NY restaurants put their twist on Gulf seafood

Frank Sinatra sang that New York City was the city that never sleeps, but on a recent visit, it seemed more like the city that never stops eating. It’s rare in Manhattan to go more than a block or two without coming across an interesting restaurant, a well-stocked deli or a street-food vendor, and in many blocks, there are multiple variations of all three.

New Yorkers pride themselves on their eclectic tastes, and eating out there can be a global tour. When it’s time for Texans to have a taste of home, though, it’s good to know that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico turns up in many New York restaurants.

Just because it’s seafood from our local waters doesn’t mean it’s going to be cooked the same ways we do here. Gulf crab is just as likely to be served in crab chowder as in gumbo there, and shrimp may star in a “pan roast,” which doesn’t involve roasting or a pan.

One of the best places to try Gulf seafood New York-style is the Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant. Located in Grand Central Terminal, the cavernous restaurant is known for its wide variety of seafood including 20 to 30 kinds of oysters, depending on the season, from the shores of the United States and Canada.

The Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant has been operating since the terminal opened in 1913, making it just a few years younger than our local counterpart seafood landmark, Gaido’s, which began cooking in 1911. Like Gaido’s and the rest of the best local seafood restaurants, the Oyster Bar is a favorite destination both for tourists and for many of the almost 1 million commuters who pass through the terminal each day.

The pan roast has been on the Oyster Bar’s menu since 1913 and has become such a signature dish that special equipment is installed at the bar so that patrons can watch the process. The technique, in the hands of the Oyster Bar’s skilled practitioners, is simple: sauté fresh seafood (the Oyster Bar offers shrimp, clam and lobster versions as well as shrimp) and add ingredients for a sauce that falls about halfway between a stew and a Newburg. With the ingredients staged and ready at hand, the whole process takes less than 3 minutes from order to bowl.

Not every New York take on Gulf seafood depends on cream and butter. At Ed’s Chowder House near Lincoln Center, crabmeat adds the richness to an otherwise light chowder. The crab chowder at Ed’s is, not surprisingly, “Manhattan style,” i.e., made with a tomato base rather than a creamy one. The crabmeat pairs well with the traditional chowder ingredients of potatoes and onions, as well as Ed’s addition of chopped fennel.

The recipes for pan roasts and other specialties of the Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant have been collected in a cookbook, “The Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant Seafood Cookbook.” One of the highlights of the cookbook is a curried shrimp salad that is only on the menu seasonally but good any time.

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Shrimp Curry Salad

1 to 2 tablespoons curry powder

1 cup mayonnaise (can use light mayo)

Dash of cayenne pepper

Sprinkling of white ground pepper

¾ cup seedless white grapes

1 ¼ pound shrimp, cooked, shelled and deveined

Watercress or lettuce

½ cup blanched almonds, slivered

Thoroughly mix curry powder, mayonnaise, cayenne and pepper in a medium-size bowl. Add grapes and toss lightly but well.

Pour mayonnaise and grapes over shrimp and stir to coat. Refrigerate, tightly covered, for at least one hour.

Serve on a bed of watercress or lettuce. Sprinkle slivered almonds on top before serving.

Makes four to six servings.

— From “The Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant Seafood Cookbook,” by Mark Abrahamson, 1997

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Shrimp Pan Roast

8 large raw shrimp, shelled, deveined, with tails off

2 tablespoons sweet (unsalted) butter, divided

1 tablespoons chili sauce

1 tablespoons Worcestershire

½ teaspoon paprika

Dash of celery salt

1 ounce clam juice

½ cup cream

1 slice dry toast

Place all ingredients except cream, toast and 1 tablespoon of the butter in the top part of a double boiler over boiling water. Don’t let the top of the boiler touch the water below.

Whisk or stir briskly and constantly for about 1 minute, until shrimp are pink. Add cream and continue stirring briskly until hot. Do not boil.

Pour pan roast into a soup plate over the slice of dry toast. Top with remaining 1 tablespoon butter and sprinkle with additional paprika.

Makes one serving.

— From “The Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant Seafood Cookbook,” by Mark Abrahamson

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Manhattan Crab Chowder

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup finely diced onion

1 cup cored fennel bulb, finely diced, plus 2 tablespoons chopped fronds, divided

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 (14-ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth, or vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups water

2 cups precooked diced potatoes, (can use frozen cubed potatoes)

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes

1 pound crabmeat

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, diced fennel, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are just starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add broth, water and potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, crabmeat and fennel fronds.

Return to a boil, stirring often; immediately remove from heat.

— Recipe from Eating Well, December 2006