Thursday, February 23, 2012

Seafood



Ben said...
Now, what I want to know is where to find some of the World's greatest sea food in Eureka...

Well Ben, the "worlds best seafood" is kinda subjective, but I've never gotten a bad crab at Botchies Crab Stand in King Salmon. The Woodley Island marina is a good place to try. The Sea Grill is a favorite with some locals.

Buy a sack of Humboldt Bay oysters. I love fresh grilled oysters, so they just open, with a little lemon, Fred's horseradish, and Tapatio Sauce. Yuuuum... A fresh caught local salmon is a great choice. Buy a, very fresh, albacore off the dock and cut into steaks, saute in wine, garlic and butter, serve in a dish with plenty of the sauce.

The problem with me is I never met a fish that I didn't like. Some people won't eat any fish at all. Some are fussy, and some are just plain ridiculous. I know people that won't even look at an oyster, because "they are all slimy, and people eat then raw, guts and all". Well... yeah, Humboldt Bay oysters are one of the seafoods that are certified to be eaten raw. Have you ever heard of anybody being harmed by eating raw Humboldt bay oysters? Now, compare that to people that have gotten food poisoning from eating raw sprouts. I prefer my oysters cooked rare, and still in their natural juices.

Just yesterday we were in Crescent City, we ate at the two story restaurant in the marina, (The Grotto?) I ordered their oysters. They sauteed them Scampi style... OH MY GOD, drop dead delicious. There is no other place in the world were you can get as fresh of a Humboldt Bay oyster as Eureka.

But we were talking about "where to find some of the World's greatest sea food". Anybody that eats a lot of seafood can tell you, the food that you get depends more on the person preparing it than the seafood itself. It has to be fresh! Or at least fresh frozen for a very minimum of time. Like Australian Lobster. I don't mind them being frozen for a week or so while they fly them to me. I like my lobster steamed, set on top the shell, brushed with butter, then broiled until lightly browned served with drawn butter and lemon.

I need to stop! I'm getting fat. However Ben, if you are careful what you order, about seven out of ten times you will get delicious seafood in Eureka. It makes it kinda' fun, in most cases the food is edible, and in some cases it is very rewarding. The north coast of California has the best seafood in the world!

Then, I haven't even talked about seafood that is available to us that live on the north coast, that you probably wont get anywhere else:
Clams, mussels, smoked salmon, ling cod, night fish, surf fish, abalone,... And the beat goes on. Ciopino, chowders, fish stews..........

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

27 pound lobster

A shrimp trawler catches a 27-pound lobster five miles off shore. Biologists plan to release it back into the ocean.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2012/02/23/von-wtmw-large-lobster.wmtw?iref=allsearch

Derral said...

Ernie - When I took the Blues Cruise in the Caribbean my friends said to be sure and try the Conch, told me it might not be on the menu but to ask for it. Sure enough, just like they said, over rice with coconut sauce. Geez. The big prawns the Brigadoon used to bring to Eureka, the best abalone or lobster or clams; none of them were as good as the Conch. Regards.

Ernie Branscomb said...

Thanks Derral, I'm going on a cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Belize the first week it March. I'll see if I can find some.

Robin Shelley said...

That's right, The Grotto. 45 minutes from where I live. Hello to you, too, Ernie. Sheeesh!