Lobster

Ben Raisher watches as the writhing Octopus on his plate has its tentacles clipped with giant shears, then squirms in amber sesame oil like a pile of bisected earthworms. With a deft pinch of his chopsticks, the wriggling, still-alive limb is in his mouth and down his throat. Raisher, 28, smiles.

Non-challenging foods are being eaten by the truckload   -Kate Krader

 

It takes a lot of limes to get through a Friday night at Tres Agaves, the newest dinner spot in downtown Clarendon Hills. "We'll go through four cases," said Joe Pace, manager and co-owner. Nothing but freshly squeezed limes are used in the restaurant's assortment of margaritas and other south-of-the-border inspired drinks, created by resident mixologist Carlos Meija.

We'll go through four cases   -Joe Pace

 

Associated Press/Courtesy of Dan Kim A live octopus is shown before it is eaten alive at a seafood restaurant in the Queens borough of New York where a group of adventure eaters meet to dine on exotic and bizarre foods. NEW YORK — Ben Raisher watches as the writhing Octopus on his plate has its tentacles clipped with giant shears, then squirms in amber sesame oil like a pile of bisected earthworms. With a deft pinch of his chopsticks, the wriggling, still-alive limb is in his mouth and down his throat.

Non-challenging foods are being eaten by the truckload   -Kate Krader

 

Copenhaver's statement came as she and her husband, Marc (Wilmington Magazine's 2008 Top Chef), took a break from their acclaimed Ogden-area restaurant to be the first diners at celebrated chef Keith Rhodes' new Catch. Copenhaver may be on to something. Rhodes' place (6623 Market St.) is only 1½ miles south of Marc's (7213 Market St.), and another significant chef just returned to the neighborhood.  

Dogged by bad press, the salmon farming industry has been on the defensive for years. Images of near-dead sea bottoms beneath farm sites, tales of massive sea lice outbreaks on salmon farms that also infect passing wild salmon and reports about the overuse of pesticides to fight pests have all appeared in the news. In response, industry and its supporters have put forward an array of technological and marketing quick fixes ranging from tinkering with feed composition to so-called "eco-certification" programs.  

This definitely is an old school, New England menu builder. It can be prepared as is, with a clam chowder base or, add some crab or lobster and make a Boston bouillabaisse. Start with a fine, fresh fish and some fresh clams and let your family's favorites be the next addition.  

Our membership meeting and luncheon is held on the fourth Wednesday of the month at noon. This month it will be on Wednesday, March 24. We always serve a complete meal and have a short meeting afterward.  

Macaroni and cheese, thankfully, is a lot easier to cook than it is to make mac-n-cheese the center of a charity benefit. More than 15 months after the Table Hopping/timesunion.com Mac-n-Cheese Bowl was conceived, the event has arrived. It will take place Saturday at the Italian American Community Center in Albany, with 15 Capital Region restaurants and caterers providing mac-n-cheese from across the flavor spectrum (see box).

My two absolute requirements for mac-n-cheese are loads of top-quality cheese -- unless I break down and hit the jar of Cheese Whiz in a moment of missing my mom -- and correctly cooked pasta   -Tamara Miller

 

Bottomfish and lobster fisheries scheduled to close in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument next June have permanently shut down more than a year in advance. But it came with a price tag, essentially a buyout of 22 permits to the tune of $6 million. The creation of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in 2006 had a ripple affect on fisheries across the globe.

The proclamation when the monument was established allowed bottomfishing to continue to occur until June 15th 2011   -Michael Tosatto