If you ask the people who operate Flex Mussels, two Manhattan restaurants focused on mussels and little else, the versatile and affordable bivalves are the next chicken.
With retail prices in the USD 3 a pound range, mussels take center stage at Flex. Its menu offers 22 preparations each day, ranging from the most popular Thai in a coconut curry broth with lemongrass and kaffir lime to the Copenhagen with Danish blue cheese or the Southern featuring Dijon mustard, ham, corn and bourbon. Mussel entrées sell for USD 19.50 to USD 25.
There is also The Number 23, a special that changes daily and provides the opportunity to test out new recipes that may eventually find a way onto the menu.
Alexandra Shapiro and her parents Laura and Bobby Shapiro run the New York eateries on 13th and 82nd streets. The concept was born from a seasonal restaurant the Shapiros operate in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Click here to read the full story that ran in the March issue of SeaFood Business >
