scallops

Seared Sea Scallops with Middlins

Seared Sea Scallops with Middlins excerpted from Salt and Shore: Recipes from the Coastal South by Sammy Monsour and Kassady Wiggins. Photography Ziv Sade & Sammy Monsour

Salt and Shore: Recipes from the Coastal South by Sammy Monsour and Kassady Wiggins.

Chef and mixologist duo Sammy Monsour and Kass Wiggins share more than 120 recipes for their favourite seafood dishes and drinks from the coast and watery byways—along with their passion for Southern cooking, hospitality, and culture.

Advocates for sustainable eating, as well as civil rights and environmental activism, their enthusiasm for good food, modern craft cocktails, and community shines through on every page of this beautiful cookbook. Through recipes and stories, Sammy and Kass aim to inspire informed choices that support coastal resiliency and marine ecosystem health.

Celebrate the coasts and waterways of the South with outstanding seafood, ocean advocacy, and beach-front feasts to enjoy at home.

TECHNIQUES AND EXPERT TIPS that will encourage cooks of all levels to master preparing and serving seafood dishes and cocktails at home, including how to filet fish, handle shellfish, craft drinks around simple fresh ingredients, and use ice for added flavour. (more…)

Restaurant Review: Restaurant 18

Sometimes friends fade from your life and you wake up one day and say, “Whatever happened to so and so?” There was no scrap or disagreement. Life merely got in the way. As with an old friend, this can also happen with some formerly often-visited haunt. Back in the day, for me, Restaurant 18 was the place to be. Then, for no apparent reason, it faded from my consciousness. So after Restaurant 18’s decade-long absence from my regular restaurant rotation, I decided it was high time for me to zip back in and visit my old friend.

Much has happened there since I last visited. After a company shake-up last fall, Kirk Morrison was installed as the restaurant’s Chef de cuisine. Now at the helm of one of the top restaurants in the city, Mr. Morrison reinvigorated the menu, displaying an impressive set of skills he’s been developing since he interned under superstar Chef Lynn Crawford at the Four Seasons. The dining room has been made over in muted earth tones, rendering the space dark, moody and elegant. Think Paris-chic with striking modernistic design influences. But, it’s the food that stands out the most for me at Restaurant 18. And, there is no better way to test the mettle of a chef than to make your way through the tasting menu.

The evening started off on the right foot with an amuse bouche, Pacific northwest oysters on the half-shell. Although I was self-conscious about tossing back a few in such a graceful setting, I knew after the first bite that Restaurant 18 and I were taking up where we had left off all those many years ago. The initial slurp was briny and oceanic; the flesh of the oyster, robust. Then the flavours crescendoed to a fruity, cucumber-melon finish. Unfussy and flawless.

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I tried the best lobster roll in New England

I’m not an lobster roll aficionado. But Neptune Oyster‘s lobster roll has been touted as the best in New England. So why not try it? It came on a toasted brioche with whole pieces of tail and claw drenched in buttery goodness accompanied by a mound of fries. It was wicked tasty. Next time I’ll try the more traditional cold version mixed with mayo. And I should have sampled the Oysters for Pete’s sake. It’s called Neptune Oyster. Not sure what I was thinking.