Anyone know of a restaurant in Seattle that has good abalone?
Since so many kinds have become endangered, I haven’t seen it in years. I found this restuarant, but the reference isn’t dated, so I don’t know if it’s current.
If you find one, let me know. I love it, if prepared well.
Hm. Doesn’t sound very promising.
I thought abalone was currently outlawed. Or is that just in California? (Except, it was a key point in an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent, so then it’s either California and New York, or it’s a Federal thing.)
Red abalone is farmed in various central and northern coastal California locations. My mom and I had some at a restaurant in Monterey a few months back, and it was hugely over-priced and not all that good.
The taking of wild abalone is prohibited south of the mouth of San Francisco Bay, and can only be done by free diving in Northern California and the PNW. Abalone is raised commercially in a number of places.
Stranger
Abalone is legal in California; it’s just often scarce and expensive.
I’ve had affordable abalone a few times in Mexico over the past few years (Acapulco and in various Baja locations), hoping each time that it would taste as I remember it; sadly, no. It was never pounded and was tasteless and rubbery. I kept trying though, hoping that some day someone would pound the hell out of it. No go.
I recently read of a resurgence in abalone farming and can’t wait to sample the outcome.
Abalone Growers Eye Mollusk Resurgence
Remember when people used abalone shells to decorate and border their gardens? Talk about tacky. I have a single shell that I have in my laundry room that contains change, keys, etc., that I’ve found in pockets of things to be laundered.
I’m going to be in Port Townsend this fall for a week or so and am looking forward to any replies you get about where we can find it.