Scallops.
 

i had scallops tonight that were far better than any seafood dish i'd had before. i'm in santa fe, and at at La Boca. had the special tonight, a seared scallop with a blood orange "salsa". wow, really incredible dish.

i'm on the road 4-5 nights a week and would like to hear about suggestions of places around the world that offer amazing scallop dishes. before tonight, i hadn't had any magnificant scallops before, so i am eager to try more.

I do like scallops.I think the fresh"diver"scallops you cn find in high end placed are the best.
For some reason scallops,for the most part,just do not taste as sweet as thy used to.I often get a "baking soda"taste from them.I do know they are being treated with solutions much more often than they used to be-"fresh"scallops are often sold in vacum packed containers containing a brine solution.So unless you can see the shell(and sometimes the roe)frozen are often a better way to go.
Also be aware that a lot of "scallops"found under breading is actually shark or other cheap fish cut and flavored to look like scallops.

For great scallops you need to travel to Homer Alaska many of the resturants there buy their scallops fresh off the boats.
Besides being there in season,even the processed ones are great.
I know because I have about 25lbs in my freezer right now.

In addition to Homer AK, you will find equally good (if not better in the eyes of this Canadian :D) scallops that originate from Digby Nova Scotia.

http://www.townofdigby.ns.ca/

^^^ Very true. Most fish companies are packing scallops in this solution to retain moisture. The result....the after taste that you refer to.
I tend to buy my scallops fresh off the dock. If you are in NJ, go to Pt. Pleasant or other towns when the scallop boats come in. Incredibly sweet.

And please....do not overcook !!! They become rubbery at that point. A quick saute in butter...paired with a fine dry white wine... delicious !

Sorry Cloud Lounger sometimes I get a little carried away.
I'm sure there are many other places with great scallops.
akdude

If it were just a brine, there wouldn't be any particular worries,
but the stuff used to plump scallops is sodium tripolyphosphate,
which is much more effective but tastes nasty.

When you go to the fishmonger, make sure that 1. you trust
the person's honesty and 2. ask for "drys."

I love scallops or any seafood for that matter.

There's a fisherman at the local farmers market who has them straight from the boat next to his, and they are wonderful. "Dry" ones, the ones not pumped full of chemicals to make them retain moisture, and weigh more for the same amount of fish caught, are fairly easy to find around here this time of year, but the rest of the year not so easy.

I love scallops, and cook with them often.

Always ask if the scallops are dry packed or wet packed. You want dry packed scallops.

I like to wrap them in prosecutto and then quickly grill them and serve with a mango salsa.

scallops are great..

ive even had fresh (live at time of prep) scallop raw at my regular sushi place. the first time i special ordered it, the owner prepared the whole thing. the usual part was sashimi, then some kind of more muscley part for nigiri, and the rest in a loose roll. they stock it more regularly now.

when i do em at home, i pick em up at wegmans, prewrapped in bacon.

yum ^

I have caught some scuba diving, they never lasted more than 10 minutes after after coming up.

I can vouch for the sheer delightful flavor of the Digby Scallops - I was just there in August, and had some incredible seafood. I had the sauteed Digby scallops and lobster, and a very tasty seafood chowder with big chunks of scallops in it as well. YUMMMM!!!!

Actually, we didn't have bad scallops or chowder anytime on that vacation - Maine and Nova Scotia. Go figure!

My husband makes a wonderful dish - not sure what it's called, but it sounds french and starts with BRU - brooZHOW is how it sounds. He takes bay scallops, wraps them in bacon and wraps that in a tender filet, and then bakes with a wonderful light savory sauce. MMMMMMM>

Maki in Fosnavåg, Norway. Amazing amazing amazing.

Went to Nova Scotia a few Augusts ago and we had the same experience. Stopped at a roadside restaurant in Nova Scotia on the Bay of Fundy that didn't appear too touristy. Man, those scallops were unbelieveably tender and wonderful, not only there but everywhere else we went as well.

I love the black pepper sea scallops at Ben Pao in Chicago.

Have you ever tried a version of chowder that includes scallops? Just wondering if there are any local recipes that may be worthwhile.

Ah, seafood in all its variety. :p

Here are two places I've had excellent scallops -

San Jose, CA - A.P. Stump's
Solvang, CA - Ballard Inn

One of the best, if not the best, scallop dishes I had was at Cyrus in Healdsburg, CA.

It was a chorizo crusted scallop with mirepoix and manilla clams. Amazingly, the chorizo did not overpower the scallop. Finishing it off, it was paired with a sherry that went remarkably well with the dish.

I had excellent scallops at Riva Cucina in Berkeley, CA. It's a small, cozy Italian restaurant that makes their own fresh pasta. The scallops have been perfectly cooked every time and always prepared differently. I've ordered this appetizer 3 times and it's been delicious and innovative each time.

Nantucket Bay scallop chowder
categories: shellfish, soup, New England
servings: 4

2 c milk
1 c heavy cream
1 vegetable bouillon cube *
2 Tb tomato puree
12 oz Nantucket Bay scallops
s, p
thyme
* may substitute some other stock concentrate

Bring milk, crea, and bouillon to a boil. Whisk in tomato.
Add scallops and turn heat to medium. Season. Cook
about 4 minutes and serve.

Source: moi

Digby, NS has some of the best scallops in the world. I travel there on average about once a year and can report that I have never found scallops as sweet and tender as the ones that I have had in Digby. Even the local Subway offers a scallop hoagie which is delicious! :)

The Bay of Fundy produces both great scallops and great lobster. There really aren't any "fine dining" spots in Digby; they are all kind of old school bar and grill type joints. My favorite is called 'The Fundy", dining by day, rowdy-ish bar crowd by night. The Fundy even has a portion of the building which is a Bed and Breakfast where a few of my colleagues love to stay. It gets bitterly cold in Digby during the winter so they report having a one stop shop to eat, drink and sleep is quite the perk!

I personally like the Harmony Bed & Breakfast a few blocks up the main drag for accomodation...


J_Hawk

Scottish scallops. Absolutely the best in the world. ^

I've always wanted to try raw scallops gathered on the spot.
Apart from that I'm stuck ordering chopped scallop rolls or searing them at home with lotsa buttah.

on the south shore of the cape(cod) one can fight the gulls and catch dropped fresh bay scallops. they are quite small. however "Absolutely the best in the world. "

It seems that all these pots have the "best scallops in the world". However, they're all wrong. The best scallops in the world are to be had at Olympe in Rio de Janeiro where Claude Troisgros magically transforms them to heaven on earth. I've tried a few of the others mentioned and must admit scallops fresh and lightly braised are wonderful anywhere.

I'm a huge scallops fan myself (or "scall-ups" as Gordon Ramsey says) and often get them at seafood places. I was at a restaurant in Danvers, MA last week and had sirloin steak and fried scallops and it was absolutely excellent.

Mastro's Ocean Club also does them quite well.

I think everyone eventually discovers a local place that makes _____ better than anyone else.

I'll update my previous post, since AP Stump's no longer offers that dish (it's a steakhouse now) and I've had one that topped them all -

Michael Mina at the Westin St Francis in San Francisco.

They offered a scallops 3 ways dish in which each of the 3 ways was truly spectacular and each was really quite different from the other 2.

You're obviously correct, but in such a thread I had to have a jingoistic selection. I also think Le Bernardin Ultra Rare Scorched Scallop may compete with Troisgros, and there are several others. The problem is my last wonderful scallop is the best one.

The stir-fried scallops in my house are also a match for any anywhere. Perhaps I have a small bias.