We’re willing to pay a hefty premium for steak that has been aged, sometimes for weeks. So why not fish? The answer, hinted at by Benjamin Franklin in “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” would seem to be as obvious as the nose on your face.
Yet, the latest trend to reach the city whose taste buds never sleep is to feast on fish that has been aged, sometimes for weeks. And we’re not talking about fish that arrives buried in a sauce or some elaborate preparation that conceals its age. We’re talking about fish served in its most pristine form: We’re talking sushi.
The New York Post quotes chef Tony Inn, executive chef of the newly opened Taru in Rockefeller Center, as saying that dry-aging “makes the protein more tender and intensifies natural umami flavors for an overall better consistency.” The practice, Inn further notes, works best with fatty cuts, like tuna — which makes sense when you think about it. Tuna is often served rare in preparations normally reserved for steak.
But don’t think you get off cheap by agreeing to eat fish that is past its prime. On the contrary, Taru serves a whole grilled mackerel that has been aged four days. The price? $50.
Crumbl Cookies Strikes Again
Crumbl Cookies, which claims to make the world’s best cookies, has just opened its second New York location, on Columbus Avenue at 74th Street. According to I Love the Upper West Side, the store will offer six different cookies for sale each week, including such out-of-the-ordinary flavors as raspberry donut — a soft doughnut cookie coated in powdered sugar then topped with raspberry preserves and mini powdered doughnut pieces — and cowboy: a warm oatmeal cookie filled with tasty semi-sweet chips, sweetened shredded coconut, and crunchy toasted pecan. Milk chocolate chip will be a perennial. Crumbl Cookies, 301 Columbus Avenue (at 74th St.), 332-236-9577.
