JULY 19, 2021 Small World Seafood Update

 HELLO EVERYBODY!!

Well, that was one HOT week just past. You can definitely feel that oppressive invisible hand of warmth pushing downward on your head at times. Not to complain since other parts of the country and the world are going through some crazy climate situations and that's sad to me. 

Anyway, I keep saying that the seafood sector is in bad place as far a supply goes trying to meet demand. The price on just about everything has gone up. Just when we think that it couldn't get higher, it does. There are some real economic reasons for prices to go up but the heights to which certain products can reach and still sell are beyond fundamental theory much less anybody's expectations price ceilings. 

This being said once again, I love to see how much fun everyone is having playing with foods they never prepared at home before. The most recent surprise after the amazing response to shrimp shumai dumplings has been Spanish octopus. So amazing to know that we are part of many people's firsts when it comes to cooking and eating seafood at home. We love what you are doing out there. Email us pics, too. We would love to post on our Insta page.

This week, we will bring back Arctic char by popular demand. So many of you asked for it last week as we were doing our deliveries and would love to oblige. This is a sushi grade member of the salmon family sustainably farm raised in Iceland. Cold pristine waters. 

We have a small shot of Peruvian bay scallops coming in this week and we are very excited about that. These little pearls are quite tasty and sweet. Mussels are on the menu this week as well as Sand Dune Oysters out of PEI. 

A few of you guys have been sending us pics of beautiful paellas  so we thought it may be high time to get some more shrimp stock. So, we asked our friends over at El Camino Real in Northern Liberties to make us some. Beautiful stuff. It is, indeed, the secret to a great seafood paella as well as the perfect shrimp and grits (which we will be selling too from Castle Valley Mill in Bucks county). 

Speaking of El Camino, how amazing was that sausage we sold a few weeks back, no? They do a phenomenal job at smoking and really handle the product so well. They also (wait for it.....) make an amazing bacon! Yes! They get the pork bellies from one of their favorite suppliers and cure it in house before they smoke it. The result is a bacon that keeps most of its shape, purges very little fat since the curing process does that and what you get is a bigger, crispier, more flavorful slice of bacon. This is what it should taste like. You can use it for breakfast but it would be dynamite with any seafood recipe that calls for it such as shrimp and grits.

As for other fish on the menu, not sure yet but working on it. It is what it is but i won't let you down.

One thing for everyone before I sign off.  I know that many of you have experienced some trouble receiving our emails. We are not removing you from our lists. Email providers are more stringent about passing through emails due to the heightened fear of ransomware and other viruses. One thing to keep in mind is that I post these emails on our website so you can go there to check them out if you don't see an email from us (some providers have been delaying them). We are also in the process of working through some tweaking to try to get them to you. One thing you can do, though, is to add us to your address book or list of contacts. The other thing is that if it goes to spam, mark it as safe. Those providers will get that feedback and allow us to pass through.

If it ain't supply, it's technology. Boy, I hope all this struggle over the past year and change is really developing my character or putting more hair on chest. If I'm going to gain some humility, I better get something out of it...Ughh..

Anyway, look out for the order form this Wednesday at 11am.

Peace

Robert Amar

Small World Seafood

Owner