MAY 13, 2020

 HELLO, EVERYONE!

Well, we are getting to that time of year. This may seem a little crazy because of everything that has happened in the last few months to even say that. I've always looked to certain days of the calendar as markers to encourage me that winter is truly ending and summer is coming. Well, this year, no Phillies home opener. No March Madness tournament. No St Patty's day. No spring break....but here we are and I have finally found something that no one or virus can take away from us! Soft shell crabs!!!! Summer is coming!!! I know all of us have had some difficulty one way or the other. No one has been spared but we are in this thing together and we will come out of this thing together. And we shall eat soft shells together.

First some logistical info. Rittenhouse and Fitler was very busy for us last Friday. I ask that you really try to order Wednesday for a Thursday pick up. We will continue to cut out the 19th and Wallace stop on Friday. The Friday stop at the Philadelphian will once again be from 1:30pm to 1:55pm and then we will go home to Woodstock & Parrish at 2pm for a half an hour or so. Friday pick ups can be at either location. I ask all of you to try to keep ordering for Thursday but if you cannot pick up tomorrow, you can place an order Thursday for a Friday pick up. Thanks for understanding.

Anyway, for the fun stuff! This week's feature seafood will be soft shell crabs and sushi grade tuna!!! The softies will be cleaned (or dressed as we say) for you so that they are ready to cook. They can be quite sensitive to perishing so they should be cooked within three days. The size are jumbos. Nice big plump buggers. They cost $8 each and will come 4 to a bag for a total of $32. Compare that to a soft shell appetizer in a restaurant for $18 for 1 and $35 for two and you guys are really beating the market! When sauteing, please be careful about spatter. They can pop on you as many line cooks could attest to. I prefer the slower saute. Here is a nice recipe which you can follow. If you don't want to do the pasta part, just stop before he cuts it up. Although that pasta looks delish!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZIov00ssCw

Now for the tuna. Just beautiful tuna to sear, slice, poke, tartare. You decide. When storing sushi tuna, you want to try to remove some of the juices that collect on the surface since it can oxidize. Think of a steak in your fridge. It can turn a little gray on the outside which you can trim off to get to the red parts again. Well, tuna is the same. If you don't plan on eating it for a few days (which is fine- the shelf life is longer than you think), simply wrap it up in paper towels and replace the paper once a day. Lots of great photos on our instagram page @smallworldseafood from people down in Rittenhouse and Fitler. 

One little change to have a little variety. I am introducing a different mussel from Maine for you to try. They are a little larger in size more like what some of you may have eaten at a place like Monk's. They are wild mussels that need a touch more cleaning (what else do you have to do?) but wait til you taste the meat! Plumb and sweet. My block loved them more when we did a mussels fest one year. 

And don't forget Shiny Seas oysters from PEI to start the weekend right! I should have plenty but I keep saying that and it keeps selling out! 

A reminder that you all should know about getting seafood Thursday versus Friday. The fish is the same. It won't be fresher on Friday than Thursday. The second cycle of the week for seafood coming into markets is Wednesday & Thursday. The first one is Monday but that is virtually non-existent right now because restaurants are doing very low volume and therefore do not need to be replenished. All I am saying is that you are getting the freshest stuff either way. Order it for Thursday and make sure you have it before it runs out.

THANK YOU ALL,

ROBERT AMAR

SMALL WORLD SEAFOOD

OWNER