Crabs, Italian meats, and life in the restaurant

Just a few random thoughts.

I was reading about blue crabs in Edible Low Country, great magazine by the way, I wish we had an Edible Grand Strand. I think the Grand Strand does not get the culinary respect that it deserves, which is understandable because we have been home to the dreaded Calabash seafood buffet, but that is changing, We have some great restaurants and chefs working here. I think some of these places, including City bar, Umi Pacific Grille, Sea Blue, and a few others are ahead of their time, but the clientele are coming and more eclectic, fine dining restaurants are sure to follow. But I digress. I was reading about blue crabs, peelers, holding tanks, and soft shells. Looks like work but fun work. The "peelers" are held until the shed their shell, then 3 hours later are pulled and shipped. A large number go to New York City or other metropolitan areas. The ones I buy may come from down the coast a little ways, but go to Atlanta and back more often than not. I would love to see a coastal delivery system that could get fish, shellfish, produce, locally grown products, dairy, cheeses, grass fed beef, etc. to the restaurants. I know an infrastructure exists in Charleston, but not here. We will keep working on it.

Italian wine dinner at City Bar this upcoming Tuesday. As a former Yankee, I know a good bit about Italian style salumi, or cured meats. They can be difficult to find around here, though. I ordered a few through Lee's Farm Market down in Murrell's Inlet, they usually come through for me.

I am a firm believer in local and sustainable foods. If you are too, I would recommend joining Slow Foods http://www.slowfoodusa.org/. For the professional, there is also the Chef's Collaborative https://www.chefscollaborative.org/ and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/. I encourage you to buy local whenever possible, find and visit your local farm market, food shops, and producers. The food will be better, fresher, and you will be supporting your neighbors.

Eat well!