Wines to wash down oysters [updated]

Which wine to serve with oysters? That's usually not a decision most of us have to spend too much time worrying about. Preferably something crisp and cold, but as long as there are oysters we're happy. But professionals are made of sterner stuff. And so for the last 17 odd years, Taylor Shellfish's Jon Rowley has gathered food and wine folks for the Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition in Los Angeles (at downtown shellfish heaven Water Grill), San Francisco and Seattle and subjected them to a couple of hours of eating oysters while tasting wine, just to find the happiest combination.

The 10 winners were the Brassfield Estate Winery Sauvignon Blanc, Caderetta Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon, Chateau St. Michelle Sauvignon Blanc, Hogue Cellars Pinot Grigio, King Estate Signature Collection Pinot Gris, Kunde Family Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Pine Ridge Vineyards Chenin Blanc/Viognier, Robledo Family Winery Sauvignon Blanc, Three Pears Pinot Grigio and Van Duzer Vineyards Pinot Gris.

[Updated at 11:05, May 4: An earlier version of this story left out some of the winning wines.]

Happily, all but two of the winners can be found for less than $15 a bottle and half of them cost less than $10 a bottle.

--Russ Parsons

(Photo by Kevin P. Casey/Los Angeles Times)

'Bluewater Gold Rush': A well-told tale of adventure and the hunt for uni

Being a serial geek means having a library filled with odd little books on specialty subjects. Indeed, the hunt for such treasures is one of the great pleasures of being a geek. Since one of my main interests is marine life (well, the edible portion), I’m not sure how I missed Tom Kendrick’s “Bluewater Gold Rush” when it was first published in 2007, but I stumbled across it at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium gift shop not too long ago and picked up a copy. It was an impulse buy and I’m afraid to say it sat on my bookshelf for several weeks before I got around to opening it up. But once I picked it up, I didn’t put it down until I was finished. Literally.

Subtitled “The Odyssey of a California Sea Urchin Diver,” “Bluewater Gold Rush” is a marvelous amateur memoir that works on several levels simultaneously. Best of all, it’s an absolutely riveting read.

Promoting sustainable seafood through tasty celebration

 

The Aquarium of the Pacific is hosting the seventh annual Sustainable Seafood Day and Chowderfest on Saturday. Generally a place where you can admire an array of different fish, the aquarium will become a place where can eat them as well. It's not as bad as it sounds -- quite the opposite, in fact. The public is invited to learn about sustainable seafood, with this year's focus on chowder in Southern California. Local restaurants will provide samples of original versions of the dish, including recipes using arctic char, cod, Dungeness crab and oysters, and then guests will get to vote on their favorite. But that's not all. The aquarium's 50 regular exhibits will be open, along with special ones that provide information from sustainable seafood experts and step-by-step cooking demonstrations. Spend this weekend feeding your brain and your stomach. Just not the fish. Aquarium of the Pacific: 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802; (562) 590-3100. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with chowder served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The 13th annual Savor California is Saturday, March 26. As a tribute to sustainable seafood, sustainable agriculture, and culinary science, the Discovery Ball at the California Science Center will include a cocktail reception tasting extravaganza hosted by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of the Border Grill. Guests will get to enjoy food made by chefs from Mozza, Waterloo & City and Angeli Caffe, among many others. The evening will begin with a 6:00 food and wine tasting on the pier, to be followed by a 7:30 Napa-style dinner, and 10:00 post-dinner cocktails, dancing and lounge action, as well as a private IMAX screening of "Adventures in Wild California." California Science Center: 700 Exposition Park Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90037; (213) 744-2035.

-- Emma Wartzman

Photo: Seafood chowder. Credit: Los Angeles Times

Click here for the recipe from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

Fish and Game issues advisory against eating parts of Southern California lobster, rock crab

 

The California Department of Fish and Game is warning all consumers of California spiny lobster to eat only the tail meat until further notice. Elevated levels of domoic acid toxin have been found in the internal organs of lobster sampled from waters adjacent to the northern Channel Islands, as well as in recent samples of rock crab. This warning applies to all lobster and rock crab harvested in Southern California. Click here to read more:

Photo: California spiny lobster caught in a trap from a lobster boat along the Ventura County coast. Credit: Los Angeles Times

 

Your recipe for the day: Swordfish with tomatoes and fennel

I planted tomatoes this year but my crop is over. I have just one tomato left. But you might be luckier -- and you might be looking for something to do with tomatoes. So today's recipe from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen is: Swordfish with tomatoes and fennel.

