Today the Detroit Free Press, or as adoring Michiganders refer to it – The Freep,  published a slide show that had my heartstrings a’ strumming and my belly a’ aching.

Faygo! Sliders! Greek Salads! Ray’s Ice Cream!

Can life’s moments (pre-LA) be so intrinsically tied to the cuisine of a city? You know when John Cusack arranges his records autobiographically in High Fidelity? I can do that with coney island meals. Most of all my amazing nights, high school shenanigans,drug and booze experimentation and sexual experiences…all come with an accompanying pita, greek salad or chili cheese fries.

A secret all Michiganders share (along with being able to point out on their  hand where they were born), is the secret of the Coney Island. We will gladly talk to blank faced ‘outsiders’ about the glory that is “The Coney Island”  until we get stopped by this statement “ok, I get it, coney islands are cheap, open late with greasy food. We have those too. They are called diners.”

But no my dear friend from out of state. No, you do not quite understand the coney island for the same reason you cant point out where you are from on your own hand.

Go to any Coney Island at 6am and you will see it packed with seniors eating early bird breakfasts, business men and woman grabbing a quick coffee and bite before heading to a generic office building downtown or along 696. Check in at a Coney at noon and you will see it packed to the brim with nurses, construction workers and teens on high school lunch breaks grabbing burgers, gyros and that classic beet filled Greek Salad. And peek into a Coney Island after 1am and you’ll surely see punks, goths, skaters, kids violating their curfew, club goers drunkenly pounding chicken finger pitas and everyone cheering each time an order of Saganaki flame tickles the ceiling.

Some of the best conversations, laughing fits and wild nights I’ve ever had occurred or culminated when packed 4-6 deep into a booth wolfing chicken finger pitas (with honey mustard), slurping enormous fountain pops (YES – pop) and ordering saganaki just because fire is even more cool when you’re wasted.

So what’s your favorite Coney Island moment and your favorite Coney Island food?

Entire FREEP Slide show here: http://bit.ly/aLK0X6

On Saturday evening I was perusing the aisles of Whole Foods gathering desirables to create a delicious dinner. Potentially thousands (if not millions) of people around the United States at that very moment were engaged in the exact same activity - weaving through aisles making specific determinations about groceries.

Now we could analyze the psychology of grocery stores (brands fight for “eye level” shelf placement) and why people buy what they buy – either because of branding (you buy Tropicana because it LOOKS fresh, not because it is fresh) , product placement (impulse purchase…6 o’clock!) or creative labeling (”The healthiest Crisco yet!”) until we are blue in the face.

And it’s also in vogue to think “locally” and ”organically.” But what I personally had yet to contemplate for even a minute was buying sustainable fish.

So when I approached the seafood counter and bought Chilean Sea Bass, I thought absolutely nothing of it, except that a)I love Chilean Sea Bass and b) I was excited to put it into my belly as soon as possible.

After eating the meal, I sent out a tweet from @FreshmanKitchen

Dinner: Chilean sea bass w/roasted red pep,green olives,capers.roasted delicata squash+zucchini.crispy weiser farm tatos+garlic slivers)

and got this response from @Cookingstudent (http://twitter.com/cookingstudent)

@FreshmanKitchen Chilean sea bass – I do believe they are listed as over fished and, therefore, best not eaten: http://bit.ly/bgBvJe

So my initial thought was – Wow! How have I not been paying attention to the sustainability fish issue and how come Whole Foods is selling it? I needed to dig a bit deeper to see if blame could be assigned to someone so I could shuck off some of the guilt.” If it at first you don’t succeed blame blame (someone else) again.”

So I called the Manager of the Whole Foods Seafood Dept. who referred me to the main website to check out WF’s statement on its Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified seafood. So here it is direct from the site:

Offering sustainable seafood is part of our philosophy because we care about the health of the world’s oceans. We are proud to be the first U.S. retailer offering several varieties of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified seafood. The MSC is an independent, global, non-profit organization set up to find a solution to the problem of over-fishing to ensure healthier marine environments and abundant fish stocks for future generations. Here you will discover a growing number of choices displaying the MSC label, indicating the seafood is sourced from responsible, well-managed fisheries.

So whether or not you believe WF’s is a purveyor of 100% responsibly caught fish, they seem to be making a strong effort. But if Chilean Sea Bass is over fished and since you can obviously buy it other places than WF’s…what are some good alternatives if I am at a store that does not serve MSC certified seafood?

The Monterey Bay Aquarium website (which I was linked to via twitter) has this ”Good for you/Good for the Oceans list http://bit.ly/YQctd . If the person selling you fish doesn’t know what’s up or you aren’t in a place selling MSC certified seafood, at least if you select from this list you can feel good while you stuff your face with those (farm raised) scallops or (wild caught) Salmon (from Alaska).

For Additional reading on the subject here is an extensive NY Times article called “Tuna’s End” http://nyti.ms/axbTIh written by  Paul Greenberg author of “Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food.”

Photo credit: Kenji Aoki for The New York Times

Chef Richmond talks about her new passion for jamming (like…making jam, not rocking out), working as a private chef for Michael Jackson and how and why she made the move to Culver City to open up her restaurant – Akasha.

Read the whole  interview here: http://laist.com/2010/06/23/from_market_to_menu_akasha_richmon.php

Elizabeth Schiele          September 23, 2009

Brothers in the kitchen: Eli and Max Sussman sign their new cookbook, “Freshman in the Kitchen,” and conduct a cooking demonstration at two events. 6 p.m. Saturday. $10. Whole Foods, 3640 N. Halsted St. Information, 773-472-0400. And 6 p.m. Tuesday to benefit Common Threads. $60. The Chopping Block, Merchandise Mart. Information, 312-644-6360.

Thanks to the Chicago Tribune for including us in the Good Eat’s Section of today’s new-sa-paper!

Thanks to the Daily Press in Newport News, VA for including us in the graduation gift guide. Getting included in gift guides make us feel warm and gooey inside.  If sales in VA spike, we only have one place to thank for that.