“On an acre-for-acre basis, mussel rafts produce hundreds of times more edible food than cattle ranching, making mussel farming a leader in food production.” – Taylor Shellfish Farms

I’ve eaten a lot of mussels in my life. Slurped them down without a care in the world, letting the wine-soaked, or sometimes, coconut milk-soaked juices run down my fingers and drip onto a discarded shell plate. There’s no elegant way to eat mussels. In my opinion, it’s one of those things like fried chicken – you just “get into” them. It’s a sloppy, joyful existence eating a bowl of mussel meat. And when they are plump and fresh, not scrawny and sad, it’s food bliss.

So why then did I never stop to think about how mussels are grown? I guess it never entered my mind to think beyond the 5lb bags I was buying at the seafood store. They came that way and that was that. Well, talk about being happily enlightened. Until I filmed this story, I didn’t realize mussels go through quite a bit before they reach your plate.

This summer, I spent some time with Gordon King, a sustainable mussel farmer from Totten Inlet in South Puget Sound. Now, besides looking like a more muscular version of Sean Connery, he was charming, engaging and really really passionate about his mussel crop.

Over a million pounds of hatchery-raised Mediterranean mussels are grown via suspension culture every year under his supervision – harvesting up to 25,000 lbs per week and shipped locally along the West Coast and to Chicago and New York. From July to early fall, the mussels are the fattest. In fact, they say this species of mussel, compared to blue mussels or New Zealand green-lipped mussels, is sought after by chefs for its high meat content. And after you see the video, you’ll also understand from the surroundings why their flavor is always fresh.

So seek them out now!

In New York, these specific Mediterranean mussels can be found on the menus at Marea, BLT Prime, Celeste and Convivo. And if you want to know how to get your hands on them yourself, you can contact W&T Seafood locally in New York or Taylor Shellfish Farms out West.

And if you ever need a mussel eating-partner here in NYC. Don’t hesitate to contact me on Twitter!

Thanks for watching food. curated. Happy Eating!

**And much gratitude to the Taylor Shellfish family for help making this trip possible.**

Hello loyal food lovers. Just wanted to share with you two recent stories I worked on with Serious Eats, my favorite food blog of all time. This summer, they launched a campaign to talk about the importance of volunteering within the food industry and helping those who needed good food the most. Many of us have luxuries that others don’t, which is why sometimes donating only an hour or two of your time to great local organizations can make such a huge difference in people’s lives.

Here are two stories that show how far a helping hand can go to make people happy. And thanks again to Ed Levine for asking me to be his Serious Eats storyteller. It was a blast to witness these charities in person and meet the wonderful people who dedicate so much hard work for the benefit of others. Enjoy and hope you get inspired.

1. God’s Love We Deliver (NYC) – and be on the lookout for “Natalie”…she makes this story sing…

2. City Harvest (NYC)

Happy volunteering! Or if you ever would like to volunteer together in New York, give me a holler. I’m game!

It’s been quite a hectic few days of filming, but all in the name of keeping my work for the 2010 NYC Vendy Award Finalists videos hush-hush…until now. Below, please meet the street food vendors who’s food delivers flavors and experiences on a whole other level. This past week, I spent a few hours with each of them to capture the passion for what they create in their tiny street-side kitchens. I get you SO intimate with the food that you’ll be drooling for a taste by the end. Enjoy! And hit those NYC streets!

1. King of Falafel & Shwarma

Freddy, what can I say about Freddy. He was a dose of infectious happiness. “Yeah, baby!” Hanging out with him, you’d think he was the mayor of Astoria! His food was moist and juicy, and so full of great Middle Eastern spices and secrets that you don’t even question the lines and crowds in front of his food cart. It just makes sense, all of it. And Queens couldn’t have anyone better to represent them at the Vendys. Hopefully for him, 3rd time’s a charm…

2. Bistro Truck

Yassir’s whole concept behind his Bistro Truck is to serve gourmet, restaurant style food in a casual setting. And he’s totally achieved it. I love the ever-changing daily specials menu inspired by what’s in season at the Union Square Farmer’s Market just a few blocks away. Funny story, he didn’t have any time to test his recipes for his permanent menu! The menu was driven by the pressure from his printer to get something up and done in time for his food truck launch, and those were the dishes he came up with from the top of his head. But not to worry, the menu is a masterpiece of flavors and personality. Seriously, don’t leave without trying the saucy dijon chicken over rice. Yassir dredges his food with his love for Moroccan spices, and the most inspiring part is that he is true food talent, he taught himself how to cook!

