Sourced: River Oyster Bar

Slow Food Miami hosts a sustainable fish dinner at The River Oyster Bar on Sunday.

For this Sourced column, I got in touch with Slow Food Miami and the restaurant to find out more about the menu for the event.

Slow Fish Dinner

Amuse-bouche: Queen Conch “Pinchon” (with scotch bonnet jam)

Chef David Bracha sourced the queen conch from the Turks and Caicos and uses it sparingly in this amuse-bouche.

Harvesting in the United States is currently prohibited due to decreasing numbers.  They take a long time to mature–queen conch grow up to twelve inches and live up to thirty years! According to the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch,  we should generally abstain from eating queen conch.  It should be carefully harvested to protect the species and bring back its numbers.  However, I’m assuming most of you do not make queen conch a regular part of your diet.

Amuse-bouche: Sebastian Bay White Water Oyster Shooter (with heirloom tomato water, Chopin vodka, and horseradish)

These oysters are farm-raised by White Water Farms.    They come from the Indian River Lagoon in Sebastian Bay, Florida.  Oysters can be harvested from November through June.

First course: Key West Pink Shrimp a la plancha (with white bean puree and arugula-walnut pesto)

Most Key West pink shrimp are net-caught off of Stock Island, the island just before Key West.  The shrimp get their delicate color while they mature on the coral sands.   Keys historian Tom Hambright  spoke about supporting the local business in The New York Times:

“Mr. Hambright said restaurants that promote the pinks ‘keep these few boats going, because they’re willing to pay the extra price to get the real wild shrimp[...]‘”

Seared snapper filet with avocado and tomato salad and a citrus vinaigrette from The River Oyster Bar. Snapper will be served at the Slow Fish dinner, although it will be prepared differently.

Main course: Key West Yellowtail (skin on, with braised greens and Florida citrus)

Yellowtail snapper can be sustainably fished using a hook and line.  Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program considers this abundant fish a “good alternative” to other snapper.  They are mostly found in the sub-tropical western Atlantic and coastal waters of the United States.

Goat cheese panna cotta at The River Oyster Bar

Dessert: Rum-soaked Coconut Cream Cake (with dark rum syrup)

Dessert: Homestead Goat Cheese Panna Cotta (with Florida honey, dates, and port-poached blackberries)

When: Sunday, January 31, 2010 from 7 pm to 9:30 pm

Where: The River Oyster Bar, 650 S. Miami Avenue, Miami  33130 ($5 valet parking behind the restaurant.)

How much: $80 for dinner and wine pairings, tax and gratuity.  ($15 from each ticket benefits a school garden in downtown Miami.) Tickets must be purchased in advance here.