reunion. Present are: Lesley and Massimo R. plus Gorgeous Granddaughter Sofia (and equally enchanting Pippy, loving and intelligent dog, the perfect companion for HG/BSK’s Toby, The Wonder Dog). SJ and Exquisite Maiko plus Handsome Haru (celebrating his 9th birthday) and Teru, world’s most imperious and enchanting three year old daughter. The weather has not dampened spirits. It has also sharpened appetites. Last night, hunger was appeased by a seafood extravaganza utilizing family talents and the freshest creatures from the sea (including a halibut caught hours before in front of the HG/BSK home). HG and Massimo R. shucked dozens of Johnny Flynn’s Colville Bay oysters (the Island’s best). Profesore/Dottore/Ufficiale Massimo is as adept at oyster shucking as he is at illuminating and interpreting Itlalian culture. BSK grilled a dozen big Savage Harbor oysters. The raw oysters got a dab of BSK’s shallot and red wine vinaigrette. The grilled got hit by soy sauce. All of the oysters were consumed outdoors. Then the crowd filled the indoor dining area for appetizers: Lesley R.’s spectacular and herbaceous lobster salad plus her tingling tarragon infused Newfoundland shrimp salad. There was more: Exquisite Maiko’s halibut sashimi paired with Yuzu pepper. As always, EM’s dish afforded visual as well as culinary delight. Using the deftest knife skills, the perfect slices and rosettes of halibut were adorned by the tiniest slivers of radish and scallion. Then, on to the main dish: Calamarata in Fish Sauce. Massimo R. brought the Calamarata from Providence. A De Cecco brand, this pasta is shaped like a thick calamari ring (thus the name). Italians only eat it with seafood sauce. They are right. It was the perfect shape for Lesley R’s fish sauce composed of halibut, olive oil, garlic, onions, fennel, white wine, chopped herbs and a discreet amount of tomato. Plenty of red pepper flakes for spice and heat. Knockout of a dish. No room for dessert. But, HG managed to close the feast with a few snifters of brandy and Peychaud Bitters.

SJ here. For the past year I gazed with a certain hesitant lust at Brooklyn Crab. As it was being built (and looking like an old-fashioned Fire Island beach house) I thought, as everyone probably did, what a smart idea! What a great view! Beer and Crabs overlooking the harbor. Pretty Simple. Pretty great! When it opened, it was immediately jam-packed — a complete and total success and I just never made it over.

This past weekend was glorious. Spring in all of Spring’s perfection — sun shining, dry breeze blowing and crisp as a freshly picked cucumber. I had friends coming and I thought how nice it would be to go to Brooklyn Crab, sit outside and take in those harbor views while drinking beer and eating crabs…And then I read the reviews. Man, Brooklyn Crab was so terribly reviewed that I almost called the whole thing off, but then I thought well, how bad could it really be? At least the beer should be cold and even eating some crappy peel and eat shrimp still seemed okay. So I geared myself up to not be upset by bad food and bad service and ended up going. After an hour-long wait (which was easy as I bought some wine at Red Hook’s great Dry Dock and took it out to the Louis Valentino Park and Pier) we were seated. The view of the harbor was brilliant and a kind of giddy, beach-side-vacationy-fun vibe suffused the whole place. It was precisely what I wanted. We ordered Maryland Crabs, some Steamers, a mixed seafood boil with shrimp, King Crab legs, corn, clams, potatos, etc and some fried shrimp. The Crabs were as good as those I had had in Baltimore and the Seafood Boil was done just right, nothing overdone and we had lots of fun and made a total mess cracking crabs and picking out the meat. Oddly the potato that was included in the Seafood boil was excellent! Perfectly cooked and infused with the Old bay seasoning and the briney flavors of the crabs and clams. The fried shrimp were mediocre and the steamers weren’t the best I ever had, but there was tons of food and between five people we managed to eat everything and really enjoy ourselves. No it wasn’t the greatest seafood meal of my life by any means, but it was totally respectable and just totally jolly. I also enjoyed what a nice cross section of Brooklyn were eating there AND working there — real Brooklyn families from Irishy looking Cop families to Asian familes from Sunset Park to Jamaican families to twenty somethings on dates and nary a hipster in sight to complain about the lack of locavore credentials. In many ways, Brooklyn Crab reminded me of the blue collar seafood spots in City Island — no pretensions at all. The prices were not cheap but they weren’t insane. And when we finished, the Manger (I’m guessing) came over and asked us how everything was. I told her we had a great time and told her that I was worried before we came because the reviews were so crappy. And she sort of said, yeah, it was a bit of a struggle last year but they were really trying to improve…and I could think was yeah, you did! So if you want to eat some crabs, drink some cold beers and overlook perhaps the greatest urban water view outside of Istanbul, then turn away from the reviews because Brooklyn Crab hits the spot.

Yes, Bologna is a city of meat. Show a Bolognese cook a vegetable or a pasta form and his/her tendency is to stuff it or shower it with beautifully cooked, deftly spiced meat or sausage. In recent years, however, the city has sprouted a number of excellent sea food restaurants. Sale Grosso in the Bologna University neighborhood was HG and BSK’s luncheon destination. A very clean-lined, slightly austere room. Sound panels, doubling as minimal art work, affixed to the walls keep the sound level low. The few works of art are decorative and witty. Service provided by an elegant young waitperson was very civilized. Food flavors were Sicilian and Calabrian. Delicate puree of fava beans enriched with chopped, sauteed chicory. Folds of al dente pasta dressed with the typical Sicilian mixture of sardines, pignolias and fennel. All perfectly balanced, fragrances, textures and flavors playing off each other beautifully. Then came superb roast calamari and broccoli. The calamari was tender, crisp edged and spiced to allow the sea flavor to present itself without competition. Big platters of flash fried anchovies dotted with crunchy sea salt were crisp and delicious and absolutely grease free. Dessert was a confection of melting chocolate dotted with ripe cherries. A meal of sublime simplicity and memorable flavors.