Dining List

[WhiteKiboko]

ok people.... had this idea a little while ago in the 'How do you catch an octopus?' discussion... for those of us who do partake in the occasional snack of calamari/tako/etc we can whip together a pretty good map of restaurants from all over that have good (or really bad) cephalopod entries on the menu...might come in handy if someone is travelling or if someone comments on a restaurant in your area that youve never tried...
my first couple entries:

Shem Creek Bar & Grill - Mt. Pleasant, SC - pretty standard calamari, probably not worth getting excited about, but its a decent place to visit for a lunch when in the charleston area... on the plus side, it has a very nice tank set up between dining areas (dont remember seeing any cephs though)

Phil and Tony's - Charlotte, NC (Multiple locations) - very good calamari, nice big portion, a little more expensive, but not a regular on the menu - only once in a while

Vinnie's Raw Bar - Charlotte, NC (Multiple Locations) - great calamari, great price, and the marinara is pretty good too... the beer is usually cheap and the staff's usually friendly....a favorite of mine

Buckhead Diner - Atlanta, GA - they have a good spicy asian calamari that is among the best i've had... just about everything on the menu is good but this is definitely not an option when youre a bit strapped for cash, much like most things in the Buckhead neighborhood

Chez Kiboko - Anywhere I'm in the Kitchen - the calamari is coming along although the breading needs some tweaking... until further notice, you might want to avoid the octopus (although the italian is much better than the fried - see the aforementioned thread for clarification)

 

[tonmo]

Although it's a chain, I can say I recently had a very enjoyable dish of fried calamari at Ruth's Chris Steak House in King of Prussia, PA. Maybe it was the wine that did it to me... But come on, look at the menu... that's good stuff! (Unfortunately the calamari doesn't seem to be on the menu... maybe I had more wine than I thought!)


Ever try squid-ink linguine? There was one place I went to in NYC many years ago that was a knock-out. Of course I don't remember the name. I'm sure I was drinking mixed drinks at the time...

 

[WhiteKiboko]

i like to consider myself to be openminded but i really have to be honest....id be hesitant to try anything with squid ink in the title...(unless of course its a metaphor for a dark beer, etc) I went back to the place i mentioned before, Vinnie's...its a shame they seem to have changed one of the best marinara sauces to some out-of-the-can excuse....of well....the refreshments were cold and cheap and the help friendly..... i appreciate the addition tony, i thought my idea would be left for dead....

 

[sharpcuda]

Alright guys, long time no talk but how about live baby octopus??? I was watching a program the other day called "real t.v." and was absolutely ANGRY :x :x :x :x :x In korea fresh fish markets, you may pick your live baby octopus's and have them served to you in the basement live. Yes, and they put the chop sticks in their mantle, wrap the 8 legs around the chopstick, dip them in some hot sauce and chew chew chew. I was absolutely so sick about this that i have not slept for two days. I knew about this but had never seen it before and then could not believe what i was seeing. I'm sorry but i don't care who you f@#%$%%^ are but you do not need for any reason need to eat "chew" something that is alive...sick, sad so and so's !!!!!

 

[tonmo]

Yeah, that doesn't seem right, especially for such an intelligent animal. I certainly wouldn't eat it! (I suppose they were "de-beaked"?)

 

[sharpcuda]

Thanks for understanding Tony. I had a feeling you would. And you hit it on the head when you said "something so intelligent". They are!!! That is what kills me. I would think though that they would not remove the beaks. They would still be very soft. Don't you think???

 

[Steve O'Shea]

It is rather tragic isn't it. Down here in good-old NZ we have to apply for a permit to do any form of experimentation on an octopus or squid (through an Animal Ethics Committee) - even to collect live squid or octopus from the wild to transfer them to the laboratory to keep them live (and it seems even for keeping an octopus as a pet). [You also need permits to collect them!] Sometimes it seems like bureaucracy gone wild, but these controls do prevent certain persons from undertaking (what in my mind equates to) unacceptable vivisection-type experimentation, and unsustainable collection/exploitation for the purposes of retail (ie, eating them live). Strange how in another country you can catch them and eat them live.
O

 

[Mike Parker]

Hello,
I just discovered this site looking for info about the nutritional aspects of octopus. I eat octopus everyday (convenient, tasty, and nutritious), but I never knew much of anything about it. My main interest is whether or not the innards are safe to eat and what their nutritional profile is. All the recipes say to throw them away, but since animal organs have always been the cornerstone of human diets, I'd like to have more information. If anyone has any pointers to this sort of info, I'd be very grateful. The USDA database doesn't have any info on octopus organs, just the flesh.
By the way, I saw the post objecting to eating live baby octopuses, and I have to register my view that this is an elegant and appealing practice. Unfortunately I don't have ready access to live octopuses, relying on frozen baby octopuses from asian shops, but I would never pass up the chance to eat them that way. I don't want to get into any kind of debate or anything, just stating my viewpoint, but I don't see how it is any different than killing them and then eating them. Humans have always eaten raw animal food and the octopuses themselves eat living sea animals, so it seems more natural and harmonious to eat the octopuses alive. When people eat fresh beef, pork, or chicken flesh or organs, in some sense the food is still living, and this is a normal practice all over the world, so I don't see what is so unusual or problematic about the octopus case. Chewing food is healthy and normal and is one of the crucial components of our digestive system, allowing us to eat food in a fresh state. What I find slightly offensive is the practice of overcooking such delicate and precious food. When I started eating octopus I used to boil them, but now I always eat them raw. The idea of frying food that is healthier raw, and the simultaneous effect of obscuring it's natural subtle flavors, is quite crude and makes me think of the general deterioration of human eating habits in the 20th century, i.e. McDonald's, vegetable oils, factory farming, refined flour, etc.
Best Regards,
Mike Parker
[email protected]

 

[nanoteuthis]

Ever try squid-ink linguine? There was one place I went to in NYC many years ago that was a knock-out. Of course I don't remember the name. I'm sure I was drinking mixed drinks at the time...

