James Beard Foundation QSR Awards 2011 May 10, 2011
Posted by Eli in : Uncategorized , add a commentSo…I’m not usually granted press credentials.
In the last year I’ve been turned down by the AVN Awards, The US Professional Bull rider Association of American Championships, The Jewish under 30 Advertising Professionals Conference held in Manitoba (I didn’t get it either) and the UFC Media day (for which they granted 16,000 media credentials). So it was a fantastic honor when I was asked to attend the 2011 James Beard Foundation Quick Service Restaurant Awards.
Was I excited when I found out? I’ve only been more excited once in my life and that was when my parents told me I was not going to get gifts for my bar mitzvah (instead I’d be asking for donations to charity) but also that I’d be having a klezmer band at the party which in fact the most popular type of music in 1997. I mean, how could one not be excited for the JBFQSR’s? The Who’s Who of the QSR world would be there with a full load of celebrity award presenting and ass kissing served fresh fast and as efficiently as at a drive through in Wisconsin.
Since it’s all the rage now and I am of course super lazy (note the fact I was at the QSR awards) here is my live journal/live tweet recap from last night:
8:33 Just went and told the Dominos chef I do NOT love his new chx tenders. He was like “it’s just a commercial dude” LOL! #JBFQSR
8:39 Red lobster crab cakes AND Long John Silver fish stick passed apps! Like a dueling piano bar in here! Heaven at #JBFQSR awards!
8.54 Line for Pauley D @miraclewhip photo booth is like 100 people long. So frustrating! He’s my favorite jersey shore character. #JBFQSR awards
9:06 1st big upset of the night! IHOP wins best service. Def thought it would be Chili’s! Quickest water refills in the land #JBFQSR awards
9:14 Who else is at the James Beard Foundation Quick Service Restaurant Awards tonight? Use hashtag #JBFQSR! 2nd course is a double down! Yum.
9:15 Papa John is hitting on Popeye’s chx lady.She’s hot after taste test win over KFC. If u see wings+pizza outside room 401 2nt keep on walkin!
9:27 Harold and Kumar are announcing back2back awards.BEST SUB=Subway,Quiznos,Jimmy Johns front runners….BTW Harold looks high #JBFQSR Awards
9:28 Tubby’s Submarines wins best sub! Room is silent! Ray Kroc IV just got caught on bigscreen mouthing “what the fuck is tubbys” #JBFQSR awards
9:44 best crisis management award goes to Taco Bell for it’s handling of the fake meat situation.36% meat! More Nat. smoke flavor pls! #JBFQSR
9:51 Corey Haim giving out “We still Exist Award” Noms are: Einstein bagels,Sbarro,Boston Market,Hardees. This is anyone’s. JBFQSR awards
10:12 Best Iced coffee drink noms announced by that actress who plays Nancy Botwin. Noms: Tim Horton,McD’s,Wendys,DunkinD’s.Starbucks..winner is:
10:13 Dunkin Donuts wins.Howard Schultz stood up! He thought it was Starbucks! SCHULTZ THOUGHT HE HEARD STARBUCKS!! #JBFQSR awards top 10 moment!
10: 32 Best pairing of the night: Meatloaf+Paul Walker giving out “Hollywood integration award” BRING.ON.THE.WITTY.BANTER. #JBFQSR awards
10:33 Meatloaf:I would do anything for a burger,but i wont do that(pointin at Walker)Walker: I dont have a fast enough car to get away LOL #JBFQSR
10:40 3rd course-Sonic foot long coney dogs.Eric Ripert has chili all over his face. His mustache disguise isn’t fooling anyone #JBFQSR awards
10:53 “Most Authentic Taste/Flavor” goes Panda Express.Weird, only Mexicans going on stage to collect the award. #JBFQSR awards
11: 09 4 awards left! Turn to tablemate wearing WWF Tshirt. “This taking longer than tasting menu at Per Se! His response “You’re per gay” #JBFQSR
11:11 Best Mexican food award given by Carlos Mencia.Noms:Del Taco,Taco Bell,Chipotle,El Pollo Loco.Chipotle wins.Hear come the protesters #JBFQSR
11:16 Protesters yell”Chipotle sold out” at Steven Ells w/ “u went corporate signs”escorted out. Ells dont sweat, Obama gets it too #JBFQSR awrds
11:22 Just went to bathroom.Batali (w/crocs) playin dice w/ Guy Fieri+andrew zimmern in bathroom.Disappointed.Felt classy until now #JBFQSR awards
11:28 excitment about who will win outstanding drive-thru at @beardfoundation #JBFQSR awards. my $ is on Wendy’s bc it’s open late (often till 12)