Want more Test Kitchen recipes? Browse hundreds at www.latimes.com/recipes. And keep checking  back -- we're always adding more.

--Rene Lynch
Twitter.com / renelynch

Photo credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

 

Oil spill hasn't chilled New Orleans seafood restaurants

So far, it's largely been business as usual for the N'awlins' famed eateries, thanks to careful monitoring of its usual suppliers and ongoing searches for new ones:

Alex Carter serves customer Mark McGrain a catfish po' boy and a root beer at the Parkway Bakery & Tavern. (Cheryl Gerber / For The Times)

 

After a makeover, Gladstone's Malibu is ready for its close-up

Gladstone's Malibu, the iconic 33-year-old seafood restaurant that lays claim to 700 feet of prime beachfront real estate where the river of traffic on Sunset Boulevard flows into the estuary of the Pacific Coast Highway, had been having a bad decade, or two.

If it was going to weather the twin storms of recession and the wrath of Yelp, it was going to need an extreme restaurant makeover. But the fact that it would be saved by Sam Nazarian -- one of Hollywood's most glittering night-life players -- made for a particularly interesting rebirth.

Despite being one of the busiest restaurants in Southern California (it serves about 6,500 to 7,000 meals per week during the summer), Gladstone's had gained a reputation for crummy food and spotty service (the L.A. Times gave it zero stars in a 2008 review). Wads of tourist money supported it, but the community -- well-to-do elites living in Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica -- treated the place like kryptonite.

"It's kind of like a really good villain. You enjoyed disliking it," says 27-year-old Kent Hutchison, who remembers going to Gladstone's to fool around with his friends and drink beer but never to eat the food.

The owner, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan, wasn't keen on that reputation, so he says he sold 34-year-old Nazarian and his luxury hospitality group SBE a 20% stake in the business, with the goal of sexing up the restaurant and once again making it a destination for locals.

To read the rest of Jessica Gelt's story and look at a photo gallery of the new restaurant and food, click here.

Photo: The seafood risotto at Gladstone's is flanked by a strawberry mojito. Credit: Christina House / For The Times  

Your recipe for the day: Garlic shrimp with grilled tomatillo sauce

I plucked this recipe from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen for a few reasons. It's got shrimp. Lots of garlic. It's grilled, which is perfect for this hot weather. It takes just 25 minutes to make.

But the real reason it caught my eye?

Check out the calorie count:

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

PLUS:

Beat the heat with these ultra cool desserts from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen

There's food and fellowship at the Immaculate Heart Center for Spiritual Renewal in Montecito

The Find: The Taiwanese bakery 85C in Irvine finds a following with its sweet and savory Asian pastries, breads and high-end coffees.

Photo: Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times

Seafood that passes the sniff test

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are using their noses -- that's right, their noses -- to spot contamination in seafood, trying to ensure that the BP spill doesn't pollute your food supply. Bob Drogin has the story in this report from Pascagoula, Miss.:

William Mahan of the University of Florida moves the air across a bowl of shrimp checking for taint as Robert Downs of NOAA's seafood inspection program looks on in Pascagoula, Miss. (Bill Haber / Associated Press / June 3, 2010)

Consumers could face price hikes, shortages as oil spill threatens Louisiana's commercial fishing industry

As the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to spread, Louisiana's $2.5-billion commercial fishing industry, which provides much of the country's domestic shrimp and oysters, is bracing for a virtual shutdown that could trigger shortages and price hikes for consumers nationwide.

As an armada of fishing vessels are dodging the oil-covered waters, seafood distributors, restaurants and grocery stores across the nation are on edge as well.

In Southern California, supermarket chains such as Albertsons and Ralphs said they were closely monitoring the situation and were concerned about how serious the problem might become. A spokeswoman for Whole Foods Market said it was prepared to find alternatives — just in case. Read more here.

Photo: Jeff Howard, 43, fishes for shrimp and crab in the waters off Delacroix, La., in St. Bernard Parish on April 29, 2010, ahead of an impending oil slick. "Today might be the last day you can go," he said. "You might not be able to go for another year. Who knows?" Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times