snackstuff: japanese pen shells

I was at a press luncheon last Monday at Le Bernardin. At one point, Maguy LeCoze stopped in to say bonjour et comment ça va? I explained I was a bit fatigued as I was in-between chefs night out and the Beard awards. She said Champagne is always good for a hangover, nodding towards my glass of bubbly on the table. She's such a smart and soignée lady. Indeed, the wine brightened everything up. But I digress…

Chef Douglas Keane of Cyrus was host and cook that day. I've not been to his place in Healdsburg, CA, so it was a nice opportunity to try his (from the website) "contemporary luxury cuisine, which has a strong classic French foundation, layered with contemporary global accents and an emphasis on seasonality" firsthand. Plus, who says no to lunch at Le Bernardin?

A stand out among the passed canapés was a sort of surf-n-turf: crispy bone marrow with California caviar. Salty, crunchy, hot, and fatty. Quite addictive. Of note on the menu was the pen shell with spring corn and pickled ramps. (It seems this is the year of the pickle, with a subcategory of ramps.) What arrived on the plate looked like a seared scallop, but the texture was tougher and more sinewy like a conch or abalone. It caused a refined ruckus at the table.

Pen shells are a type of clam native to Japan and Korea that are available both wild and farm-raised. At the sushi bar they're called Tairagi. A bit of online time revealed they are known around the Mediterranean as la grande nacre (meaning mother of pearl or pearly) and gran nacra. Keane discovered them on a recommendation from his fish purveyor. Many of the chefs reading this might wonder if it was IMP, the super sushi vendor out of San Francisco? Indeed it was. But they also ship to points east including Gotham. I would not be surprised if pen shells start cropping up on menus here. (I've heard that Masato Shimizu had them on his menu at Jewel Bako in 2005 and likely has them at his current home, 15 East.)

Comments

[ms]

yes, indeed, you will find pen shells at 15 East right now