11:31 Audrina Partridge to me “I like, NEVER, EVER eat at Carl’s Jr.” @huffingtonpost @nytimes @CNN @BBC RT! RT! RT! #JBFQSR awards
11:33 YES!YES! Just got invited to the Cracker Barrel afterparty hosted by Paula Deen ft. gravy fountains. LOVE after parties #JBFQSR awards
11:39 Outstanding Restaurateur Award: Dick Malamarman, Arent Chew Glad You didnt Get Food Poisoning Enterprises @beardfoundation #JBFQSR awards
11:44 2 awards left.On glass 13 of terlato pino grig. Is Wendy legal? Just asking. She looks kinda young but she’s gotta be like 60 #JBFQSR awards
11: 47 outstanding chef award being given by Jean-Gorge+Bronson Pinchot. Crowd is chanting Balki! Balki! did not see that one coming #JBFQSR awards
11:48 Steve Jenkins 16 yr old fry chef at KFC Wichita wins outstanding chef @beardfoundation #JBFQSR awards! Table is showerin him in Mountain Dew
11:49 Larry cable guy+Rascal (but not Flatts)just picked up Steve Jenkins+are carrying him to the stage! Everyone is chanting USA @ JBFQSR awards
11:56 Outstanding restaurant of the year award next then Afterparties! Guy Fiere said I could ride shotgun in his 96 Camaro T-top. pinch me.
11:57 outstanding QSR rest. of 2011 is Qdoba! Fiere just whispered to me “It’s about to get all Peterson Automotive museum up in here.let’s roll”
12:04 Exiting parking lot.Kogi truck parked right out front. No line and people are egging it. #JBFQSR award attendees have no food truck love
Brunch. with our without coconut water. February 5, 2011
Posted by Eli in : Uncategorized , add a commentI love brunch. And I mean Real Brunch. People sitting around at a table enjoying each others company. There is egg involved. And maybe meat. And definitely OJ and bagels. That’s brunch. Everything else is just accoutrement.
And when I say the word “brunch” I’m not talking about what some girls refer to as “brunch”. Because “girls brunch”, which is really just eating anything on a Sunday when hungover, is not really brunch. it’s just a meal that falls during a time when restaurants display brunch menus.
And for those not familiar how a “girls brunch” develops – (all via BBM of course…no one speaks until they get to “brunch”) here’s a brief synopsis:
“ohhhh my god! Last night was Ahmayzing! but now I’m totally dying! Soooooo hungover!!! I must have drank like 7 vodka tonics! Ahhhh! Did we take shots? Did I do anything stupid? I probably did! Oh my f’in god I’m looking at pics on my phone! We’re we in a limo? LOL! OMG I’m literally kissing our cab driver! Ugggg i am struggggzzzz. I need coconut water. Like right now. Coconut water makes me feel sooo amazing. Yeah like amazing enough to stand up. then i can puke and I’m like…75% normal. Ok! Let’s get brunch!”
So Brunch is supposed to be leisurely and fun and can either be about extending the fun from Saturday night into Sunday(whatever genius coined sunday funday is a genius) or about closing out the weekend. But there are certain essentials you need to include to make it a brunch:
Bagels - if you don’t have bagels at your brunch you are an idiot. This isn’t like in school where there are no dumb questions. “Should I have bagels at my brunch?” is a dumb question because the answer is unequivocally yes. Bagels are amazing with deli meats, eggs, cream cheese, jams, tuna fish, tomatoes, cucumbers,hummus,mustard, lox, peanut butter, regular butter, toasted+ dry… I’m like Bubba gump right now. Bagels are the Blake Griffin/Penelope Cruz of brunch. Sure, they are amazing on their own, but surround them with some talent and watch the fuck out.
An Egg Dish – You’ve got guests coming over but you’ve got a lot to do and need to just pop something in the oven for brunch? Fritata. Set it and forget it. Omelets to order a bit pretentious? Fine… I’ll slum it and eat a quiche if I have to. Ohh Kugel? Way to go all Jewish on this brunch. Personally, I haven’t eaten eggs after 11am for years, but if you are a late sleeper…I say get your sunny side up on all hours of the day. Also here’s a scrambled egg tip. Mix in some whole mix with the eggs as you beat them. Add salt and pepper. And beat them pretty hard and fast. Then turn the heat to 1/2 of what you usually cook your eggs at. Then cook them slow and constantly move them. You are going to have the lightest fluffiest eggs you’ve ever tasted.
