Wet Carp Wars in Wessex

by Iva Skoch on

Right after Neil’s reminiscing about Christmas carp in Eastern Europe, comes a funny article in the Wall Street Journal today.

The British take their carp fishing pretty seriously, as evidenced by glossy mags like Carp Addict and Carp-Talk. Now, with the “invasion” of Eastern Europeans moving into Western Europe, as a result of the easing of work and travel restrictions because of EU membership, something fishy is going on.

Eastern Europeans are actually, gulp!, eating prized British carp. The Brits think nothing of spending $15 to $40 per day for the rights to test their skills against the wily fish, but they release their catch. Carp are smart, learn their lessons, and get bigger (50+ pounds even!) and more wary of fisherman, thus making fishing even more interesting.

This “tradition,” however, comes square up against traditions of folks like the Poles (and Czechs), who love to actually eat the fish for Christmas. So much for catch-and-release. One lake owner in Essex has gone so far as to ban Eastern Europeans from his property, for fear that they’ll eat his prize stock.

And it’s not that the fishing Poles are there for the sport: they say they’d happily buy the fish if it were sold at markets.

Shopsin’s closes: the flies are safe again

by Justin Glow on

Back in February of 2005 I attended the True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Missouri: an annual gathering of some of the best documentary films from around the world. My favorite one of the weekend was I Like Killing Flies, a quirky film about famous New York City eatery, Shopsin’s, whose 900+ item menu [.pdf] — with dishes like moon pie meatloaf and fluffernutter sandwiches — is prepared by eccentric, gutter-mouthed owner Kenny Shopsin.

The movie follows Kenny and his family as they’re faced with lease problems and are forced to move the restaurant out of its original location after 32 years to a new building. While the location changed, the lengthy menu and never bashful comical antics of Kenny remained, as did the rules that any prospective customer must follow in order to eat at his restaurant: no smoking, cell phone use, or parties larger than four, and everyone’s gotta eat.

My kind of place.

It’s unfortunate, then, that I read today that Shopsin’s has officially closed for good. I never had a chance to visit, but the documentary gave me enough reason to include it on my to-do list the next time I’m in Manhattan. Time to scratch that one off, and look into buying the DVD. Best of luck, Kenny.

Russia’s Black Market Caviar

by Neil Woodburn on

It was during my first trip to the Soviet Union in 1991 that I first tasted caviar.

Restaurants at the time often placed big dollops of it on the table like salsa at a Mexican restaurant. I didn’t like it at first but caviar, as I would learn, is an acquired taste and I soon grew to love the strange little fish eggs.

This was a bad thing.

Once I returned home to the reality of western prices, my days of gluttonous caviar ingestion were over.

The story of caviar is as rich and fascinating as the country which basically gave birth to it: Russia. A wonderful article in Saveur Magazine addresses the history of Russia’s high-end fish eggs and the state of the industry today. It is not a pretty story. Sturgeon, the ugly, prehistoric-looking fish from which caviar is extracted, are being over fished and, consequently, are endangered. In addition, the Caspian Sea, where 90 percent of these sturgeons live is polluted and full of poachers.

Supply and demand ensures that poaching will continue, however, and that top-dollar will paid for the black gold. The Russian government requires that caviar shipped abroad be sold for a minimum of $400 a kilo. Darra Goldstein, however, reports that it is easy to buy the same amount for just $100 on the black market in Russia. The writer describes the telltale signs of an illegal caviar salesperson at a typical Russian farmers’ market and then proceeds to purchase eight ounces herself for only $31.

Oh man! Take it from me. Unless you have a regular supplier and are very wealthy, don’t bother even trying the stuff; you might get hooked like me. And then you’ll have to weigh the moral quandary of dealing with poachers, black marketers, and an endangered species just to get your fix.

Carpe Diem Botanic Waters

by Erik Olsen on

The good folks as Red Bull have done their best to make sure that we remain a hard-working, highly caffeinated culture. God bless em. They’ve pretty much dominated the get amped up drink market for many years now. But guess what? In the spirit of diversification, they’re now trying to get into the bottled water market as well. Take a look at Carpe Diem Botanic Waters, the company’s newest addition to the beverage market. The water combines the delicious cleanliness of, well, water, with a touch of “sugarless” sweetness, and no artificial flavorings or colors. Like Red Bull, there is a hint of carbonization, but none of that stuff that makes your heart beat faster and gets you irritable. Personally, I don’t think we need yet another over-priced bottled water, but, hey, what do I know.

Hanukkah in Honduras

by Iva Skoch on

Celebrating Christmas away from home, often in exotic destinations, has become quite usual for many families. Getting away for Hanukkah, which started on December 15 this year, is a bit more challenging. The holidays lasts 8 days and therefore requires more planning – being in a hotel room at specific times to light candles (or bringing them along to dinner) and schlepping more “stuff” along: at least a menorah, a set of candles and multiple sets of presents.

But, like a recent CNN/AP story reports, some adventurous families prefer to spend The Festival of Lights abroad, in this case in Honduras. According to the story, overcoming obstacles having to do with the celebration of Hanukkah in Latin America sounds like fun – setting off smoke detectors in hotel rooms, locals not understanding the candle ceremony, not being able to light a menorah because of the heavy tropical wind or not being able to rely on local electricity to work at specific times…

I am all for it! An 8-day holiday is a good excuse to take a vacation longer than an extended weekend. Americans don’t take enough time off.