Soft Shelled Crab Sandwich

Two things first. One, if you don't like looking at live (and dead) animals about to be eaten, don't scroll down. Two, while I'm sure the tastes are not comparable, this sandwich is a hell of a lot easier to make than this one. Still, the one above is tasty, and remarkably easy to eat if the sandwich is cut in half.

Nothing fancy here, just a tried and true method for some good soft shelled crab. First the crab is cleaned (kind of pictured below). Then, while a wok is heating up over full flame, a flour mixture is made consisting of white flour, old bay (a good amount), salt, and pepper. A small pool of high-heat safe oil is added to the hot wok (I used canola) and then the cleaned crab gets thoroughly covered in the seasoned flour. Into the wok it goes (might want to wear an apron--it sometimes splatters), cooked until it's done. This is not one of those things you want to be right on top of watching it cook or you may take a hit of molten crab insides.

And while the bread is normal, the lettuce is kind of special. Not purposefully in honor of one of Cleveland's favorite chefs who's headed to Terra Madre this fall (in the land of espresso and Barolo), the lettuce is a mix of Amish Deer Tongue, Grandpa Admirer's, and Tennis Ball from a Slow Food Ark of Taste pack of lettuce starts picked up at a great little organic plant sale at the absolutely amazing Crown Point Ecology Center in Akron (I always suspected Akron of being hipper than it admits. See also Mo' Mojo Mama Band.). Despite the heat, in partial shade and with all the rain we've been having these plants are thriving.

For sauce, a little mayo mixed with shallots and Frank's RedHot. There are few quasi-natural hot sauces I don't like, but I always go back to Frank's for American food and Tapatio for Mexican. Probably a result of growing up in the East and cutting my teeth out West.

Those things in the back--my first decent bunch of sugar snaps this season. Cooked in the wok with a little oil, water, salt, and pepper. Once the water cooked off they were just barely steamed and then started to get crispy in the oil.

Finally, tunes to cook by (an homage to the first link in this post). John E. Midnight's Dig Baby Dig! The 60s Rock and Roll Excavation. One town, three college radio stations. It generally works out well.

Hopefully that all took up enough space so it's up to you whether you want to look further. It's not bad, but I know at least one person who'd rather not see the carnage.

Alive and kicking, from Kate's at the West Side Market (Ask Eric, behind the counter, to help you. He's not just there for his looks.):
Cleaned crab. On the right, from top to bottom, gills, face, and apron.

Can't be local all the time

A rainy day at the Shaker Market led to an impromptu trip to Gallucci's, an Italian import shop on the east side of Cleveland. The place is great with one of the most knowledgeable staffs out of any food place I've ever been to, even if they didn't know what bottarga (botargo) was. Don't let the Euclid construction put you off, just get on Carnegie and look for a small sign for the back entrance between E 69 and 65.

I picked up some bread, ridiculously good porchetta, and San Daniele prosciutto at Gallucci's. You can see alternating slices, starting with the porchetta on the left, pictured above. I dressed the bread with some Zinfandel/Thyme jelly from the Crocker Park Farmers Market and some French butter from The Cheese Shop, a place definitely worth stopping by when you're at the West Side Market.

That wine pictured above is courtesy of The Flying Fig, a restaurant discussed here all the time. and 55 Degrees, an Ohio wine distributor that, unfortunately, does not do retail sales. If you see a wine dinner that they're associated with I'd recommend going if you're a drinker. Last Wednesday they couldn't decide which of two wines to pair with the duck course at The Fig. Their answer, serve them both.

The sandwich was very good, although if I was doing it again I'd lay the slices out rolled thinly and going the long way, like sardines packed side by side. That way each bite would yield equal parts cooked and cured pork, both of which are delicious in their own right.

One meal of which I'll never tire

Bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. Plum Creek egg, Country Gristmill Berkshire bacon, and Tillamook cheese. While the bread is only from Youngstown, the cheese traveled a long way. As for that, old habits die hard.

This is no Wake & Bacon from Melt, a nearby place always good for a grilled cheese, but I can still enjoy these for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. Let's just hope the arteries can keep up.

The other half of the flat iron steak . . .

. . . is pictured above.