3. El Rey del Sabor

Rosa is just plain adorable. When I shot with her, I thought she’d be shy and nervous, but she was a ball of energy and excitement all ready to throw down and share why she believes her food is the best! She comes to work with a smile everyday, and loves showing New Yorkers what she believes authentic Mexican cuisine should taste like. Customers love her. And the close up meat shots speak for themselves. Just try to resist going there. Just try!

4. Patacon Pisao

Well, I’ve never been past 135th street on the Upper West Side to eat, so hiking up to 202nd street in Inwood better be worth it…and it was…and then some. I always delight in trying something truly original, and eating a patacon with heavily shredded, dripping with flavor spiced meats sandwiched with special sauces between two pounded and deep fried plantains was the NYC experience I’ve been searching for this summer. Liliana and Adolfo are quite famous in the neighborhood, serving up typical Venezuelan street food to night owls and club goers. They tell me sometimes their lines are longer then the lines for the clubs! Honestly, it’s such a great NYC moment to go eat here. You experience the whole neighborhood just standing and eating in front of their gated food truck. It’s just one of those filming experiences I’ll not soon forget.

5. Schnitzel & Things

And as for Oleg Voss of Schnitzel & Things. All I have to tell you is that his “schnitz” is so good, he coined the word “Schnombies”. It’s Schnitzel + Zombies. Basically what he calls his customers who have eaten so many of his schnitzels that they are meat-thirsty for it on a regular basis. You gotta love Oleg in this piece. He’s a riot. Even just for his enthusiastic cheers… And someone, anyone, please tell me what a deep-fried burger tastes like. I wanna know!

Thanks for watching food. curated. Get your tickets to the Vendy Awards before they sell out. And happy street food eating!

Deep in Brooklyn, there is a special place where people gather with friends and family to enjoy the authentic flavors of Latin cuisine, where food tastes like home, and where recipes have been passed down for generations. This place is called The Red Hook Ball Fields, where a collection of Mexican, Central and South American street food vendors that have been lining the soccer park for decades, sharing a piece of their heritage with all that come to dine there on weekends.

It’s a casual affair filled with many moments of indecision, as the variety of food is overwhelming and the smells from the food trucks tempt you in multiple directions. Some of the best Latin cuisine in all of NYC can be found here. And I spent a day at the ballfields to find out what makes the Red Hook Food Vendors so special.

Happy eating! Thanks for watching food. curated.

**This video was filmed in association with Food Films America and premiered at The 2010 NYC Food Film Festival!**

It’s summer harvest season up on NYC’s newest and biggest rooftop farm!

If you haven’t been, and I know most of you haven’t, you need to see The Brooklyn Grange. I visited a few days ago to see what Farmer Ben Flanner was growing for the summer, and I was quite impressed with the progress he’s made in such a short amount of time. His 40,000 square foot farm (just under an acre) was lush with greens, cabbage, tomato plants, corn crops, carrots, swiss chard, various herbs and root vegetables. I seriously didn’t think the farm would look as finished or as polished as it did when I set foot, especially since they only began planting in late May. But, it did. The plants looked happy and tasted great, further proving the case for more NYC rooftop farms. Watch the video and see for yourself. Plants like rooftops…or it seems that way to me!

Restaurant Accounts & CSAs & Farmer’s Markets

The Brooklyn Grange estimates that they’ll grow close to 16,000 pounds of produce this growing season. Right now, they have enough produce for 3-4 more restaurant accounts in Queens or North Brooklyn (trying to stay as local as possible), so if you know of anyone who may be interested in meeting their $100 minimum give them a call. In addition, Ben will begin offering 20 CSA shares to a few lucky individuals who want a piece of The Grange produce for the entire season. The cost is a little under $20/week and will last for the next 16 weeks until the end of October or early November. So sign up now if you’re interested!

Local cooks can get their hands on the rooftop produce at the many farmers markets they hold throughout the week:

• The Brooklyn Grange Farmer’s Market: Tuesdays & Thursdays: 3718 Northern Boulevard, Queens, 3-7pm
• (NEW) Vesta Trattoria Farmer’s Market: Saturdays, 2102 30th Avenue, Astoria, (time TBD)
• Roberta’s Farmer’s Market: Sundays: 261 Moore Street, Brooklyn, 11-5pm

And if you hate to cook, but want to try the bounty of what’s being produced up on the farm, you can visit Frankies Sputino, Juliette, Roberta’s or Northeast Kingdom and check out their menus for Brooklyn Grange inspired dishes.

Volunteers and interested visitors are also more than welcome on the farm, so to get your hands dirty and help out a farmer just contact brooklyngrangefarm[at]gmail.com.

Happy Eating! And thanks for watching food. curated.