Jam/Cream Cheese – You know what’s kinda bad ass when you have people over? Making something and not just buying everything. Jam or a cream cheese dips are so easy it’s kind of like cheating. I made apricot jam last week by taking a bunch of apricots, removing the pits, adding a mess of sugar, boiling the apricots then adding Certo fruit pectin. Then I jarred it and let it cool on the counter. Popped it in the fridge overnight. Jam. Bam. Did I measure anything? Of course not. This isn’t for a cookbook or something, just me jamming out. Was it messy? Ehh maybe a jammy jam stain here or there but no biggie. Took all of 4 minutes. For cream cheese, just buy some green olives, some lox and some chives. Buy a big tub of cream cheese and divide it into 3 dishes. Allow it to soften slightly on the counter. Dice the olives, lox and chives. Place each dice item into an individual container of cream cheese. Voila. 3 homemade cream cheese dips. 2 min. classy.
Fresh Squeezed OJ – Huge $4 bags of oranges are readily available at any Farmer’s Market in CA so if you live on the west coast, you have no excuse not to do the fresh squeezed routine.Now I realize if you live in Chicago the idea of trekking through 8 ft high snow drifts then taking the L to the store and then dropping $15 on oranges so you can yield enough fresh squeezed for a table is not such a logical thing. BUT…it MAKES THE BRUNCH. Just trust me on this one. Sure you can throw Tropicana in your Brita and plop it on the table. but making fresh squeezed OJ says “I spent some time making this brunch. Let’s sit and talk, and take our time and enjoy this.” It shows a bit of class, a bit of effort and makes your guests feel special. (Watch out Martha, I’m dropping mad entertaining tips on these suckas. Pretty soon I’m gonna be doing posts on homemade napkins holders. Watch ya back).
Fresh baked bread - Bread is not hard to make. It takes a few ingredients and can be a show stopper. The best part is…you can toss anything into the bread (dried fruit, nuts, chocolate) to elevate it to a whole different level. Below is a picture of the Cranberry Almond bread I made last weekend. Was it totally delicious and awesome? Uhhh was Abraham Lincoln assassinated? Enough with the dumb questions.
It’s time for brunch.
Can someone pass the fresh squeezed OJ.
We’re out of it?
Fine…I’ll drink some goddamn Coconut Water.
Ohhh You’re Dressed as The Situation? That’s creative. October 4, 2010
Posted by Eli in : Uncategorized , add a commentPICKING A HALLOWEEN COSTUME IS A SITUATION.
Every Halloween I know EXACTLY how Paris and Kim feel when they show up in ”who wore it better.” There’s always the worry me and some shmuck will show up to the party with the same costume. To help you avoid this, we’ve got ten culinary themed costumes fully primed to melt faces, but first let’s start by eliminating a few costumes you should avoid harder than Lindsay Lohan at a networking event.
WHAT COSTUMES SHOULD I AVOID?
GAGA – As fun as it would be to spend 25 hrs making a meat dress out of hand drawn cardboard pieces, someone else is already doing this, and they will probably do a better job than you. The only thing worse than showing up as Lady Gaga in her meat dress is being the 2nd best version of Lady Gaga in her meat dress.
ZUCKERBERG – If all you do is buy a Harvard sweatshirt and say you are Mark Zuckerberg I will publicly berate you for laziness. If you take it to the next level and stuff your pockets with overflowing cash,hand out “I’m the CEO…bitch” business cards, carry a laptop logged into your Facebook page and update your feed while posting photos in an event called Halloween 2010…I will maybe give you a pass for such a lame costume choice.
POLITICS – For those considering being Obama,Palin or that Wicka lady who hates masturbating; realize that political costumes are very high brow and will make you appear out of touch with Middle America. Glen Beck might pop out of an alley and punch you in the privates for being so hoity-toity and rubbing your education in hard working families faces.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE – And remember to know your audience for full costume success. I considered drawing a “Repossessed by Bank” sign, wearing a blazer over a T-shirt and walking with a cane but I don’t want to explain that I’m a “Foreclosed Gregory House” 46 times to a bunch of drunk girls dressed as characters from Glee.
PAULA DEEN
This lady drinks melted butter out of a glass so if you take away her money/TV show and give her a few cats she’s basically the crazy neighbor your mom told you to avoid. You’ll need a white wig and TONS of makeup. Paula’s makeup style is basically “Southern Televangelist” so cake it on there (and considering her affinity for the product, you might want to rock a butter based foundation). You’ll be able to use that southern accent you cultivated as an extra in your high school production of Oklahoma! All night you should be yelling “I’m Paula Deen Ya’ll!!” And since she figures out a way to put it in every dish, work butter into every single sentence.