Back when I still used to eat cephs, I went to a Cuban restaurant in Manhattan and had a dish called calamares en su tinta, which is exactly what it sounds like -- standard loligos cleaned, cut into pieces, and cooked in their own ink, over rice (which was colored purplish-black by the ink). As I recall, it was very, very good.

Re eating a live baby Octo -- under normal circumstances I don't think I could bring myself to do that. But in a survival situation, the moral compass sometimes shifts in ways that might otherwise be repellent to us. So if I had the choice of starving to death or eating live seafood, live seafood is what I would eat.

I believe there are circumstances under which even the ultimate taboo may be breached. IMHO -- and I know I might be pilloried for this -- there is a vast moral difference between Jeffrey Dahmer and those plane crash survivors who could only stay alive by consuming their already-dead comrades.

I feel the same way about hunting. I know it's p.c. to condemn it -- and I can't picture myself doing it -- but as long as I eat meat I don't feel there is much difference between a dinner that's been slaughtered in captivity and a dinner that's been shot in the wild. In fact, the latter at least has had a chance to roam free until its death -- which is more than anyone can say about the contents of a Big Mac.

In other words, I'm not planning to throw any stones in the foreseeable future.

Living in a glass house (so to speak),
Tani

 

[Steve O'Shea]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

But discussing the eating of live octopuses on a site where so many people are dedicated to keeping them alive is a bit like waving a red flag to a bull...... I've never really been a big poodle fan, but it's a bit like posting on a poodle-adoration site (if there is one) that I like eating live baby poodles dipped in tomato sauce .....

 

[Jean]

Anyhow have you ever looked at the parasites these guys can carry????? YEUCH! & yes I have my steak very well done (I've seen the parasites in that too!!) I reckon anyone eating live/raw WHOLE octopus or squid is just asking for a bout of Anisakiasis (due to the fact that many cephs are secondary hosts for a nasty little nematode called Anisakis simplex). This is apart from the moral debate over eating live food!


Cheers

jean

 

[tonmo]

Interesting post Michael, and welcome to TONMO.com!

You said:

When people eat fresh beef, pork, or chicken flesh or organs, in some sense the food is still living, and this is a normal practice all over the world, so I don't see what is so unusual or problematic about the octopus case.

Somehow I don't equate eating a burger off the grill with eating a writhing octopus that is actually having thoughts and feeling pain as I crush it with my teeth. That said, to each his own, I always say. I myself wouldn't eat a living octopus. Well, I wouldn't eat a dead, raw octopus either, just because I really can't imagine I'd like it ("but how will you know if you never try??" -- "I'll take my chances..." )

And as far as octopuses eating living food themselves... I suspect they do that out of necessity. Now, if an octopus could cook, I would guess they would opt to eat cooked food. Case in point.

 

[sharpcuda]

Thank you both STEVE and TONY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As if you were not both my personal hero's before!!!!!!!!!!!!
And as for you Mike well; I think you chose the worst place to talk about enjoying octopus as a food source. Sorry.
We here at Tonmo talk about saving this species as a whole. We love and adore are octopus and squid and don't much care to talk about serving them up for dinner!!! We come here to learn and share!
You must have really sought this thread out to explain how beautiful it is to eat them live... since you could tell I was simply sick about it. There is no need!!!! Not knocking other cultures...but still keep this stuff to yourself!! Sorry to all but I believe I speak for a few of us here. If I am wrong let me know!! Do not want to cause problems!!! Just not cool with the previous comment. Thanks again Steve and Tony!!! You both ROCK!!!

 

[nanoteuthis]

Anyhow have you ever looked at the parasites these guys can carry????? YEUCH! & yes I have my steak very well done (I've seen the parasites in that too!!) I reckon anyone eating live/raw WHOLE octopus or squid is just asking for a bout of Anisakiasis (due to the fact that many cephs are secondary hosts for a nasty little nematode called Anisakis simplex). This is apart from the moral debate over eating live food!


Cheers

jean

Hiya Jean --

I've "been there" too (re Anisakis worms). A few years ago, I went to a local fish store to buy a couple of catfish fillets, with the intention of seasoning and steaming them for dinner. Now since catfish are farmed, the likelihood of them carrying parasites is very remote. However, the counter guy -- whose first language was obviously not English -- must have thought I said "codfish", and when I came home and unwrapped the fillets, I realized his error.

OK, no big deal, I thought, I'll steam them anyway. But as I began to cut up the fillets for steaming, I noticed some red thread-like lines embedded in the flesh. Thinking they were capillaries of some sort, I kept on cutting the fillets -- until I noticed that those red lines were squirming.

End of story, those fillets with the "little extras" were rapidly returned to the fish store, and I opted for a refund rather than an exchange! I realize that the cooking process would have killed the Anisakis, but still, just the thought of it permanently put me off raw fish sushi as well as codfish in any form.

I still love other kinds of cooked fish, and when I go for sushi I get it either vegetarian or sautéed (e.g., unaju). I also stay away from ceviche in Mexican and South American restaurants, as even though the citrus juice makes the seafood look and taste cooked, it does not kill any parasites.

A word to the wise -- listen to Jean, she knows whereof she speaks!

Alive and cookin',
Tani

 

[WhiteKiboko]

had a pleasant surprise this evening.... here in the nether regions, i found calamari perfectly fried!! (twasnt too perfect, the marinara seemed to be industrial pizza sauce )

light breading, well but not over seasoned, barely crunchy, virtually no springiness to the meat....

who wouldve thunk?