Low-Mercury Tuna Loin Hitting Restaurants Next Week
Slate’s Jack Schafer may have smelled something fishy about the Times’ tuna story, but, if you’re still fretting about it, rest assured that John Magazino, president of Primizie Fine Foods, has something in the works. He says he’s selling the city’s only Marine Stewardship Council–certified low-mercury sashimi-grade tuna loins, and, depending on the outcome of samplings, they could be in some of the restaurants he supplies food for (Gramercy Tavern, Cru, A Voce) by the end of next week. Magazino says he’s getting the fish, at $12 per pound, from families who catch their albacore using hook and line in the low-mercury waters of California, as opposed to Southeast Asia, where most tuna is caught. Since the fish is caught near the surface, it’s younger and doesn’t have such high levels of mercury. We’ll keep you posted as to where it will be available, but we’re thinking it’s a good time for Union Square Hospitality Group to get in on this, now that they’ve dumped Wild Edibles.
Primiziue Fine Foods
The Times’ Fishy Story [Slate]
Related: Danny Meyer Cuts Wild Edibles Free
NewsFeed
Danny Meyer Cuts Wild Edibles FreeThe foie gras protests outside Union Square Cafe may not have put a dent in anything, but we’ve just received a press release indicating that Union Square Hospitality Group will no longer use embattled Wild Edibles as its seafood provider, joining Keith McNally’s and Jean Denoyer’s restaurants in the snub. The release nods to the “courage” of ten workers who were let go after they filed a suit claiming they were stiffed on over time pay.
NewsFeed
Hark! New Shake Shack to Open at Shea StadiumThe greatest hamburger mystery of our time has been solved: We have it from a high-level source near the situation that the location of the long-awaited sequel to Shake Shack is Citi Field, better known as the new Shea Stadium. (Citi Field is currently under construction; it will be finished in April 2009, in time for opening day.) And that most definitely is not all: The Union Square Hospitality Group also plans a Danny Meyer sit-down restaurant there. (We’re waiting to hear back from Meyer on both of these reports.) As for the new Shake Shack, well, if you thought ball games resulted in long lines to the bathroom …
Update, August 10: Danny Meyer conveyed the following message to us yesterday evening: “We think it’s a great idea and would love to do it. If you can help us figure out how to make that deal happen, Shack burgers are on the house!” Awesome. Since nowhere in the statement do we see the words “the report is 100 percent untrue” or “there will not be a Shake Shack at Citi Field,” we’re looking forward to some potato-bun frolics on Opening Day.
Ask a Waiter
Carolyn Wandell-Widdoes of Union Square Cafe Knows How You Like ItCarolyn Wandell-Widdoes was a graduate student when she took a part-time job at Union Square Cafe. Social work didn’t wind up paying the bills; eighteen years later, her co-workers call her Mom. We asked her how she has survived picketing animal-rights activists (she’s a vegetarian), the smoking ban (she’s a cigar smoker), the eternal struggle for tables between tourists and regulars, and her boss’ customer-is-always-right attitude.