SAM SIFTON
Last year we offered up a restaurant critic costume, but with Sifton, you’re gonna have to be as accurate as a Jayson Blair story to have people know who you are. To really sell this costume through to the masses, you’ll need a copy of the NYtimes rolled up in your back pocket, a certified check peeking out of your pocket signed by Joe Bastianich and a copy of Born Round under your arm with a mustache drawn on the rotund face of the 2nd grade Frank Bruni.
GAIL SIMMONS
In order to really pull this costume off you might need to line up a Tom Collichio. Toss on your finest low cut silk party dress and practice walking in high heels (it’s ok, the real Gail is bad at this too).
Snag your “Tom” impersonator and flirt with him just enough so that you come off cute but not slutty. You should make sure to reinforce most of his comments and rarely if ever disagree with him. Take your “Tom” and walk up to the host at the party, making sure to offer up such a nice smile that it can’t possibly be genuine.
You – “Hi! What do you have for us tonight?”
Host – “Uhh we’ve got some chips, pumpkin seeds and a bunch of Halloween candy.”
You -(turn to your “Tom”) “Well he definitely followed the challenge theme!”(take one bite of a pumpkin seed then turn back to the host) Thanks! We’ll see you at judges table!”
A SUPER HUNGRY STONER FOODIE
A plain old “Stoner” is a hilarious and easy costume that allows you to get super high and carrying a 3ft bong+huge bag of Doritos into a party never made anyone unpopular, but you gotta just LOVE a good “foodie stoner”.
C’mon, you know the type. He gets blazed and wants to talk about how if he didn’t smoke so much weed he could save up to go to El Bulli and how if he just got his shit together he would totally open up his top secret Ostrich omelet bar-frozen yogurt-sliders fusion restaurant that he knows is the next hot trend.
So strap on your 2-tone dreadlocks wig, make a gravity bong out of 2 liter, raid the fridge and act super confused regardless of how easy the other costumes are to identify.
A POP-UP RESTAURANT
Like the dude above, once LA pop’ed we just can’t stop. For this costume, you’ve got to embrace your inner guerilla performance artist.
Show up at a party uninvited. Unpack limited kitchen supplies, cutlery and plates, some candles and minimal decoration (just enough to make the place “your own”), some great produce (changes every day!) and start cooking right there in the middle of the party. (You make your own rules – you’re a pop-up restaurant!)
Presumably someone will want a reservation but kindly explain the detailed twitter process and that no, you don’t take phone reservations because…well… you don’t have a phone.
Then, as fast as you arrived, pack everything up and rush out. Everyone will be speculating what party you’ll pop up at next. “I heard he’s popping up next at a party in Santa Monica!” “Really? the westside?? It’s kinda an old crowd over there.” “I heard he’s going to a costume party in Silverlake!” “Ugh that’s so far! But I’d go to see that costume again for sure!” Some asshole is bound to blog that your costume was overrated, but don’t let it get you down. Mystique is your deadliest weapon.
GULF COAST SEAFOOD
1)Buy a shrimp or crab costume.
2) Pour Hershey’s Chocolate sauce all over it.
3) Let it dry (or don’t).
4) Put on the costume.
5) Carry around a bottle of Castrol GTX.
Congratulations, in 5 easy steps you’ve just made a mockery of one of our nation’s worst national disasters and insulted large portion of many U.S. states.
Costume successery? Ummm…Yes.
ANTHONY BOURDAIN
A Bourdain costume gives you the same carte blanche for recklessness as a Pete Doherty costume. Spend all night cigarette in hand on historical diatribes and pop culture infused tangents dropping words like omnipotent and acrimonious into casual conversation while taking yourself on a culinary journey to getting royally shit housed.
Straight leg light jeans, a white button down with the sleeves rolled up and some black ray bans. Possess what some would call an insatiable thirst for booze.
Eat some hunks of meat with your bare hands while comparing its flavorings to the writing of an obscure 19th century novelist, drop one pop culture Lindsay Lohan bomb, set up your hammock, hop in and fall asleep right there in the middle of the party. Anthony Bourdain parties harder in his sleep than you do awake anyways.
THE CHAIRMAN
Can you do backflips? Are you vaguely Asian looking but not actually Asian? Do you get SUPER excited by listing ingredients loudly, making very awkward sustained eye contact and doing air karate chops? If all of these apply to you, then it’s settled: you are being The Chairman for Halloween. Here’s a few other bonuses to being The Chairman – 1) You can still wear a suit without dressing as Don Draper. 2) no face makeup necessary 3)possibly the only logical reason to ever show off your ability to do a backflip without looking like a major douche.
