Though you won't see it, sea urchin is the star ingredient in the crab-chile pasta at New York City's Lure Fishbar. The richly decadent seafood is blended with butter and lemon to create the creamy sauce for the pasta, which is tossed with the tender crab. "Just look at this bowl of love," Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian urges. "It's a beautiful symphony."
Chef Walter Royal calls Brennan's Restaurant in New Orleans "a legend." Along with the seafood-packed gumbo, he likes to order the broiled oysters, which get a boost of richness from a topping of chipotle-garlic butter and a blanket of cheesy breadcrumbs.
"It's just the celebration of seafood," Chef Stephanie Izard says of the scene at The John Dory Oyster Bar in New York City. She's a fan of the haddock fritters, the golf ball-size bites of whipped potatoes and succulent smoked fish that are fried until golden and crispy on the outside. "Inside is the perfect amount of creaminess," she notes. "It's fantastic."
At The Grocery in Charleston, Chef Jonathon Sawyer opts for a platter that features a trio of seafood: clams, shrimp and fried snapper. But the secret lies in the pilau a deeply savory broth with rice and peas that serves as the base of the dish. "It's one of the most-complex low-country stews you could ever imagine," he explains.
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