Give me scallops any day... every day...

Seared Bay Scollop, Meyer Lemon Creme Fraiche, Lemon Caviar, Pickled Fennel, Baby Greens

The dish that I always initially gravitate towards is the scallop dish. For those of you who don't like scallop you must be eating at too many Chinese restaurants. For me a scallop must be well seasoned and seared. Don't give me sauteed frozen. I can spot a frozen one as soon as it hits the table I don't even need to cut into it. Sadly, not only Chinese restaurants that try to pull one over on you. I've been to reputable restaurants (most recently Commerce in the West Village) that have tried to pass frozen off as fresh. Once frozen and thawed the scallop will never sear properly all the moisture will be constantly leaching out. If your scallop is pale and rubbery throw it against the wall; it will bounce back.

Tortellini

Tortellinis are like pockets of goodness, if made right. They are like wontons but with more filling. I like to make them fat so that there is a larger filling to pasta ratio. I hate commercially made tortellini because they are usually just filled with cheese and frozen. These are filled with shrimp, lobster, olives, and thyme.

Amuse Bouche: Seafood Tortellini, Mint Pea Puree, Bacon

Rhubarb: Thats some sweet weed.

Rhubarb is considered a weed in some places but here its a very season vegetable that is usually cooked and sweetened because they are quite tart. The stalks resemble a celery stalk but thicker and red. The leaves are poisonous and are usually removed before the stalks are sold.

Strawberry Rhubarb "Pie": Gram Cookie, Maple Tuile, Mascarpone Mousse, Almond "Streusel", Poached Rhubarb "Kidneys", Strawberry Rhubarb Compote, Strawberry Balsamic Reduction.

To make a compote simply place cut up pieces of rhubarb in a pot with water just to cover. Add sugar to taste and boil until tender. While hot fold in diced strawberries. Drain excess liquid, which can be further reduced to make a glaze.

What's for Dessert?

Bacon Chocolate Cake, Earl Grey Milk Jam, Caramelized Banana, Dark Chocolate Mousse

Its not a Popover!

The new bread of the week is the buttery Fantail. Using the trimmings from danish dough, the Fantails (not popovers Jesse! Popovers are made with a liquid mix of flour and mostly eggs) were sprinkled with salt and baked in muffin tins. They came out flaky and slightly sweet with a salty crust.

No Imposters Here!

Every time I go to a restaurant and see Lobster Ravioli on the menu I never order it... and you shouldn't either. No restaurant that wants to make money is going to give you real lobster meat in those ravioli. It will be 80%-90% shrimp and fillers with the remaining frozen lobster scraps.

Since we are serious about our food and our customers we don't do that to our ravioli filling.

The filling is made with large chunks of raw lobster meat from the tails and claws bound by a tiny bit of shrimp meat paste and herbs. Each giant ravioli contains 3oz. of lobster meat.

The shells and heads are then used for stock which forms the base of the sauce.

Lobster Ravioli, Burratta, Roasted Mushrooms, Beets, Tarragon, Lobster Emulsion

Do I smell fish(y)?

There is nothing worse than the smell of bad fish. Its like the smell of Chinatown markets on hot summer days. Its like in the cartoons where the smells are so strong they look like waves of smoke wafting up.

A fresh fish on the other hand should have no smell or a light scent of the sea. Don't be afraid when buying fish to smell it. You might regret it if you don't when you get home and open your package from the Chinese market and get hit in the face by waves of vomit inducing odors. Get you barf bags ready.

When buying fish it is highly recommended to get your fish monger to clean and fillet it if that is the way you desire to serve it. If not you might find yourself covered in scales like I did while scaling gutting and cleaning these bronzinos. It brought having scaly skin to a another level.

Once I get the fillets I make sure to double check for scales and pin bones that I may have missed. Scales in the mouth are like chewing on little shards of plastic. Choking on a fish bone is a trip to the emergency room. But you can skip these steps if you are serving it to your worst enemy, that's what I would do.

If I were being Chinese I would say to chop off the heads and make a soup then gouge out the eyes and eat them along with the cheeks. Actually Chinese people can literally suck the flesh off of every bone on the carcass but I'm not my own worst enemy, yet.

Crispy Bronzino, French Lentils, Parsnip Puree, Sauce Vierge