Shrimp, Bacon, Grease- All One Really Needs. (well, and sailing, but back to that topic next post)

(oh, and this thermos)

Lums Chinese, Flushing, NY, (1978)- My earliest memory of butterflied shrimp and pure food-happiness. A decadent, visceral feeling of joy as oil burned a crooked path down my chin exploding in my mouth into wondrous flavors of shrimp, bacon, egg, scallion, topped with a savory ketchup based sauce and onions.

Joy Island, Bay Terrace, NY (1981 through my departure from NY)- The perfect pubescent boy version of butterflied shrimp. Less onion, more bacon, bigger shrimp, and topped with the orange goo of a sweet and sour sauce. Heaven on a plate. Best when mixed with the msg laden roast pork fried rice.

Tiburon, CA, (2020) – Bored. Hungry. Still in quarantine (sort of). Well, what is one to do under such trying circumstances . . . let’s make some butterflied shrimp!

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New York Food

Since 1995 I have been passing around a memo to friends about NY Food. It all started as a young lawyer in Atlanta after the fourth request for assistance from my new colleagues. Apparently, I was the only NYer they knew (other than John Gotti- who they were all afraid they might meet on the subway -as if he rode the subway). So, to save time in future interactions with my new found southern friends, I dictated a memo (a lost art by the way) and gave it to the very same word processor who was the fourth person to ask for help. Since then, the memo has been edited a bit every five to ten years. The very nature of the recommendations is that they should not require much updating because the places I recommend withstood the test of time -until a couple of them closed.

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