The Latest Pick-Your-Own-Seafood Spot in Astoria Brings Algerian French Flavors | Eater NY

"One of Astoria’s newer pick-your-own-seafood additions, this family-run corner spot stands out for Algerian and French flavors. Chef-co-owner Hamid Mekersi, whose cooking is shaped by his mother’s traditional Algerian home recipes and his sisters in the Couba suburb of Algiers, brings experience from now-closed NYC French restaurants La Pallet and Les Deux Gamin. The calamari Provençal takes the basic fried calamari dish to new flavor frontiers: the squid is lightly breaded and sauteed, but the olives imbue an eye-opening salty savoriness to the garlic and herbs. The moules marinière are steamed and sauteed with shallots, garlic, herbs, butter, and cream, the resulting sauce staying light as mussel juices create a delightful oceanic broth for dipping bread. Fried whole sardines come marinated in a traditional Algerian seasoning of paprika and vinegar, then deep-fried for crunchy, tangy bites, and the Algerian burek are golden-fried pockets that crackle outside with bouncy chunks of jumbo shrimp and cheese inside. Early on a Friday, seniors, couples, and young families fill the room; everyone heads first to the raw seafood bar, where Hamid’s son Mateen Mekersi walks customers through what’s available—four kinds of shrimp, Greek fagri (a limited catch of the day), branzino, monkfish, and oysters—and recommends cooking styles. Don’t forget the restaurant doubles as a retail market if you want to take seafood home, and it’s open seven days a week from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m." - Caroline Shin