A 2010 CULINARY FUED
Bayless went at it with Jonathan Gold. Alton Brown called out Adam Richman. To pull off either costume you’ll need 2 people. Interestingly, for either feud you choose you’ll need one robust well fed gentleman and one bespectacled gaunt guy .
Being Richman for Halloween allows you to enter any party, pop the collar on your weird army-ish coat of the day,throw up the MvF sign, proceed sweating profusely and then eat everything in sight in what one might describe as a gluttonous fashion. Whoever plays Alton Brown can just be gaunt with a teaspoon of flamboyant and a dash of smugness.
If you decide to be Bayless for Halloween all you have to do is know absolutely nothing about authentic Mexican food in LA and slap your name on something that looks like it fell out the butt crack of Las Vegas. People should catch on to your costume pretty quick.
A FOOD TRUCK
Go find your idiot roommate who’s been hoarding all the cardboard making her Lady Gaga meat dress. Now cut out a truck and make sure that your face appears through the side cutout. Pick an obscure ethnic style food that you are sure everyone in the city will become obsessed with(we suggest having a fleet of 3 trucks,calling them The Nina, The Pinta and the Santa Maria and serving Columbus style food. No one’s done that yet). Once you’ve got your costume made, SET UP A TWITTER. Every truck has a twitter! How will all your friends know where your costume has broken down on the way to party? For full authenticity, we suggest standing illegally in parking spots for long periods of time, hanging out outside of restaurants until they call the cops on you and whatever your best dish is, tell everyone you ran out 2 min ago.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
May your night be blessed with you waking up not in jail and hopefully not in a bed filled with melted Chocolate bars still crammed in your pockets. You won’t remember it was chocolate…and for like 10 seconds…your world will come crashing down.
In Defense of Food (Trucks) August 5, 2010
Posted by Eli in : Uncategorized , 5comments
Walking back to work from 26th and Pennsylvania yesterday afternoon, soaking up the beautiful Santa Monica sunshine, my iPod blasting Chromeo, twirling my @nomnomtruck bahn mi in my hand; I thought to myself how genuinely wonderful it it to work in a city that has food trucks. Today, I saw on twitter that the @manillamachine truck would be at that exact same location and for the second day in a row I made the quick walk over to 26th/Penn.
I walked up and saw Nastassia, the writer of http://theletmeeatcake.blogspot.com/ and proud co-owner of The Manilla Machine. While scoring some chicken adobo and beef sliders, she told me that the cops were really cracking down and that food trucks at 26th and Penn were being threatened with VERY large tickets.
Now, if you walk down 26th/Penn from 11.30-2.30 when food trucks park there, something slightly magical happens. Cars don’t really drive down the street and people – yes real alive human beings – WALK THERE and congregate, consuming food that is not mass produced but instead cooked with great love by the indies – you know – the SMALL guys. Mom and pop ethnic stands in truck form. Chefs who got bored of being in a kitchen who struck out on their own. And inexperienced young entrepreneurs with a good idea and a lot of balls. But then here come the cops with their zoning ordinances, and their ‘park X amount of feet away from here’ rules and their blue uniforms and overpriced SUV’s. And this is when I go all Cool Hand Luke on them without having to even consume 50 eggs.
Food Trucks are part of the cultural fabric of Los Angeles and to not embrace this culture,to actively seek out to destroy it and limit its ability to flourish is a disastrous mistake. Like going to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl, walking Runyon Canyon and being weirded out by Hollywood Blvd. , things that are uniquely LA deserve to be embraced and fostered by the community. Because the food truck culture is really just that – a community. It’s a community of food lovers, restaurant outcasts, big dreamers and adventurous (and deal seeking) consumers.
LA is a brilliant restaurant city presenting unparalleled diversity and Food trucks play a vital role in how LA differentiates itself from other major cities.
I understand there are several reasons the police came (the breaking of innocuous parking laws for example) and that local businesses often feel threatened (see the response on the Miracle Mile of parking spot occupying tactics).But what I say to threatened restaurants is this: if your food was better or more efficiently priced or more interesting than the food truck around the corner and outside your door, customers would blaze past that truck and plop down into your spot.
You can blame the influx of food trucks on the hype, but realize the influx only helps everyone elevate their game. Not all the trucks will survive, but the good ones could become great and the trucks that cant afford it will sadly shut down (just like… a normal restaurant). Food trucks are about feeding people, expanding horizons through flavor experimentation and making ethnic food accessible.
LA should wear food trucks like a badge of honor instead of trying to brush them away in shame.
Sustainable Seafood at the Grocery Store…Fishy & Foul or Certified Sustainable? June 28, 2010
Posted by Eli in : Cooking, Recipes, Stories, Uncategorized , add a comment
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
