I went searchin' urchin (aka uni) down at Driscoll Harbor near the San Diego airport today and picked up some live ones from Peter Halmay. If you'd like to try some of this fresh sea urchin still in its shell, come by on Thursday or Friday.

A monsieur from Marseille came by last week and showed us how he ate them back home. We cut open the top and clean out everything except the roe. You eat the 5 pieces of yellowish or orange roe which resemble a creamy custard with a mild, sea-like taste. It's a true delicacy! If you'd prefer an easier way of seeing what urchin is all about, we're also making it in to a bisque and serving it in its shell.

We're getting a more consistent supply of the urchin now, so we should have this on the menu most days of the week. And the live sea urchin' supply will get even better in the coming months. Peter, Mitch, and their group will be installing a live hold tank at the dock so they can deliver to us anytime instead of just on the legal dive days which are currently Monday thru Wednesday.

You may know uni from sushi restaurants. But unlike at a sushi restaurant, you won't get any preservatives on the uni when it's fresh in its shell. This is as close to "from boat to throat" as it gets.

Interestingly, San Diego is a big supplier of uni thanks to Dave Rudy who started Catalina Offshore. Coincidentally, Catalina Offshore is where we get a lot of our fish when we don't get it directly from the fishermen. Tommy handles the local restaurants and has been extremely helpful in getting us the best fish that has traveled the shortest distance to get to your plate.

Check out this video of Mitch telling us about his searchin' for urchin last week.