Chefs don't 'shrimp' on creativity, make waves with preparations of seafood staple

Nation's Restaurant News, Sept 13, 2004 by Florence Fabricant

Chefs today can choose from an increasing market basket of shrimp from many sources, domestic and imported, fresh, wild and farm-raised, and in sizes that range from minute cold-water varieties at 100 in a pound to immense shrimp, tipping the scales at 4 ounces each. The abundance of shrimp from abroad has led to complaints by American shrimpers, and on the political front the issue is still in play.

On menus the popularity of shrimp remains undiminished. The simple shrimp cocktail is a staple on the menus of the ever-growing list of steakhouses that continue to open. Baked, grilled and sauteed shrimp, often called scampi, are a mainstay in Italian operations. And the new ethnic darlings, the Latin and Asian-themed restaurants, also rely on shrimp in seviches, stir-fries and sushi.

Though chefs do not have to be in high gear creatively when it comes to shrimp, many are finding new ways to prepare them.

At Crave in Brooklyn, N.Y., a showstopper is the Coca-Cola barbecue shrimp, made with 15-count Mexican white shrimp. Debbie Lyn, who shares the position of executive chef with her husband, Marco Morillo. starts with regular classic Coca-Cola, which she reduces to a syrup to make the base of her marinade and sauce. She thickens it and adds complexity with hoisin sauce and ketchup. The marinating takes less than an hour; then she sautes the shrimp and finishes them under a salamander before standing a quartet of them at attention around the plate. In the center is a salad of julienne honeydew and cantaloupe tossed with Meyer lemon and chocolate mint oil dressing, which she labels a "slaw." Some shredded chives and a drizzle of Spanish olive oil complete the garnish.

At Harry's Seafood Grill in Wilmington, Del., a simpler approach to barbecued shrimp involves spicy Cajun seasonings for the New Orleans-style dish that is served with toasted focaccia and a smoked tomato salad.

Fresh sea urchin is a far cry from Coca-Cola and Cajun seasonings. At Masa in New York, the chef, Masa Takayama, folds a generous lobe of sea urchin in raw, fresh, sweet shrimp that he first butterflies. He serves a trio of those shrimp on a large shiso leaf that he centers in a bowl of shaved ice, with a scattering of shiso buds on top. The sweet shrimp is a perfect foil for the brininess of the sea urchin. At the new Frisson in San Francisco, West Coast spot prawns are combined with sea urchin and California osetra caviar on the tasting menu.

At Sumile in New York, Josh DeChellis contrasts Pacific Coast sweet shrimp with an edgy horseradish consomme. And at the Restaurant of Domaine Chandon in Yountville. Calif., the lunch menu includes prawns poached in a curried lobster broth and garnished with cauliflower and sesame seeds. Shrimp also are poached at Swoon Kitchenbar in Hudson, N.Y., but the poaching medium is olive oil and the lush shrimp are plated with fingerling potatoes and frisee in a mustard vinaigrette.

Prawns are served cold in an uncommon combination of slivered Fuji apples, jicama and carrots--all tossed in a cilantro-mint vinaigrette at the new Straits Restaurant in Burlingame, Calif. Hot prawns--this time flame-broiled and served with a forceful tapenade, tangy preserved lemons and a fragrant herb bouquet--show up at Gala in Greenwich, Conn. Preserved lemon also seasons the prawns with garlic flakes on the list of tapas a la plancha at Bocadillos in San Francisco.

Though coconut shrimp have become ubiquitous, at Noe in the Omni Los Angeles Hotel, the dish is more or less deconstructed in a sweet-corn-and-coconut soup with crispy shrimp fritters alongside it. At Nectar in Berwyn, Pa., shrimp and beef tenderloin make for surf and turf with a spicy corn puree.

The new Cantina Fifteen Eleven in Charlotte, N.C., offers a taco filled with grilled shrimp in an ancho chile sauce. At Sophia's in Boston shrimp and calamari are combined in a taco with tomato, cilantro and lime. And La Cachette in Los Angeles, to celebrate its 10th anniversary on Oct. 8, will serve a tasting menu of favorites, including a seductive rock shrimp enclosed in ravioli, not a taco, and sauced with a lobster coulis.