That name, Flex Mussels. My first thought: Are things that bad in California that Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened a restaurant? But then I read on, picked up on the Prince Edward Island provenance and the back story, restaurateur and island hugger Bobby Shapiro’s romance with the mussel. Shapiro is a name I remember from the 80s when Hoexter’s Market and Uzie’s – side by side on the Upper East Side sharing a kitchen – sizzled on the late-night circuit.

       Could Prince Edward Island become the next Hampton? Bobby and his wife Laura are ready with two spots for grub there already.

       What we’re seeing now in Shapiro’s old Zocalo space in that quadrant of the city he knows best is an urbanized summer vacation. Walls paved with views of PEI and upside down mussel pots shading lights at the bar where oyster man John Bil chats and shucks.

       I’m off to a grumpy start. With the wall-mounted counter packed with diners and the bar at capacity in a narrow el, there’s really no space to wait – even after all six of us have arrived. Wherever we move we’re blocking the flow. There’s a six-top out back marked with our name but no one willing to vacate it. The bears in our group are getting testy. We’re hitting the brain-set between I’m hungry, I’m entitled and I’m out of here.

       And then it’s over. We’re seated at a small bare round, the better, I suppose, to hear ourselves over the din, instantly defanged and amused by the motto on the menu: “Find the shortest, simplest way between Earth, the hands and the mouth.” My life’s précis this past 40 years.

       Lobster roll and seafood entrees (from $20 to $32) try to hook us, but wait, aren’t we here for mussels, 23 variations from $16 to $23, definitely the choice for dedicated penny-pinchers.
 
       First we’re warming up with starters. Ava and I share “Burnt Fingers” – crispy fried calamari, shrimp and battered oysters with a spicy dipping cream – passing it around. And everyone reciprocates with tastes of unremarkable pepper smoked salmon, perfectly acceptable crab cake and spoonfuls of the amazing chowder of the day – floating mussels, white fish and bacon with touches of sweet red pepper, corn and a swirl of chive oil.

       We’ve studied the 23 options, not to miss a doozy. The list is a roll call of geography and history in bivalves, from the classic with wine and garlic to the Spartan with kalamata olive, the South Pacific with kaffir lime and lemongrass and the Perigord of black truffle and champagne.  

       The delivery is dramatic: half a dozen huge aluminum stock pots, the covers removed and piled in the center, to collect the shells. Inside I see a mountain of gaping black shells, needing to be pushed aside, to drag sweet perfectly cooked little critters through my chosen Bombay sauce, a puddle spiced with curry, mango puree, cinnamon, star anise and garlic. Ava is upset. Tasting around – the Spanish number with chorizo, the lobster-dotted Bisque, a San Daniele creation with prosciutto and caramelized onion – she likes everyone’s mussels better than her own Negril choice with peppers, jerk spices, lime and beer. But soon she is cooing and slurping and moaning.

       “I thought you didn’t like yours,” I ask helping myself to yet another French fry – good but not great.  “It took a while,” Ava confesses. “But now I’m totally into it.”

       For the full beach shack experience, we decide the Flex donuts are a must, though at four for $9 I consider them priced for the city. I like to end dinner with a hit or three of something sweet. Two lemon cream-filled balls and a pair of salted caramel in sugared dough dipped into vanilla sauce do the trick.  
174 East 82nd Street between Lexington and Third Avenues. 212 717 7772


About Gael Greene










           Photo: Steven Richter

In her role as restaurant critic of New York Magazine (1968 to January 2002) Detroit-born Gael Greene helped change the way New Yorkers (and many Americans) think about food.

"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Ice Cream But Were Too Fat To Ask," "The Mafia Guide to Dining Out."   and " Nobody Knows the Truffles I've Seen" were early pieces.   In more recent years her annual roundup of   New York City's dining favorites, Ask Gael, was a gourmand's collectible for many years and she continues to write a weekly Ask Gael column for NYM. Earlier she worked at the New York Post.

As co-founder with James Beard and a continuing force behind Citymeals-on-Wheels as board chair, Ms. Greene has made a significant impact on the city of New York. Citymeals, the largest public/private partnership in the country, has raised $200 million in its twenty-six-year history to help feed the city's frail elderly shut-ins.

Ms. Greene's memoir, "Insatiable, Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess" was published April, 2006. Earlier non-fiction books include "Delicious Sex, A Gourmet Guide for Women and the Men Who Want to Love Them Better" and "BITE: A New York Restaurant Strategy." Her two novels Blue skies, No Candy" and "Doctor Love" were NY Times best sellers.


Gael Greene
Articles used with permission of Gael Greene, Copyright 2008.  All rights reserved. Steven Richter's photographs may not be used without permission.


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The NYC Insiders Guide
for women who aren't kids
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A Mussel Workout on East 82nd Street
An armory of mussel pots arrive with a geography of saucing. Photo: Steven Richter