MAY 4, 2021

HELLO EVERYBODY!!!!!

Wow! Wow! Wow!.  Boy, did you all go to town on branzini!! Whole fish, fillets. Just amazing!! The pics! We posted some to our Instagram @smallworldseafood. Gotta say, just as nice if not nicer that what you could get in any restaurant at less than half the price. 

Things are still coocoo out there in supply world with backups and blockages in many spots. It's causing all kinds of delays and confusion. When that happens, I get weary about the quality of product. Will I be getting last week's product that came in late? When did it land? Is it this week's? Unfortunately, it's hard to tell if anyone is telling the truth because some of them are just trying to get out of their positions. Or they are telling the truth. But do I want to gamble on that one? Not me.

So, salmon is kind of going through a little bit of that. Combined with the fact Mother's Day is coming up and suppliers want to jack up prices, we are going to do-si-do over to something more reliable. So this week, we will not be selling Atlantic salmon fillets. We will be selling Arctic Charr fillets!!! These fish are farmed sustainably in Iceland in pristine waters. Really one of the prettier species of the salmon family with it's deep color. Hey, why not, right? 

Also on the menu this week is fresh swordfish!! Anyone who's bought sword from us knows how tasty and juicy it can be. Perfect for the grill or the pan. Or tacos. Or skewers. You know? We have a great recipe on our website for how to grill sword properly. Watch it. Do it.

Also, keeping in mind that it is Mother's day weekend coming up, we thought we need to do something else a little special. Sooooo, we are bringing back South African lobster tails!. Yes, these little beauties are considered the top of the line tails. They come frozen, two per order and around 4.5oz each. I will describe a great way to prepare them in the next email but just keep in mind these will be limited in supply. The lobster market is nuts.

Clams are the shellfish of the week. Frozen cod is back on the menu. Smoked trout is an add on to the smoked stuff. Oysters will be Savage Blonds from PEI.

And then a couple of special features to boot. The first is a selection of three cheeses from Vallley Milkhouse in Oley PA, Berks County. Three cheeses per pack. You can go to valleymilkhouse.com to check out their story. Stephanie, the owner, is doing some pretty cool things there. Very excited to work with her.

Next, is a twist on chocolate babka from Shevy in Fairmount (shevysbabka.com). A twist because instead of her baking the babka and all, she is making the dough (which we will freeze) and then bundling the with chocolate sauce and chocolate sugar mix. Why put you through this? Well, think of the fun of baking your own babka! All you have to do is roll out the dough, spread the sauce, sprinkle with chocolate dust, shape, proof and bake. The smell in your home....O....M.....G....The cool thing is that you don't even have to make babka. You could roll out the dough and cut out to make rugelach instead!. See? So much fun!! I will add vids on the next email for you guys.

To add to the brunchy side of things, we went even crazier and didn't stop there. We asked our friend, Pierre, from Bibou Boutique (bouitiquebibou.com) to make us another type of butter so he made us some Cinnamon sugar butter! Just think of it. A slab of it on your pancakes or French toast.....(drooool........)

Anyway, this turned out to be a long one and with Mother's Day coming up, I just want to say one more thing. I have had many mothers in my life. My grandmother was a mother. My mother-in-law was a mother. I have had the privilege of having had many older women nurture me as a son over the span of my life. I wouldn't be who I am today without my many mothers. 

My grandmother used to tell me a story about a little boy who wanted to offer a gift of appreciation to his mother for all the love, attention, affection she had given him and for all she will continue to give in the future. So, he left through the village gates and walked for three days through forest, over mountains, sludging through marshland before reaching the end of the continent. He bent down and picked up two handfuls of sand. He then walked back for three more days fighting of hunger, fatigue, preying animals, finally reaching his village. Exhausted, he entered his home and collapsed down to his knees in front of his mother. Opening up his hands, he said;

"Thank you, mother. Thank you for everything you have done for me and will continue to do for me. This is for you."

She looked down at him with worried tears in her eyes and said "Son! What have you done! Why have you done this to yourself? Look around us! All we have here is sand!"

He just looked up and said, "Mother, my journey was part of the  gift....."

And so, I want to thank all my mothers for all their journeys and all their gifts. I appreciate it so much. This is a good time to think of my mothers. Think of what they did for me. Whether they are still here with me or not, thank them. I encourage you all to do the same. Or we'll end up having a phone call like this....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKL1tNv__kU&list=LL&index=195

Look out for the order form Thursday at 9am.

Peace,

Robert Amar
Small World Seafood
Owner